SAY YES... for what??

Basic Information About "SAY YES"

"SAY YES" is the legendary Japanese song performed by CHAGE and ASKA. It was released in 1991 and still it is ranked in top 10 best-selling singles in Japan. It was also used as theme song of very popular TV Drama Series "101回目のプロポーズ" .
I feel this song is not just a "popular song" , but still living in the heart of Japanese.

Me And The Song "SAY YES"

Of course I like the song "SAY YES" same as other Japanese, but I enjoyed this song without understanding the lyrics since it was released before I could read and write. And somehow I have never confirmed it till now.
I'm ashamed that I totally don't know the lyrics of my favourite song, so that today I'll try to study the story of "SAY YES", and
reveal all the mystery of this song.

The Meaning Of "SAY YES"

At first, I regard "SAY YES" as Imperative sentence.
"Be quiet!!" "Do the homework!!" "Clean up your room!!" ...English teacher taught me if we want to create imperative sentence, we have to remove the subject and tell it with angry look.

So according to this song title, the man asked some questions or requested something to the woman, and after that he forced her to SAY "YES".
As you know, if we intentionally manipulate the answer, The question will not be the question, the request will not be the request anymore.
He tried to sound as if "I'm asking to you" but actually he didn't ask her at all, he thought there are no options, you have to say "YES" only!
Thankfully, any types of harassment are prohibited nowadays, Your boss cannot force subordinates to say "YES". (I know only one exceptional case, K-POP group TWICE can force you to say Yes or Yes, though.)
Since the song was released on 30 years ago, I assume worker protection law was underdeveloped. Even Samurai was still alived and Harakiri was one of the serious social problems in the early 1990s.

What is his aim??

Then, now we understand he tried to obtain "YES" answer from her by compulsion. but what kind of approval did he want to obtain? Let me quote the lyrics below,

何度も言うよ　君は確かに
僕を愛してる
迷わずに SAY YES 迷わずに

SAY YES / Chage & Aska

「何度も言うよ」means like "I'll say it many times".
「君は確かに僕を愛してる」means "You definitely love me"
「迷わずに」means "Don't hesitate"

So if I translate the lyrics, "You definitely love me, right? I'll say it repeatedly. You should answer YES without hesitation."

...How do you think about it? A little bit weird, scary sentence, isn't it? Of course it depends on the relationships between them, If they are deeply in love with each other, No problem. But I don't think they are entirely at peace with each other.
He used "definitely" , it means he believed she loved him for sure, however if it's sure, he didn't have to say it many times. I think he said it repeatedly because he was not sure. and hope the answer would be "Yes"...

How did she react after "SAY YES" ?

Unfortunately, we have to imagine her reaction, since it is not written in the lyrics. But at least, she hesitates to say "Yes", otherwise he didn't remind the answer many times. And also, he said "Don't hesitate". It seems like he tried to reduce the options, "Don't hesitate, SAY YES! Don't hesitate!!"  ...Now I'm anxious about her safety.

Key Takeaway

Generally speaking, overconfidence will ruin your relationships. We should not forget we can't read someone's mind. Might as well convey your feeling rather than assume someone's mind. Good luck!