Rebecca -- Maybe Tomorrow

There's almost something religiously inspirational about Rebecca's "Maybe Tomorrow", the final titular track from the band's 4th studio album, released in November 1985. Lead vocal NOKKO seems to tiredly but resolutely sing out her words of pressing forward no matter how hard since "maybe tomorrow" the goal will be attained; the climax is that sustained final word. And keyboardist Akio Dobashi's（土橋安騎夫） music reminds me of church music in a way, right down to the synth's final two notes thrumming "Amen". Overall, there is a bit of a "Bridge Over Troubled Water" feel to it.

"Maybe Tomorrow" was used as a song for a coming-of-age NTV drama, "Half-Potato na Ore Tachi"（ハーフポテトな俺たち....Us Half-Potatoes） which involved the turbulent lives of some high school sophomores via part-time work at a hamburger shop. One of the cast members happened to be a young Miki Imai（今井美樹） just before her singing debut. The drama also profiled a couple of other Rebecca songs as its opening and ending themes, including their big hit, "Friends".

As for the album, "REBECCA IV -- Maybe Tomorrow", it hit the No. 1 spot twice in November right after its release and even enjoyed an extended stay at the top spot for most of February 1986. Despite the late release date, the album managed to be ranked No. 45 on the 1985 yearly chart and went all the way up to No. 3 for the annual Oricon album chart the following year. Pretty darn inspirational there, too. And I think that final track should be used as a rallying cry for any high school sports team.