Goro Noguchi -- Shitetsu Ensen（私鉄沿線）

The above photo is of the platform of my old subway station, Minami-Gyotoku Station, on the Tozai Line in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture. I took the shot during my 2014 trip there and if you take a look at the clock, it was just a bit before 2 pm so barely anybody was there. Of course, the opposite was true during the morning and evening rush hours. I managed to avoid most of those due to the odd nature of my work but once in a while, I had to join the literal mass of humanity in one of the most uncomfortable commuting experiences known to Man.

Wanted to talk about something more old-fashioned today so I went searching for a 1970s kayo, and found this one by aidoru Goro Noguchi（野口五郎）titled "Shitetsu Ensen" (Along The Private Railway Line) that was released as his 15th single in January 1975. The timing of this release must have been quite good and calculated since there is something quite wistful and melancholy about waiting for a train in the cold weather, and Noguchi's heartfelt delivery of a man reminiscing about a past love who he would always wait for at the station hits the soul.

Found some trivia regarding "Shitetsu Ensen". Apparently, according to a February 4th 2017 Asahi Shimbun article via J-Wiki, there had been some resistance to the title since the naysayers were grumbling that it didn't sound particularly kayo-esque. I was initially surprised by that point since there have been plenty of train-themed songs in the old Japanese Songbook, but again I was reminded that it was the title at issue, and perhaps "Shitetsu Ensen" sounded a little too dry. Maybe something like "Shitsuren Shitetsu"（失恋私鉄...Heartbreak Private Line） was something that they were looking for.

As well, from the same Asahi Shimbun article, there were thoughts that the song had been referring to the Meitetsu Minomachi Line（名鉄美濃町線）that ran through Goro's hometown, but the lyricist Michio Yamagami（山上路夫）actually based the lyrics on his own impressions from traveling on the private train line for the suburbs when he was a young guy.

The composer for "Shitetsu Ensen" was Hiroshi Sato（佐藤寛）, Noguchi's older brother, not to be confused with the two Hiroshi Satos who actually have some standing in the Labels section of this blog. Sato had come up with an earlier hit for his younger brother in "Ai Futatabi"（愛ふたたび...Love Once More） back in 1974, and again according to the article, the pressure to come up with another successful song for Noguchi was so great that Sato ended up with peptic ulcers.

In the end, though, the song became another hit for Noguchi. It went to No. 1 for about 2 weeks and became the 14th-ranked single for 1975, selling around 1.2 million records. He also received his invitation to the Kohaku Utagassen for his 4th consecutive appearance on the show to perform "Shitetsu Ensen". The song also won 3 awards including a Grand Prize for Performance on the Japan Record Awards for that year. It makes me wonder what those title-hating folks were on about.