They were formed in the late 1970's at the suggestion of A&R of the Yamaha Music Foundation. After the hit single "Banri no Kawa" in 1980, they produced several smash hits irregularly throughout the 1980's. However, thanks to Aska's hit solo single "Hajimari wa Itsumo Ame" in 1991, and several powerful tieups with TV programs, their popularity peaked during the first half of the 1990's. In those days, they released 5 million-selling hits "Yah Yah Yah", "If", "Heart", "Meguriai", and their most well-known "Say Yes" in 1991 is the sixth best-selling single in Japan.[3]
They attempted to spread their market worldwide, especially to the United States. They were the first Japanese musicians who appeared on MTV Unplugged. After failing to achieve mainstream success in the West, and the decline of their enormous commercial success in the mid '90s, they turned to their own solo works. However, they have continued to release material as a duo somewhat irregularly since then. In 1996, perhaps as a last ditch effort to crack the West, Yamaha released a compilation of cover versions by Western artists (Maxi Priest featuring Shaggy, Lisa Stansfield, Chaka Khan, Michael Hutchence, Alejandro Sanz, Cathy Dennis, Apache Indian, Boy George, Richard Marx, Londonbeat, Marianne Faithfull, and Wendy Matthews).
In 2019, Aska officially left the duo.
two of us
CHAGE & ASKA Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
次の交差点 右へ
ゼブラを渡れば
クリーム色の 古いマンション
そこがふたりの始まりの場所
夢の卵を暖めていた
エレベーターを降りたら
突き当たりを 右へ
ドアを開ける
そこがふたりの始まりの部屋
結末を知らない 君と僕さ
この街の隅で 泣いたり笑ったり
無邪気なふたりが 手を振る
閉じ込めた記憶に 蘇る場面
短すぎるカーテン
笑いながら付けた
窓の外には 首都高
息をひそめ忍び足 非常階段 右へ
契約違反の犬をコートで隠し
連れ出す
通りへ出たらふたりと一匹
弾むように駆け出す 真夜中すぎさ
この街の隅で 泣いたり笑ったり
確かにふたりは 溶け合ってた
風の便りも 今は届かない
いくつもの季節が 通りすぎた
ひとり車走らす 首都高
戻れない ふたりは
何を見たんだろう
思い出の すべてが
取り壊されるらしい
すべてが...
この街の隅で 泣いたり笑ったり
あの頃のふたりに 手を振ろう
風の便りも 今は届かない
いくつもの季節が 通りすぎた
ひとり車走らす 首都高
道玄坂登りきって
次の交差点 右へ
ゼブラを渡れば
クリーム色の 古いマンション
The lyrics to CHAGE & ASKA's song "Two of Us" paint a nostalgic picture of a couple's memories in a city. The song begins by describing their starting point, a cream-colored old apartment building located at the top of a hill called "Michi no Saka." This place was where they nurtured their dreams and where their journey together began.
As they leave the elevator and turn to the right at the dead end, they use a unique key to open the door to their starting room, a place full of possibilities and uncertainty. The lyrics express that they don't know the outcome of their story, but they are together, facing the world as a pair. In this city's corner, they have experienced both tears and laughter, always innocent and carefree.
The lyrics continue with references to specific scenes and memories, such as the short curtain they installed while laughing, the view of the elevated highway outside the window, and their sneaky escape through the emergency staircase with their forbidden dog. The couple is portrayed as energetic and adventurous, running freely through the city streets in the middle of the night. Time passes by, seasons change, and they can no longer hear the whispers of the wind.
The song's lyrics conclude with a sense of loss and inevitability. The couple can no longer go back to that place. The memories of their past are on the verge of being demolished, as if everything they once knew is disappearing.
Overall, "Two of Us" is a sentimental song that reflects on the ups and downs, joy and sorrow, and the unstoppable passage of time in a relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
道玄坂登りきって
After climbing up the steep Dogenzaka hill
次の交差点 右へ
At the next intersection, turn right
ゼブラを渡れば
Crossing the zebra crossing
クリーム色の 古いマンション
There stands an old cream-colored apartment building
そこがふたりの始まりの場所
That is the place where the two of us began
夢の卵を暖めていた
We were nurturing our dreams
エレベーターを降りたら
After getting off the elevator
突き当たりを 右へ
Turn right at the dead end
世界にふたつだけの鍵を使い
Using the only two keys in the world
ドアを開ける
We open the door
そこがふたりの始まりの部屋
That is the room where the two of us began
結末を知らない 君と僕さ
With you and me, not knowing the ending
この街の隅で 泣いたり笑ったり
In the corner of this town, we cried and laughed
無邪気なふたりが 手を振る
The innocent two of us wave our hands
閉じ込めた記憶に 蘇る場面
Scenes revive in our locked-up memories
短すぎるカーテン
The curtains that are too short
笑いながら付けた
We put them up while laughing
窓の外には 首都高
Outside the window, there is an expressway
息をひそめ忍び足 非常階段 右へ
Quietly, on tiptoes, we move toward the emergency staircase on the right
契約違反の犬をコートで隠し
Hiding a dog that violates the contract in a coat
連れ出す
We take it outside with us
通りへ出たらふたりと一匹
When we step out onto the street, the two of us and one dog
弾むように駆け出す 真夜中すぎさ
We start running, as if bouncing, in the late midnight
確かにふたりは 溶け合ってた
Certainly, the two of us were melting together
風の便りも 今は届かない
Even the news of the wind doesn't reach us anymore
いくつもの季節が 通りすぎた
Many seasons have passed by
ひとり車走らす 首都高
Driving alone on the metropolitan expressway
戻れない ふたりは
We cannot go back, the two of us
何を見たんだろう
I wonder what we saw
思い出の すべてが
All of our memories
取り壊されるらしい
Seem to be demolished
すべてが...
Everything...
あの頃のふたりに 手を振ろう
Let's wave our hands to the two of us from that time
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: CHAGE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind