Behind the Creation of Hotaru
- extracted from ANN TamaRadi broadcast 2010.07.10
For lyrics, go here
This time, the acoustic and electric guitars were all me. I’d starred in a 2-hour TV special drama before, called “Tengoku no Daisuke”. The producer then is the same as the producer for Mioka - Kato-san. It was because Kato-san commissioned me to write the theme song this time, that the song can be completed. The instrumental for this song was used in “Tengoku no Daisuke”. At the time I wrote the instrumental, I had already planned for it to have lyrics. And now that’s finally been done.
If it wasn’t for Kato-san’s request, we probably wouldn’t have this song yet. There are many songs like this in store, waiting for lyrics to be filled in. Like the Dunlop music, the opening theme for Fukuyama Engineering many years ago. They’re still instrumental versions. Well, this song can finally come to light.
I’ve read the original novel for this drama and wrote the lyrics based on what was in the book. Kato-san had asked me to write a song for women who are striving so hard (in their lives), to give them some support and shelter.
When you write the lyrics, there will always be a part of your own emotions added in. (Sou-chan: Parts like “kimi ga suki”, which is such a direct declaration) just came out naturally within the flow of the melody. I watched “Mioka” for the first time today and the lyrics really matched Hayashi Kento-kun’s role (lead male). More than I could have imagined, I was so relieved.
The melody was written a long time ago, in the year 2000, 10 years back. If it wasn’t in 2000, it’s not long after. I wrote it in Los Angeles. I remember I went over there for song-writing and came up with 4, the “Sakurazaka” melody; the “Gang” melody, “Tomoyo” which was recorded in the album “f” and this one “Hotaru”.
The other 3 had been released, and I was wondering when I could fill in the lyrics for this one too. I like this song very much myself, I had a feeling it could turn out pretty well, but I never got the chance to do the lyrics,……until now, it took me 10 years. It’s with everybody’s help that I could finish it, Kato-san, Yoshitaka-san (who plays Mioka), Hayashi-kun and Ishida-san (author of the original novel), finally allowing this song to transpire after 10 years, I’m really very grateful.
I like the guitar intro very much (demonstrates). It’s quite hard to play. (Inoue) Akira-san asked when we were arranging this, if I could add in something like the intro from the Beatles’ Blackbird (demonstrates). I thought, with so little time, I probably can’t (laugh). So I tweaked it around a bit and tuned it to my own key (demonstates where the singing comes in). It’s quite hard to play (Sou-chan laughs) I’m quite proud of it. (More demonstration and explanation of the tuning from E flat to G flat.) I’ve been meaning to explain about this. I’m so proud of myself that I can play this out, please try it yourselves.
(Sou-chan: Tell us who the members were) Well, I was on guitar, Inoue Akira-san on keyboard, Yamaki (Hideo)-san on drums, Takamizu Kenji-san on bass, Kaneko Asuka-san on violin and (Kurata) Nobuo-san on cello and flute.
Recording (of the melody) has taken many years. We began in 2006, backtracking bit by bit. I have many songs which are being recorded but not to be released yet. If I don’t record what I’ve composed, I won’t be able to make it in time. When someone commissions me, I can’t finish it immediately (laugh). I have to keep working at it, refining it continuously like metabolism. If I lose this function, then as a performer, I might as well retire.
We’d changed the key many times. And we weren’t too sure how to approach it in the arrangement. That’s why I said just now, it was because of everybody related to the drama, that we could finally shape it up.
~The End ~
Translated from the Chinese version in Fukuyama Honne (Article 8571). Please note the Chinese version is not a direct translation of the script. Midori-san had taken the general meaning of what transpired between Sou-chan and Masha, and presented it in a coherent form. It was not meant to cover everything, just to give us a gist of what’s been said. Many thanks, Midori-san!
I have added in what very little that I could (band members, drama personnel, demonstration comments) and so please let me know if I’d got anything wrong.
This translation was first posted on MashaPlus [dot] Info Forums. (Registration required to enter.)
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