I hate this village!

No, this isn't an emo post about living in the country side of Japan. ;) This is a post about the song 俺ら東京行ぐだ (ora tokyo sa igu da) by 吉幾三 (Yoshi Ikuzou).



This song is awesome. Released in 1984, it is about living in this little village with none of the modern amenities of life and wanting to move to Tokyo. It is sung in Tohoku-style language, which gives it this awesome campy feeling. While most people in 1984 thought it was a fun poke at the countryside and it ended up as a big hit, many of the local agricultural villages took offense and protested it.

It was also part of the birth of rap in Japan... as odd as that may sound.

As an American, the song reminds me of Gilligan's Island... you know, "no phones, no lights, no motor cars, not a single luxury." But it also has the Beverly Hillbillies chic with the ideas of raising cows and driving a horse cart through Tokyo. XD

My translation of the lyrics can be found here.

テレビも無ェ　ラジオも無ェ	terebi mo ne rajio mo ne	No TV, no radio
自動車もそれほど走って無ェ	kuruma mo sore hodo hashittene	there aren't even many cars that drive by
ピアノも無ェ　バーも無ェ	piano mo ne baa mo ne	no pianos, no bars
巡査　毎日ぐーるぐる	omawari mainichi gu-ruguru	the one police car just circles around
朝起ぎで　牛連れで	asaogide ushi tsurede	I wake up, take the cow
二時間ちょっとの散歩道	nijikan chotto no sampo michi	out for a little 2 hour stroll
電話も無ェ　瓦斯も無ェ	denwa mo ne gasu mo ne	no phones no gas
バスは一日一度来る	basu ha ichinichi ichido kuru	the bus only comes once a day
※俺らこんな村いやだ	*ora konna mura iya da	*I hate this village
俺らこんな村いやだ	ora konna mura iya da	I hate this village
東京へ出るだ　東京へ出だなら	toukyou e deru da toukyou e dedanara	I'm gonna go to Tokyo Once I get to Tokyo
銭コァ貯めで　東京でベコ(牛)飼うだ※	zeniko a tamede toukyou de beko kauda*	I'll save my money and raise cows there*
ギターも無ェ　ステレオ無ェ gita-	mo ne sutereo ne	no guitars, no stereos
生まれてこのかた　見だごとァ無ェ	umarete kono kata midagoto a ne	I've never even seen them in my whole life
喫茶も無ェ　集(つど)いも無ェ	kissa mo ne tsudoi mo ne	no coffee shops, no hang-outs
まったぐ若者ァ　俺一人	mattagu wakamono a ore hitori	The only young person is me
婆さんと　爺さんと	baasan to jiisan to	Grandma and Grampa
数珠(ジュズ)を握って空拝む	juzu wo nigitte sora ogamu	just pray to the sky
薬屋無ェ　映画も無ェ	kusuriya ne eiga mo ne	no drug stores, no movies
たまに来るのは　紙芝居	tama ni kuru no ha kamishibai	sometimes the kamishibai visits
俺らこんな村いやだ　俺らこんな村いやだ	ora konna mura iya da ora konna mura iya da	I hate this village, I hate this village
東京へ出るだ　東京へ出だなら	tokyo e deru da toukyou e deda nara	I'm gonna go to Tokyo, Once I get to Tokyo
銭(ゼニ)コァ貯めで　東京で馬車引くだ	zeniko a tamede toukyou de basha hiku da	I'm gonna save my money, and drive a horse cart
ディスコも無ェのぞきも無ェ	disuko mo ne nozoki mo ne	there's no discos, no peeping toms
レーザー・ディスクは何者だ?	re-za- disuku ha nanimono da?	Who is "Laser Disc?"
カラオケは　あるけれど	karaoke wa aru keredo	We do have karaoke
かける機械を見だごとァ無ェ	kakeru kikai o midagoto a ne	but I've never seen a machine that does it
新聞無ェ　雑誌も無ェ	shimbun ne zasshi mo ne	no newspapers, no magazines
たまに来るのは回覧板	tamani kuru no wa kairanban	sometimes there is that one newsletter
信号無ェ　ある訳無ェ	shingou ne aru wake ne	no traffic lights, not like there even would be,
俺らの村には電気が無ェ	ora no mura ni wa denki ga ne	my village doesn't even have electricity!
俺らこんな村いやだ	ora konna mura iya da	I hate this village
俺らこんな村いやだ	ora konna mura iya da	I hate this village
東京へ出るだ　東京へ出だなら	toukyou e deru da toukyou e deda nara	I'm going out to Tokyo, once I get to Tokyo
銭(ゼニ)コァ貯めで　銀座に山買うだ	zeniko a tamede ginza ni yama kau da	I'll save my money, and buy a mountain in Ginza!