One of the biggest and most influential bands of the Japanese indie rock sc… Read Full Bio ↴One of the biggest and most influential bands of the Japanese indie rock scene, Number Girl are a quartet hailing from Fukuoka, Japan. Formed in 1995, they gradually gained a following in their hometown, and soon released their first album, School Girl Bye Bye in 1997. The band was later picked up by Toshiba EMI and released their major label debut, School Girl Distortional Addict. Initially somewhat evocative of the Pixies and Sonic Youth, the band evolved and found themselves creating their own unique mixture of indie rock and traditional Japanese sounds in their subsequent albums, Sappukei and Num-Heavymetallic (both produced by Dave Fridmann.

They disbanded in 2002 when it was announced that bassist Nakao was leaving the band, and the former members moved on to other projects - Mukai and Inazawa formed Zazen Boys. Tabuchi formed Toddle shortly after Number Girl's breakup and joined bloodthirsty butchers as an official member after being a guest guitarist for a number of shows throughout their Kouya Ni Okeru tour in early 2003. Nakao joined Spiral Chord after their original bassist left, and shortly after formed Sloth Love Chunks.

The band got back together in 2019 and release their first new song since their disbandment, "排水管" ("Drainpipe"). During this reunion period, Number Girl played a number of shows from 2019 to until their eventual second disbandment on December 11, 2022.

Sasu-You
NUMBER GIRL Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

刺さってる入ってる
ぬかるんでる笑ってる

刺すYOU TOURIMA 辻斬り

刺さってる入ってる
深くずぶってるかなりまいってる

オレなんも悪いことしとらんのに

積年のルサンチマン抱えたやつらごろごろ

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Number Girl's song Sasu-You explore themes of violence, aggression, and internal struggles. In the first verse, the singer describes the feeling of being stuck or trapped, with the repeated phrase "sasatteru haitteru" ("stuck in, entering"). The second line, "nukarunderu waratteru" ("muddied, laughing"), seems to suggest a sense of disillusionment or even enjoyment in this state of entrapment. The second verse is more explicit in its descriptions of violence, with the lines "sasu YOU TOURIMA tsujikiri" ("stabbing, YOU TOURIMA, cutting through the crossroads"). The final lines express a sense of frustration or anger at being blamed for actions or feelings that are beyond one's control: "Ore nan mo warui koto shitoran no ni/ Sekinen no rusan chiman idaita yatsura gorogoro" ("Even though I haven't done anything wrong/ The people who have been carrying long-standing grudges against me are all grumbling.")

Overall, the song seems to be exploring themes of violence and aggression, both as experienced and as inflicted. The repeated refrain of "sasatteru haitteru" suggests a feeling of being stuck or trapped, while the imagery of entering or digging deeper suggests a desire to delve into these negative feelings. The violent imagery in the second verse is contrasted with the frustration expressed in the final lines, suggesting a complex and conflicted emotional landscape.

Line by Line Meaning

刺さってる入ってる
Something is stabbing and entering

ぬかるんでる笑ってる
Despite being in a muddy place, it's laughing

刺すYOU TOURIMA 辻斬り
Something stabs with the intention to kill someone on a mysterious tour

刺さってる入ってる
Something is stabbing and entering again

深くずぶってるかなりまいってる
It's completely submerged, heavily damaged

オレなんも悪いことしとらんのに
I haven't done anything wrong yet

積年のルサンチマン抱えたやつらごろごろ
People who hold grudges accumulated over years are everywhere

Contributed by Hunter P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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