Translation: Barefoot Adventure (Agnes Chan)

The verses of Barefoot Adventure (Hirao/Matsumoto) are a flagrant rip-off of the Carpenters' Top of the World. It's so obvious that my first few listens were even disturbing: "You mean that, in 1975 Japan, you could rip something off this hard and then put it out as a single?!" It's certainly business-savvy: if it worked in the States, it'll work here?

Later I read an opinion piece that called these marvelously unabashed rip-offs an early version of sampling. It's interesting, anyway. If the resulting song is a good one, then who cares about its provenance? The world needs good songs. And, seven collaborations in, I have yet to hear something of Takashi's-via-Agnes that isn't good.



:::



You were grinning
as you splashed me,
so I pretended
I was drowning,
and now, see?
I've won this chance
to cling to you.

But I wasn't pretending —
it's true, you know!

Whenever we aren't holding hands,

I feel like a tide of sadness

is coming to sweep me away.

Love is the sunlight

glittering in the water.

Put two hands together,

scoop it up.

I was running barefoot

across the burning sand,

rushing to grab hold

of my own trembling emotions.

I didn't need to turn around

to sense that —

oh, don't you feel it,

here it comes! —

happiness itself

was on the verge of

catching up with me.

Love is the sunlight

glittering in the water.

Put two hands together,

scoop it up.

Love is the sunlight

glittering in the water.

Put two hands together,

scoop it up.

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