Translation: Satin Doll (Shigeru Suzuki)

Before I found out how good the lyrics to Rainy Station are, Satin Doll (Suzuki/Matsumoto) was my favorite song on Caution. The only Caramel Mama member playing on it is Shigeru himself, but if Discogs didn't have the line-up details, I'd swear it was pure Tin Pan Alley magic.

The chorus-closing tag ("you're a satin doll," 君はサテン・ドール) was hard to deal with. The literal, word-for-word translation felt too awkward to include. At the other extreme, omitting the tag left the choruses too spare. So I got creative trying to strike a balance.

The second chorus ("evading my feelings...") is mostly guesswork. 

This completes my work on Caution, since the remaining songs — the two that open Side B — don't have Takashi lyrics. They're nice tunes, if more pedestrian in arrangement than what's on Side A. One of the songs has a pre-YMO Ryuichi Sakamoto on piano and the other has Caramel Mama.

:::



A sip of Bloody Mary

moistens your lips.

The tremolo of ocean waves

fills the seaside terrace.

You give me a strange smile

all covered in the colors 

of tropical flowers in bloom...

satin doll that you are.

A second sip of Bloody Mary.

Your hair is swaying.

The light of the Southern Cross

pierces the curtains of the night.

Evading my feelings

as they lean your way,

your red shoes retreat...

satin doll that you are.

You've drained your Bloody Mary

and now your cheeks are burning up.

The damp tone of the piano

is quivering within me.

Life is a carnival.

We sing la la la la.

And in the middle of the night,

barely able to keep my feet,

I begin to dance with you, 

my satin doll.

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