Mariya Takeuchi (竹内まりや) (born March 20, 1955 in Shimane, Japan) is a Japan… Read Full Bio ↴Mariya Takeuchi (竹内まりや) (born March 20, 1955 in Shimane, Japan) is a Japanese singer and songwriter.
Takeuchi started her own career with a single "Modotte-Oide, Watashi no Jikan" in 1978. From the late 1970s to the early '80s, she has recorded 5 albums and several singles including top-ten hit "Fushigi na Peach Pie". Those materials have featured dozens of Japanese and North American distinguished songwriters, instrumentalists, and producers, such as David Foster, Jim Keltner, Jay Graydon, Steve Lukather, Jeff Porcaro, David Hungate, Kazuhiko Kato, Kunihiko Kase, Shigeru Suzuki, Takashi Matsumoto, and her future long-term partner Tatsuro Yamashita.
"Heart to Heart", one of her songs co-written by Roger Nichols and released in 1980, was recorded by the Carpenters two years later, and became the last recording for the late Karen Carpenter.

In 1981, Takeuchi married to a singer-songwriter Tatsuro Yamashita, and stopped her career temporarily owing to the pregnancy. After her comeback to the Japanese music industry in 1984, she has accomplished huge commercial success more than when she was single. From that year to the present, she has recorded 6 successful studio albums that mainly consisted of her self-penned songs, and all of them have reached #1 on the Japanese Oricon chart.

As a singer-songwriter, she has produced 8 top-ten hit singles on the Oricon, including "Single Again", "Kokuhaku", "Junai Rhapsody", "Konya wa Hearty Party" and her only #1 hit "Camouflage".

赤のエナメル
竹内まりや Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

女はいつでも
愛されていると
感じていたいの
So won't you say you love me?

恋人だった頃の赤のエナメル履いて
今宵あなたと二人黄昏を歩けば
忘れかけた優しさとり戻せる気がして

見つめたあなたの目に私はいなかった
なぜ (なぜ) もう (もう) 心かよわない
でも (でも) まだ (まだ) さよならは言えない

コロンを変えただけで気づく人だったのに
ときめいた日のような微笑みもくれない
足もとのエナメルが色褪せて泣いていた
もう一度振り向いて愛をつなぎとめて
あなたと私だけにしか
歩けない道がまだあるはず

もう (もう) 心かよわない
でも (でも) まだ (まだ) さよならは言えない
こと (こと) 私だけにしか
歩け (歩け) ない道がまだあるはず

もう (もう) 心かよわない
でもまだ

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to "赤のエナメル" by 竹内まりや Mariya Takeuchi describe a woman who wants to feel loved at all times and therefore asks her lover to say he loves her. She reminisces about a time when they were lovers, and she wore red enamel shoes, and they would walk together at dusk. She believes that walking with him again and looking into his eyes will bring back the forgotten tenderness between them. However, she feels weak, and her heart cannot handle goodbyes, even though she knows that their relationship has changed, and he doesn't smile at her like before. She sees her red enamel shoes, now faded and crying, and wants to turn back to him and reclaim their love. There is a path that only they can walk on together, and she believes that they still have a chance to have a future together.

The lyrics of "赤のエナメル" evoke a sense of nostalgia and longing for a lost love. The woman's desire to feel loved and to reclaim an old love is relatable and creates an emotional impact. The shoes are a metaphor for the relationship between the two people, and their fading color represents the fading feelings between them. The song's melody and the singer's voice intensify the emotions and create a dreamy, romantic atmosphere.

Line by Line Meaning

女はいつでも愛されていると感じていたいの So won't you say you love me?
A woman always wants to feel loved, so she asks for love

恋人だった頃の赤のエナメル履いて
She wears the red enamel shoes from the time when they were lovers

今宵あなたと二人黄昏を歩けば
If they walk together at dusk tonight

忘れかけた優しさとり戻せる気がして
She feels like she can bring back the kindness that they had forgotten

見つめたあなたの目に私はいなかった
She wasn't in the gaze of the person she was looking at

なぜ (なぜ) もう (もう) 心かよわない
Why (why) is her heart already weak (already)

でも (でも) まだ (まだ) さよならは言えない
But (but) she still can't say goodbye (still)

コロンを変えただけで気づく人だったのに
Even though she used to be a person who noticed even the slightest change (like changing the colon), she wasn't noticed this time

ときめいた日のような微笑みもくれない
She doesn't even give a smile like she did on the day when they had an exciting moment

足もとのエナメルが色褪せて泣いていた
The enamel at her feet has faded and it seems to be crying

もう一度振り向いて愛をつなぎとめて
Turn around one more time and connect their love