Sukiyaki (3:09)

“Ue o muite arukō” (上を向いて歩こう “(I) shall walk looking up”) is a Japanese song that was performed by Japanese crooner Kyu Sakamoto (坂本九), and written by Rokusuke Ei and Hachidai Nakamura. It is best known under its alternative title “Sukiyaki” in English-speaking parts of the world. The song reached the top of the sales charts in the United States in 1963, and was the only Japanese language song to do so. In total it sold over 13 million copies internationally. The original Kyu Sakamoto recording also went to number eighteen on the R&B chart. The recording was originally released in Japan by Toshiba in 1961. It topped the Popular Music Selling Record chart in the Japanese magazine Music Life for three months. Well-known English-language cover versions include a 1981 cover by A Taste Of Honey and a 1995 cover by 4 P.M.

The lyrics tell the story of a man who looks up and whistles while he is walking so that his tears won’t fall. The verses of the song describe him doing this through each season of the year. The English lyrics of the version recorded by A Taste of Honey are not a translation of the original Japanese lyrics but a completely different set of lyrics set to the same basic melody. Probably the nearest translation, at least in feel, was recorded by US soul singer Jewel Akens, on ERA Records, as “My First Lonely Night” which, although not a literal translation, tells a similar story. A lonely man walks through the night, after losing his love.