In her own words: "Even when … Read Full Bio ↴Sonoko is a singer from Kyoto, Japan.
In her own words: "Even when I was very little, I liked to make music like most kids play games. I always liked stories, movies and music boxes. I really started to think about my own music seriously when I was sixteen. In 1984, I sent my first demo to three labels that I liked a lot: Cherry Red Records, Crammed Discs and Les Disques Du Crépuscule." At that time, Cherry Red wrote Sonoko to say they liked her demo. They offered to make a record and arranged for her to go into studio with Morgan Fisher who was then in Japan. Despite a lot of studio work, the chemistry just didn't seem to be there.
About the same time, Sonoko met The Honeymoon Killers (the Belgian group, not the American band by the same name) who were on tour in japan. They really liked her music and persuaded her to move to Crammed Discs. In 1986 she went to Brussels to work with the Crammed team. Work on the album was done from July to December, 1986, at Daylight Studio in Brussels with Gilles Martin as Sound Engineer. Most of the cuts were produced by Colin Newman with "French Touch" by Aksak Maboul (Marc Hollander and Vincent Kenis). Additional keyboards were performed by Irish composer John Bonnar who has worked with Brian Eno and Dead Can Dance. In 1987 the album ""La Debutante" came out. It got very good press from papers and magazines like Liberation and Melody Maker who cited its provocative inventiveness and the crystal voice of the singer.
Despite uneven distribution and the fact that the European release was only available in vinyl (no CD, they were just the new thing at that time), the album proved to be a long-lasting seller and has built up a large following of die-hard fans. It's become an underground classic and collector's item. After making "La Debutante", Sonoko lived in Paris for seven years, in the 14e arrondissemnt on Passage D'enfer, and then returned to Kyoto. She is currently working with artists in Kyoto and Tokyo on new recordings.
from Sonoko's Official Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/sonokodebutante.
Requiem
Sonoko Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But I have yet to see a cause to believe
(I need to feel it, please just let me feel alright)
It comes in waves of need
Ten ways to make you bleed before you get to die
Can we give it one more shot?
Have we thrown all hope away?
Just to make it through?
This is not a requiem
We're wasting time as victims
Why spend our lives on bended knee
Choosing not to be free
He sighs, "I'm quickly burning out"
All that's left of me are jaded memories
(I need to feel it, please just let me feel alright)
Of what I could have been
If I had only been less of what they wanted
Can we give it one more shot?
Have we thrown all hope away?
Does it have to be this painful
Just to make it through?
This is not a requiem we're wasting time as victims
Why spend our lives on bended knee
Choosing not to be free and we're still here
All together and alone consumed with fear
That one day we'll discover how empty we've become
Sickened and ashamed
We crave what they provide us
So we'll never feel alone
Can we give it one more shot?
Have we thrown all hope away?
Does it have to be this painful
Just to make it through?
This is not a requiem
We're wasting time as victims
Why spend our lives
On bended knee
Choosing not to be free
In this song, Sonoko talks about the desperate need for freedom in our lives. The first verse talks about someone crying out for freedom, but the singer cannot see any reason to believe that freedom is possible. The lines "it comes in waves of need, ten ways to make you bleed before you get to die" suggest that the path towards freedom is not an easy one and involves a lot of pain and suffering before one can achieve it.
The chorus presents a ray of hope that maybe we should give it one more shot and not throw away all hope. The line "this is not a requiem" suggests that it's not yet the end, and there's still time to change things. The second verse talks about the regret of not being able to be who one could have been if they were not pressured by others' expectations.
The pre-chorus talks about the fear of being alone and how we tend to cling on to things that make us feel less lonely, and the chorus concludes with a question, why spend our lives on bended knee choosing not to be free? The song leaves us with a call to action, urging us not to waste our lives as victims but to rise up and make a change, no matter how painful it may be.
Line by Line Meaning
She cries, "It's freedom that we need"
She is urging for freedom, but hasn't found a reason to believe that it's possible
But I have yet to see a cause to believe
The singer still needs proof of the possibility of freedom
(I need to feel it, please just let me feel alright)
The singer is asking to feel the possibility of freedom
It comes in waves of need
The desire for freedom comes in occasional waves
Ten ways to make you bleed before you get to die
The journey towards freedom is often filled with struggle and pain
Can we give it one more shot?
The singer is asking for another chance to achieve freedom
Have we thrown all hope away?
The singer wonders if they've lost all hope for freedom
Does it have to be this painful
The artist questions the intense struggle required for freedom
Just to make it through?
The artist questions whether the pain is necessary for survival
This is not a requiem
The artist believes that this struggle is not the end
We're wasting time as victims
The singer believes that we're not taking proper action towards freedom
Why spend our lives on bended knee
The artist questions why we would choose to live in subservience
Choosing not to be free
The singer highlights the active decision to avoid freedom
He sighs, "I'm quickly burning out"
The person mentioned is losing hope and energy
All that's left of me are jaded memories
The person mentioned is left with negative memories of the path towards freedom
Of what I could have been
The person mentioned reflects on the missed opportunities for growth and change
If I had only been less of what they wanted
The person mentioned wishes they had followed their own desires instead of societal expectations
And we're still here
The struggle for freedom continues
All together and alone consumed with fear
Despite being united in the struggle, there is still an underlying fear
That one day we'll discover how empty we've become
The fear is that the constant struggle may lead to a hollow existence
Sickened and ashamed
The artist feels physically ill and emotional guilt
We crave what they provide us
The artist acknowledges a desire for the comfort and safety provided by oppressive societies
So we'll never feel alone
This desire stems from a fear of being isolated and unsupported
Why spend our lives
The artist questions the value of living without freedom
On bended knee
The singer is referencing an act of submission, and speaks against it
Choosing not to be free
The singer reiterates the choice to actively avoid freedom
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GEORGE GERSHWIN, IRA GERSHWIN, DU BOSE HEYWARD, DOROTHY HEYWARD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@charliewrites
thanks for posting . a wonderful fanciful eccentric record..wish she had teamed up with Sakamoto for a disc.