Credits

I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Akiko Yano -- David


The biggest mystery about this song is the title itself. Akiko Yano(矢野顕子)has never divulged who this David is. According to her lyrics, she uses "We" when talking about how much they want to see him again no matter how far away he is, almost as if she were referring to a fan club more than any sort of personal love. Could it have been David Bowie or David Sylvian, the latter with whom she has worked with? Who knows? Love the song, though.

"David" is a track on Yano's February 1986 9th album, "Touge no Wagaya"峠のわがや...One's House on a Mountain Pass). According to the J-Wiki writeup, it and one other track, "Home Sweet Home" are the only songs that retain the techno flavour of her earlier works in the late 70s and early 80s, while the other tracks start going into a more jazzier direction.

The song had never been sold as a single when "Touge no Wagaya" first came out, but a few years later, when a late-night Fuji-TV comedy called "Yappari Neko ga Suki"やっぱり猫がすき....I Like Cats After All) used "David" as its opening theme, it was given its own release. There was no particular connection between the characters and a person named David, but I gather it sounded pleasant enough.

6 comments:

  1. Just stumbled upon your post. I love Yano's music too; I lived in Tokyo for 6 years. Yes, maybe the song's about Sylvian - they duetted on 'Goodnight' of course. But I like to think it's about me. Ha!

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  2. Hi, David. I don't blame you for hoping that it is about you.:) With that feeling of envy, I kinda wish Akiko would say my name in the same way at the end of the song but I think "J-Canuck" doesn't sound quite right. Actually, when I hear the song, I think about my old boss at NOVA, David Peace, who apparently has become a mystery writer.

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  3. Yes, David Peace is doing very well as a writer. I met him once, during his first Tokyo stint. (I was there 1999-2005). His Damned United, book & film, is excellent - though you'd ideally need to be into British 70s football to fully appreciate it!
    This is an incredible j-pop-and-more resource.

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    1. Good morning, David. David P. was a good boss although I think his one mistake was having me promoted to Head Teacher once he decided to go to Head Office.:) I never had any talent as an administrator although I was OK as a teacher.

      Glad to hear he's doing well. BTW, what were you doing in Tokyo?

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  4. British Council, though not as a teacher. I ran their arts programme, based in the Iidabashi office. It's still there, though I moved on to other countries from 2005. It was a very nice job.

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  5. I remember the place. It was just across the river from one of my other schools, Berkeley House in Ichigaya.

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Feel free to provide any comments (pro or con). Just be civil about it.