Every Moment Has A Song

Shoukichi Kina: “Haisai Ojisan (Hey Man!)” (1972)

If there’s one song that instantly puts me in a good mood, this is it.

Admittedly it’s pretty far afield from my usual fare and I think that’s the point. If music can be thought of as a drug, sometimes one develops a tolerance for the lower dose and seeks something that delivers a bigger kick.

I get a kick out of “Haisai Ojisan”

Shoukichi Kina and his band Champloose (the band name is derived from a traditional Okinawan stir-fry dish) were part of the Okinawan folk-rock movement of the 1970’s and 80’s. “Haisai Ojisan”, Kina’s first big hit, was a song he’d written in high school.

Kina and Champloose adding bass, guitars and drums to traditional sanshin music was the Okinawan equivalent to Dylan going electric in America, or Fairport Convention electrifying British folk.

Fittingly, Fairport alumnus Richard Thompson covered “Haisai Ojisan” in 1987 on the same French, Frith, Kaiser, Thompson Live Love, Larf & Loaf album that contains a cover of “Surfin’ U.S.A.” and an assortment of other strange musical bedfellows. Thompson and company’s “Haisai Ojisan” is a remarkably reverent take on the original:

The song has also spawned a group folk dance, or more accurately a variety of group folk dances, none of which seem to resemble the others much:

Shoukichi Kina is probably equally well known as a peace activist and politician, and was elected to the House of Councillors in 2004.

English translation:

Hey, man! Hey, man!
If there’s a drop of sake left in last night’s little bottle
Won’t you give me some?
Hey, boy! Hey, boy!
You think I’m satisfied with a little bottle?
Don’t say there’s none left!
Ok, man! If the little bottle’s not enough, give me a big one

Hi, man! Hi, man!
I wanna marry, I’m not a kid anymore
Can I marry your daughter?
Hey, boy! Hey boy!
Marry? No kidding!
You’re still too young to talk about such things
Ok, man! I’ll wait till my hair turns white

Hi, man! Hi, man!
What a big bald spot you have!
Hey, boy! Hey, boy!
Bald men are excellent
My forefathers were really excellent
Ok, man! I’m gonna have cosmetic surgery to add bald spots

Hi, man! Hi, man!
Your beard is funny, like the whiskers of an attic mouse
Hey, boy! Hey, boy!
Laugh at my beard, but women love bearded men
Ok, man! I don’t wanna be outdone by you,
Starting tomorrow, I’ll grow a beard that looks like the whiskers of a mouse

Hi, man! Hi, man!
Last night’s hooker was really pretty, you should go there, too
Hey, boy! Hey, boy!
In Chiji, Nakajima and Watanji,* I’m a big shot
Okay, man! Going around here and there, I’m wasting my money
You’re wasting your money