The page for Naughty Boys on Discogs, which isn't typically the place I'd go looking for impassioned and insightful analysis, has an amazing comment section. Two quotes:
"Worth it for Ongaku alone. Absolutely brilliant track that perfectly captures a mid-80s Tokyo street scene. Brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it."
And:
"Another area where the album really shines is in the vocals. The thing about YMO is that not one of them has the greatest voice in a traditional pop music sense. Each of their voices has its own peculiarities, but here they're singing to their fullest potential anyway, straight from the heart. During the second verse of Ongaku we hear each of them taking a line of their own before joining together again in unison. The result is one of the more endearing moments in recorded music."
"Worth it for Ongaku alone. Absolutely brilliant track that perfectly captures a mid-80s Tokyo street scene. Brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it."
And:
"Another area where the album really shines is in the vocals. The thing about YMO is that not one of them has the greatest voice in a traditional pop music sense. Each of their voices has its own peculiarities, but here they're singing to their fullest potential anyway, straight from the heart. During the second verse of Ongaku we hear each of them taking a line of their own before joining together again in unison. The result is one of the more endearing moments in recorded music."
In short, we might call Ongaku (that is, Music) the Yellow Magic Orchestra equivalent of The Beatles' Because. Or rather — it's their The End! — except with vocal lines taking the place of the electric guitar solos.
The last line of the second verse is beautifully succinct in Japanese, literally: "you — train, goto-goto" the last word being onomatopoeia for the sound a train makes as its moves. Context suggests that the reference is to a toy train that Miu is playing with, but trying to put "toy train" into the English version ruined the magic.
Ryuichi's daughter Miu was two or three when he wrote this song for her. My daughter Vanya will soon be two and a quarter. Musically the song is way beyond my capabilities — this is Ryuichi Sakamoto we're talking about here! — but lyrically, in heart and sentiment and to an extent also in style, it could be my own.
:::
I spread our atlas open: hey, that's music.
You climb onto the piano: hey, that's music.
Can't wait 'til we can sing together!
I spread our atlas open: hey, that's music.
You climb onto the piano: hey, that's music.
I nibble on an apple: hey, that's music.
And you rattle the train: hey, that's music.
Can't wait 'til we can sing together!
Can't wait 'til we can dance together!
(Back to: List of Translations)
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