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I would like to give credit where credit is due. Videos are from YouTube and other sources such as NicoNico while Oricon rankings and other information are translated from the Japanese Wikipedia unless noted.

Monday, January 24, 2022

Kenji Sawada -- Sakaba de DABADA(酒場でDABADA)

 

It would take a Kenji Sawada(沢田研二)to sing out a song about drinking and death and their connection, and indeed this did come out as "Sakaba de DABADA" (DABADA at the Bar), Julie's 31st single released in September 1980.

Written by Yu Aku(阿久悠)and composed by Kisaburo Suzuki(鈴木キサブロー), maybe this rollicking number could be heard as an example of City Rock, punctuated for emphasis with that scatting by Kenji (the DABADA of the title). Aku's lyrics speak of drinking lots, loving lots and living lots before achieving the peace of the grave. After all, life is short by nature; grab the gusto when you can.

Perhaps not many would agree with Julie but hey, that's fine. "Sakaba de DABADA" makes for a good barhopping song while walking (or ambling) throughout Shinjuku's Golden Gai or Yokohama's Chinatown. Certainly, Sawada's dissipated look on the cover of the single says it all. He only needs a couple of aspirin and he'll be right as rain once more. Anyways, the song peaked at No. 14 on Oricon.

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