I really like the classical theatres of China and Japan. But pop songs are more
simple, maybe easier to sing. They are not always bad. For example, Yamaguchi
Momoe's farewell song "さよならの向こう側; (The Other Side of Goodbye)", I am impressed
by the lyric and her tears during the concert. "何億光年 輝く星も 寿命があると教えてくれたのは あなたでした
季節ごとに咲く一輪の花に 無限の命知らせてくれたのも あなたでした
(You were the one who taught me
That even the
stars twinkling hundreds of millions of light years away have a life span
You
were also the one who showed me
The infinite life in a flower that blooms with
the seasons)"
At age 21, Yamaguchi San retired at the height of her popularity
to marry her frequent costar, Tomokazu Miura; she has never performed or made a
public appearance since.
The late Leslie Cheung also sang that song in
Cantonese, but changed the song name to “The Wind Continues to Blow”,〈風繼續吹〉.
留住眼裡每滴淚 You still holding back my tears
為何仍斷續流默默垂 Yet they fall silently
The
last song "The Other Side of Goodbye" at Yamaguchi San's farewell concert also
reminds me of the late Anita Mui Yim-fong. "きっと 私 忘れません後姿 みないでゆきます (I will not
forget, please don't look at me at the back again)"
I can't forget Miss Mui's
retreating figure at her final concert and dare not watch again. When I was in
college, I read a lot of books about her in the library, an author wrote, "I’m
going to leaveーdon’t watch me go. It's the most sad and desolate view."
さよならのかわりに
Thank you for your everything, rather than goodbye