Zipper 09.2008 (Interview)

YUI’s new song: bursting at the seams with summer memories!

Translator unknown

It seems that your new song “SUMMER SONG” is the continuation to “Laugh Away” from your album “I Loved Yesterday.”

Actually, I wrote “SUMMER SONG” about 3 years ago, so it’s older than “Laugh Away.” It’s such a refreshing, summery piece so I was thinking “Hmm, I want to release this during summer.” Since “Laugh Away” embraced the feeling of spring, I wanted this song to bring out that “Summer is here, so let’s do what we want!” feeling, so I rewrote the lyrics for it. “Laugh Away” was written from a boy’s point of view, so I tried changing the lyrics for “SUMMER SONG” to a girl’s perspective.

Was it hard work to change the point of view and make it like a story?

I didn’t really worry about that. When I was wondering what kind of summer scenes young people see, I visualized fireworks, the ocean, school buildings, so I kind of just made that into a song.

Do you yourself like summer?

Yes. When summer came around, I would go to local Fukuoka festivals and firework shows. I would also go play at the ocean near my house. I associate a lot of fun memories with summer, so I feel like “I like summer!”

Please tell us about the B-side, “Oh My God.”

I started writing this song during the production of the album. If “SUMMER SONG” is like running and jumping around, this song is more like walking slowly; it doesn’t have a lot of power or vigor in it. But the lyrics are written with strong words of determination, so you can kind of tell that I was thinking hard while writing. I wrote the song wanting to convey that even though life is so vague, I still have hopes.

So the third song on the single is an acoustic version of “Laugh Away…”

When recording acoustic songs, there aren’t as many sounds and the song becomes simpler, so I sang a little gentler. Its completely different from when I sang the original, it’s like you’re seeing a more refreshing expression.

Finally, a message to our Zipper readers!

“Laugh Away” with the message of “Keep laughing/smiling;” “SUMMER SONG” with “Let’s do what we want;” and “Oh My God” with “I have hopes/dreams/expectations;” this single is really positive. “SUMMER SONG,” with its lively rhythm, makes me feel like I’ve shown another side of me. It’s a special song that I’ve been nurturing in my heart for a long time. If, when listening to this song, you think “Yeah, summer really is here” or “Let’s go to the ocean” and things like that, it would make me really happy.