Japan has yet another long weekend for vacationers to savor during the holiday month of August. Monday August 11th is officially Mountain Day so perhaps citizens can watch in awe at Mt. Fuji or any of the local mountains...or simply climb them, if possible.
I was looking to see if I could find another mountain-themed kayo kyoku and it didn't take long for me to find this one by venerable and venerated bank employee-turned-singer-songwriter Kei Ogura（小椋佳）. If there's one thing that Ogura can do very well, it's wistful and beautiful and he did the same thing with his very short-but-very sweet "Yama ni Dakarete" (Surrounded by Mountains).
Created by Ogura specifically for the 1993 edition of NHK's Kohaku Utagassen, he came in as a special guest to perform his paean to mountains with the entire Red and White teams joining in. In the recorded version, he's accompanied by Algo Gasshoudan（アルゴ合唱団...The Algo Choir）. "Yama ni Dakaraete" would also be the song for the month of June 1994 on the network's "Minna no Uta"（みんなのうた）series. And then, Ogura would return to the 1994 Kohaku Utagassen to perform it once more...this time as an official White team member.
Those sudden rivulets forming at the peaks that year must have been tears of joy from the mountains. Yep, that's real corny!😛
I had Monday off, but I have to work Tuesday. After Tuesday, I will have the rest of the week off. My in-laws live very close to Iwaki mountain so I have gotten some nice views of it and some the hills, too. However, this year my family has been warning me not to explore to much because I might meet a bear. This post's song has that 1950's/60's musical feel to it some how. It might not even be out place in "the sound of music".
ReplyDeleteThe kids' chorus certainly lends that feeling to the song. Yes, please be careful of the bears since they are no longer all that afraid of human beings anymore.
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