Monday's Poetry: "Sukiyaki" or "Ue o Muite Arukou"

by Pa Rock
Poetry Appreciator


Yesterday evening, following the conclusion of Okinawa's annual tug-of-war, I sat on a park bench in Naha watching my feet swell and listening to some haunting music being sung in Japanese by a fellow sitting on another public bench on the opposite side of the rest area.  His voice was clear, resonant, and somewhat mournful.  He only sang two songs that I recognized.  One was the holiday standard, Silent Night, and the other was Sukiyaki, a song that was released worldwide in Japanese in the 1960's and placed well on the American pop charts - the only time I remember a Japanese crossover hit making it big in the United States.  The actual title of Sukiyaki (the name of a Japanese food) was Ue o Muite Arukou  which translates to I Look Up as I Walk.  (The American version was titled Sukiyaki because it was easier for the Americans to say, and they had some concept of the word.)  


The young male singer who made Sukiyaki an international hit was Kyu Sakamoto who was just 21-years-old in 1963 when his hit single was released to worldwide acclaim.  Sakamoto died in a plane crash in Tokyo in 1985.


Another international artist, Daniela Mercury of Brazil, released her own recording of Sukiyaki in 1996.  Her recording was also in Japanese, the language that best carries the beauty of the verse.


If you are as old as me, you will be able to hum along as you read the lyrics.  Enjoy!

Ue o Muite Arukou
by Kyu Sakamoto

Ue o muite arukou
Namida ga kobore nai you ni
Omoidasu haru no hi
Hitoribotchi no yoru

Ue o muite arukou
Nijinda hoshi o kazoete
Omoidasu natsu no hi
Hitoribotchi no yoru

Shiawase wa kumo no ue ni
Shiawase wa sora no ue ni

Ue o muite arukou
Namida ga kobore nai you ni
Nakinagara aruku
Hitoribotchi no yoru
(whistling)

Omoidasu aki no hi
Hitoribotchi no yoru

Kanashimi wa hoshi no kage ni
Kanashimi wa tsuki no kage ni

Ue o muite arukou
Namida ga kobore nai you ni
Nakinagara aruku
Hitoribotchi no yoru
(whistling)

I Look Up as I Walk
by Kyu Sakamoto

I look up as I walk

So that the tears won't fall

Remembering those spring days

But I am alone tonight

I look up as I walk

Counting the stars with tearful eyes

Remembering those summer days

But I am alone tonight

Happiness lies beyond the clouds

Happiness lies up above the sky

I look up as I walk

So that the tears won't fall

Though the tears well up as I walk

For tonight I'm all alone tonight

(whistling)

Remembering those autumn days

But I am all alone tonight

Sadness lies in the shadow of the stars

Sadness lurks in the shadow of the moon

I look up as I walk

So that the tears won't fall

Though the tears well up as I walk

For tonight I'm all alone

(whistling)