INDEX
Shibata’s Lyrics: Creating a Sense of Familiarity Despite Unique Experiences
-I’m going to change the subject a little. Personally, I think this is a point common to both of your lyrics. I feel that there is a perfect balance between the nuance of a singer-songwriter who projects her own “reality” and the sense that she is telling a story from a bird’s eye view, like a screenwriter. To what extent do you keep this in mind when writing lyrics?
Shibata: Well, when you say it like that, I think I might be doing it myself, but (whispering) I might be doing that part pretty much at random.
-Both of you have covered songs by Masashi Sada, right? (Author’s note: Shibata covered “Azayakana Tabibito,” while Natsume covered “Amayadori”). Do you ever feel inclined to write lyrics with such dense thematic content?”
Shibata: I think Sada-san is extremely talented, but I don’t have confidence in my ability to create such a short story-like world in my songs. I am not really aware that I am good at storytelling.
Natsume: I don’t either.
Shibata: I might be able to create a “story,” but I think a “story” is something bigger and freer than a “story.
-I think a “story” is something bigger and freer than a “tale.”
Shibata: Yes, that’s right.
Natsume: I totally understand. I may be making a great effort not to fall into “deep stories. When you suddenly realize it, lyrics tend to become “deep stories.
Shibata: I don’t think “creating a story” is just about creating a beginning, middle, and end. When I read novels by professional writers, they often end and end in such strange places that the beginning, middle, and end don’t work. But the result is a very rich story.
-I am sure that there are many people who project their own image onto your lyrics or find some kind of narrative in them.
Natsume: Your songs are full of lines that I can understand, even though I have never actually experienced something similar. In the song “Regret,” he says, “Oh, ever since I saw you swinging at the batting center, I’ve actually wanted to hug you. (laughs).
The point is that the word “actually” is attached to it, meaning that this person did not directly tell the other person about it. It was just something that was on his/her mind. That’s what I was thinking about in my heart, and I thought, “I totally understand” (laughs). I’m possessed by the person in the lyrics, or rather, I’m being possessed by the person in the lyrics. ……I remember memories that shouldn’t exist at all.
Shibata: That’s very strange. That makes me happy.
