Ryoko Moriyama -- Aru Hi no Gogo（ある日の午後）

 

Afternoons for the past several months for me have been usually spent at home working or doing the blog. But to be honest, that was the case even before the pandemic. There was the occasional time that I would actually meet friends for lunch outside, but for the most part, the afternoon hours have been spent behind the computer. Nope, it's not exactly the most exciting lifestyle but I'm fine with it.

Things seem more optimistic though for the couple depicted in Ryoko Moriyama's（森山良子）21st single "Aru Hi no Gogo" (One Afternoon). Released in April 1974, it's a gentle mid-tempo folk ballad about the two walking around a temple and perhaps finally finding the words to declare love. As with a lot of J-Folk songs, it doesn't have quite a jaunty beat but it's more in the wistful if hopeful category. That ever-present genre-friendly mandolin(-sounding instrument) brings instant nostalgia.

Lyrics for "Aru Hi no Gogo" were written by Kazumi Yasui（安井かずみ）and the music was provided by Satsuya Iwasawa（岩沢幸矢）, one-half of folk duo Bread & Butter（ブレッド&バター）. I was taking a look at the video right here and thought that this must have been the Kohaku Utagassen, and sure enough, according to Moriyama's J-Wiki history on the NHK New Year's Eve special, she did appear at the end of 1974 to perform the song. That appearance was her 4th of a total of 10 such appearances.