Songs that make me reflect on life

Some songs are simply meant to be enjoyed. But as a music and book lover, I have a liking for songs that are not only listening for joys, but also for inspiration about life. Japanese culture is fascinating to me in many aspects, and Japanese popular music is certainly one of the sources for inspiration. Here I have handpicked three of my favorites, which enlightened me in recent months, to share with you. They are listed in no particular order. 

大きな古時計 

The first one I want to share with you is a song sung by Ken Hirai (平井堅). It is actually a very old American folk song. The name of the original song is Grandfather’s Clock which was composed by Henry Clay Work in 1876. It is said that Work wrote the song based on a story he heard when he visited north Yorkshire in England. The poetic lyrics are about a stand-up clock which was bought on the day when the grandfather of the song’s narrator was born. The faithful clock worked for 90 years nonstop to serve its owner until he died. The clock was not only faithful, it knew the important moments of its owner. The lyrics write: 

Many hours had he spent while a boy;

And in childhood and manhood the clock seemed to know

And to share both his grief and his joy,

For it struck 24 when he entered at the door

With a blooming and beautiful bride;

But it stopped short — never to go again —

When the old man died. 

The song became very popular after it was released in the US in 1876. Various versions of the song in different languages were made and became famous in other countries too. In Japan, the song was translated into a Japanese children song in 1940s. In 1962, Kogo Hotomi’s version of the song was sung in the NHK TV program "みんなのうた" (People’s Songs), which significantly boosted its popularity among Japanese. Kogo’s version, in which the clock worked for 100 years instead of 90 years, became one of the most well-received American songs to many generations of Japanese people. 

In 2002, singer Ken Hirai gave a moving rendition of the song, not only making the song a big hit in Japan again but also cementing his position as a leading male singer in Japan. Hirai’s record “大きな古時計” topped the Oricon Chart for 4 consecutive weeks after its release, the first time that a song that debuted 100 years ago topped the chart. Most Hong Kong people got to know Hirai because he sang the theme song "雙眼閉起" (Close Your Eyes) of the movie "世界中心呼喚愛" (Screaming for Love in the Centre of the World) broadcast in 2004. But to me, “大きな古時計” is the song that really attracts me to his singing style. Listening to his song transports me to the distant past. So let’s enjoy the song now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0vSH2VW-tk

手紙 〜拝啓 十五の君へ〜 

The second Japanese song I want to talk about is “手紙 〜拝啓 十五の君へ〜” (Letter: Greetings to a 15-Year-Old) composed by Angela Aki. Aki's blockbuster song actually is a letter the song’s narrator wrote at the age of 15 to her future self. Adolescence is an age of turbulence: a period when we start to think about who we are, what we can do, and how we should face the first wave of life’s uncertainties. Feeling insecure, the narrator tried to talk to her future self as a way to gain a sense of safety, as herself is the only one she felt comfortable to confide in. She wrote: 

拝啓 この手紙読んでいるあなたは

どこで何をしているのだろう

十五の僕には誰にも話せない

悩みの種があるのです 

未来の自分に宛てて書く手紙なら

きっと素直に打ち明けられるだろう 

今 負けそうで 泣きそうで 消えてしまいそうな僕は

誰の言葉を信じ歩けばいいの? 

Dear, when you are reading this letter, where are you and what are you doing? 

I am a 15-year-old now and I have puzzles that I can't talk to anyone 

But if it’s a letter to my future self 

I can speak frankly to her 

I'm about to lose, I'm about to cry, 

I'm about to disappear 

Whose words should I believe in when going forward? 

On receiving the letter, the grown-up narrator replied to her adolescent counterpart: 

拝啓 ありがとう

十五のあなたに 伝えたい事があるのです

自分とは何でどこへ向かうべきか

問い続ければ見えてくる 

荒れた青春の海は厳しいけれど

明日の岸辺へと 夢の舟よ進め 

今負けないで 泣かないで 

消えてしまいそうな時は

自分の声を信じ歩けばいいの 

My dear, thank you for your letter 

I have something to tell the 15-year-old you. 

Who am I, why and where to go? 

As long as you ask yourself these questions, you can find the answers 

Although youth is like a rough and stormy sea, let's take the ship of hope and head towards the shore of tomorrow 

Don't give up and don’t cry now. 

Whenever you feel you are going to disappear, just believe in your voice and move forward bravely 

First released in 2008, the song was written by Angela Aki on her 30th birthday. Born to an Italian American mother and a Japanese father, Aki has a distinctively western complexion and is known as a talented musician among Japanese artists. Aki moved to Hawaii to attend high school when she was 15 years old and obtained a bachelor’s degree in political science in George Washington University. After graduation, she worked as a secretary in Washington, D.C. but could not give up her dream of becoming a singer. In the US, she once worked as a waitress at daytime, and sang songs at night at a nightclub where she was occasionally teased by club-goers. After attending a concert in Nippon Budokan Hall (日本武道館) in 2003, Aki said to herself she would perform at the same place within three years. In December 2006, she made history by holding a concert in Budokan. In 2014, Aki quit all her singing jobs in Japan and moved to the US to study music for her long-cherished dream of developing her career in Broadway. 

Aki’s soul-searching song was rearranged as the theme song for the Japanese movie “くちびるに歌を” which was released in 2015. In it, protagonist Aragaki Yui (新垣結衣) taught a group seconding school graduating students to sing the song “手紙 〜拝啓 十五の君へ〜”. Since then, it has become a song often sung as a farewell note during elementary and junior high school graduation ceremonies. Here is the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siQJhIp-UTU

不協和音 

The third song I want to talk about is 欅坂46’s 不協和音. Now renamed as Sakurazaka-46 (櫻坂46), Keyakizaka-46 (欅坂46) is one of the most successful Japanese idol girl groups in the past decade in Japan. I learned about this song from the young Hong Kong democracy fighter Agnes Chow. She said when she was arrested by Hong Kong police in August this year, Keyakizaka-46’s 不協和音 kept resounding in her head. Agnes Chow has a lot of fans in Japan. Her arrest caused a lot of attention in the country. 

The Japanese words不協和音 mean discordance or dissonance in English. The song was included in the fourth record released by Keyakizaka-46 in 2017. The lyrics reveal the narrator’s insistence on justice, as well as her dislike of blind obedience to a society where everyone has to behave the same. The lyrics go like these: 

僕はyes と言わない

絶対 沈黙しない

最後の最後まで抵抗し続ける

叫びを押し殺す (oh! oh! oh!)

見えない壁ができてた (oh! oh!) 

…. 

君はyes と言うのか 

プライドさえも捨てるか 

反論することに何を怯えるんだ? 

大きなその力で (oh! oh! oh!) 

ねじ伏せられた怒りよ (oh! oh!) 

見て見ぬ振りしなきゃ仲間外れか 

真実の声も届くって信じていたよ 

Oh! oh! 僕は嫌だ 

I won't say yes 

Never be silent 

Will continue to resist until the very end 

The cry that is suppressed in my heart (oh! Oh! Oh!) 

Has built an invisible wall (oh! Oh!) 

…. 

Will you say yes 

Even abandon your pride 

What are you scared of refuting? 

That great power (oh! Oh! Oh!) 

Suppressed and made people angry (oh! Oh!) 

Will I be isolated if I don’t pretend not seeing it, 

I believed that the true voice would reach out 

Oh! oh! I hate it 

Girl idol groups like Keyakizaka-46 (欅坂46) is a unique Japanese cultural product. These idol groups usually consist of teenage girls or girls in their early 20s, members of the groups dress in same uniform and have similar hairstyles. The uniform, the large number of group members and the sometimes indistinguishable faces of the members cause people think that they are symbols of Japanese collectivism. But interestingly, listening to Keyakizaka-46’s不協和音or its other song “沉默的多數” is empowering. It encourages people to speak up and get their own voices across—no matter how discordant they are. When you listen to the song and read its lyrics, you will understand why Agnes Chow recalled this song when she was arrested. So it is the time to enjoy this song: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5b0qb4RoS8U

Each of these three songs represents some values that hold a special place in my heart: story and history; youth and dreams, and voice and identity. Each time these songs are played, they serve as precious reminders of what makes our lives meaningful and worthwhile. Our individuality that is made up of our history, dreams and voice is what we should never lose, and what we should continue to hold on to. 

Site to learn Japanese through Japanese songs 

If you want to learn Japanese by listening to Japanese songs, https://www.jpmarumaru.com/tw/index.asp is a site that I’d like to recommend. For the three songs I shared here, you can find the original Japanese lyrics and Chinese translation. 

大きな古時計 

https://www.jpmarumaru.com/tw/JPSongPlay-15842.html

手紙 〜拝啓 十五の君へ〜 

https://www.jpmarumaru.com/tw/JPSongPlay-544.html

不協和音 

https://www.jpmarumaru.com/tw/JPSongPlay-9662.html

Journey into the Past by Stefan Zweig

Chess Story, the last work written by Austrian writer Stefan Zweig (1881–1942), is one of the most memorable read I have had in recent years. I have almost no knowledge of the rules and strategies of chess. Still, the rivalry between the world chess champion and self-taught master, and the ultimate mind game between them, remains gripping and impactful to me that a story of this length could hardly achieve. This captivating experience has stayed with me ever since I read the first sentence of the novel. Storyline of the novel is certainly enticing. But after all, what truly sets Zweig apart from other writers is his unparalleled ability in offering psychological insight that penetrates deeply into the human mind with his clear, lucid and crystalline prose. 

All these signature elements of Zweig’s works could be found in his other masterpiece—Journey into the Past, a novella posthumously discovered after he committed suicide during his exile from Europe to Brazil with his wife. It is a story about the male protagonist Ludwig, who has worked his way up through hard work and determination to personal success, and during which developed an unlikely affair with his employer’s wife. Yet destiny took Ludwig to Mexico for two years, only to be prolonged by the outbreak of the First World War, a war that changed, and oftentimes destroyed, the peaceful lives of many, including that of Ludwig. This story is a poignant examination of what time and the sudden changes in circumstances can derail our lives. 

The story begins with an upbeat and hopeful tone when Ludwig and his former lover meet at the train station in Frankfurt. They have waited for nine years for that moment. When time has made them more cautious about their reunion, they couldn’t help showing their desires for each other as they long for their train journey and the things they would do together after they arrive at the destination. After nine years of separation, they are eager to pick up what they have left behind in the past. Unfortunately, they are constantly disturbed by boarding passengers. Left with no choice, they drift into their reveries during the journey. Readers are constantly taken into their past by many beautifully, skillfully crafted transitional passages. One of these is as follows: 

“With a slight jolt, the train began to move. The rattling of the wheels drowned out the legal conversation, muting it to mere noise. But then, gradually, the jolting and rattling turned to a rhythmic swaying, like a steel cradle rocking the couple into dreams. And while the rattling wheels invisible to them rolled onward, into a future that each of them imagined differently, the thoughts of both returned in reverie to the past.” 

As the novel progresses, the story before their reunion unfolds. Coming from an impoverished background, Ludwig is a highly promising and hardworking apprentice new to the house of Dr. G, a famous industrialist in town. Determined to succeed, he gives unrelenting focus and effort to his work and is highly appreciated by his boss. His life has been made even more agreeable by the attentive care given by his employer’s wife, who caters to his needs with meticulous details, and gradually they develop a mutual affection for each other. But the affair is almost nipped in the bud when Ludwig’s boss finds that his deteriorating physical condition no longer allows him to take care of his business and he needs to send a competent staff like Ludwig to manage a new project in Mexico. The new responsibility would take Ludwig away from his lover for two years. What follows is the explosive development of their passionate encounters and before things go too far, the woman made a promise to Ludwig that: 

“I couldn’t do it here, in my own house, in his own house. But when you come back, yes, whenever you like.” 

Coincided with the outbreak of the First World War, the intervening nine years that separate them were certainly too long to both of them. In the years of separation, they experienced tremendous life changes: Ludwig is married with two children and is now a capable manager in his own name. His boss has passed away shortly after Ludwig’s departure, leaving his wife to face hardship alone during the war. She has survived the war with her child safely amidst defeat of her country. They corresponded shortly after Ludwig arrived in Mexico, but after some time the woman stopped writing letters to Ludwig. As he devoted himself to work as a way to cope with the disappointments, his feelings for her gradually faded as time went by: 

“Yet all the same, while he thought his feelings were unchanged, his passionate inner tension gradually relaxed. It is not in human nature to live entirely on memories, and just as the plants and every living structure need nourishment from the soil and the new light from the sky, if their colours are not to fade and their petals to drop, even such apparently unearthly things as dreams need a certain amount if nourishment from the senses, some tender pictorial aid, or their blood will run thin and their radiance be dimmed. And so it was with this passionate man before he even noticed it.” 

The story ends as the long-separated one-time lovers finally reunite, which leaves readers with much room for imagination. It is worth noting that after they arrive in Heidelberg, the shadow of World War Two is already looming large as the youth Nazi armies are everywhere on the streets, chanting war songs in high spirit. As a pacifist and a symbol of the multi-racial European culture, Zweig has cast a nostalgic look to the world destroyed by the First World War in his emotionally charged memoir The World of Yesterday. The sense of helplessness, fear and resentment Ludwig experienced in Heidelberg perhaps corresponds well with that of Zweig at the time of writing this novella. 

When I read this book, most of the time I am not aware that I am actually reading a translation, thanks to the masterful rendition done by the renowned translator Anthea Bell. In her highly informative Afterword, she notes that “Zweig’s meticulous but at the same time condensed style makes him a challenge to translate, although an enjoyable challenge. You read him in the original, and on the surface everything is limpid, lucid; then you start translating him, and you have to think hard about what exactly lies below the wording of every sentence.” 

Like Zweig’s time in the 1920s, the world in 2020s is being altered at an unprecedented pace as advanced technology, the coronavirus pandemic and ceaseless international disputes are disrupting and transforming the way we live in unimagined and profound ways. In this age of extreme uncertainties, we all crave for things that remain unchanged, that can give us the bearings to orientate our lives. For many people like me, rereading timeless classics like Journey into the Past is one of the most reliable ways to meet comfort and solace again—which sometimes are losing so rapidly that one can only find through a journey into the past.