Translated from Pakila Music, 2009.02.18
Original Text: Tomonori Nakazawa.
Since I wanted the reaction inherent in a "genuine love song", I didn't write specific words into the lyrics. Rather, thinking, "It's good for just the title to shine through", I called it "Sleeping Beauty".
Acid Black Cherry's seventh single, "Nemurihime", has been born. It is a song carrying a very tender tone and color. But, lurking in the depths of this song...? We thought to ask yasu for his straightforward thoughts regarding the fascination of "Nemurihime".
No, it's not that she's dead. She's sleeping.
Congratulations on the release of "Nemurihime". Was this a song you finished recently?
yasu: The lyrics I finished around the end of last year, with the thought that I'd be making the next song into a single. The demo tape, as well, was finished accordingly at the end of last year.
So, this was something you had always been holding on to, you were just waiting for the right time to release it.
By no means was it just sleeping dormant, waiting for approval or anything like that. It's just something that I had in my stock, because I'm constantly writing songs. So, rather, I chose this song out of my stockpile, after having a conversation with some people and it was decided, "Let's do something with the vocal line as the emphasis."
Do you always choose your songs this way?!
A lot of them. Actually, when we were still going to the meetings to choose the next song, the members of my staff had put their support behind a different song. But to me, keeping in mind the keyword of utamono[1], I was thinking, "What about this song?!" and so I asked them to consider it, like, "What if we do this one?" At first, I had a strong reaction to several of my other songs, but the reaction to this one was pretty weak (Laughs). But, eventually, we decided on this one after all (Laughs).
No, I think that was the right decision, since when you listen to it, it really pierces the heart. I'm really curious to hear your thoughts from when you were writing the lyrics for "Nemurihime".
The first thought I had was, "Let's do a love song". But, as I expected, I didn't want to do your usual love song. Of course, its having the audibility of a general love song is nice, and I think the actual song itself can work its way into your head in the same way that the standard love song can. But, it also became a song that has another side hidden in it, if you really take a close look at the lyrics and unravel what's there.
The girl in the story, is she dead?!
No, it's not that she's dead. She's sleeping.
But, why did you make a sleeping girl the heroine?
Actually, one of my friends has an aquaintance whom, while they are not a vegetable, is in a coma and has been for some time. This aquaintance is the boyfriend of one of my fellow female musicians, you see. It seems that this friend's boyfriend suddenly fell ill with an extremely high fever that didn't ever go down, and their body just stayed in that condition. Eventually, he was hospitalized, but by the time they got him to the hospital, he had already lost consciousness, and they couldn't revive him. As his girlfriend and lover, my friend continues to take care of him, even now. I talked with her, and certainly the lyrics were born of a conversation we had:
"Since he came into this state so suddenly, it's better for me to be watching his condition closely."
"I'm sure, if it were me, if it was my lover, I might not be able to abandon everything to take care of her."
The lyrics didn't come to me right at that moment, but when I was thinking of a love song, I remembered what she had told me and thought, "Maybe that's true love.", and that's how it became the motif behind the lyrics of "Nemurihime".
If I could bring out in a song the "feeling of love" that exists between two people, even a little...
That's the setting in the words of "Nemurihime".
It wasn't that I wanted it to feel like a conversation in particular. For me, as an example, there's the logo for Victor, right?
You mean, that advertisement where there's that dog sitting at attention at the gramophone?!
Right. I've heard that dog is meant to be listening to the voice of his late master playing over that gramophone. It seems that they thought the idea of a pet dog listening to the voice of his master gave a pleasant image to the company. But, if you say that voice is from a master who is already dead, it's really painful emotionally, isn't it? "Nemurihime" is steeped in that feeling. I wanted to depict that level of "pure emotion".
Returning to the conversation about the boyfriend who went into a coma and his girlfriend, that woman is always standing at his bedside, not knowing when or if he'll come back. You can't do something like that if the love you feel isn't true love, huh...
Right. Of course, it's terrible for the person in the coma, too. I think he, too, has the same troubles and hardships as the girlfriend who is there taking care of him. Even though he is fighting while locked away in himself, I believe he is able to keep fighting because of the irreplaceable love she offers him for doing nothing at all.
Certainly.
If people are relatives, or lovers who can do nothing for one another but marry, honestly there's no way to know how long the love between them, right? As a result, you don't know if they would be able to take that person on as the biggest burden in their lives...even so, being able to feel that pure love, or as a result of knowing how that situation is, I wrote this song thinking, "If I could bring out in a song the "feeling of love" that exists between two people, even a little..."
In this song, yasu-san, you have also put in what represents "selfless love" to you.
But, that's just because I don't really have a woman in my life who I am in love with right now...ah, I guess that's not the reason why...(Laughs.) Of course, I was writing while concentrating on what it means to love someone, to me. (Laughs.)
If it wasn't for the title of the song being "Nemurihime", there would be a lot of people who would listen to this and think of it as just a love song, since the lyrics do not say things explicitly.
On the other hand, I think that's a good thing. Since I wanted this song to be a "pure love song", I didn't use concrete words on purpose. Instead, thinking "It's good for just the title to shine through", I called it "Nemurihime".
It was a time when women were becoming assertive, and making claims for power. That's the historical backdrop that brings "Serafuku to Kikanjuu (Sailor Uniforms and Machine Guns)" to mind.
You still have your cover series of familiar songs as Recreation Tracks. This time, you've chosen "Serafuku to Kikanjuu", sung originally by Hiroko Yakushimaru (the original of this piece is "Yume no Touchuu", sung by composer Takao Kisugi).
This was one I chose simply because I liked it in the past. Actually, there are a lot of songs that appeared on Acid Black Cherry's cover album "Recreation" that were also written by Etsuko Kisugi. I really feel that the songs she wrote captured a profound insight on that era. I don't really know the details, but Etsuko Kisugi herself not only lived during women's lib, but personified it, right?! Around the time she wrote "Serafuku to Kikanjuu", Japan had embraced peace, and women were really starting to appear at the forefront of society. Maybe you could say it was a time when women were becoming assertive, and were starting to show themselves as leaders. That's the historical backdrop that brings this song to mind.
Did you know about the movie "Serafuku to Kikanjuu" that Hiroko Yakushimaru starred in?!
I was still pretty young, so I don't remember it. Since I still remember that scene where she was saying "Ec..sta...sy...!!!" over the sound of her own machine gun fire, I remember having seen it, though (Laughs). More than that, in my case, I feel strongly the sense that "The social climate is changing to accept strong women" in this song, and that is what attracts me to it so strongly.
yasu-san, when you were 10 years old and in your teens, it was already a time where women were expected to be strong!
Of course it was (Laughs)! In a societal sense, that was the era where the image of the attractive career woman was born, yeah?! In our time, we did put women in power because it was expected, though. Surely, this song reflects a time where we were charging ahead socially.
The last song you worked with, "Hershey", was one of those hidden famous songs, but this time you selected a song that is one of those so-called songs that "depicts an era", and by that there are a lot of people who know it depending on when they were born.
I meant for it to be that way, though. Actually, some years ago, they made "Serafuku to Kikanjuu" into a drama starring Masami Nagasawa-chan, and she did a cover herself, didn't she? Even though I had picked it thinking, "Maybe for younger people, this is one of those unknown famous songs?", as it turned out, her cover was fairly recent, and a hit as well. I became aware of this after I had covered it. (Laughs.)
This time, it's romantic. There's no way I could get away with making this one comedic. (Laughs.)
Now, yasu-san, how did "Nemurihime" turn out for you as one of your works?
I feel good about it, I think. As always, I was able to create it with very strong feelings reflected in it, too. Not to mention that since I am singing this song tenderly, as someone who is wishing for someone to be able to see what I can, it really stabs you in the heart when you listen to it, doesn't it?
Like the beautifully melodious song it goes with, is the music clip something that also touches the heart?
This time, it's romantic. There's no way I could get away with making this one comedic. (Laughs.) I think you'll know what I mean if you watch it.
This is wonderful, but I see that you are holding a special concert on 3/4 in the city for people to be chosen to attend among the purchasers of the single.
Since the details are forthcoming, I can't say anything specifically, but I intend to make this show very special, since it will be the only one in connection with "Nemurihime".
Lastly, may we ask for a final comment?
This time, I think I've done a very tender song that is easy to listen to. As it gets warmer, I think I will be writing more and more songs, so everyone, please listen for them.
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[1] The specific musical style where the vocal line is strongly emphasized over the instrumental line.