枯れ葦小唄
三船浩 Lyrics

The song 枯れ葦小唄 (Kare Ashi Komoyo) by 三船浩 (Hiromi Mifune) is a poignant lament about the transience of life, using the metaphor of withered reeds to express the ephemeral nature of human existence. The opening line, "Kaze ni sansara ashi ga naru" (The reeds rustle in the wind), sets the tone for the rest of the song, as the singer reflects on the fact that he and his loved one are like those reeds, destined to wither and die. He wonders if their fate is predetermined by the river they grew up next to and muses on the fickleness of emotions, which can be as fleeting as the current that carries them away. The singer then describes a ritual in which two people parting ways carve their names into a piece of horn that is placed in the water to mark the occasion. He questions why his beloved must leave like this, taking her tears with her on the boat that will carry her away, leaving him behind to mourn her absence. Finally, he resigns himself to his fate, acknowledging that he and the reeds and his beloved are all bound to perish eventually, but asking that at least he might receive a letter from her to sustain him in his grief.

In essence, the song is a meditation on the fragility and impermanence of life, and the inevitability of loss and separation. The imagery of the reeds and the river creates a sense of continuity and connectedness between the singer and his environment, while the use of traditional Japanese symbols such as the horn and the boat give the song a timeless quality. The singer's longing for a letter from his beloved highlights the importance of communication and human connection in the face of overwhelming grief and loss, and the song powerfully conveys the bittersweet emotions of nostalgia, regret, and resignation that often accompany such experiences.