ASKA -- Sogen ni Sofa wo Oite (草原にソファを置いて)

A sofa sitting in a field, or sitting on a sofa in a field. Well now, isn't that an odd name for a song. The lyrics to "Sogen ni Sofa wo Oite" are equally as cryptic as the the title itself, so I have no clear idea as to what this song is really about. But I'm guessing that I'm just missing out on the implied meaning to it... hopefully. Be as it may, I still enjoy this mostly calming song. It starts of somewhat slow and soft like most ASKA songs I know of, but then pace picks up speed in the couple of lines just ahead of the chorus where it actually sounds pretty angsty, as if the our main protagonist stirred up some unwanted emotions while pondering about stuff as he reclines on the sofa after a rough day, before returning to a comfortable pace.

Whenever I listen to this song, I always envision myself lying on the grass of some quiet grassy hillside on a clear day with a nice view of a prairie dotted with cows or a gurgling river or both down below, the wind billowing away and making the leaves on the trees rustle. Ah, that shall be the ultimate lazy dream for me. No, I don't think I would be lazing on an abandoned sofa on that hill, if I can find one in the first place. Even if I did achieve that feat, it'd probably have some repelling quality that would prevent me from lying on it anyway.

Moving on, "Sogen ni Sofa wo Oite" was released on 12th March 1997 in ASKA's 4th album "ONE", which peaked at 4th position on the Oricon weeklies before settling at 78th by the end of the year. Another song from "ONE" that gives me the similar vibe as "Sogen ni Sofa wo Oite" is the album's first track, "Kaze no Inryoku" (風の引力). That one sounds more relaxing though, its summery music accompanying ASKA's breezy delivery. This album's lyric booklet has got a few pictures of the fella in Vietnam, since he was there all those years ago to shoot the MV for "ID", the album's last track. Oh, and there was the English translation to one of his poem's in the lyric booklet as well, so that's a plus.

While in Vietnam, many locals had apparently mistook him for the popular Chinese action star, Jackie Chan! Huh, wonder how that turned out?

... ... O_O