that foreign music blog.

As I was pulling myself through a very rough heartbreak a few weeks ago, I suddenly had the urge to listen to Humpback. Humpback is a three-piece rock band from Osaka, well-known for their songs 「Lilly」and 「拝啓、少年よ」(はいけい、しょうねんよ/ hah-ee-keh, shou-nehn yoh) or “Dear, Boy”. Their honest lyrics about love and life, paired with the vocalist’s unique singing style and the band’s energetic stage presence, have made them a crowd favorite among indie-lovers. I can’t say they’ve gone MAJOR yet, but as far as indie bands go, they’re quite big.

The reason Humpback is relevant is because, without realizing it, I’d come to use the song 「 拝啓、少年よ 」to cheer myself up! I’d sing the chorus and then suddenly began to translate what I was saying:

“Aah, don’t cry anymore. You’re not as weak as you think. Ahh, keep chasing your dreams. It’s not over until you give up.(?? Less confident about the last line, but I feel it’s SOMETHING like that)”

I’m sure you’re not new to this phenomenon: when you hear a song and don’t really start listening to the lyrics until some time after. While I’ve experienced this with English songs, this might’ve been the first time for it to happen in Japanese. Although I’d heard this song a lot, it was like the lyrics had been stored in my brain for future use–as if to expect I’d NEED to hear the chorus. And while the chorus doesn’t relate to heartbreak, I still felt significantly better to hear someone tell me not to feel so hopeless.

The subconscious is so interesting, isn’t it? Though, I suppose it’d make sense for that part of ourselves to pick up on things before we can digest it–whether it be emotions or…even language. As a result, I’ve become all the stronger a believer in using music to aid language-learning. My Japanese friends sometimes discourage it because “it’s not how people talk”, but exposure is still exposure. Also, I think it makes you a lot more accustomed to different phrasings–just like in books and newspapers. Of course the latter would be best for academic study, but I still find a real benefit to using lyrics to understand how Japanese natives express themselves. And frankly, I think that’s the most interesting part to learning a language at all.

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Going with the theme of heartache, I’ll provide some songs with brief explanations of the meanings below:

☆　04 Limited Sazabys 「Squall」(English lyrics in the video!)
A pop punk song about releasing negative emotions and moving towards a positive mindset. The delivery of the chorus is quite cathartic with the slow build in the vocalist’s pitch, mirroring the feeling of letting all that’s bottled up inside, out.

☆ yonige 「さよならプリズナー」さよならぷりずなー/sah-yoh-nah-rah poo-ree-zoo-naah (Goodbye Prisoner)
A rock song about moving on after heartbreak. Looking more closely at the video, the slow removal of the ex’s belongings is a really good way of expressing what’s being said in the song: the initial loneliness after a breakup, and then growing comfortable with the fact of being without them.

☆ TETORA 「今日ぐらいは」きょうぐらいは/ kee-oh goo-rah-ee wah(At least for today)
A rock song about a partner not wanting to end the relationship. I think. Based on the lyrics I can catch like, “I still loved you” and “Let’s try being together”, I think the reason the title is, “At least for today”–I THINK–the speaker is expressing how at least ‘today’….maybe on the day they’re planned to break up, they can see each other again and do the things they usually did as a couple. Something like that.

☆ Mrs. GREEN APPLE 「青と夏」あおとなつ/ ah-o toh nah-tsoo (Blue and Summer)
A pop rock song about summer and summer love….kind of. I guess you can say it’s more about feeling alone in the midst of people finding and being in love during the summer. You wouldn’t guess that from how bright and energetic the song is, though. The chorus goes something like, “It’s the signal that summer has started. I get tired of hurting, but it’s okay. I’ll move on to a new love. This isn’t a movie. Who’s the main character? It’s OUR turn.” My favorite part of the video is the breakdown towards the end that shows one of the characters seeing her crush with someone else. How Motoki, the vocalist, says ‘It’s lonely, indeed it’s lonely. I don’t know if I’ll be able to forget it.’ against the image of her crying is really comforting. The song as a whole feels more like a warm hug; it reassures you that you aren’t alone, and that it’s “our turn” to make this summer a good one.

Anyway, I hope these songs will help you find a bit of peace, as well as some new vocabulary. Happy learning~