Picking up flowers
And putting them on our heads
We all become pretty rabbits
As we jump and dance, the sound of our shoes
Reverbrate up in the fine sky

another tune dad learnt at school was 愛国行進曲 ｢aikoku koshinkyoku｣, another patriotic/propaganda song with a surprising twist. you would know this tune if you are an ardent p. ramlee fan. he sang an alternative version of this with a.r. tompel and ibrahim din on a flying carpet travelling to negeri pasir berdengung:

[a more serious version here, if you like]

Miyo! Tokai no sora akete
Kyokujitsu takaku kagayakeba
Tenchi no seiki hatsuratsu to
Kibo wa odoru Oyamashima
(and so on)

which roughly describes japanese symbols of the rising sun and fujiyama, as well as the fact that japan has never been invaded.

these days, whilst i nonchalantly listen to music by japanese bands and solo artistes on my iPod, i don’t understand a word that is sang – a far cry from what it must be like for our fathers and grandfathers in the grim period between 1941 and 1945.

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