Akiko Shikata is a singer-songwriter, musician and soundtrack composer. A t… Read Full Bio ↴Akiko Shikata is a singer-songwriter, musician and soundtrack composer. A tricky artist to categorize, her works incorporate various genres such as neoclassical darkwave, world music, experimental, jazz, synthpop, new age, classical, ambient, and more ordinary Japanese pop, among many others. She launched her career in 2001, with the vocal EP Midori no mori de nemuru tori ("Sleeping Bird in the Green Forest"), which she made on her own using a synth and a laptop. In 2002, she released an instrumental album, Kurenawi, showing various influences such as Caribbean music, traditional Japanese folk and classical piano music. In 2003, she released her first full-length vocal album, Haikyo to Rakuen ("Ruins and Heaven"), showing influences from Old Europe, classical and ethnic music, in which she sang Italian poetry, but also Japanese lyrics and what is seemingly an invented language ("Iuripuka"). This album gained critical success in Japan through the indie music platform Muzie, where it stayed on top of the sales for two years.

Her latest release is the avant-garde album Ayashi (2018) which could be labeled as world fusion.

Come raggio di sol
志方あきこ Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Come raggio di sol mite e sereno
Sovra placidi flutti si riposa
Mentre del mare nel profondo seno
Sta la tempesta ascosa.

Come raggio di sol mite e sereno
(Sovra placidi flutti si riposa)
Mentre del mare nel profondo seno

(Sta la tempesta ascosa.)

Così riso talor gaio e pacato
Di contento, di gioia un labbro infiora,
Mentre nel suo segreto il cor piagato
S'angoscia e si martora.

Come raggio di sol mite e sereno
Sovra placidi flutti si riposa

Mentre del mare nel profondo seno
Sta la tempesta ascosa.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of the song "Come raggio di sol" by 志方あきこ are rich with metaphors and symbolism, describing the conflicting emotions that one can experience. The song compares a peaceful and serene ray of sunshine resting on placid waves to the hidden storm lurking in the depths of the ocean. Similarly, the lyrics describe how a person's cheerful smile can hide the pain and agony that they feel deep inside.

The first verse of the song highlights the duality of nature, how something as beautiful and soothing as a ray of sunshine can exist alongside the potential of chaos and destruction found in the ocean's depths. The second verse presents a similar contrast, the outward joy and happiness that a person expresses compared to the turmoil that exists within them.

Line by Line Meaning

Come raggio di sol mite e sereno
Like a gentle and serene ray of sunshine

(Sovra placidi flutti si riposa)
(resting on the calm waves)

Mentre del mare nel profondo seno
While in the deep abyss of the sea

(Sta la tempesta ascosa.)
(lies the hidden storm.)

Così riso talor gaio e pacato
Just like a smile, sometimes gay and peaceful

Di contento, di gioia un labbro infiora,
Blooms with satisfaction and joy on one's lips,

Mentre nel suo segreto il cor piagato
While in one's secret heart that is wounded

S'angoscia e si martora.
There is anguish and torment.

Contributed by Ava L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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