Fukinoto -- Go-gatsu （5月）

 

Indeed, May has arrived in these parts. I went out to get the newspaper in a T-shirt and gym shorts. Well, the temperature did say that it was 11 degrees Celsius this morning and I managed to have that brisk walk to and from the store. However, no one told me that there was a stiff wind which brought wind chill factor into play. I didn't react but I did acknowledge that perhaps things were still a little too chilly to be in summer gear.

Once again on another May Day, I tried to find something kayo and appropriate for today. Last year on May 1st, I did write about Kiyohiko Ozaki's（尾崎紀世彦）"Furusato no Go-gatsu"（ふるさとの五月）, a poignant folk/pop number that was released back in 1995 as the singer's penultimate single. Well, I discovered another folksy kayo for this May 1st that originated right in the decade when the genre had been at its most popular.

The simply named "Go-gatsu" (May Song) was a track on the 2nd album "Futari Nori no Densha"（ふたり乗りの電車...Train For Two） recorded by folk duo Fukinoto（ふきのとう）back in June 1975. All the way back in April 2013, I introduced the duo consisting of Yasuyo Yamaki（山木康世） and Motoyoshi Hosotsubo（細坪基佳）for their jaunty if bittersweet "Hitori no Fuyu Nara Kuruna"（ひとりの冬なら来るな）which they recorded in 1982. I first heard it on "Sounds of Japan" and delighted in it not only because of that happy-go-lucky rhythm but its arrangement including synthesizers.

"Go-gatsu" comes from the mid-1970s so it is quite the pure folk song without the computerized equipment. In fact, I'd say with the elegant strings included in Ichizo Seo's（瀬尾一三）arrangement of Hosotsubo's melody, the folk almost veers into Fashion Music territory although maybe the name of that sub-genre hadn't been coined as of yet. Regardless, it's a lovely down-to-earth tune about how wonderful a spring month May is. "Futari Nori no Densha" peaked at No. 37 on Oricon selling about 28,000 records.