Shimakura Chiyoko RIP - Jinsei Iro Iro

A great enka singer has passed away and it was big news.

Her tunes were in movies from the 1950s, and here is her big hit, Jinsei Iro Iro.



死んでしまおうなんて　悩んだりしたわ
バラもコスモスたちも　枯れておしまいと
髪を短くしたり　強く小指をかんだり
自分ばかりを責めて　泣いてすごしたわ

ねぇおかしいでしょ　若いころ
ねぇ滑稽(こっけい)でしょ　若いころ

笑いばなしに　涙がいっぱい
涙の中に　若さがいっぱい
人生いろいろ　男もいろいろ
女だっていろいろ　咲き乱れるの

I once wanted to die and I was really in trouble.
I needed no roses nor cosmos flowers and wished they would all die away.
I often cut my hair short and bit my finger.
I thought I would be blamed alone and kept crying all day long.

Don't you think now that was youth itself?
There were things so funny when we were young.

We cried so often for every story.
And there was always a lot of youth in our tears.

There are many kinds of men and there are many kinds of women.
So we women are once in a while free to enjoy our lives.

(...)

Here is a rare live version with Mori Masako (left). Mori-san breaks down, the lyrics must be too close to her own troubles, I don't know, wow, but Shimamura Chiyoko helps her all the way.

You never see this kind of emotion on display today.


Comments

MTC said…
Mr. Frid -

Perhaps that last verse should go:

In every funny story, a lot of tears
Amidst tears, so much youth!

All kinds of lives, all kinds of men
Because we're women, all kinds of ways to bloom in crazy abandon...

4:26 am, November 11, 2013
Martin J Frid said…
Mr. Cucek,

Much obliged, thanks for the improvement.

咲き乱れる "sakimidareru" is literally "bloom in profusion" - a more botanical expression, usually!
10:17 am, November 11, 2013
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