Shabondama

Shabondama (シャボン玉, lit. 'Soap Bubbles') is a 1922 Japanese nursery rhyme (warabe uta) composed by Shinpei Nakayama with lyrics written by Ujō Noguchi. It is widely taught in Japanese nursery schools and kindergartens as a simple melody; it is also sometimes used in elementary school moral education courses, where students learn that it is a meditation on the death of a child.

Noguchi's daughter Midori died at the age of just 7 days in 1908. In the Meiji period, the infant mortality rate was quite high, with about 20–30 percent of children dying before reaching schooling age. It was common to have many children to aim for success of the household, but Noguchi was divorced and thus mourned the loss of his only child for a long time.

It is widely believed that Noguchi wrote this poem upon seeing the girls in his village play with bubbles, being reminded of the brief existence of his daughter. However, other than the above facts, the direct inspiration for the song is unknown.^[1]^[2]

The melody of the song is a modification of the Christian hymn "Jesus Loves Me, This I Know". It is used as the melody for departing trains in Yumoto Station, Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture.

Melody and lyrics

Japanese	Literal translation	Translation by John McLean^[3]
シャボン玉飛んだ屋根まで飛んだ屋根まで飛んでこわれて消えたシャボン玉消えた飛ばずに消えた産まれてすぐにこわれて消えた風、風、吹くなシャボン玉飛ばそ	The soap bubble flew It flew up to the roof But reaching the roof, It broke and was no more. The soap bubble broke It broke before flying So soon after it was born, It broke and was no more. Wind, wind, don't you cry Let my bubble fly.	Little bubbles flew on up right up to the roofs so high. Up above the roofs they flew. Thereupon, they broke and died. All of them have disappeared, each and every one of them. So soon after they were born all of them have disappeared. Wind, oh, wind don't blow so hard. Little bubbles fly, oh, fly.

References

^ "「しゃぼん玉」は娘の死を歌っているってウソ？「赤い靴」の女の子は実在した？『唱歌・童謡120の真実』". ダ・ヴィンチニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-12-01.
^ 竹内, 貴久雄 (2017). 『唱歌・童謡120の真実』. 東京: ヤマハミュージックメディア. ISBN 978-4636910643.
^ In the 2020 film Hiroshima Piano [ja] (94:59–95:55): 中国新聞デジタル. "国際映画祭、学生が字幕安田女子大で通訳学ぶ30人、「プロの仕事」へ意識高める". 中国新聞デジタル (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-11-25.

External links

[1] "「しゃぼん玉」は娘の死を歌っているってウソ？「赤い靴」の女の子は実在した？『唱歌・童謡120の真実』". ダ・ヴィンチニュース (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-12-01.

[2] 竹内, 貴久雄 (2017). 『唱歌・童謡120の真実』. 東京: ヤマハミュージックメディア. ISBN 978-4636910643.

[3] In the 2020 film Hiroshima Piano [ja] (94:59–95:55): 中国新聞デジタル. "国際映画祭、学生が字幕安田女子大で通訳学ぶ30人、「プロの仕事」へ意識高める". 中国新聞デジタル (in Japanese). Retrieved 2020-11-25.

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