銀杏BOYZ was formed in early 2003 by vocalist/guitarist 峯田和伸 (Mineta Kazunobu) shortly after the breakup of his band GOING STEADY, who called it quits just before the beginning of a major national tour. The very first recording made under the name was an a cappella cover of the エレファントカシマシ song 「悲しみの果て」 for the 2003 tribute album 『花男』. Mineta recruited GOING STEADY alumni 安孫子真哉 (Abiko Shinya) and 村井守 (Murai Mamoru) to play bass and drums respectively in the new band, as well as guitarist チン中村 (Chin Nakamura) of fellow Japanese punkers Derangements and BOYS NOW. Between 2003 to 2004, the band held constant live performances while working on new music in the studio. The result was two full-length albums, 『君と僕の第三次世界大戦的恋愛革命』 and 『DOOR』, which were released on the same day, 15 January 2005 (coinciding with the 27th birthday of Murai). The albums reached number 6 and 7 on the Oricon Ranking Chart, a major success for an indie band. The band then started a nationwide tour, but due to several injuries and bone fractions caused by the members' highly energized performances, many tour dates were postponed. When performing at the annual Rock in Japan Festival that year, Mineta was brought in by the police for public indecency. Such incidents were not uncommon for the band, with Mineta being arrested again and fined for nudity during a performance in Taiwan.
In 2006, Mineta and Nakamura formed a side-project named 敏感少年隊 (Binkan Shonen-Tai) and released the single 「サウンドオブ下北沢」. In 2007, 銀杏BOYZ released the 「僕たちは世界を変えることができない」 DVD, consisting of concert and documentary footage, for which a single 「僕たちは世界を変えることができない」 (written by Mineta and Nakamura) was recorded by the unit 「峯田和伸とシックスナインズ」 (Mineta Kazunobu and the Sixty-Nines). The band also released the singles 「あいどんわなだい」 and 「光」, vinyl reissues of their first two albums, and two books entitled 『GING NANG SHOCK!』. The band made two separate trips to the US around this time, during which they worked on releasing the 『Libido』 EP with Phat 'n' Phunky Records (a label run by Bob Vielma of the band Shinobu), performed an impromptu set as a three-piece at 924 Gilman St., and performed again as a four-piece in San Jose at the Cuddle Space. In 2008, the band recorded a cover of 南沙織's 「17才」 as the theme song for the film 『俺たちに明日はないッス』, also releasing 「17才」 as their third single. That same year, 銀杏BOYZ's songs 「漂流教室」 and 「銀河鉄道の夜 第二章 ～ジョバンニに伝えよ、ここにいるよと～」 (a new song that was unreleased at the time) were featured on 『DO! TOKYO HEART』 TV commercials starring actress 宮崎あおい (with the band members also appearing). Mineta wrote the music on the entirety of 板尾創路's 2008 mini-album 『ミュージック』 and appeared on the Kebab Records compilation 『ニャンでもない日には』 in 2009, contributing the acoustic song 「朝立ち」. He also collaborated with TV writer 倉本美津留 on the theme music for the web drama 『Out of Focus』, which was released as the single 「つたわり/つたわれ!」; the song 「つたわれ!」 also featured the other three members of 銀杏BOYZ. Although 銀杏BOYZ releases, live performances and tours became more and more infrequent over the following years, the band began recording their follow-up to 『君と僕の第三次世界大戦的恋愛革命』 and 『DOOR』 in 2009.
Mineta became more prominent as an actor around this time, following up his leading role in the 2003 film 『アイデン&ティティ』 with appearances in 『グミ・チョコレート・パイン』 (2007), 『色即ぜねれいしょん』 (2009), and 『USB』 (2009). 銀杏BOYZ also recorded theme songs for two more films: 『少年メリケンサック』 (2009) and 『ボーイズ・オン・ザ・ラン』 (2010), the former of which included all four 銀杏BOYZ members in small roles, and the latter featuring Mineta as the lead. The song 「ボーイズ・オン・ザ・ラン」 which 銀杏BOYZ recorded for the film of the same name was released as their fourth single. The band also worked on the music for the 2010 play 『裏切りの街』; its 2016 film adaptation used the band's fifth single 「ピンクローター」--which they recorded for the play--as its theme song. The music 銀杏BOYZ contributed to the 『裏切りの街』 play as part of a unit dubbed 「銀杏BOYZと壊れたバイブレーターズ」 (Ging Nang Boyz and the Kowareta Vibrators) was released as the album 『SEX CITY 〜セックスしたい〜』. The band recorded a cover of 遠藤ミチロウ's 「JUST LIKE A BOY」 for the tribute album 『ロマンチスト〜THE STALIN・遠藤ミチロウTribute Album〜』 in 2010. However, 銀杏BOYZ fell into a period of silence after their 2011 「スメルズ・ライク・ア・ヴァージン・ツアー」 ("Smells Like a Virgin Tour") in order to finish their new albums.
Nakamura left 銀杏BOYZ in the summer of 2012, and Abiko followed suit in the spring of 2013. The departure of both members was not publicly revealed until November of 2013; five days afterward, the band suddenly announced that they would be releasing two new albums--『光のなかに立っていてね』 and 『BEACH』--on 15 January 2014, the ninth anniversary of the release of their first two albums. Just before the release of the albums, in December of 2013, Murai also announced that he had left the band. The new albums reached number 2 and 4 on the Oricon Chart. The studio album 『光のなかに立っていてね』, composed largely of re-recordings of those singles released by 銀杏BOYZ in the previous seven years alongside new material, was noted for the unprecedented stylistic shift in the band's sound that it exhibited. Utilising heavily programmed instrumentation that was handled mostly by Nakamura and Abiko, as well as polished and refined production, the band underplayed the raw punk sound previously associated with 銀杏BOYZ in favour of contemporary and classic J-pop influences, especially conveyed by the emphasis on Mineta's vocals in the album's mix. Its companion 『BEACH』, labelled a "live remix album", contrastingly featured loud, noisy live recordings of past 銀杏BOYZ shows (many of which were sourced from the 2011 「スメルズ・ライク・ア・ヴァージン」 Tour) altered by digital programming handled entirely by Abiko, who also mixed the album. Following the release of 『光のなかに立っていてね』 and 『BEACH』, Mineta began performing regularly under the 銀杏BOYZ name as a solo acoustic act. Nakamura completed his Buddhist monk training and moved to a vegetable farm--now the entirely family-owned Suo Oshima Nakamura Farm--with his wife and children. Meanwhile, Abiko founded the independent record label KiliKiliVilla where he serves as the label's "director", also becoming a father around this time while signing, producing and releasing records by young Japanese indie rock bands such as SEVENTEEN AGAiN, NOT WONK, LEARNERS and CAR10. Murai is working on non-musical creative ventures, specifically at a TV company as an associate producer.
Although he had not appeared in any acting roles since 2010, Mineta's acting career seemed to continue just as 銀杏BOYZ returned; he had a lead role in the play 『母に欲す』 (2014), appeared in several episodes of the NHK drama 『植物男子ベランダー』 (2015-2016) and the final episode of Fuji TV's 『恋仲』 (2015), collaborated again with director 田口トモロヲ on the film 『ピース オブ ケイク』 (2015), and finally, played the lead on the TV drama 『奇跡の人』 (2016). Mineta's first recording under the 銀杏BOYZ name after the departure of the other members was a cover of THE BLUE HEARTS' 「TOO MUCH PAIN」, which was featured on a tribute album accompanying some editions of THE BLUE HEARTS' 30th anniversary greatest hits album 『ALL TIME MEMORIALS ~SUPER SELECTED SONGS~』. Aside from 銀杏BOYZ's music, Mineta worked as the supervisor of the 2014 compilation album 『どついたるねん BEST HITS』 by the band どついたるねん, and was featured on the song 「ポコロンチャ」 from the album. As part of his role in the film 『ピース オブ ケイク』, Mineta contributed to the film's original soundtrack and was featured on the 大友良英-written theme song for the film 「ピース オブ ケイク -愛を叫ぼう-」 alongside pop star 加藤ミリヤ, for which he performed in a music video. Mineta also wrote, played on, acted in the music video for, and participated in live performances of the song 「骨」 from 安藤裕子's 2016 album 『頂き物』. Mineta recorded his own version of the song for the closing credits of 『奇跡の人』 (2016), and has since added the song to the setlist for 銀杏BOYZ live performances. Additionally, Mineta was one of the writers of the song 「言ったじゃないか」 by male idol group 関ジャニ∞, released as a single in 2014. A 銀杏BOYZ photobook entitled 『純血』 was released on 15 January 2015--the tenth anniversary of the band's first two albums--featuring photos taken of the band by 村井香 from 2003 to 2014.
For their performance at RUSH BALL 2015 on 30 August 2015, 銀杏BOYZ appeared for the first time as a full band since the departure of Nakamura, Abiko and Murai, with Mineta being backed by support musicians 藤原寛 (Fujiwara Hiroshi) and 後藤大樹 (Goto Hiroki), both from the bands Andymori and AL, as well as 菊地椋介 (Kikuchi Keisuke) from さよなら、また今度ね. In January of 2016, 銀杏BOYZ (Mineta performing solo) embarked on their first tour since 2011, with two new releases following in March and April: the first of them was a DVD/Blu-ray set, 『愛地獄』 (Ai Jigoku), which includes footage from the band's performance at the 2008 Rising Sun Rock Festival, one of Mineta's solo sets in Fukushima in 2015, and the final live appearance of the four original members at the end of the 2011 「スメルズ・ライク・ア・ヴァージン」 Tour. 『愛地獄』 also had a limited run in theaters, and the DVD/Blu-ray release features commentary by Mineta and Murai. 銀杏BOYZ then released the 「生きたい」 ("Ikitai") single which is intended to act as the third part in a trilogy consisting of the band's previous songs 「人間」 and 「光」. Mineta was backed on the single by Fujiwara, Goto and 山本幹宗 (Yamamoto Kanji) from The Cigavettes, replacing Kikuchi. 銀杏BOYZ's festival appearances in mid-2016 at the Arabaki Rock Fest, Viva La Rock and the 「こんがりおんがく祭」 further utilised the support band of Fujiwara, Goto and Yamamoto, prefacing the 「世界平和祈願ツアー」 ("Sekai Heiwa Kigan Tour") which began on June 22 and marked the band's first tour with the new lineup. The tour culminated in a special performance on August 17 entitled 「東京の銀杏好きの集まり」 at Sun Plaza in Nakano. A song Mineta contributed to the radio show 『エレ片のコント太郎』 entitled 「キラキラいいにおい」 (which has been used as the show's ending theme from 2006 up until 2014) was featured as a bonus track on DJやついいちろう's album 『YATSUI MATOME』, released on June 8. As a bonus CD single, 銀杏BOYZ's song 「骨」 accompanied the first pressing of the DVD box set of 『奇跡の人』, released on October 26.
In September of 2016, Mineta was announced as part of the cast of NHK's new weekday morning drama 『ひよっこ』 ("Hiyokko"). Three new titles from 銀杏BOYZ were released on 7 December 2016. Among them was a tribute album entitled 『きれいなひとりぼっちたち』 ("Kireina Hitori Bocchitachi", or "Beautiful Lonely People"), consisting of 13 different artists covering 銀杏BOYZ songs including YUKI, GOING UNDER GROUND, THE COLLECTORS, サンボマスター (Sambomaster), ミツメ (Mitsume), and others. 『ファーストアルバム』 ("First Album"), a photobook, was also released; it compiles photos from the "girl portrait" shoots by photographer 川島小鳥 (Kawashima Kotori) from which the cover and booklet artwork of almost every 銀杏BOYZ release since the 2007 「あいどんわなだい」 ("I Don't Wanna Die") single were sourced. Finally, also available from December 7 was a 「ムック」 ("mook", or magazine-book hybrid) entitled 『銀杏BOYZぴあ』 ("Ging Nang Boyz Pia"), documenting the activities of 銀杏BOYZ since January of 2014.
On 15 February 2017, 銀杏BOYZ released a singles collection cassette tape entitled 『ラストラーダ』 ("La Strada"). After announcing three tour dates across May and June, 銀杏BOYZ revealed that they would be holding a live event on 13 October 2017 under the title 「日本の銀杏好きの集まり」 at the legendary Nippon Budokan arena. In the lead-up to the event, 銀杏BOYZ released three singles across July, August and September: 「エンジェルベイビー」 ("Angel Baby") on 26 July; 「骨」 ("Hone") on August 30; and 「恋は永遠」 ("Koi wa Eien") on September 27. 『ひよっこ』 ("Hiyokko") began its 156-episode long run on 3 April, with Mineta in a prominent supporting role as 小祝宗男, the uncle of the protagonist. 銀杏BOYZ's Tokyo date on 28 May saw the band debuting a new support lineup, with 加藤綾太 (Katou Ryouta) from ポニーテールスクライム and 2 playing guitar (in addition to Mineta and Yamamoto), and 岡山健二 (Okayama Kenji) from classicus and andymori replacing 後藤大樹 (Hiroki Goto) on drums (as he had, coincidentally, done previously in andymori).
なんて悪意に満ちた平和なんだろう
銀杏BOYZ Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
手首切っちまうー ポアされっちまうー
ココアカラーの南の空を
マグマ大使が飛んでぐべや 工藤静香やね
リンリン鈴虫が鳴いています
そんな時 僕はちょびっとセンチメンタル
平和なんだろう
平和なんだろう
あなたの正義がコンドーム着けたまま
可愛いあの娘の××××に突き刺さる
国際貿易センタービルの65階に突き刺さる
日本代表ゴールネットに突き刺さる
リンリン鈴虫が鳴いています
そんな時 僕はちょびっとセンチメンタル
ああ なんてイカ臭い愛と自由だろう
愛と自由だろう
愛と自由だろう
エルサレムの子供たち 手をつないでつないで
その最後の手が僕まで届けばいい
一緒に世界をぶっ潰してやる
一緒に世界をうんこだらけにしてやる
リンリン鈴虫が鳴いています
そんな時 僕はちょびっとセンチメンタル
名も無き路地裏に今夜も野良犬が吠え
僕はプレイテニス ちょびっとセンチメンタル
ああ なんて不透明な君と僕だろう
君と僕だろう
君と僕だろう
ああ なんて悪意に満ちた平和なんだろう
平和なんだろう
平和なんだろう
In the song "なんて悪意に満ちた平和なんだろう" by 銀杏BOYZ, the lyrics express a sense of isolation and disconnection from the world. The line "僕は世界から仲間はずれさ" translates to "I'm excluded from the world." This feeling of being left out is further emphasized with the imagery of self-harm in the lines "手首切っちまうー ポアされっちまうー," which can be interpreted as a metaphor for the emotional pain and rejection the singer experiences. Additionally, the mention of the South Seas and references to popular figures like 工藤静香 (Kudou Shizuka) and マグマ大使 (Magma Taishi) add a touch of surrealism and confusion to the lyrics.
The song then shifts to a contrasting image of seemingly peaceful situations that are actually filled with ill intentions. The line "あなたの正義がコンドーム着けたまま" metaphorically describes how someone's sense of righteousness can be tainted or distorted, illustrated by the image of a condom penetrating something pure and innocent like a young girl's "××××." The following lines further emphasize this dark theme as the imagery of violence and penetration continues, with mentions of a stabbing in the International Trade Center Building and the Japanese national soccer team's goal net.
The next verse depicts a desire for unity and a shared rebellion against the world's injustices. The lines "エルサレムの子供たち 手をつないでつないで" convey a call for solidarity, with the hope that even the last person's hand in the chain will reach the singer. This union is described as a force capable of destroying the world together and covering it with excrement, expressing a disgust and rejection of the current state of affairs.
Amidst this chaos, the sound of a bell can be heard, bringing a touch of sentimentality to the singer. It serves as a reminder of their emotional vulnerability, even in the midst of their rebellious thoughts. The mention of a stray dog barking in an anonymous back alley and the singer playing tennis further highlight their sense of detachment and melancholy.
The chorus repeats the initial sentiment of the song, emphasizing the paradoxical nature of a peace filled with malice and the unclear nature of the relationship between the singer and the person they are addressing. The overall interpretation of the lyrics suggests a feeling of alienation, the hypocrisy of peace, a longing for connection and rebellion, and a questioning of oneself and the world.
Line by Line Meaning
僕は世界から仲間はずれさ
I feel left out from the world
手首切っちまうー ポアされっちまうー
I feel like cutting my wrists and disappearing
ココアカラーの南の空を
Looking at the cocoa-colored southern sky
マグマ大使が飛んでぐべや 工藤静香やね
Seeing the Magma Ambassador flying, like Kudou Shizuka
リンリン鈴虫が鳴いています
The bell crickets are ringing
そんな時 僕はちょびっとセンチメンタル
At times like this, I become a little sentimental
ああ なんて悪意に満ちた平和なんだろう
Oh, what a peacefully malicious world it is
平和なんだろう
It's peaceful, isn't it?
平和なんだろう
It's peaceful, isn't it?
あなたの正義がコンドーム着けたまま
Your righteousness still wearing a condom
可愛いあの娘の××××に突き刺さる
Piercing into the cute girl's xxx
国際貿易センタービルの65階に突き刺さる
Piercing into the 65th floor of the International Trade Center Building
日本代表ゴールネットに突き刺さる
Piercing into the goal net of the Japan national team
リンリン鈴虫が鳴いています
The bell crickets are ringing
そんな時 僕はちょびっとセンチメンタル
At times like this, I become a little sentimental
ああ なんてイカ臭い愛と自由だろう
Oh, what a squidy stench of love and freedom it is
愛と自由だろう
It's love and freedom, isn't it?
愛と自由だろう
It's love and freedom, isn't it?
エルサレムの子供たち 手をつないでつないで
Children of Jerusalem, holding hands together
その最後の手が僕まで届けばいい
If only that last hand could reach me
一緒に世界をぶっ潰してやる
Let's crush the world together
一緒に世界をうんこだらけにしてやる
Let's cover the world with poop together
リンリン鈴虫が鳴いています
The bell crickets are ringing
そんな時 僕はちょびっとセンチメンタル
At times like this, I become a little sentimental
名も無き路地裏に今夜も野良犬が吠え
Tonight, a stray dog barks in an unnamed back alley
僕はプレイテニス ちょびっとセンチメンタル
I play tennis, a bit sentimental
ああ なんて不透明な君と僕だろう
Oh, how opaque we are, you and I
君と僕だろう
It's you and me, isn't it?
君と僕だろう
It's you and me, isn't it?
ああ なんて悪意に満ちた平和なんだろう
Oh, what a peacefully malicious world it is
平和なんだろう
It's peaceful, isn't it?
平和なんだろう
It's peaceful, isn't it?
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: mineta kazunobu
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@user-uv3wg4nf3z
学生の頃は思想曲だなと思ってたけどこの歌で歌ってる人たちと自分は同じ人間だって実感を持った時すげえいい歌だなと思った
という15年越しの気付き
@shinichi1975
中二病的な歌と言ってしまえば、それまでなんだが・・・俺は好きだなｗ
@user-vq2pt7zw4p
俺には銀杏BOYZが合ってると実感する
@gumlucky7
自分だけタイムスリップしてる感覚や
@user-kn1rf7hw6j
リンリン 鈴虫が鳴いています
そんな時僕はちょびっとセンチメンタル
ああ なんて悪意に満ちた平和なんだろう
平和なんだろう
@bull1347
アイコン一緒で運命を感じた。
@user-fi5wd2hd9d
パレスチナの戦争のニュースをみて来た。皆んなが手を繋げれば良いのに
@user-yv5ii9dx9g
東の空が燃えてるぜ
大砲の玉が破裂してるぜ
@Theyanyako
高円寺に明日でも行ってみようかな。
@xxp7878787878
なごむ歌だなー、。