BUCK-TICK - Maimu Mime (Misemono Goyaga Kurete Kara〜Show After Dark〜 2021)

Album: Abracadabra Lingua Sounda/Victor Mime Mime Lyrics: Sakurai Atsushi Music: Imai Hisashi Lyrics translation (C) This is NOT Greatest Site, Cayce. ♠ So you knew it all along I never would have thought you, too So love is just a fantasy Love is just a fairytale Looking at me with moistened eyes Playing the kitten, start to cry Doing a thing like that to me But you knew it all along ♥ Yes, I knew it all along It’s common knowledge, dear, you know But I never would have thought You’d have fallen for it, though Would you please lend me your hand To flick the zipper up my back Then kindly pay me what you owe Because we’re running out of time ♥ The clock has needle hands, needle hands, needle hands To put a spell on you, pierce you through, I’ve got you ♠♥ And so good-bye ♠ I’m in love, I love you so ♥ Stop it, don’t be silly, no ♠ This world is a living Hell ♥ I can’t keep up with it well ♠ Looking at me with moistened eyes Playing the kitten, start to cry ♥ Kindly pay me what you owe Because we’re running out of time ♥ That pair of scarlet heels, scarlet heels, scarlet heels They put a spell on you, pierce you through, I’ve got you The clock has needle hands, needle hands, needle hands To put a spell on you, pierce you through, I’ve got you ♠♥ And so good-bye ♠ And so morning comes To this crazy world ♥ It’s too bright for me Close the curtains please ♠ Shall we try and die? ♥ That pair of scarlet heels, scarlet heels, scarlet heels ♠♥ Click click they go Note on the title: “Mayim Mayim“ is an Israeli folk dance that was popularized in Japan. In the 1950’s, the dance was added to the national public elementary school physical education curriculum as part of the physical education unit on folk dancing, so it’s likely that the Buck-Tick members were taught this dance when they were in elementary school. The vocal melody and guitar riffs from Buck-Tick’s “Mime Mime“ bear a notable resemblance to the traditional “Mayim Mayim“ melody, though certainly not going so far as plagiarism. “Mayim Mayim“ means “Water, Water“ in Hebrew, because the folk dance was originally developed to celebrate the discovery of water in the desert. This desert/Middle East/folk song allusion is a nice tie-in with “Tsuki no Sabaku.“ Sakurai spelled the title of Buck-Tick’s “Mime Mime“ with the kanji meaning “dance“ and “dream,“ followed by “mime“ in katakana. The “dream dance“ element ties in with the theme of “Dance Tengoku,“ and also with the “life is but a dream“ idea, which is a big theme on Abracadabra, and in Buck-Tick’s work in general. The combination of the kanji and katakana together underscores the duality of the duet between the male and female voices in the lyrics. It also underscores the larger theme of duality on the album, which can be seen in “Datenshi,“ the “Adam/Eve“ line of “Kemonotachi no Yoru,“ and the king and princess in “Tsuki no Sabaku.“ By invoking the idea of pantomime, Sakurai is not only making a comment that life is a roleplay (the “life is but a dream“ theme again), but also making a comment on gender and sexual drama. The song is written as a duet between a man and a woman, but Sakurai performs both parts, implying that man/woman is also a roleplay (and setting the stage for “Dance Tengoku,“ where he declares that gender doesn’t matter.) Note on the symbols: The heart and spade are a tradition from Japanese karaoke duets. On the karaoke screen, the spade indicates the man’s part, while the heart indicates the woman’s part. In duets sung by two men, the first voice is represented by a spade, the second by a club. In duets sung by two women, the first voice is represented by a heart, the second by a diamond. Sakurai wrote this song in the tradition of Showa-era (mid-20th century) Japanese pop songs and karaoke duets, of the kind he grew up listening to. Imai stated that he asked Sakurai to write the lyrics to this song precisely because the melody is so Showa-retro, and Showa-retro is very much Sakurai’s jam.