Her music is by tur… Read Full Bio ↴Akiko Yano is a Japanese pop and jazz musician.
Her music is by turns playful, heartfelt, melodic, ornate, and disarmingly simple, reflecting a love of music in all its forms and colors. She handles moody new wave, virtuosic fusion, traditional jazz ballads, straightahead pop, and singer-songwriter folk songs with equal aplomb.
Though she's recorded with many of the 20th century's greatest pop and jazz musicians, her primarily Japanese-language albums have kept her music below the radar of most English-language listeners. She's recorded with, among many others, Pat Metheny, Lyle Mays, members of Little Feat, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Haruomi Hosono, David Sylvian, Mick Karn, Kenji Omura, Jeff Bova, Yukihiro Takahashi, Charlie Haden, Peter Erskine, Anthony Jackson, David Rhodes, the band Quruli, and her son Futa Sakamoto.
Beyond her solo work, Yano has recorded with Thomas Dolby, Yngwie Malmsteen, The Chieftains, The Hammonds, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Kazumi Watanabe, The Boom, Tetsuro Kashibuchi, and Ryuichi Sakamoto. She appeared on the recording "Snowflake" reading a children's story in Japanese with Peter Gabriel reading in English and music by Akira Inoue and David Rhodes accompanying both.
Totsuzen no Okurimono
矢野顕子 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
甘く香る花束
頬をよせて抱きしめる温もり
別れもつげないで
独りぼっちにさせた
いつの間にか六度目の春の日
置き忘れたもの なにもかも
そのままにあるの
あなたの気まぐれに
つきあった仲でしょ
いつだって嘘だけはいやなの
必ず待ちあわせた
店も名前をかえた
この街へまた戻ってるのね
初めて出逢った時のように
心がふるえる
尋ねてくれるまで 待っているわ
皆とはじめた
新しい仕事にもなれて
元気でいるから 安心してね
置き忘れたもの なにもかも
そのままにあるの
幸福でいたなら それでよかった
The song 突然の贈りもの by 矢野顕子, translated in English as "A Sudden Gift", starts off describing a sweet smelling bouquet and the warmth of being held close, without even mentioning who the gift is from. The lyrics then take a slightly melancholic turn, as the singer expresses a wish that the gift had been given before the separation. The singer reflects on discarded items that are left unchanged by time and how, if happiness was contained in them, it would have been enough. The song could be seen as an expression of gratitude, to a former partner or to life in general.
The second verse seems to be speaking directly to the giver of the gift, questioning the sincerity of their relationship, and their tendency to lie. However, despite their misgivings, the singer is willing to wait for them, as if they're waiting for the clarity of their emotions to surface. The final verse is the most hopeful, as the singer reassures loved ones of their well-being while acknowledging that any happiness that was once there, still exists, unaffected by time.
Overall, the song 'A Sudden Gift' has bittersweet undertones and seems to revolve around the themes of nostalgia, gratitude, and time's powerlessness to affect certain things.
Line by Line Meaning
突然の贈物
A sudden gift
甘く香る花束
A sweet-scented bouquet of flowers
頬をよせて抱きしめる温もり
Embracing warmth, pressing cheeks together
別れもつげないで
Don't speak of parting
独りぼっちにさせた
Leaving me all alone
いつの間にか六度目の春の日
Before I knew it, it was the sixth day of spring
置き忘れたもの なにもかも
All the things I left behind, untouched
そのままにあるの
They remain that way
幸福でいたなら それでよかった
If happiness was there, that's enough
あなたの気まぐれに
At your whim
つきあった仲でしょ
We were just going out, right?
いつだって嘘だけはいやなの
I always hated nothing but lies
必ず待ちあわせた
We always set a meeting place
店も名前をかえた
The store even changed its name
この街へまた戻ってるのね
You've returned to this town again
初めて出逢った時のように
Like when we first met
心がふるえる
My heart trembles
尋ねてくれるまで 待っているわ
I will wait until you ask me
皆とはじめた
Started with everyone else
新しい仕事にもなれて
Got used to the new job
元気でいるから 安心してね
I'll be fine, so don't worry about me
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Taeko Oonuki
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Johannes Pong
on Tsuri ni Ikou [Why Don't We Go Fishing]
I don't know why, but I cry every time the 2nd verse comes along. Just this version, not other singers' renditions. Definitely tapping into some collective nostalgia for the innocence of childhood, the sheer beauty & transience of life.
Wahyu Bali
on Tsuri ni Ikou [Why Don't We Go Fishing]
I'm sorry, I mean in Kanji. Lol
Wahyu Bali
on Tsuri ni Ikou [Why Don't We Go Fishing]
Can someone help with the lyric in katakana please. I love to sing it till today and still don't the correct lyric and the meaning. Pleasee.. Much appreciated