Miki Matsubara (松原みき, Matsubara Miki) (November 28, 1959 – October 7, 2004)… Read Full Bio ↴Miki Matsubara (松原みき, Matsubara Miki) (November 28, 1959 – October 7, 2004) was a Japanese composer, lyricist, and singer from Nishi-ku, Sakai, Osaka, Japan.

Matsubara was born November 28, 1959[2] in Kishiwada, Osaka in Japan. She spent her childhood in Hiraoka Town, Nishi-ku, Sakai, Osaka.

She grew up in a family of four, including a father, a mother and a younger sister. Her father was a board member of a hospital and her mother was a jazz singer who had sung with the Japanese jazz band and comedy group Crazy Cats. Matsubara started learning the piano at the age of three and later became familiar with jazz. As a child, she went to Sakai city's Hiraoka Elementary School and then in 1972, entered Poole Gakuin Junior High School. Around this time Matsubara became interested in rock music and joined the rock band "Kurei". In 1975 she started in Poole Gakuin High School and became active as a keyboard player of the band "Yoshinoya Band". They would play songs at a live house called Takutaku located in Kyoto. Matsubara was described as an excellent student and was expected by many around her to attend college, but at that time she had already made plans to pursue her dream of becoming a singer. In 1977, when she was still in high school, Matsubara went to Tokyo alone at the age of 17 to make her debut as a singer. The Japanese pianist Yuzuru Sera found her playing music and singing in various places in Kantō such as in the live music venue Birdland located in Roppongi, Tokyo.

Matsubara started her career in 1979 and is known from hit songs such as her debut and immediate breakthrough "Mayonaka no Door (Stay with Me)" which has been covered by numerous artists,[5][6][7][8] including Akina Nakamori.[9] The song was ranked 28th on the Oricon Chart,[10] and according to that chart sold 104,000 copies and 300,000 copies announced by Canyon records. Some of her other known songs were "Neat na gogo san-ji (ニートな午後3時)" and "The Winner" among others.

After the release of the song "Neat na gogo san-ji" Matsubara became a well-known singer during that time. She was offered by many to perform in college festivals, concerts and so on. The song even gained a feature in a commercial of the famous Japanese multinational personal care company Shiseido, only less than two years after her debut.[3]

Miki Matsubara received a number of artist awards.[1] Amidst her career, she formed her own band called Dr. Woo.[3] Matsubara also had some international work with Motown jazz fusion group Dr. Strut in Los Angeles (becoming a backing band in the album recordings for "Cupid" and "Myself"), Tokyo and Osaka (Hall concerts), later releasing a jazz cover album entitled "BLUE EYES". In that album she covered some famous jazz songs like "Love for sale", she also covered the soft rock song "You've Got A Friend" originally written and sung by Carole King.[11]

Her vocal range was that of a mezzo-soprano.

During her music career she released 8 singles, and 12 albums. Despite her work being mainly domestic, outside of Japan she was also known for her work as an anime singer and songwriter, singing the opening and ending songs to anime such as Dirty Pair: Project Eden, although recently with the popularization of city pop her other work has gained overseas fans as well.[12] While singing theme songs for the anime Gu Gu Ganmo, she performed under the name Suzie Matsubara (スージー・松原). Matsubara's song "THE WINNER" was used as the opening for the Gundam OVA-series Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory.

From the 1990's forwards she especially worked on anime soundtracks and music for commercials. Matsubara composed songs for a couple of anime, some of her most known musical compositions were for the anime series Gundam. Matsubara composed songs for several singers, like Hitomi Mieno, but her most notable works were likely with the singer and actress Mariko Kouda, whom Matsubara composed multiple songs to. Kouda's song "Ame no chi special (雨のちスペシャル)", which Matsubara composed, was featured in the five-minute music television and radio series Minna no Uta as a music video in 1997. It attracted a lot of attention and ranked 28th place in the Oricon chart. The song was repeatedly rebroadcast until 2004.

At the end of 2000, Matsubara sent an email to those around her, including her company and the members of Dr. Woo, stating that she could not continue her music career and that she would not be reachable after the message went out. She stopped all music activities and disappeared from the spotlight altogether. In 2001, it was revealed that Matsubara's actions were prompted by a late-stage cancer diagnosis she had received at the time, after which she subsequently began treatment. Matsubara spent her final years battling her illness.

After being told by her doctor that she only had three months left to live, Matsubara died on October 7, 2004, at age 44 due to complications from uterine cervix cancer. Her death was announced to the public two months later.

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Sannin de Odoranai
Miki Matsubara Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

あの頃私とあの娘はライバル (娘-こ)
クーガの助手席奪い合ってた
あなたの背中しゃ火花を散らして
向き合うテラスでもう仲直り

ブルーな恋をしているの
らしくないねと微笑んで

Dance! Dance! Dance!
三人で踊らない？ねえ昔に戻って
Dance! Dance! Dance!
三人で踊らない？ねえふざけて邪魔して
相変わらずねと笑われたいの

黄昏近くは途方に暮れそう
手当たり次第に電話をするわ
あなたと二人で逢うのが恐くて
あの娘も誘った馴染みのお店

大人の恋をしているの
だけど何かが足りないわ

Dance! Dance! Dance!
三人で踊らない？ねえ悩みは忘れて
Dance! Dance! Dance!
三人で踊らない？ねえはしゃいで転んで
馬鹿なやつだと笑われたいの

Dance! Dance! Dance!
三人で踊らない？ねえ昔に戻って
Dance! Dance! Dance!
三人で踊らない？ねえふざけて邪魔して
相変わらずねと笑われたいの

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Miki Matsubara's song "Sannin de Odoranai" speak about a group of three friends who were once rivals. The first verse talks about the singer and a girl being rivals in the past, and how they used to compete for the front seat of a car. She also mentions how sparks used to fly between her and the guy she is addressing in the song. However, they have now made up and are sitting face to face on a terrace. The chorus encourages them to dance together like they used to.

In the second verse, the singer talks about how she has been feeling lost as the sun starts to set. She has been calling people randomly and is afraid to meet the guy alone, so she invites the girl they were once rivaling for along with them to a familiar restaurant. She admits that she is in an adult relationship but something seems to be missing. She wants to forget her worries and dance with her friends like they used to. The chorus repeats the longing to dance together as a group, and for people to laugh at their silly behavior.

Overall, the song speaks about the nostalgia of childhood friendships and how reconnecting with old friends can help in dealing with the difficulties of adult relationships. The desire to dance and laugh together hints at the freedom and joy that they experienced in childhood and how much they miss it in their current lives.

Line by Line Meaning

あの頃私とあの娘はライバル (娘-こ)
Back in those days, that girl and I were rivals (girl - she)

クーガの助手席奪い合ってた
We fought over the shotgun seat of a Cougar

あなたの背中しゃ火花を散らして
Your back was sparking, as we faced each other on the terrace

向き合うテラスでもう仲直り
But we made up on that terrace where we faced each other

ブルーな恋をしているの
I'm in a sad, blue romance

らしくないねと微笑んで
People say it doesn't suit me, but I smile

Dance! Dance! Dance!
Dance! Dance! Dance!

三人で踊らない？ねえ昔に戻って
Won't you dance with the three of us? Hey, let's go back to the good old days

三人で踊らない？ねえふざけて邪魔して
Won't you dance with the three of us? Hey, let's mess around and interfere

相変わらずねと笑われたいの
I want them to say, 'You're still the same,' and laugh

黄昏近くは途方に暮れそう
As twilight nears, I start to lose my way