Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Song about "Freedom", or "Jiyu"

Hello this is Tak from Imari Tones.
Today, I want to talk a little bit about "Freedom".



Just take a look at this picture.
He is Scott Lack, a good friend of ours, from The Lacks.

Last year, we toured in Japan together on The Extreme Tour Japan.
That's when he got this new tattoo on his left arm.
It says "自由" (Jiyuu). It means "freedom" in Japanese.
He also has a tattoo saying "FREEDOM" on his right arm.
Now he has 2 tattoos that mean "freedom" both in Japanese & English.

Inspired by this, I wrote this one particular song.
Though the meaning of "Jiyu"(自由) is slightly different from the English word "freedom", I wanted to sing about freedom in my own way. Maybe somewhat in Japanese way.

That was, partly because of the current social/political situation in Japan.
Because I felt like freedom (自由) in Japanese society was fading.

Also, the current situation of the world made me want to sing about freedom.
So many wars, crisis, and disasters all around the world.

As a musician, I don't want to talk about the politics.
Because for a musician, music is all that matters. All the important things are in the music.
Also, as a Christian, I don't really talk about politics.
Because for me, spiritual things are more important than each political issue.

So I don't want to talk about right or left.
It doesn't matter, as long as you are spiritually awake and got love for Jesus Christ.

So, here is the lyric of the song called "Jee-You".
Jee-You, of course, means "自由"(freedom).
Also it represents the relationship between Jesus & You.

It's a song about a battle. Spiritual battle.
Basically I wrote this song as an "anti-war" song, but you can also read it as a "stand up bravely and fight" song. That's, well, the beautiful part of music and art, I guess. It can be construed the way you like. (Very convenient)

In either way, this is a song about "fighting for freedom".
It's a song about "rebel against power".
It's a song about "dying for what you believe in".

"We are not afraid of dying. But what we die for, who we die for, we decide by ourselves. Not you." That's what this song is saying.

So, here it is.

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"Jee You" (English version)
-written by Tak Nakamine

I don't want no war
Unless it's my war
We didn't realize the war had already begun

Standing in the battlefield
Who we fight for
How many people should we kill to end this nightmare

We refuse to obey
Atrocious acts
We’d rather die as human
than to follow the beast

Because we got
Jee-You (Freedom)
That's what I believe in
Jee-You (Freedom)
I say All I want is Jee-You

The system is broken
So is society
You can't divide us anymore with these shallow lines

The last revolution
in human history
Each of us must decide who we die for

We choose to obey
The only truth
We believe in future
and we're not afraid

Because we got
Jee-You (Freedom)
That's what I believe in
Jee-You (Freedom)
I give All my life To-You

Now people
Now all my friends
I wanna hear you say
I wanna hear you shout

Do you believe in future
Do you believe in God
Do you think you can die for Love
We can be brave
Because it's Revolution
Yes we can do it
With Him we can do it
Each of us give our life and we can change the world
Each of us give our life and we can change the world

Because we got
Jee-You (Freedom)
That's what I believe in
Jee-You (Freedom)
I say All I want is You


- - - - - - - - - -

That's all.
All rights reserved :)

Showing the song lyrics for a new song before playing it in public, this is the first time we do this kind of thing.
But I could not help.

We are already rehearsing this song in studio.
This coming November, we are going to tour Japan again with The Lacks.
We are going to play this new song and can't wait to shout "Freedom"&"Jee-You" with everyone.


Thanks,
God bless,
Tak Nakamine / Imari Tones