青い影
中西圭三 Lyrics

These lyrics are about a person who regrets not going to meet someone they loved during a summer long ago. The singer is on a train, looking out the window at the city lights of their lover's town, and remembers the map of that town that the lover drew for them instead of saying goodbye. The imagery of the blue shadows and the smiling lover doing a slow turn on the staircase conveys a sense of wistfulness and longing for what could have been. The singer wishes they had called out the lover's name and gone to meet them, but now the train is stopping at the empty station where they got off, and soon the memory of the lover and the station will disappear.

The repetition of "cherie, oh cherie my love" adds to the nostalgic and romantic tone of the lyrics. The regretful tone is emphasized by the lines "how come, cherie, oh cherie my love, I should have gone to meet you that summer" and "how come, cherie, oh cherie my love, I should have called out your name at that time." The train and the disappearing station represent the passage of time and the fleeting nature of memories and relationships.