Momoe Yamaguchi -- Shikaranai de（叱らないでね）

 

Wow! It's been around 13 years since I first posted the article on Momoe Yamaguchi's（山口百恵）1973 debut single "Toshigoro"（としごろ）onto "Kayo Kyoku Plus". Going back to my earliest memories of the 1970s aidoru when she was already in the latter half of her career in the persona of that seen-it-all and done-it-all world-weary woman, it was rather surprising to hear her all the way back to her first single when she was indeed acting and singing as the high school kid she was.

This is actually the first time though that I've gotten to hear the B-side to "Toshigoro", "Shikaranai de" (Don't Be Mad). When I saw the title, my assumption was that the song would be a rather melancholy ballad about a relationship going sour. Instead, it's arguably even more happy-go-lucky than the A-side. The same folks behind "Toshigoro" also took care of "Shikaranai de": Kazuya Senke（千家和也）on the lyrics and Shunichi Tokura（都倉俊一）on the melody and arrangement. The tempo is even a slight bit slower as those lyrics describe a young girl getting all gushy with her beau and leaving the big decisions up to him. I don't really know for sure, but my impression is that B-sides don't usually get performed on stage or TV but if it had been performed by Momoe, I would imagine a lot of young couples behind her doing some very cute choreography.