The Village Singers -- Barairo no Kumo（バラ色の雲）

 

When I hear about the Group Sounds band The Village Singers（ヴィレッジ・シンガーズ）, the go-to song that comes to mind is the cheerful and laidback "Amairo no Kami no Otome"（亜麻色の髪の少女）from 1968. It has since gone on to become a kayo classic.

About half a year earlier in August 1967, The Village Singers also had another hit in the form of "Barairo no Kumo" (Rose-Coloured Clouds). Via J-Wiki, according to the liner notes in another major CD collection for the late composer Kyohei Tsutsumi（筒美京平）who had made this one of his earliest compositions, the title originated through lyricist Jun Hashimoto（橋本淳）whose father was poet Junichi Yoda（与田凖一）; apparently, Hashimoto picked up the secret from his father and fellow literati that listeners' and readers' imaginations can be aroused through the intriguing usage of abstract words. Personally though, I think rose-coloured clouds can exist depending on the time of day and the angle, but that's about as far as I will go on my theories.

In any case, "Barairo no Kumo" has got quite the urgent rhythm compared to the relaxing "Amairo no Kami no Otome" as the protagonist in the song looks on those titular clouds in the sky as he pines for that woman he left behind in her hometown. There's also some good power through the popping percussion and the sharp strings. The song managed to hit No. 2 on Oricon.