Translation: The Freckled Girl (Tin Pan Alley)

So this song is from Caramel Mama, the first Tin Pan Alley album... no wait, that needs some explanation... strictly speaking the first Tin Pan Alley album was 1973's Hosono House, in that the band Haruomi Hosono put together to record his solo debut album became Caramel Mama, who became Tin Pan Alley. The group (in various configurations) went on to become the backing band for seemingly countless records by seemingly countless Japanese (and actually not just Japanese) artists throughout the 1970s. In that sense, the first Tin Pan Alley album might be something like Minako Yoshida's Tobira no Fuyu (also 1973), but then, at that point they still called themselves Caramel Mama. The point is, in 1975 the Hosono / Suzuki / Hayashi / Matsutoya foursome put out an album under their own name (Tin Pan Alley, at that point; but they called the album Caramel Mama... confused yet?), with each member taking lead on a couple songs. 

Both of Shigeru Suzuki's had lyrics by Takashi Matsumoto. They sound like nothing Shigeru did solo before or after — they're not like the Band Wagon barnstormers from earlier that year, and they're not like the following year's exotica-via-Shigeru platter Lagoon either. But they do sound like a natural extension of the Happy End sound from that band's final album. And are precious as such.

It seems that Matsumoto never really set down the torch he'd once held for Happy End. When songs he wrote lyrics for started gaining chart success toward the end of the decade, he started to collaborate with Ohtaki and Hosono more frequently again — individually, granted, but with a secret mission of seeing how things with the band might have been if they hadn't broken up back in '73. If that's all true, he must have loved how these two Shigeru co-writes on Caramel Mama came out.

There's a fast song and a slow song. The slow song is called The Freckled Girl, and lyrically it's clearly a riff on Dylan's Girl from the North Country, and as such, an excellent example of why it's awesome when an artist at the height of their powers sets out to write their own version of some elder master's song.

The closing verse dispelled my doubts about the quality of Matsumoto's work post-break-up — or rather, confirmed my suspicion that he couldn't have just suddenly started writing mediocre stuff. It is so poignant, the tone so perfectly-honed. I did what I could with the translation but preserved maybe 20% of the effect. If you treasure lyrics as an artform the way I do, learn Japanese. Takashi Matsumoto is worth it.

:::



If on a northern street

you come upon a freckled girl,

stop and greet her.

If the cold has set you shivering,

she'll probably remove her shawl

and place it around your shoulders.

I think she could warm up

a heart as hard as stone.

A long time ago some things took place,

there was somebody who made her cry...

the very wind howled, "You scum."

I think she could warm up

a heart as hard as stone.

Does she still keep her hair long? — I find myself wondering.

Just check for me, won't you?

— if you're a friend of mine.

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