Akira Terao/Masaaki Sakai -- Merry Go Round （メリーゴーラウンド）

Yup, life is indeed a merry-go-round. Never know who you're going to meet once again. That's the kind of idea that, Akira Terao（寺尾聡）, composer and singer of this faintly French pop-sounding ditty was going for. Masako Arikawa（有川正沙子） was the lyricist for "Merry Go Round"; she also helped Terao write a number of songs from his best-selling album "Reflections"which is already listed under his name in the tags. And she also wrote Japanese lyrics for the theme from "Star Wars" for Masato Shimon（子門真人）a few years back (she probably didn't see Carrie Fisher's cringeworthy performance on that verboten Star Wars Xmas special).

Arikawa writes about a man meeting an old flame once more and inviting her for a tea or coffee, and playfully reassuring her that if she needs a shoulder to cry on, she knows who to go to. One of the Japanese commenters on YouTube for this song remarked that this must've been written when Japan was still in a very happy state. Well, 1981....still a decade away from the slow downward economic spiral. In any case, the song is as light and as happy as a fully-fledged hummingbird leaving the nest for the first time.

Strangely enough, "Merry Go Round" didn't get onto the "Reflections"album though I think it fits like a "T".

"Merry Go Round"was actually made for singer/actor Masaaki Sakai（堺正章） as the theme song for his 1981 TV drama "Kid" in which Sakai plays the lead character, a detective. Knowing Sakai's personality, he probably played it light and lovable which kinda sums up the song. Both the arrangements for his version and for Terao's self-cover are pretty similar. (Note: at about the 3:30 mark for this video, it seems to get stuck)

A carousel on The Oasis of the Seas,
one of the largest cruise ships on Earth.