Their first major label release, wonder style, was released in 1995, and produced in London, United Kingdom, by Chris Brown, who previously engineered albums and tracks for Radiohead and Pink Floyd. Their breakthrough album, however, was 1998's Gear Blues which sold more than 500,000 copies, a huge number in the Japanese recording industry. Gear Blues was released in the United States in 2000 by Alive Records, but the band's success in that country never reached the level that they had in Japan, although they had moderate success in Europe. With the release of Gear Blues, the band stopped using lowercase letters in their name, and became known as THEE MICHELLE GUN ELEPHANT, with capitalized letters. The band announced that they would break up on October 11, 2003, after their Last Heaven tour of Japan.
After breaking up, the members have all continued activities in other bands. Chiba Yusuke recorded two albums and several smaller releases while in ROSSO, and has participated in projects of smaller scale, such as Midnight Bankrobbers, RAVEN and THE MIDWEST VIKINGS. In 2006, he and drummer Kuhara Kazuyuki got together again and formed The Birthday. As for the other TMGE members, bassist Ueno Koji was part of the three-piece rock band Radio Caroline for several years before suspending activities in 2009, and helped record the HIATUS' album Trash We'd Love. While not as active after the breakup as some of the other members, guitarist Abe Futoshi has among other things appeared in a band called KOOLOGI.
On July 22nd, 2009, it was announced on the band's official homepage that Abe Futoshi had passed away due to an acute epidural hematoma, a condition often caused by a blow to the side of the head. Abe was 43 years old.
Members:
Chiba Yusuke (チバユウスケ) – Vocal, guitar
Abe Futoshi (アベフトシ) – Guitar
Ueno Koji (ウエノコウジ) – Bass
Kuhara Kazuyuki (クハラカズユキ) – Drums
Official Webpages:
http://www.rockin-blues.com/
http://www.universal-music.co.jp/tmge/
http://columbia.jp/~michelle/
ドロップ
Thee Michelle Gun Elephant Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
夜になる
ぶらぶらと
夜をゆく
じりじりと
夜になる
じりじりと
神の手は
にじむピンク
ぶらぶらと
夜になる
ぶらぶらと
夜をゆく
なめつくした
ドロップの気持ち
じりじりと
夜になる
じりじりと
夜をゆく
神の手は
にじむピンク
ドロップの ドロップの
ドロップの ドロップの
The lyrics to Thee Michelle Gun Elephant's song ドロップ describe a night spent wandering and aimlessly drifting through the city. The repetition of the phrases "ぶらぶらと夜になる" (bura bura to yoru ni naru) and "じりじりと夜になる" (jiri jiri to yoru ni naru) convey a sense of slow and steady progression towards nighttime. The "神の手" (kami no te), or "god's hand," is described as being a blurry pink color. This could allude to a sense of disorientation or confusion in the singer's state of mind as they wander through the night.
The lyrics also mention the "気持ち" (kimochi), or feelings, of "ドロップ" (doroppu) - which translates to "drop" in English. The use of the word "なめつくした" (nametsukushita) adds a sense of sticky or clingy texture to the feeling of the drop. This could symbolize the singer's own emotions or experiences weighing heavily on them as they continue to wander.
Overall, the lyrics capture a sense of aimlessness and wandering through the city at night, with a sense of disorientation and heaviness in the singer's state of mind.
Line by Line Meaning
ぶらぶらと
Casually roaming around
夜になる
As night falls
ぶらぶらと
Casually roaming around
夜をゆく
Continuing on through the night
じりじりと
Gradually, slowly
夜になる
As night falls
じりじりと
Gradually, slowly
夜をゆく
Continuing on through the night
神の手は
God's hand
にじむピンク
Glimmering pink
ぶらぶらと
Casually roaming around
夜になる
As night falls
ぶらぶらと
Casually roaming around
夜をゆく
Continuing on through the night
なめつくした
Drenched
ドロップの気持ち
The feelings of a droplet
じりじりと
Gradually, slowly
夜になる
As night falls
じりじりと
Gradually, slowly
夜をゆく
Continuing on through the night
ドロップの ドロップの
Droplets, droplets
ドロップの ドロップの
Droplets, droplets
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Yuusuke Chiba, Michelle Gun Elephant
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@mistuco2089
Wandering around
day turns to night
Wandering around
I go into the night
The hand of god
is sticky pink
Slowly over the horizon
day turns to night
Slowly over the horizon
I go into the night
the feeling of candy
licked clean
— gonna add, the name “drop” in this case means candy, but in blue spring it’s a play on words(if youve watched it😅)
@user-tb5cu1gk1u
Wandering around
夜になる
day turns to night
ぶらぶらと
Wandering around
夜をゆく
I go into the night
神の手は
The hand of god
にじむピンク
is sticky pink
じりじりと
Slowly over the horizon
夜になる
day turns to night
じりじりと
Slowly over the horizon
夜をゆく
I go into the night
なめつくした
the feeling of candy
ドロップの気持ち
licked clean
@bouldercab
This song brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it. I don't understand the words but I love the emotion. I love his screaming, more than most anything in the world. I loved Blue Spring which is where I discovered TMGE.
@looptidooptid
I couldn't have worded this better.. I'm crap with the Japanese language but I'm a massive fan of the music.. for ages. Such emotion and feeling transcends a language barrier.
@user-jm7ov1ev3u
俺、カラオケ歌って楽しんでます。
大きな声で歌って楽しんで！
@dyinglight418
real
@kamui5579
Really unique band never heard anything similar Chiba Yusuke other band the birthday has similar vibes ofc but gotta love when a song just fits right in with that yankii genre
@user-zu2eo4bu9n
この日ドロップの出だし聞いて鳥肌がたったのを今でも覚えてる、
もう1回生でチバ声、聞きたかった。
いつもいつも思ってたあなたの声は日本の宝。
@roninellus
ラストライブの1曲目だったな
初めから恐竜の胃の中かと思うくらいにめちゃくちゃになったな
友達ともはぐれて
知らない奴と目が合って
みんな泣いてたな
@user-ml8yu8yw3p
ミッシェルの中で個人的一、二を争うほど好きな曲だけど、青い春を見てからもっと好きになった。あの独特な物悲しさとこの曲がマッチしすぎている。
@sh5429
終わりと始まりが同居するすごい曲だよね。
@user-ys9rk3ip4t
父の影響で、幼少期からミッシェル聴いて育ってきた。
高校生になって本格的にハマって、カッコ良すぎて勉強に手が付かない。
ギターも始めたくなった。
あと十年はやく生まれていたら、私もこの中に混ざれたかもしれないのに……