金曲 | Magic Ways：City Pop与转瞬即逝的幻梦
City Pop is heavily influenced by American soft rock by taking the song structures of the genre and mixing it with Southern R&B from the US, Northern Soul from the UK and jazz fusion music to try and achieve an almost tropical and sophisticated sound (drawn heavily from the Hawaiian and Okinawan vibes in particular), which was formulated by songwriters of that time for descriptions of a luxurious, sensual and upbeat modern life.
Soon, however, City Pop faded out of style by the 1990s, largely due to the tanking of the Japanese economy in what came to be known as "The Lost Decade" and, arguably, Japan hasn't completely recovered from to this day, making the eagerness of the era of City Pop a fleeting and meteoric bubble.
All the same, the remaining music works are still of aesthetic value and worthy of appreciation, say, Magic Ways by Tatsuro Yamashita, one of the iconic singers of City Pop. This song came like a dream, from the less credited corners of YouTube with its anime versions of beautiful songs like these. At first, it seemed nothing special, until you listened to the original song to discover that it's not been electronically altered at all. Released in 1982, the song is well beyond its years. The use of electronic music is very clever and artistic, adding more allure to the song than hostility. The lyrics are just so captivating, innocent and beautiful; talks like a man completely consumed by love.
山下达郎唱到他是如何热切而不假思索地爱上那个女孩，如同被她施了热恋的魔咒；唱到他爱上组成了她的、同时也将会成为他的生活的所有一切；唱到他陷入了如此狂热的爱恋以至于他遇到的每个人都来劝阻他，告诉他他只是被魔法迷了心窍。实际上他是在炫耀着他所爱上的那个女孩有多么迷人和完美。
歌曲的爵士乐曲调中始终穿插着一把不太明显的吉他，以及使乐声更加充实的和声。细微的要素赋予了这首歌曲欢快的基调，作为背景声的 Magic 的窃窃私语也令整首歌曲整体更加可爱。
The way you whisper in my ear
你在我耳旁轻语的方式
To make my troubles disappear
来让我的烦恼都消失
It's magic
是魔法啊
The way your little finger tips
你小指轻颤的方式
Can make my heart do double flips
能让我砰然心动
It's magic
是魔法啊
And when you smile at me that way
你对我微笑的方式
Well you can warm the coldest day
你能温暖最寒冷的日子
It's magic
是魔法啊
And even when you're gone I find
即使你消失了我都能找到你
I hear you laughing in my mind
我能在心中听到你的笑声
It's magic
是魔法啊
And all I have to do is think of you
我要做的就是想起你
To make the music start to play
来让音乐开始演奏
Then I dance down the street
然后我在街边跳舞
And the peope I meet stop and say hey
我碰见的人们都停下来跟我打招呼
Magic ways My friend
魔法的方式啊，我的朋友
You love the girl with magic ways and it's true
你爱上拥有魔法的女孩 这是真的
I might as well give in
我还是臣服于你为好
You cast a spell on all my nights and days
你向我的白天和黑夜施了魔法
With your sweet magic ways
用你温柔甜蜜的魔法
When I go to sleep it seems
当我睡觉的时候好像
You sprinkle stardust in my dreams
你在我的梦中洒下星尘
It's magic
是魔法啊
And in the morning when I rise
早晨我起床的时候
The mockingbirds all harmonize
知更鸟都在和声歌唱
It's magic
是魔法啊
And when you want me you just clap your hands
当你想要我的时候你只需要拍手
And I'll be with you right away
我就马上会出现在你身旁
Then we'll float on a breeze
然后我们一起乘风漂浮
While the leaves in the trees softly say hey
树上的叶子轻柔地打招呼
Magic ways My friend
魔法的方式啊，我的朋友
You love the girl with magic ways and it's true
你爱上拥有魔法的女孩，这是真的
I might as well give in
我还是臣服于你为好
You cast a spell on all my nights and days
你向我的白天和黑夜施了魔法
With your sweet magic ways
用你温柔甜蜜的魔法
Magic ways My friend
魔法的方式啊，我的朋友
You love the girl with magic ways and it's true
你爱上拥有魔法的女孩，这是真的
I might as well give in
我还是臣服于你为好
I love the girl with magic ways
我爱上拥有魔法的女孩
Magic ways My friend
魔法的方式啊，我的朋友
You love the girl with magic ways and it's true
你爱上拥有魔法的女孩，这是真的
I might as well give in
我还是臣服于你为好
You cast a spell on all my nights and days
你向我的白天和黑夜施了魔法
With your sweet magic ways My friend
用你温柔甜蜜的魔法，我的朋友
You love the girl with magic ways and it's true
你爱上拥有魔法的女孩，这是真的
I might as well give in
我还是臣服于你为好
I love the girl with magic ways
我爱上拥有魔法的女孩
Magic ways My friend
魔法的方式啊，我的朋友
You love the girl with magic ways and it's true
你爱上拥有魔法的女孩，这是真的
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