Yoko Ono translates ‘Sukiyaki’ hit song into English for new release

ajw.asahi.com
Yoko Ono translates ‘Sukiyaki’ hit song into English for new release
By SHIGEYORI MIYAMOTO/ Staff Writer
February 20, 2014

To mark the 50th anniversary since "Sukiyaki" sizzled to the top of the U.S. pop charts, artist Yoko Ono has translated the Japanese lyrics into English for a new version.

British pop singer Olly Murs sang Ono's translated version at the Akasaka Britz live house in Tokyo's Akasaka district on Feb. 18 for the first time in public.

Ono said she wanted to convey the meaning of the original lyrics after being asked to do so by the eldest son of the late composer of the song.

“I have accepted the request (to translate the song into English), hoping the song’s spirit will encourage the people of the world,” she said.

At the live house, Murs gently sang "Look at the Sky," which begins, “Look at the sky as you walk through life/ So the tears won’t overflow your heart.”

“Ue o Muite Aruko,” (I'll walk looking up at the sky) written by Rokusuke Ei and composed by Hachidai Nakamura, was sung by Kyu Sakamoto and released in Japan in 1961.

The late singer's version, released overseas under the title "Sukiyaki," soared to No. 1 in 1963 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. The song was renamed after the popular hot pot meal to be more easily recognizable to English speakers, although it had nothing to do with the lyrics telling a melancholy ballad of young love.

Since then, cover versions in English and other languages have appeared, many with lyrics far different in meaning from Ei’s original ones.

More than 10 million copies of the original song and the cover versions are estimated to have been sold in more than 70 countries.

Rikimaru Nakamura, 50, the eldest son of the song’s composer, asked Ono to translate "Ue o Muite Aruko" into English. Murs was selected to perform it.

“Sorrow, solitude, and hope that lies ahead--the Japanese have felt empathy for the song,” Nakamura said. “I want foreign listeners to understand the original meaning.”

By SHIGEYORI MIYAMOTO/ Staff Writer


Olly Murs sings "Look at the Sky" at Akasaka Britz, a live house in Tokyo's Akasaka district, on Feb. 18. (Provided by Sony Music Entertainment Inc.)

The late pop singer Kyu Sakamoto (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Yoko Ono (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

www.eluniverso.com
Yoko Ono adapta al inglés un éxito japonés
EFE . Tokio
Domingo, 23 de febrero, 2014

Yoko Ono ha adaptado al inglés una nueva versión del clásico pop japonés Sukiyaki, para celebrar el 50º aniversario de la única canción nipona que consiguió entrar en el top 100 de la lista estadounidense de éxitos Billboard.

El tema, escrito en 1961 por el letrista Rokusuke Ei y el compositor Hachidai Nakamura, fue lanzado en Estados Unidos y Reino Unido en 1963 con gran éxito comercial, y continúa siendo uno de los sencillos más vendidos de todos los tiempos, con unos 13 millones de copias en todo el mundo.

El tema ya había sido anteriormente adaptado al inglés y a otros idiomas, y en esta ocasión es Yoko Ono quien se encarga de homenajear a sus creadores con una nueva versión medio siglo después, a petición de uno de los descendientes del compositor.

“He aceptado la petición (de traducirla al inglés) con la esperanza de que el espíritu de la canción anime a la gente de todo el mundo”, afirmó la artista y viuda del ex-Beatle John Lennon en declaraciones al diario Asahi. La nueva versión fue interpretada por el británico Olly Murs durante un concierto el pasado martes en Tokio.