When I was reading the YouTube comments for this video, the majority of them were thankful but there were a couple of them for which you could feel the backhanded slap across the face. One panned the "cheap pop" melody, and the other took aim at the "bad"lyrics that Ohnuki had supplied. And yet, "Kusuri"made quite a stir in that the singer took aim at how easily patients in Japan sprinted to get their meds to cure the tiniest discomfort while the medical industry was only too happy to oblige them.
My feelings on the song are that I don't think Ohnuki ever meant to go on a musical tirade against a practice that is continuing even today. The lyrics sound as if they were created by a cheeky teenager, and the music....poppy with a bit of Latin thrown in....contrasts with the coldcock that she puts against the medical industry. But even for me to write that last sentence puts a bit too much weight in what just seems to be more of a pet peeve on Ohnuki's part than any smoldering societal problem to be attacked vigorously. I do think that there has been a tendency for doctors there to overmedicate their patients but Ohnuki never made it her soapbox.
Anyways, here are the translated lyrics:
You're not the only one who's crazy
Hey, open your eyes
Look at people
No matter at what you see
It's wrong to think things for granted!
If a fever breaks out
And a disease goes around
You become weak
And give up
Run as quick as you can
You're gonna end up in Heaven
Lots of drugs
Pick and choose and see
So many of them
If you take them, it'll be the end
As soon as you recover, you'll be sick again
Don't push yourself
Take a break
You're different
You don't have the time
You got something wrong with you
Anyways, drugs are the best!
Have a listen to the song while looking at the above. Was she being serious or merely sarcastic?
thank you for this translation!! it's true that sometimes knowing what a song is about can make it worse hahaha
ReplyDeleteJust had to know the japanese words for drugs and alot and put the two together to get the feeling the song had deeper meaning and yeah, sure did. Very fun song 😬
ReplyDeleteYes, I always kinda wondered whether Taeko had written this up after another exasperating visit to the clinic.:)
ReplyDeleteI don’t understand, what is the song about?
ReplyDeleteI can't analyze for sure, given I don't speak Japanese and any intricacies word-choice wise are thus lost on me, but the last section especially makes the song stand out more as a criticism of "quick fixes," not necessarily of medication in general (ex. medicating anything immediately from minor ailments and what the body can just run its course on versus something that possibly warrants more treatment like anxiety or depression).
ReplyDeleteShe says "don't push yourself, take a break" but then adds that "you're different [and] you don't have the time," maybe meaning that what would be remedied best by rest is often ignored because people feel they're "different" and can't possibly slow down and make time for that. They need whatever will get them back to full productivity faster (possibly an additional critique on the systems in place that force people to do so) when that will eventually be their undoing as "as soon as [they] recover, [they'll] be sick again."
( Apologies on a /checks notes/ eight year old post :') )
Hello again, Tea. No need to apologize.:) I think you nailed it on the head about quick fixes since whether it's exaggerated or not, there have long been notices about the medical profession in Japan and perhaps other nations recommending pills and capsules and patients readily accepting them. I recall an anime "Dagashi Kashi" in which the main characters when they were kids playing a very platonic form of "Doctor" and each time, the girl complained about a pain somewhere, the boy simply said "Oh, that's too bad. Here's a pill."
DeleteI think also at the time "Kusuri wo Takusan" was recorded, perhaps Japan was out of the Nixon oil shocks, so it was all hands on deck for propelling the country to become one of the top economic powers in the world. People couldn't afford to get sick because they were being exhorted or bullied to keep on producing, something that would have consequences going into the next decade or two at least.
That makes sense as well!
Delete