Keisuke Kuwata (桑田佳祐, born February 26, 1956) is a Japanese musician from … Read Full Bio ↴Keisuke Kuwata (桑田佳祐, born February 26, 1956) is a Japanese musician from Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture. He is a singer-songwriter and Southern All Stars's leader.

He is a multi-instrumentalist who performs on guitar, bass, drums and keyboard. 'Suteki na Mirai wo mite hoshii'（素敵な未来を見て欲しい） was recorded entirely by Kuwata Keisuke. He played all the musical instruments on this record.

Kuwata directed the movie Inamura Jane, released in 1990.

His wife, Yuko Hara is also a member of Southern All Stars. She was in the same music circle at their university. She likes blues too and they hit it off in a moment. They have two sons.

In July 2010, Kuwata was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, causing him to cancel an album planned for October 20th and a live concert tour to undergo treatment.

春まだ遠く
桑田佳祐 Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

恋を夢見たあの頃
春は何故か別れを知り
もう生きるのさえ
敵わぬような気がした
そしてあなたと出逢って
夏の海で戯れた日
もう繋いだ手を
離さぬように決めたのに

予期せぬ運命が
僕をもてあそぶ
ちょっと抗いながらも
身を任せるだけ
ちぎれ始めた絆に
幸せ過ぎて気付かぬまま
あぁ秋がゆく

窓の外は木枯らし
そっと抱き寄せたら良かったな
言い訳のたびに
昨日までの愛は戻らないと

「いつまでも若く
無邪気に生きようよ」
女はその言葉が我慢出来ないのさ
自分のバカを悔やめど
きっとあなたは出て行くんだろう

春まだ遠く
So long, good-by

Overall Meaning

These lyrics are from the song "春まだ遠く" (Haru Mada Tooku) by 桑田佳祐 (Kuwata Keisuke). The song talks about the nostalgia and bittersweetness of past love and the changing seasons.

The first verse reflects on a past time when the persona was dreaming of love. However, even during that springtime, there was a sense of knowing that separations and goodbyes are inevitable. The persona felt like even living itself would become an unbeatable enemy. But then, they meet someone, and they spend playful days together at the summer beach. They vowed to never let go of each other's hand, but fate plays an unexpected game and starts to toy with the persona. Despite resistance, they find themselves surrendering and getting lost in this unraveling bond. They were so happy that they didn't realize it was starting to break. And now, autumn is passing by, marked by the cold wind outside the window.

The persona regrets not gently embracing their lover when they had the chance. They realize that making excuses won't bring back the love they had until yesterday. There is a line where a woman says, "Let's live young and carefree forever," but that phrase becomes something unbearable for her. The persona laments their foolishness but knows their lover will probably leave them. And with that, they bid farewell and acknowledge that spring is still far away.

Line by Line Meaning

恋を夢見たあの頃
In the time when I dreamed of love

春は何故か別れを知り
Spring somehow knows about partings

もう生きるのさえ
Even living itself

敵わぬような気がした
Seemed impossible to overcome

そしてあなたと出逢って
And then I met you

夏の海で戯れた日
The days we played in the summer sea

もう繋いだ手を
The hands we held together

離さぬように決めたのに
Even though we decided not to let go

予期せぬ運命が
Unexpected fate

僕をもてあそぶ
Playing with me

ちょっと抗いながらも
Even though I resist a little