Happy End -- Ayaka-shi no Doubutsu-en（あやか市の動物園）

The current pandemic has turned a lot of things upside-down and that includes zoos. Over the past few weeks, I've read that the Vancouver Zoo was in danger of closing down permanently, so I'm hoping that the situation on the west coast has been alleviated somewhat. Our own Toronto Zoo has been making a plea for help since it relies heavily on parking fees and admission (and those aren't coming in during the lockdown) to help feed the animals, so it's been going on an emergency fundraising mission.

Found this track on Happy End's（はっぴいえんど）debut studio album "Happy End" released in August 1970. I think the title "Ayaka-shi no Doubutsu-en" has some punny intent. From the kanji for this folk-rock tune, it could mean to say "Ayaka City's Zoo" but there is a term ayakashi（あやかし）that refers to a ghost or something eerie. So it can also mean "Suspicious Zoo".

Lyrics by band drummer Takashi Matsumoto（松本隆）have that playfully scary intent of walking through a zoo in the dark, so perhaps we may have discovered an early Halloween kayo. On the other hand, the addition of that kazoo near the end may be the aural equivalent of a knowing wink that everything's gonna be OK. Bassist Haruomi Hosono（細野晴臣）was responsible for the melody, and it's him and guitarist Eiichi Ohtaki（大滝詠一）behind the mike here.