椎名林檎 (Shiina Ringo, also sometimes spelled "Sheena Ringo" or "Shéna Ringö")… Read Full Bio ↴椎名林檎 (Shiina Ringo, also sometimes spelled "Sheena Ringo" or "Shéna Ringö"), born November 25, 1978 in Saitama and raised in Fukuoka, is a Japanese singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist. Her family name is Shiina (椎名) and she chose to perform as Ringo instead of her birth name Yumiko (裕美子) because - as a shy child - her cheeks would blush red like an apple (the fruit being 'ringo' in Japanese).

After quitting school to enter a musical contest, Shiina was quickly signed to EMI, then promptly left Japan to avoid the trappings of contract work. After returning, she quickly released a series of singles and albums, all self-penned (a relative rarity for Japanese pop artists), and all meeting with great success on the Japanese charts. A hiatus to start a family followed, itself followed (after a divorce) by both a new album and a new side project, the band 東京事変. (Tokyo Jihen - or Tokyo Incidents)

After more success with the band, Shiina returned to a solo career in 2006 as the Music Director for the film 「さくらん」(Sakuran), quickly taking the number one slot on the Oricon charts with the album Heisei Fuuzoku released in tandem with a major soundtrack project. Following was a B-sides album which peaked quickly at the number one Oricon slot. In the years proceeding this, she spent most of her time dedicated to Tokyo Jihen occasionally revisiting her solo work.

Despite being involved in the main Japanese pop scene, Shiina has created a niche for herself based on a much wider musical range than most artists. Where most pop singers develop a basic sound based on contemporary pop aesthetics and throwaway lyrical matter, Shiina builds on a base of jazz, rock, Motown, and even French chanson equally well (the chanson works especially well with her trademark nasal delivery), infusing her projects with a very different aesthetic, and gaining a fan base separate from the core constituents of the Japanese pop apparatus.

Despite the release of album 三毒史 (trivisa-itihasa) in 2019, released after a myriad of singles being majorly included in aforementioned work. In 2020, Ringo and band Tokyo Jihen turned their backs to their past, doing a major reunion, with the drop of a few projects, such as sixth studio album 音楽.

Discography

Singles

幸福論 (Koufukuron)（1998）
歌舞伎町の女王（1998）
ここでキスして。 (Koko de kisu shite)（1999）
本能（1999）
幸福論（1999）
ギブス (Gibs)（2000）
罪と罰（2000）
真夜中は純潔（2001）
絶頂集（2000）
茎（STEM）～大名遊ビ編～（2003）
りんごのうた (Ringo no Uta)（2003）
この世の限り (Kono Yo no Kagiri) (2007） (With Saitou Neko and her brother Shiina Junpei)
ありあまる富 (Ariamaru Tomi)（2009）
カーネーション (Carnation)（2011）
自由へ道連 (Traveling Companion to Freedom) (2012)
いろはにほへと (Les Couleurs Chantent) (2013)
孤独のあかつき (The Solitude of Dawn) (2013)
NIPPON (2014)
至上の人生 (A Life Supreme) (2015)
最果てが見たい (2015)
長く短い祭 (2015)
神様、仏様 (2015)
ジユーダム (2016)
目抜き通り (2017)
獣ゆく細道 (2018)

Albums

無罪モラトリアム (Muzai Moratorium) (1999)
勝訴ストリップ (Shouso Strip)（2000)
加爾基精液栗ノ花（Karuki Za-men Kuri no Hana）(2003)
平成風俗 (Heisei Fuuzoku) (2007) (with Neiko Sato)
三文ゴシップ (Sanmon Gossip) (2009)
日出処 (Hi Izuru Tokoro) (2014)
三毒史 (trivisa-itihasa) (2019)

Covers Album

唄ひ手冥利～其ノ壱～ (Utaitemyori Sonoichi)（2002）
逆輸入～港湾局～ (Reimports Vol.1) (2014)
逆輸入〜航空局〜 (Reimport Vol.2 -Civil Bureau Aviation) (2017)

Compilations

私と放電 (Me & Electric Discharge) (2008) - (B-Sides)
ニュートンの林檎 (Apple of Universal Gravity) (2019) - (Overview)

夢のあと
椎名林檎 Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

ニュースの合間に寝息が聞こえる
期待したよりずっと静か

弦を爪弾けば盛者がまやかし
思えば遠き日結った髪も

手を繋いで居て
悲しみで一杯の情景を握り返して

この結び目で世界を護るのさ

蓮華の咲く頃柑子は実らぬ
期待するのは勝手だと云う

殺めないでと
憎しみで一杯の光景を睨み返して
その魂を果敢に解くのさ

「夢を見る拙さか」麗しき寝顔に問う

手を繋いで居て
喜びで一杯の球体を探り直して
この結び目が世界に溢れたら

ただ同じときに遭えた幸運を繋ぎたいだけ

この結び目で世界を護るのさ
未来を造るのさ

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to 椎名林檎's song 夢のあと describe the aftermath of a dream, where the singer wakes up to the sound of their sleeping partner's breathing and finds that their reality is much quieter than they had anticipated. The singer reflects on the superficial nature of those in power, comparing them to a showman who relies on the appearance of success rather than true talent or skill. The singer also reminisces on their past, where they held onto their memories tightly, trying to protect the world with their own strength through their own experiences.

The lyrics then shift to a scene with a blooming lotus flower, with an accompanying sense of emptiness in the singer's expectations. The singer is then heard imploring to not be killed or consumed by hatred, since they are already experiencing enough sadness. The singer then contemplates asking someone else if their own feeling of being insufficient is causing them to have dreams. The lyrics conclude with the singer wanting to connect their good fortune with that of others, wanting to weave a knot to protect the world, and to create the future.

Line by Line Meaning

ニュースの合間に寝息が聞こえる
Amidst the news, the sound of sleeping breaths can be heard

期待したよりずっと静か
It's much quieter than expected

弦を爪弾けば盛者がまやかし
Strumming the strings is deceiving to the masses

思えば遠き日結った髪も
Thinking back on the past, my tied-up hair seems so distant

手を繋いで居て
Hold hands with me

悲しみで一杯の情景を握り返して
Grasp the scene filled with sadness

この結び目で世界を護るのさ
Protect the world with this knot

蓮華の咲く頃柑子は実らぬ
When lotuses bloom, persimmons do not

期待するのは勝手だと云う
I say it's selfish to expect things

殺めないでと
Please don't kill me

憎しみで一杯の光景を睨み返して
Stare back at the scene filled with hatred