Sukiyaki Song History (from wikipedia.org)

“Ue o Muite Arukō” (上を向いて歩こう, “I Look Up As I Walk“) is a Japanese-language song that was performed by Japanese crooner Kyu Sakamoto, and written by lyricist Rokusuke Ei and composer Hachidai Nakamura. Ei wrote the lyrics while walking home from a Japanese student demonstration protesting against a continued US Army presence, expressing his frustration at the failed efforts.^[1]^[2]

In Anglophone countries, it is best known under the alternative title “Sukiyaki“, a term with no relevance to the song’s lyrics. (Sukiyaki is a Japanese dish of cooked beef.) The song reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 charts in the United States in 1963, one of the few non-Indo-European language songs to have done so.

It is one of the best-selling singles of all time, having sold over 13 million copies worldwide.^[3]^[4] The original Kyu Sakamoto recording also went to number eighteen on the R&B chart.^[5] In addition, the single spent five weeks at number one on the Middle of the Road charts.^[6] 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 (jp) for three months, and was ranked as the number one song of 1961 in Japan.^{[citation needed]}

Well-known English-language cover versions with altogether different lyrics include “My First Lonely Night” by Jewel Akens in 1966, and “Sukiyaki” by A Taste of Honey in 1980. The song has also been recorded in other languages.

“Sukiyaki”

Single by Kyu Sakamoto
from the album Sukiyaki and Other Japanese Hits (US)
B-side	“Anoko No Namaewa Nantenkana”
Released	1961 (Japan) 1963 (US, UK)
Format	7″ vinyl
Genre	Pop, Kayōkyoku, Japanese pop
Length	3:05
Label	Toshiba-EMI (Japan) Capitol/EMI Records (US and Canada) HMV/EMI Records (UK)
Songwriter(s)	Rokusuke Ei (lyrics) Hachidai Nakamura (music)

Lyrics

The lyrics tell the story of a man who looks up and whistles while he is walking so that his tears will not fall. The verses of the song describe his memories and feelings. Rokusuke Ei wrote this song while coming back from a protest against the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan and feeling dejected about the failure of the protest movement, but the lyrics were rendered purposefully generic so that they might refer to any lost love.^[13] The English-language lyrics of the version recorded by A Taste of Honey are not a translation of the original Japanese lyrics, but instead a completely different set of lyrics arranged to the same basic melody.

The title “Sukiyaki“, a Japanese hot-pot dish, does not appear in the song’s lyrics, nor does it have any connection to them; it was used only because it was short, catchy, recognizably Japanese, and more familiar to English speakers. A Newsweek Magazine columnist noted that the re-titling was like issuing “Moon River” in Japan under the title “Beef Stew”.^[14]

A Taste of Honey version

The cover version by A Taste of Honey reached number three on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.^[15] It also went to number one on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart and Soul chart.^[16]

While driving around Los Angeles, Janice–Marie Johnson of A Taste of Honey had heard Linda Ronstadt‘s hit remake of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles‘ “Ooo Baby Baby” play on the car radio with Johnson concluding that A Taste of Honey should remake a classic hit.^[17] Johnson focused on Kyu Sakamoto’s “Sukiyaki” which she first learned in the original Japanese. According to The Billboard Book of Number One R&B Hits by Fred Bronson, Johnson learned that the Japanese lyrics when translated to English had three possible interpretations — as the mindset of a man facing execution; as someone trying to be optimistic despite life’s trials; or as the story of an ended love affair, with Johnson quoted as saying: “Me being the hopeless romantic that I am, I decided to write about a love gone bad.”^{[citation needed]} Johnson was given permission by the original song’s copyright holders to write the English-language lyrics on the understanding that she receive neither official credit nor remuneration.^{[citation needed]} This version used a koto played by Hazel Payne.^[18]

A Taste of Honey’s version of “Sukiyaki” first appeared on their 1980 album, Twice As Sweet. It was released as a single in 1981.^{[citation needed]} It is the group’s single of greatest U.S. chart longevity at 24 weeks, surpassing their earlier hit, “Boogie Oogie Oogie” by one week.

“Sukiyaki”

Single by A Taste of Honey

from the album Twice As Sweet

B-side

“Don’t You Lead Me On”

Released

March 1981

Recorded

1980

Genre

R&B • Quiet Storm

Length

3:41

Label

Capitol B-4953

Songwriter(s)

Hachidai Nakamura
Janice–Marie Johnson (English lyrics)

Producer(s)

George Duke

A Taste of Honey singles chronology

“Rescue Me”
(1980)

“Sukiyaki“
(1981)

“I’ll Try Something New“
(1982)

4 P.M. version

4 P.M.‘s 1994 version reached number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. The 4 P.M. version also uses the same English-language lyrics written by Janice Marie Johnson. The 4 P.M. version was a chart success in Australia, reaching number 3, and in New Zealand, reaching number 5.^{[citation needed]}

“Sukiyaki”

Single by 4 P.M.

from the album Now’s the Time

Released

September 6, 1994

Format

CD and cassette single

Recorded

1994

Length

2:42

Label

London Records (UK)

Songwriter(s)

Hachidai Nakamura
Janice Marie Johnson (English lyrics)

4 P.M. singles chronology

“Sukiyaki“
(1995)

“Lay Down Your Love”
(1995)

G.H. Hat versions[edit]

“Sukiyaki”

Single by G.H. Hat
from the album Sukiyaki Versions
Released	April 13, 2018
Format	Digital
Recorded	2018
Length	4:18
Label	Viscount Music
Songwriter(s)	Hachidai Nakamura Janice Marie Johnson (English lyrics)

G.H. Hat released 4 original versions of Sukiyaki and 8 remixed versions of these original tracks in April and July 2018, including remixes by Ralphi Rosario and Dinaire+Bissen. All versions are in the Dance Genre and charted on Billboard’s Dance Club Songs Top 50 for 10 weeks with a peak position of #19.^[34] The April versions featured US Singer Alina Renae and used the English Language lyrics written by Janice Marie Johnson. The July versions featured Japanese Super Star Eriko Tamura and used the original Japanese lyrics.

Charts[edit]

Chart (2018)	Peak position
US Billboard Dance Club Songs Top 50^[34]	19

Selena version

“Sukiyaki” (English: I Shall Walk Looking Up, Spanish: Caminaré Mirando Arriba), was a single released by Selena in 1990, which was released as the fourth single from the 1989 self-titled album Selena. The song received much airplay at the time of release. It was a Spanish-language version of the song, featuring the lyrics written by Janice Marie Johnson translated into Spanish.^{[citation needed]}

It was released as a single in the United States and Japan. It was included in several of Selena’s greatest hits packages before and after her death.^{[citation needed]}

“Sukiyaki”