MONKEY MAJIK is a band formed in Sendai, Japan in 2000. The band consists o… Read Full Bio ↴MONKEY MAJIK is a band formed in Sendai, Japan in 2000. The band consists of two canadians brothers, Maynard and Blaise Plant, and two Japanese members, drummer Takuya "Tax" Kikuchi and bass player Hideki "DICK". MONKEY MAJIK's music is energetic pop-rock with lyrics in both English and Japanese. One of the Plant brothers, Maynard (blanc.), came to Japan in 1997 as an English teacher and speaks fluent Japanese. He then later invited his brother, Blaise Plant, to Japan to form a band due to the interest of music that they shared. They have 7 original albums, 3 Mini-albums, 16 singles and 3 compilation albums.

The band's first big hit was the single Around The World, the theme song of the TV drama Saiyuuki-Journey to the West. In 2007 they worked on a number of collaborations with other J-pop artists, including hip-hop duo m-flo ("Picture Perfect"), SEAMO ("卒業、そして未来へ。") and the 吉田兄弟 ("Change").

The album 空はまるで (Sora wa Maru de), was released July 25, 2007. 空はまるで is MONKEY MAJIK's fourth original full-length album. The first press of the album includes two bonus tracks from the MONKEY MAJIK × MONKEY MAGIC single. The song 空はまるで was used as the Yokohama Type image song and became the first song in Japanese History to reach #1 on USEN Request Chart before being released.

On September 2008, they released another album, TIME and the album opened its first week at #2 on the Oricon Chart. They also made a collaboration with 土屋アンナ for the song GINGER that was featured in her album, NUDY SHOW! and was used for the Asahi Ginger Draft commercial song.

In 2009 they released two singles: アイシテル and 虹色の魚 / Open Happiness / MONSTER. Early 2010 they released the single SAKURA and a new compilation titled MONKEY MAJIK BEST ～10Years & Forever～ containing songs from thank you to the newest single. The compilation also contains a song titled Fast Forward which was used as the opening theme for the anime Nurarihyon no Mago.

Later 2010, they announced the 6th album and a brand new single. The new single titled ぬらりひょんの孫オープニングテーマ EP contains the tracks Sunshine and Fast Forward, both used as opening themes for Nurarihyon no Mago and the single was released November 24, 2010. The album, titled westview was released in February 2, 2011. They released a compilation album titled RARE TRACKS in March 2, 2011, containing b-sides from singles and random songs used to movies and animes.

The band took a break after the Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami, and in October 26 they released their 15th single: Headlight, followed by the 16th single in early 2012, HERO. In March 7 the band released their 7th original album: Somewhere Out There.

Safari
MONKEY MAJIK Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

広大な草原の真ん中
覗く双眼鏡の彼方
象の行進を見送って
アカシアの木の下で
ボクらの距離近づいた
大地を焦がす太陽に
2人見つめるその先で
ガゼル熱そうに飛び跳ねて

無邪気にはしゃぐキミの
その笑顔に恋をした
Everybody won't you taka a ride
Take a look inside
It'll blow your mind
Take a chance put it all aside
When you're nation wide
You get starry eyed, uh!
Come and join
We can take a ride
To the country side
We'll be side by side
Step aside Jekyll, Mr.Hyde
You are now untied
Take a walk on the wild side
見渡す限りの地平線
覗く双眼鏡の彼方
シマウマの群れの迫力に
目を白黒するキミの
その横顔愛おしい
壮大で肥沃な楽園の
2人見つめるその先に
夕日を背負ったキリン達
アカシアの木の下で
ボクはキミにキスをした
Come and join
We can take a ride
To the country side
We'll be side by side
Step aside Jekyll, Mr.Hyde
You are now untied
Take a walk on the wild side
足跡を残して
その証を示すライオン
力強く気高く
そんなふうに生きたい ...
Only you ...
Only you

Only you ...
Only you

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of the song Safari by MONKEY MAJIK paint a vivid picture of two people on a safari adventure in the middle of a vast grassland. The song opens with the image of looking through a pair of binoculars to watch the procession of elephants passing by, and the two characters moving closer to an acacia tree. The scorching sun is overhead and they watch gazelles jumping playfully around. The lyrics capture the carefree and innocent nature of the female character, who catches the attention of the male protagonist, and with her smile, he falls in love with her.

Line by Line Meaning

広大な草原の真ん中
In the middle of a vast grassland

覗く双眼鏡の彼方
Through the binoculars we peek afar

象の行進を見送って
Watching over the elephant's procession

アカシアの木の下で
Beneath the acacia tree

ボクらの距離近づいた
Our distance got closer

大地を焦がす太陽に
Under the scorching sun

2人見つめるその先で
The two of us gazing ahead

ガゼル熱そうに飛び跳ねて
The gazelles jumping up and down with excitement

無邪気にはしゃぐキミの
Your carefree playful demeanor

その笑顔に恋をした
I fell in love with that smile

Everybody won't you take a ride
Everyone, won't you come along for a ride