Having discovered the Japanese Bubblegum Pop Heavy Metal band, Babymetal, I wanted to create a song along that feel. Serendipitously, I came across the traditional Japanese lullaby “Takeda no Komoriuta”. I’ve heard that song before but never understood what it meant (until I read the Wikipedia entry). Playing around with the lyrics, I thought it would suit the arrangement I have in mind.

The next challenge was to find a female lead singer. It was my fortune to have my friend, the talented Ms Lynn Dresel, on board for this track. She agreed to record her vocals on GarageBand. She sent me the files, I did a mix, we exchanged comments in less than a day, and here it is. The last bit was to persuade her to upload her vocal stems in ccM, which she did readily.

The Burakumin backstory to the lyrics was especially poignant for me. Rather than envision this as a protest song (it’s not per se, according to a Japanese friend of mine), I saw it as a song of one’s resolve to do better, in spite of whatever that is troubling us.

I had fun with it. Hope it rocks your day too.

Special mention to my Japanese friend and fellow Babymetal fan, Kanako H., who helped explained more of the backstory/ context of the lyrics, Burakumin etc.

SELECTED LYRICS:
Mori mo iyagaru, Bon kara saki-nya
Yuki mo chiratsuku-shi, Ko mo naku-shi

“I would hate baby-sitting beyond Bon Festival,
The snow begins to fall, and the baby cries. ”

Kono ko you naku, Mori wo ba ijiru
Mori mo ichi-nichi, Yaseru-yara

“This child continues to cry and is mean to me.
Every day I grow thinner.”

Lyrics Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takeda_Lullaby