Hibari Misora (美空ひばり Misora Hibari, May 29, 1937 - June 24, 1989) was a Ja… Read Full Bio ↴Hibari Misora (美空ひばり Misora Hibari, May 29, 1937 - June 24, 1989) was a Japanese singer and the predominant figure in postwar enka music. Born Kazue Kato (加藤和枝) in Yokohama, she was an accomplished singer by the age of seven, and appeared in film for the first time at age 12. Between 1949's Kanashiki kuchibue and 1971's Onna no Hanamichi, she appeared in over 60 movies.

In April of 1987, on the way to a performance in Fukuoka, she suddenly collapsed. Rushed to hospital, she was diagnosed with bilateral femoral necrosis brought on by chronic hepatitis. Until August she was confined to hospital and eventually showed signs of recovery. She commenced recording a new song Midaregami in October, and in 1988 performed at a concert called Fushichou konsaato (Phoenix Concert) at the Tokyo Dome. Against overwhelming pain in her legs, she performed a total of 39 songs while assuring her fans that she had completely recovered. However, on 24 May 1989, having been re-admitted to the Juntendou hospital in Tokyo, she died from interstitial pneumonitis at the age of 52.

In July 1989 after her death, she became the first female recipient of the National Prize of Honour (国民栄誉賞) for her longstanding contributions to the music industry.

In 1993, the Misora Hibari-kan opened in Arashiyama, Kyoto. Its popularity with fans and tourists has endured through to the present.

Her most famous song, "Kawa no nagare no yō ni," (1989) was voted #1 in a 1997 NHK poll of the best Japanese songs of all time.

ひとりぼっち
美空ひばり Lyrics

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おお寒い......
冷えるわねえどういっぱい
ところで聞いてくれる
こんな淋しい女のはなし

恋をしたのは二十才まえ
命も夢も賭けたけど
涙で終った初恋は

妻も子もある
妻も子もある相手(ひと)だった
お酒が飲みたいこんな夜は
お酒が飲みたいこんな夜は

北のふるさと出たときは
十六でした肌寒い
粉雪舞い散る停車場で
泣いて泣いて
泣いてにぎった母の指
お酒が飲みたいこんな夜は
お酒が飲みたいこんな夜は

ひとつひとつと数えたら
両手にあまる傷の跡
淋しい女の身の上を
知っているよな
知っているよな弾き語り
お酒が飲みたいこんな夜は
お酒が飲みたいこんな夜は
ごめんなさい
しめっぽい愚痴聞かせちゃって

そろそろ看板だけど
ネッもう一杯いかが......

Overall Meaning

In 美空ひばり's song "ひとりぼっち," the lyrics depict a lonely woman expressing her feelings of coldness and loneliness. She wonders if anyone will listen to her story. She talks about her first love that she had when she was twenty years old, in which she gambled her life and dreams but it ended in tears. Her first love turned out to be someone who already had a wife and children. On nights like this, she longs to drink alcohol to soothe her loneliness.

The lyrics also talk about her memories of leaving her hometown in the north when she was sixteen. She remembers the cold stop on the train station platform, where the snow was falling, and she cried and clung to her mother's hand. Again, on nights like this, she desires to drink alcohol.

The lyrics suggest a sense of longing, pain, and isolation experienced by the woman. Despite the passage of time and the accumulation of scars, she feels that her story is known by others, as if they understand the plight of a lonely woman. The song portrays her desire to drown her sorrows in alcohol on such nights.

ひとりぼっち美空ひばり Lyrics

ひとりぼっち
美空ひばり Lyrics