Motohiro Hata -- Nagori Yuki（なごり雪）

 

Although Torontonians learn never to say never when it comes to seasonal events such as snow, and yes, snow has fallen here in May, I think that we can all finally breathe some relief and perhaps do things such as change our snow tires back to summer ones. If you are Torontonian and you read this article, knock on wood firmly...just to be on the safe side.😉

Now, this is a song that I heard a few months ago on the "Weather Music" segment of "Weathernews Live" when snow was still all too real a thing in my neck of the woods. "Nagori Yuki" (Winter's-End Snow) has been a favourite of mine when I first heard it by 70s aidoru Ikue Sakakibara（榊原郁恵）on the 1982 edition of the Kohaku Utagassen and then heard the most famous 1975 cover version by folk singer Iruka（イルカ）. The original version was by folk band Kaguyahime（かぐや姫）and placed on their 1974 4th album, "Sankai Tate no Uta"（三階建ての詩...Three-Floor Poem). 

The "Weather Music" segment had singer-songwriter Motohiro Hata（秦基博）perform his own take on "Nagori Yuki" and it still retains that wistful and woodsy flavour of the 1970s versions. There is nothing over-the-top here...it's Hata and his guitar for the most part, and that is all that is needed to send the emotion out to people. Hata's version was a track on an extra CD that was only available in the first pressings of his October 2010 3rd album "Documentary" which hit No. 3 on Oricon.