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)

La solitude de l'aube
椎名林檎 Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

さあまぶた閉じて耳をふさげよ
静かな闇の中に聴こえてくる
君の呼吸と小さな君の鼓動
捕まえたなら解き放てよ

走りだせ地球は大きいから
抱き締めろ命は短い
君の涙を夢を愛を待っている

広い世界が待っている

ああ紛らわすな君の痛みを
淋しく押し殺すな醜くとも
苦しくとも重さに挫けようとも
風は吹いている解き放てよ

与えられやがて奪われる
そんな風に僕らは出来ている
込み上げる想いがあるだろう
叫べばいい君は美しい

朝日眩し水面輝き草木萌えて
花咲き散り夜鷹哭く空月も冴えて

いとしくて涙があふれて
かなしくて星空見上げて

目映い光に目を瞑ったら
僕らいま夜明け真っ直中

Overall Meaning

The song La solitude de l'aube by 椎名林檎 is a song that delves into the feeling of loneliness that one experiences when alone in the dark before dawn. The lyrics speak to the listener urging them to close their eyes and block out all the noise around them so that they can hear the sound of their own breathing and heart beating in the quiet darkness. The singer encourages the listener to embrace their fear of the unknown and to run free because the world is vast and there is so much to discover. The lyrics encourage the listener to set their pain free and not to suppress it, no matter how ugly or sad it may be.

The song’s lyrics suggest that it is our resiliency that defines us. The idea that we are “given everything and eventually robbed of it” captures the transience of our existence. The lyrics encourage us to speak out, to share our thoughts so that the beauty we hold inside of us can be heard. Through the chorus, the song paints a vivid picture of a new day and the beauty it brings, making it clear to the listener that the dawn signifies the chance for a fresh start.

Line by Line Meaning

さあまぶた閉じて耳をふさげよ
Now, close your eyes and cover your ears

静かな闇の中に聴こえてくる
You can hear it in the silent darkness

君の呼吸と小さな君の鼓動
Your breath and little heartbeat

捕まえたなら解き放てよ
If you catch them, let them go

走りだせ地球は大きいから
Start running, the planet is big enough

抱き締めろ命は短い
Embrace your life, it's short

君の涙を夢を愛を待っている
Your tears, dreams, and love are waiting

広い世界が待っている
A vast world awaits

ああ紛らわすな君の痛みを
Don't confuse your pain

淋しく押し殺すな醜くとも
Don't suppress it, even if it's ugly and lonely

苦しくとも重さに挫けようとも
Even if it's hard and pressuring, even if you're discouraged