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.
Somewhere
Miki Matsubara Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
このままを 続けると 寂しすぎるわ
貴方に似合う人に 最後までなれなかった
しあわせをはかるなら くつのかかとが減った日々
Somewhere どこか 呼んでいる なも知らめ人
Somewhere たぶん 貴方とは 幸運なあやまち
わがままな 女だと 責めておしいわ
時計には０の文字はないと マッチをする音
Somewhere どこか 待っている もう一人の私
Somewhere どこか 呼んでいる なも知らめ人
These lyrics are from the song "Somewhere" by Miki Matsubara. The song is about longing for someone and feeling a sense of incompleteness in a relationship. The singer always finds themselves ending up in the arms of the person they love, but they feel that continuing this way is too lonely. They express their regret of not being able to be the person that truly suits their lover until the end. The lyrics also mention measuring happiness based on the number of times their heels have worn down, signifying the passage of time and possibly the difficulties they have faced in the relationship.
The second verse suggests that the singer believes their connection with the person they love is a fortunate mistake. They feel guilty for being a selfish woman in the relationship and being responsible for any wrongdoings. They mention leaving the room precisely at midnight, as if it's a necessary ritual. The line about the match sound represents the ticking of the clock, emphasizing the strict adherence to time.
The choruses repeat the lines "Somewhere, I am waiting. Somewhere, calling, an unaware person." This suggests that the singer is waiting for another version of themselves or another person who will understand and fulfill their longing.
Overall, the lyrics evoke a sense of yearning, longing, and dissatisfaction in a relationship. The singer seems to be searching for something or someone that will make them truly happy.
Line by Line Meaning
Somewhere いつも 気がつくけば 貴方の腕の中
In somewhere, whenever I realize it, I always find myself in your embrace.
このままを 続けると 寂しすぎるわ
If we continue like this, it will become too lonely.
貴方に似合う人に 最後までなれなかった
I couldn't become the person who is suitable for you until the end.
しあわせをはかるなら くつのかかとが減った日々
If I measure happiness, it's the days when the heels of my shoes wore out.
Somewhere どこか 呼んでいる なも知らめ人
Somewhere, someone is calling, unknown to me.
Somewhere たぶん 貴方とは 幸運なあやまち
Perhaps, being with you is a fortunate mistake.
わがままな 女だと 責めておしいわ
It's unfair to blame me as a selfish woman.
きっかり０時に 部屋を出て行く きまりがいいでしょう
Leaving the room exactly at midnight, it's a good arrangement, right?
時計には０の文字はないと マッチをする音
The sound of striking a match represents that the clock doesn't have the character '0'.
Somewhere どこか 待っている もう一人の私
Somewhere, another version of myself is waiting.
Somewhere どこか 呼んでいる なも知らめ人
Somewhere, someone is calling, unknown to me.
Writer(s): Chouichirou Koizumi, Oda Yuichiro
Contributed by Michael J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@gunsbunsandfun
such a beautiful song, by a beautiful artist. miki was one of the greatest musical artists in the modern world and will live on forever, through her personality, and of course her art. god bless miki
@oliovski1425
I just love the sax solo here
@cholxpunk8881
im in love
@rcshige
👍