Chu Kosaka -- Hazukashisouni（はずかしそうに）

 

Welcome to another Hump Day when last weekend was a distant memory and next weekend is taking too much of its sweet time arriving. Then again, for a lot of us residing on either side of the 49th Parallel, we're in the temporal tunnel between Canada Day and The 4th of July so perhaps there are many Canadians and Americans enjoying a holiday. If so, I hope you are having fun wherever you are.

But with Hump Day, maybe KKP viewers can do with something nice and mellow to take some of that edge off the stress. I have found something by the late great singer-songwriter Chu Kosaka（小坂忠）which was the B-side to his October 1973 3rd solo single, "Hayaoki Yama kara"（早起き山から...From an Early Rising Mountain）. "Hazukashishouni" (Shyly) was also the title track for his 2nd album from November that same year.

With Kosaka handling words and music along with co-arrangement credits with Ichizo Seo（瀬尾一三）, "Hazukashisouni" is a sunny and laidback tune adorned with those strings and a Fender Rhodes/electric piano. I couldn't get all of the lyrics but the main line containing the title talks of a girl shyly wrapping her arm around her beau. Hopefully, the beau got a quietly electric response from that contact. Nothing like romance blossoming during a gentle stroll.