Knowing singer-songwriter Mieko Nishijima（西島三重子）since the early years of listening to "Sounds of Japan" on CHIN-FM here in Toronto, I've come to know her for her wistful creations delivered through her tenderhearted vocals.
There is her 2nd single and perhaps her first big hit "Ikegami Sen"（池上線）and then her 4th single, "Gin Lime"（ジンライム）, which is closer to some evening City Pop. Both were written by Jun'ei Sato（佐藤順英）and composed by Nishijima, as was the case with her very first single, "Nondakure" (The Drunk).
Nishijima's debut single from September 1975 is a very sad and folksy one, punctuated by a crying guitar, as Sato's lyrics describe a tragic fellow who's been brushed off as some perpetually drunk loser living inside a bottle. However, what got him to steadily drink himself into a hole is the sudden disappearance and death of the love of his life. There's no mention about how she ended up leaving this mortal coil, whether by accident or murder...only that because of that incident, the guy has been completely obliterated. From what I know of Nishijima's discography, "Nondakure" is very much in keeping with the folksier music that she would continue to create thereafter and it's the type of song that would be perfect in an intimate setting, although I don't think that it would be the happiest thing to be performed in a bar.
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