Sukiyaki (song)

"Ue o Muite Arukō (Sukiyaki)"
Single by Kyu Sakamoto
from the album Sukiyaki and Other Japanese Hits (US)
B-side "Anoko No Namaewa Nantenkana"
Released 1961 (Japan)
1963 (US, UK)
Format 7" vinyl
Genre Pop, Kayōkyoku, Japanese pop
Length 3:05
Label Toshiba-EMI (Japan)
Capitol (US and Canada)
HMV/EMI (UK)
Writer(s) Rokusuke Ei (lyrics)
Hachidai Nakamura (music)
Certification Gold (RIAA)
Music sample
"Kyu Sakamoto – Sukiyaki"

"Ue o Muite Arukō" (上を向いて歩こう, "I Look Up As I Walk") is a Japanese-language song that was performed by Japanese crooner Kyu Sakamoto, and written by lyricist Rokusuke Ei and composer Hachidai Nakamura. Ei wrote the lyrics while walking home from a Japanese student demonstration protesting continued US Army presence, expressing his frustration at the failed efforts.[1]

In Anglophone countries, it is best known under the alternative title "Sukiyaki," a term with no relevance to the song's lyrics.

The song reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts in the United States in 1963, and remains to date the only Japanese-language song ever to have done so. In addition, it was and still is one of the few non-Indo-European languages' songs to have reached the top of the US charts.

It is one of the best-selling singles of all time, having sold over 13 million copies worldwide.[2][3] The original Kyu Sakamoto recording also went to number eighteen on the R&B chart.[4] In addition, the single spent five weeks at number one on the Middle of the Road charts.[5] The recording was originally released in Japan by Toshiba in 1961. It topped the Popular Music Selling Record chart in the Japanese magazine Music Life for three months, and was ranked as the number one song of 1961 in Japan.

Well-known English-language cover versions with altogether different lyrics include "My First Lonely Night" by Jewel Akens in 1966 and "Sukiyaki" by A Taste of Honey in 1980. The song has also been recorded in other languages.

Weekly charts

Chart (1961–63) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report) 1
Canada (RPM) 1
Germany (GfK Entertainment) 2
Japan (Music Life) 1
Norway (VG-lista) 1
UK (Official Charts Company)[6] 6
US Billboard Hot 100 1
US Billboard Adult Contemporary 1

Lyrics

The lyrics tell the story of a man who looks up and whistles while he is walking so that his tears will not fall. The verses of the song describe his memories and feelings. Rokusuke Ei wrote this song while coming back from a protest against the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan and feeling dejected about the failure of the protest movement, but the lyrics were rendered purposefully generic so that they might refer to any lost love.[7] The English-language lyrics of the version recorded by A Taste of Honey are not a translation of the original Japanese lyrics, but instead a completely different set of lyrics arranged to the same basic melody.

The title "Sukiyaki", a Japanese hot pot dish, does not appear in the song's lyrics, nor does it have any connection to them; it was used only because it was short, catchy, recognizably Japanese, and more familiar to English speakers. A Newsweek Magazine columnist noted that the re-titling was like issuing "Moon River" in Japan under the title "Beef Stew".[8]

A rough translation of lyrics: I keep my eyes to the sky as I walk, so my tear drops never fall. Remember the spring day, alone at night.

I keep my eyes to the sky as I walk, I can't count the stars through the tears. Remember the summer day, alone at night.

Happiness lies above the clouds, Happiness lies above the sky.

I keep my eyes to the sky as I walk, so my tear drops never fall. Crying while I walk, alone at night.

Remember the autumn day, alone at night.

Sorrow lies in the shadow of the stars, sorrow lies in the shadow of the moon.

I keep my eyes to the sky as I walk, so my tear drops never fall. Crying while I walk, alone at night.

Covers and variations (as "Sukiyaki")

A Taste of Honey version

"Sukiyaki"
Single by A Taste of Honey
from the album Twice As Sweet
Released March 1981
Recorded 1980
Genre R&BQuiet Storm
Length 3:41
Label Capitol B-4953
Writer(s) Hachidai Nakamura
Janice Marie Johnson (English lyrics)
Producer(s) George Duke
Certification Gold (RIAA)
A Taste of Honey singles chronology
"Rescue Me"
(1980)
"Sukiyaki"
(1981)
"I'll Try Something New"
(1982)

The cover version by A Taste of Honey reached number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.[9] It also went to number one on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart and Soul chart.[10]

While driving around Los Angeles, Janice Marie Johnson of A Taste of Honey had heard Linda Ronstadt's hit remake of Smokey Robinson & the Miracles' "Ooo Baby Baby" play on the car radio with Johnson resultantly concluding that A Taste of Honey should remake a classic hit.[11] Johnson focused on Kyu Sakamoto's "Sukiyaki" which she first learned in the original Japanese. According to The Billboard Book of Number One R&B Hits by Fred Bronson, Johnson learned that the Japanese lyrics when translated to English had three possible interpretations — as the mindset of a man facing execution; as someone trying to be optimistic despite life's trials; or as the story of an ended love affair, with Johnson quoted as saying: "Me being the hopeless romantic that I am, I decided to write about a love gone bad." Johnson was given permission by the original song's copyright holders to write the English-language lyrics on the understanding that she receive neither official credit nor remuneration. This version used a koto played by Hazel Payne.[12]

A Taste of Honey's version of "Sukiyaki" first appeared on their 1980 album, Twice As Sweet. It was released as a single in 1981.

Chart (1981) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100 3
US Billboard Adult Contemporary 1
US Billboard Soul Chart 1

4 P.M. version

"Sukiyaki"
Single by 4 P.M.
from the album Now's the Time
Released September 6, 1994
Format CD and cassette single
Recorded 1994
Length 2:42
Label London Records (UK)
Writer(s) Hachidai Nakamura
Janice Marie Johnson (English lyrics)
4 P.M. singles chronology
"Sukiyaki"
(1995)
"Lay Down Your Love"
(1995)
Music video
"Sukiyaki" on YouTube

4 P.M.'s 1994 version reached number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. The 4 P.M. version also uses the same English-language lyrics written by Janice Marie Johnson. The 4 P.M. version was a chart success in Australia, reaching number 3, and in New Zealand, reaching number 5.

Chart (1994–1995) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[13] 3
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[14] 5
US Billboard Hot 100[15] 8
US Billboard Adult Contemporary[15] 17
US Billboard Pop Songs[15] 5

Selena version

"Sukiyaki"
Single by Selena
from the album Selena
Released September 14, 1989
Format CD, 7" single
Recorded 1988
Genre Latin
Length 3:01
Label EMI
Writer(s) Hachidai Nakamura
Producer(s) A.B. Quintanilla III
Selena singles chronology
"Contigo Quiero Estar"
(1989)
"Sukiyaki"
(1989)
"Mentiras"
(1989)
Music sample
"Sukiyaki"

"Sukiyaki" (English: I Shall Walk Looking Up, Spanish: Caminaré Mirando Arriba), was a single released by Selena in 1990, which was released as the fourth single from the 1989 self-titled album Selena. The song received much airplay at the time of release. It was a Spanish-language version of the song, featuring the lyrics written by Janice Marie Johnson translated into Spanish.

It was released as a single in the United States and Japan. It was included in several of Selena's greatest hits packages before and after her death.

Other versions

In 1963, the British record label Pye Records released an instrumental cover version of the song by Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen. They were concerned that English-speaking audiences might find the original title too difficult to remember/pronounce, so they gave it the new title of "Sukiyaki". This title was retained when Capitol Records in the United States, and His Master's Voice (HMV) in the UK, released Kyu Sakamoto's original version a few months later. Sakamoto's follow-up to "Sukiyaki", "China Nights (Shina no Yoru)", charted in 1963 at number 58. That was the last song by an artist from Japan to reach the U.S. pop charts for 16 years, until the female duo Pink Lady had a top-40 hit in 1979 with its English-language song "Kiss in the Dark".

Several other artists have recorded cover versions of the song, while others have written and/or performed songs based on the melody:

Parodies and alternate versions

References in other songs

Soundtrack appearances

[25]

Legacy

On March 16, 1999, Japan Post issued a stamp that commemorated the song.[26] The stamp is listed in the Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue as Japan number 2666 with a face value of 50 yen.

References

  1. https://formeinfullbloom.wordpress.com/2014/10/26/a-brief-history-of-i-look-up-as-i-walk-in-anime/
  2. 坂本九さん 〜心のふるさと・笠間〜. Kasama Tourist Association (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2006-07-10. Retrieved 2008-02-20. (Translation)
  3. 【85年8月12日】日航ジャンボ機墜落事故…坂本九さん死去 (in Japanese). Sports Nippon. Retrieved 2009-12-27.
  4. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 509.
  5. Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001. Record Research. p. 213.
  6. "Kyu Sakamoto". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
  7. 笹本恒子 「恒子の昭和: 日本初の女性報道写真家が撮影した人と出来事」 ISBN 4096820660
  8. Fred Bronson (2003). "Sukiyaki". The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits. Billboard Books. ISBN 0-8230-7677-6.
  9. "Billboard Hot 100 - June 20, 1981". Billboard.com. 2011-11-19. Retrieved 2011-11-24.
  10. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 566.
  11. Billboard. Vol. 107 no. 3. 21 January 1995. p. 86. Missing or empty |title= (help);
  12. "Sukiyaki by A Taste of Honey on Soul Train". Youtube. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  13. "Australian-charts.com – 4 P.M. – Sukiyaki". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  14. "Charts.org.nz – 4 P.M. – Sukiyaki". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 2010-12-21.
  15. 1 2 3 Billboard: Page for "Sukiyaki" by 4 P.M. For Positive Music
  16. http://www.discogs.com/Peter-Metro-Captain-Sinbad-with-Little-John-Sinbad-The-Metric-System/release/1242486
  17. "『上を向いて歩こう』、『見上げてごらん夜の星を』篇の公開は終了しました。 サントリーチャンネル サントリーCM・動画ポータルサイト". Suntory.co.jp. Retrieved 2011-11-24.
  18. "Sharaya J's Banji sample of A Taste of Honey's Sukiyaki". WhoSampled. Retrieved April 6, 2013.
  19. "UKポップスター <オリー・マーズ>とオノ・ヨーコが新たな命を吹き込んだ、「上を向いて歩こう」の新しいスタンダード、「Look At The Sky(ルック・アット・ザ・スカイ)」が世界初披露!". Sony Music Japan. Retrieved June 20, 2014.
  20. Video on YouTube
  21. Jun 15, 1963: Kyu Sakamoto tops the charts with "Sukiyaki", History.com
  22. Salt-n-pepa - Hot, Cool & Vicious review, Agnes Torres, The Orlando Sentinel, January 31, 1988
  23. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0205000/soundtrack
  24. Wii Music’s Licensed Songs, Jean Snow, Wired GameLife, October 16, 2008
  25. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1401179/
  26. "わたしの愛唱歌シリーズ第9集郵便切手". Japan Post. 1999-03-16. Retrieved 2008-06-03.

External links

Preceded by
"It's My Party" by Lesley Gore
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single
(Kyu Sakamoto version)

June 15, 1963 (3 weeks)
Succeeded by
"Easier Said Than Done" by The Essex
Preceded by
"I Love Because" by Al Martino
Billboard Middle-Road number-one single
(Kyu Sakamoto version)

June 8, 1963 (5 weeks)
Succeeded by
"Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport" by Rolf Harris
Preceded by
"Being with You" by Smokey Robinson
Billboard Hot Soul Singles number-one single
(A Taste of Honey version)

May 9, 1981
Succeeded by
"A Woman Needs Love (Just Like You Do)" by Ray Parker, Jr. & Raydio
Preceded by
"9 to 5" by Sheena Easton
Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one single
(A Taste of Honey version)

May 16, 1981 (2 weeks)
Succeeded by
"How 'Bout Us" by Champaign
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