My Showa Kayou 4　　"Vacation of Love" 1963

Japanese Title "Koino Vamansu"

Listening to a new harmony,
I was moved and sang a duet alone.
"Vacation of Love"

When it comes to Showa-era pop songs, The Peanuts are the epitome.

Every Sunday evening at 6:30 PM, my favorite music show begins.

The opening song is, of course, by The Peanuts: ♪ Shabon dama, lululu... Shabon dama, lalala... ♪

Then, the harmony starts with ♪ Romantic dreams... ♪. Their duet is incredibly smooth, as if two melodies are coming from a single mouth. It's so joyful and natural. As an elementary school student, I was mesmerized.

This smooth duet underwent a significant transformation after a while.

The once mild harmony became energetic in this song. Furthermore, the harmony part was higher than the main melody, leaving my young self in awe at the overlapping melodies. Kids can sing right away, and it's only after singing that they realize how high it is. It was a song that left me utterly amazed.

That song is "Vacation of Love" ("Koi no Vacance"). Lyrics by Tokiko Iwatani. Just singing it brings movie scenes to mind.

Composed by Hiroshi Miyagawa. His arrangement is top-notch. He's also the one who composed "Space Battleship Yamato."

On the record, the arrangement focuses on the voices of The Peanuts. However, when performed live on television, the arrangement adapted to the band? Or did the band just loosely arrange it themselves? I listened to it many times.

From ♪ Hini yaketa hoho yosete ♪ the arrangement included a wind obbligato. Depending on the band, this could be incredibly loud and off-key. But there was nothing The Peanuts couldn’t handle. No matter the band, their professional singing always led to success in the end.

This song has a Slavic feel to it, and its clear progression from minor to major and back to minor made it a hit even in Russia.

I have a younger sister, but she was tone-deaf. Or maybe she just wasn’t the type to hum popular songs. So, I couldn’t sing this song with my sibling. Instead, I sang both parts by myself.

What?! How’s that possible? LOL

Elementary school kids have their own worlds when they play, and it’s fascinating.

I sang the first part as the higher harmony. The second time, I sang the main melody, feeling like I was harmonizing. I truly felt like I was singing a duet.

Even now, when summer comes, I hum the song in the kitchen. The first part as the harmony, the second as the melody, reminiscing about those times. But now, I just sing the melody without feeling like it’s a duet anymore.

I cannot read or write in English.
This text has been translated by ChatGPT.
I haven't edited it, so there may be some strange parts.

【Reference Video】

【Japanese Version of the Article】