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)

東京の女
椎名林檎 Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

おばかさんなの私
あの日別れた人
今夜も逢えそな気がして
ひとり待つ待つ銀座よ

悪い人でもいいの
つらくされてもいい
愛してもう一度私を

霧に泣く泣く赤坂

夢で終わった恋を
今も探してるの
あなたがいないまま灯りが
消えてゆくゆく青山

恋を失くした日から
影もうすいみたい
ひとりで踊ってもはかない
夢が散る散る新宿

どこに行ったらいいの
夜が更けゆく街

私のため息が流れて
霧になるなる東京

Overall Meaning

These lyrics are from the song "Tokyo no Hito -Tokyo Lady-" by Shiina Ringo. The song is about a woman who is foolish and longing for the person she broke up with. She feels a strong desire to meet them again in Tokyo, specifically in different famous areas of the city such as Ginza, Akasaka, Aoyama, and Shinjuku. The woman is willing to accept even a bad person or endure pain for the chance to be loved again. She is searching for the love that ended in a dream, as she feels lost without the presence of her loved one. The lights are fading away, creating a sense of loneliness and sadness. The song portrays a sense of longing and yearning for love in the busy and bustling city of Tokyo.

Line by Line Meaning

おばかさんなの私
I am a silly person

あの日別れた人
The person I separated from that day

今夜も逢えそな気がして
I have a feeling that we will meet again tonight

ひとり待つ待つ銀座よ
Waiting alone in Ginza

悪い人でもいいの
Even if they are a bad person

つらくされてもいい
It's alright to be treated badly

愛してもう一度私を
Love me once again

霧に泣く泣く赤坂
Crying in Akasaka amidst the fog

夢で終わった恋を
The love that ended in a dream

今も探してるの
I am still searching for it

あなたがいないまま灯りが
The lights are still on without you