2003-06 – タマちゃん – Tama-chan

- Translated by Malia

I am making a song for the animation called “WOLF’S RAIN”. A year before I saw all of you, I always had my writing and recording of animation sound tracks finished on time, but because of my staff this year, I’m always a little late. So I’m responding to the world that keeps changing, as I go.

Last summer when I started writing this song, the seal at Tama River, Tama-chan was the center of everyone’s conversation. And I decided to make a Wolf’s theme song, “Tama-chan”.

Tama-chan somehow got far away from his fellow mates, and was going through a road where there was nobody and all he had waiting for him was death. From a human, it seems dumb and stupid.

But to adults children seem to do stupid things. Countries without any freedom seem weird to people from countries with freedom – it is the same with humans. Life goes through roads that seem stupid to take.

I wonder why. Is it our instincts? Is it our knowledge? Or simply because we’ve given up? Where do we take the wrong turn? Right now looking at how Tama-chan has taken a wrong turn in his life, I think that to live is very admirable and something to be proud of.

In any life, standing on your own without leaning on anything, and living it with all your might is a beautiful thing. Even if I were taking the wrong stupid road right now, I would rather stop worrying and live my life as lively as I can and make it shine.

It doesn’t matter how you live your life – living means that you are slowly dying. Life has this sad burden the minute it comes into the earth. I wish I could make that into music. It would probably be simple, worm but invisible, and like the power of unconditional love, but it is hard to make music like that.

Singer Joyce, who joined us for this occasion, Sakamoto (something; couldn’t read the kanji. Sorry.) [Ed: Maaya], and Steve have all lived their lives as hard as they could, and it shows in their singing. I am surrounded by people who have lived their lives proudly. You should treasure these kinds friends.

Ah, it’s starting to sound like a lecture, so I’m going to stop talking about this. By the way, I saw a big dead fish on the side of the road the other day. A tortoise shell cat came near the fish very slowly. She was sniffing the fish with wide eyes and then she looked up at me and asked me a question. “Can I eat this? I thought that fish swam around already cut in pieces, but I guess this is what they really look like.”

Actually, is this really a fish? I’m very surprised.