Spring here in Japan is in full force as my allergies are acting up. I never had terrible attacks before, especially in the United States, but this year has been awful. Maybe because there hasn’t been a lot of rain are hotter than average? I don’t know exactly but I want tree pollen season to be over.
Today’s theme for the Song Lyrics Sunday challenge is “Seasons/Spring/Summer/Fall/Winter”, thanks to our hospitable host Jim at A Unique Title For Me.
There are a number of great songs that have seasons in their title, like Expose’s “Seasons Change”, BTS’s “Spring Day”, CoCo’s “Haru Milkyway”, Yumi Matsutoya’s “Haru, Koi yo”, and others. But, today’s song choice is for my readers as many love oldies. Today’s song has that oldie rock vibe.
Minimoni. was a subgroup of Hello! Project, which Morning Musume is apart of, from 2000-2004. Three of Morning Musume’s member joined as first generation members (Nozomi Tsuji, Ai Kago, and Mari Yaguchi), and a member from Hawaii-based sister group Coconuts Musume. (Mika Todd). The only rule was that the members’ heights had to be under 150cm, hence being called Minimoni.
Minimoni. was geared more towards for the kids as they had cartoon shows about them, an animated movie, tie-ins with Hamtaro, and had songs about topics that kids would like. However, in 2003, Mari Yaguchi decided to leave the group and was replaced with Ai Takahashi. The group also decided to shed their “kid-friendly” image for something more adult and urban.
The group disbanded in 2004 when Mika Todd decided to go back the States to study at university while Nozomi Tsuji and Ai Kago went on to make their own group. Minimoni. was revived with different members from 2009-2011 with the same kid-friendly feel.
“Haru Natsu Aki Fuyu Daisukki!” ( 春夏秋冬だいすっき!, I Love Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter) was the second a-side on Minimoni.’s debut single “Minimoni. Jankenpyon!”. As this is a Hello! Project song, the lyrics were composed Tsunku. The song reflects on the group’s energetic kid-friendly nature. It also features a cute little exchange between the members about how to say certain words in English and vice versa. The lyrics just reflects on the small diversity in the group as Mika was from Hawaii.
(Also, Tsunku provided the goofy background vocals in the song. I cry every time I hear his vocals as he lost her vocals cords to cancer treatment about 4 years ago and cannot sing..)
What I love about the song is arrangement as it is reminds me of something from the Beatles. The arranger, Rui Nagai, and Tsunku are big fans of oldie rock bands like The Beatles (Tsunku is a huge fan and made a cover album), Queen, Bay City Rollers, Kiss, Yes, and etc. You can clearly hear the influences of this genre in “Haru Natsu Aki Fuyu Daisukki!” , especially during the electronic guitar solo during the interlude.
(A lot of anime and music fans think Rui Nagai rip off Queen’s “Flash Gordon” when he released “Big-O!” for the anime of the same name. You can be the judge of that.)
Here are the lyrics, translated by me:
Spring, summer, fall, and winter, year by year
The Earth goes round and round, I love spring
Spring, summer, fall, and winter, year by year
Although I have homework, I love summer
Da da da daa daa I love it!
Da da da daa daa I love it! Aah!
Everyone has gathered, let’s party time
Glasses with a nose on the dog
Obon[1] and New Years
Happy! Merry Christmas!
I love the whole earth!
But, I like to really party with everyone I love! Ahh!
Although there will also be days where I cry,
It’s because I love the whole earth! Aah!
I love it! Aah!
Spring, summer, fall, and winter, year by yearGrilled sweet potatoes are delicious, I love fall!
Spring, summer, fall, and winter, year by year
Children like to play outside in the cold, I love winter![2]
Da da da daa daa I love it!
Da da da daa daa I love it! Aah!Everyone has gathered, let’s go out
Sorry, dog, stay at home
Hamburger and rice ball
Banana! Chocolate!
I like the whole year!
But, I like to really party with wonderful friends! Ahh!
Although there will also be days where I cry,I love my wonderful friends!
I love my wonderful friends! Aah!
I love them! Aah!
Everyone has gathered, let’s party time
Glasses with a nose on the dog
Obon[1] and New Years
Happy! Merry Christmas!
I love the whole earth!
But, I like to really party with everyone I love! Ahh!
Although there will also be days where I cry,
It’s because I love the whole earth! Aah!
I love it! Aah![1] Obon is a Japanese holiday in mid-August where relatives will celebrate the deceased, akin to Halloween and the Day of the Dead
I like the whole year!
But, I like to really party with wonderful friends! Ahh!
Although there will also be days where I cry,
I love my wonderful friends!
I love my wonderful friends! Aah!
I love them! Aah!
[2]: This is based on a Japanese proverb that is directly translated as “Children are the wind’s child” (子供は風の子; Kodomo no Kaze no Ko). It means that “Even in cold air, children will play around normally.”
The Rules
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.
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There is a lot of energy in this music, nice choice.
Very uplifting singing. About “Big O” I’ve seen that series and love it. One of my sons and his wife have been into anime for a long time.
I am too in love with music of all kinds. This one was a great listening experience. Thanks for sharing.
Yess I love BTS – Spring day! X
I’ve seen a couple of these artist like BTS all over twitter but never actually listened to any of their music. Maybe I’ll have to check them out!
Abigail-xo
http://www.abigailtalksabout.com
I am not really familiar with this song but I actually liked it. This is something worth listening. I would want to start hearing about it since we’re moving to Japan soon.
What a great song to translate for us!
Allergy can be annoying, both my husband and younger daughter suffer from bad seasonal allergy. I can’t tell yours did not take your spirit away. Enjoy Spring.
I’m sorry to hear about your allergies, but man am I jealous that you’re in Japan! My partner and I are dying to go overseas, and we think that’ll be one of our first stops. We love the food and I adore anime and all things cute, so it’s the perfect destination for us ☺️
It’s so beautiful that the lyrics refer to the seasons of the earth. Well, who never like a good summer? Time to have fun!
Wow, Great song I could not stop nodding And dancing to the rhythm of the beat.
I’ve never heard all of these but I’m a fan of Japanese music so I will sure to check this!
Not heard of these songs before but the lyrics are great, I love songs about seasons and months!
What a fun song!! Thanks for sharing, I love discovering new music and artists! <3
Spring season is here in the UK too and I am starting to deal with allergies which is a nightmare. Hang in there! Fun song here.
I am not very familiar with this song but it is catchy. It really got me into the moment – some music does that to me!
I’ve not heard this song before but it’s interesting. I am struggling with allergies (tree pollen) at the moment too…
I’m the same…I like the whole year! I love the change of seasons. It always seems to come at the perfect time.
Thank you for the translation! This song sounds like a pretty great representation of the year and different seasons. I was trying to think of a song that would fit, but can’t come up with one off the top of my head. The only one that sticks out is “Summertime” by Kenny Chesney, but that’s only about the summer!
Wow what a great song. I loved it. I guess, I was missing out good music in my life. Love your posts. Every week I get the opportunity to listen to something new.
I love spring too! And love this song as well. Nice lyrics, full of energy 🙂
I’ve never heard this song before. I love spring. I live in a place that doesn’t really have a huge change in seasons, so it’s nice to hear about the differences in seasons other places get.
Summer used to be my favorite season but not so much anymore. Too hot and way too humid to enjoy these days. Now I love autumn.
My allergies have been acting up too! I think it really depends on where your at, because some states I’ve none and others it’s worse. The lyrics for this song are super interesting. Catchy tune.
This song is so cheerful and uplifting! Thank you for the translation, I don’t speak Japanese so I could appreciate it better!
I’ve actually never seen or heard anything like this! It was super fun!
This is such a great song! I had not heard it before, but really enjoyed it!!