Yujiro Ishihara -- Nageki no Melody（嘆きのメロディー）

It's been a good long while since the last Yujiro Ishihara（石原裕次郎）kayo so I figure it is time to put on that trench coat, stick a cigarette between the lips and grab two fingers of scotch.

"Nageki no Melody" (Melody of Lament) is a tango-esque waltz of a Mood Kayo that fits the Tough Guy to a tee. Released in February 1984, it's a typical Ishihara kayo of the 1970s and 1980s in that there is that haunting female background vocal sounding like the cold wind hammering away at a fellow's back, the silky strings, the French accordion and, of course, the Tough Guy's tender vocals. As the title attests, Toyohisa Araki's（荒木とよひさ）lyrics talk about a palooka heading down the Avenue of Broken Hearts and perhaps entering into some hole in the wall for a good slug of Old Parr while bending the bartender's ear. Takashi Miki（三木たかし）was responsible for the shibui music.

I'm not sure if it ever was but I wouldn't be surprised if "Nageki no Melody" had been used as the ending theme for one of Ishihara's cop shows. In any case, this is one for the bars in Akasaka or Ginza.