Kenichi Mikawa -- O-kane wo Choudai（お金をちょうだい）

 

On the most recent episode of NHK's "Shin BS Nihon no Uta"（新・BS日本のうた...Songs of Japanese Spirit）, veteran singer Kenichi Mikawa（美川憲一）appeared to sing a song titled "O-kane wo Choudai" (Please Give Me the Money) and from the arrangement, I figured that it must have been created decades ago. 

And as it turns out, it was indeed made decades ago. It was released in November 1971 as Mikawa's 21st single and written by Tetsuro Hoshino（星野哲郎）and composed by Hiroyuki Nakagawa（中川博之）. Based on conversations that lyricist Hoshino had overheard among hostesses (and perhaps clients) at a cabaret, the song deals with one hostess' final reluctant goodbye talk with a soon-to-be former paramour. The lady asks for money to deal with the expenses racked up because of her relationship with him, and the way Mikawa sings it, it sounds like her imploring him rather than threatening him, although in the end, she hints that's the only way he'll finally be rid of her.

My mother had never heard of the song either before that episode so she reacted with a bit of surprise and disgust at the title, and apparently "O-kane wo Choudai" did cause some controversy at the time that it was released. For one thing, because of the lyrics, it hadn't been allowed to be performed on NHK although over the decades, the network finally relented. Women had also complained to Mikawa or his representatives about showcasing such a supposedly grubby hostess but somehow the singer was able to convince the detractors that it wasn't the woman who was the villain here. "O-kane wo Choudai" reached No. 40 on Oricon.