Number: 035
Lyricist/Composer: Yumi Arai
Arranger: Masataka Matsutoya
From Arai's 1976 album "The 14th Moon"
"Samishisa no Yukue" (Where Does Loneliness Go?) brings to mind a Michael Franks mellowness with the strong scent of a signature song right from the electric piano phrasing in the intro. The lyrics speak of a woman internally putting on a brave front, so I was floored by the key lines of "When I stare at the remaining lights of the city, something inside me really ends." This is a masterpiece bringing together the words, music and sound.
The above comes from "Disc Collection Japanese City Pop Revised" (2020).
Hello, J-Canuck here. We've once again come to a Yutaka Kimura Speaks article where I never got a chance to write on the subject song beforehand. I thought I had included it in my posting of "The 14th Moon" years ago but such is not the case, and it's rather ironic since "Samishisa no Yukue" was actually one of the earliest Yuming（ユーミン）tunes that I got to listen to thanks to a friend's gift of a mix tape back in the 1980s. It's just a pity that no original recording of the song currently exists on YouTube although I was able to find an iTunes excerpt.
I guess even Yuming was able to pull off one of those kayo kyoku with the happy melody covering over some sad lyrics, and indeed when I wasn't paying attention to the lyrics back then, I just thought that "Samishisa no Yukue" (nope, I didn't bother trying to discern the meaning of the title either) was one of the singer's more upbeat tunes, and I do love the jazziness that is launched by the electric piano Kimura mentions in his review. However, the lyrics relate the story of a young woman who's contacted by a male buddy after a while. The woman's had deeper feelings for him but it's obvious that he still sees her as just a friend and will probably always do so. The J-Wiki article on the album states that though it's not mentioned implicitly in the lyrics, Arai was writing about one of her own experiences during her student days.
This is a very timely post! There have been more than a few special TV programs dedicated to celebrating Yuming 50th year being a singer. It is hard to believe that Youtube does not have the original recording of さみしさのゆくえ anywhere to be found. I too could only find people covering it. Oh well.......
ReplyDeleteHello, Brian. I'm not all that surprised that original versions of Yuming songs haven't appeared on YouTube. I've noticed that unless they are karaoke cover versions or very aged concert footage, the songs get taken down rather quickly, perhaps by Yuming's orders. I can only hope that the singer's YouTube channel will put it up someday.
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