It is me or has summer already came? It has been super hot this past week in Nagoya as temperatures reached 33°C/91°F. It is suppose to be the rainy season, but no rain yet. The weather forecast says it will rain later this week, I hope it doesn’t disappoint me.
As I enjoyed watching the sunset from my apartment window tonight, I enjoyed it with various soul/R&B/jazz songs from different decades. One song that popped up was “Small Blue Fool” by Japanese soul and jazz band WONK. So in honor of this week’s prompt of “Big/Large/Little/Small/Tall/Tiny”, I dedicate to this post to “Small Blue Fool”.
(This is part of a #SongLyricsSunday challenge, which is hosted by Jim at An Unique Title For Me. Anyone can join! Details on how to participate are found at the end of this post!)
Who is WONK?
WONK is a four-member experimental soul band from Tokyo, Japan. They mainly release soul music, but they have dabble in R&B, jazz, and hip hop. They formed in 2013 with Kento Nagatsuka (vocalist), Ayatake Ezaki (keyboard, piano, and synthesizer), Kan Inoue (bass and synthesizer), and Hikaru Arata (bandleader and drums).
WONK released their first album, entitled Sphere, in 2017 to positive reception. They have performed at various festivals such as Summer Sonic, Tokyo Jazz, and Bluenote Jazz Festival. The band will release their fourth album, EYES, on June 17.
They were suppose to have a summer tour support the new album but it has been postponed due to Coronavirus. They are suppose to play at a live house near my apartment in December. I might go and see them as I really dig their sound!
“Small Blue Fool”
Today’s song is from WONK’s 2017 album Castor. You can hear jazz and soul in every note of the song. There is a hint of psychedelic rock with the electronic guitar as it is high-pitched and harsh. The guitar reminds of Eric Clapton or George Harrison’s guitar playing style a little bit. Do you hear it or am I just crazy?
I love Kento’s vocals as his range is really impressive. I also love the way he slides between notes. With his talented vocals and impressive composition, “Small Blue Fool” is a perfect summer night song. It might be a little too slow for some, but the energy and talent from the band is a must-listen.
Check out “Small Blue Fool” and tell me what you think of the song in the comments!
Check out their latest single “Rollin'”. It has a certain 80s vibe to it, don’t you think so?
Lyrics to WONK’s “Small Blue Fool”
Small blue fool
Even fly to the west, they can’t reach their nest
But they’d rather fly away
Will you withdraw into a steel cage?
Small blue fool
Indirect descent, it’s just meaningless
But you look far away
Just hold on, it’s the real game
Small blue fool
That’s not what you’re destined for
Feel the wind of joy
You can be free and free
Baby, just spread your wings and show
So you’ll break your old self
Baby, you were born to be adored
‘cause you’ll just be flying for your beliefs
Hey baby, how are you feeling?
Tears may run down cause of fear
But hold it dear to your heart
Small blue fool
Thats not what you’re destined for
Feel the wind of joy
You will be free and free
Baby, just spread your wings and show
So you’ll break your old self
Baby, you were born to be adored
‘Cause you’ll just be flying for your beliefs
If you want to participate, here are the rules:
- Post the lyrics to the song of your choice, whether it fits the theme or not.
- Please try to include the songwriter(s) – it’s a good idea to give credit where credit is due.
- Make sure you also credit the singer/band and if you desire you can provide a link to where you found the lyrics.
- Link to the YouTube video, or pull it into your post so others can listen to the song.
- Ping back to this post will eventually work, as long as you are being patient, but you can also place your link in the comments if you don’t like to wait.
- Read at least one other person’s blog, so we can all share new and fantastic music and create amazing new blogging friends in the process.
- Feel free to suggest future prompts.
- Have fun and enjoy the music.
Pin This!
Like!! I blog quite often and I genuinely thank you for your information. The article has truly peaked my interest.
Amy when I first started listening to this song, I thought is was jazz and then it turned into a blues tune. Very nice, thanks for joining in again.
Not bad
Looks like a cool interpretation of the conversation they do. But this music did not resonate with me.
This is a great tune & perfect for summer.
Oh, I love both of these! I’ve never heard of WONK but thank you so much for introducing them to me. Great sound!
I love the tune. Such a great article,I enjoyed reading so much.
I haven’t heard of Wonk before, but it seems like they have great songs! The lyrics from this is beautiful, might check them out sometime!
Oooh they would be fun to play poolside, definitely going to try them out. Thanks!
It sounds like a jazzy kind of blues. Different if I may say so.
To be honest this is the first time I’ve heard of this group however the lyrics of they’re song is marvelous, it keep lingering in my mind. It’s like LSS (Last song syndrome).
This is a catchy tune. Sadly, summer seems to have disappeared again in the UK, lol!
This is a catchy tune! Sadly, summer seems to have disappeared again in the UK, lol!
The tune sounds good and I like the interpretation too.
Loved the lyrics they are quite amazing and good to listen..Great work..Thanks for sharing..🙂
Yet another song and group I have never heard of. Your knowledge about music is so huge! And this song is very interesting. Not at all what I expected. Very cool.
This is such an interesting song, a particular tune that I wouldn’t have expected to hear from a Japanese band. Very intriguing. We had summer come here as well for a couple of weeks, now the cold has returned. Hopefully it will get better next week.
I love when it warms up and it’s perfect for summer activities and summer music! I didn’t realize it gets that hot there, it’s only a few degrees cooler than Houston, TX. Our “feels like” temperature is capping at 112F today!
One thing i do when it comes to trying new things out is open my mind. Listening to this music gives me a warm and soothing feelings and that’s all I want out of anything new I’m trying out.
Very beautiful lyrics and love the tune! Summer nights are always fun, aren’t they?
First time I’m hearing about them but I like their music.
I never find blues interesting until you post this article and I started listening to the music. Looks cool. I will try to consider blues next time on my music list.
What a tune….now this is my kind of thing and the perfect track to enjoy at summer x
Love coming to your blog. you always showcase very cool artists.
This is my first time to hear this band . Sounds like they have a good music collections.