why i like yui

Behind the ever-cute yui, this is what she’s been thinking, and how she really feels. It’s all expressed in her songs. This is why I like yui.

「どうして人は言葉を持ったのだろう　心が見えにくくなる」- Why?
"Why do humans have words? It makes it more difficult to see our hearts."

I was reading through the lyrics from the second album "Can't Buy My Love", and this line, from the last song "Why?” almost moved me to tears. The soothing, touching tune, combined with this line filled with grief, and a sense of loss and confusion, is really powerful. I believe we are all born with a pure heart, free from evil thoughts. It’s probably the environmental influence that stains the whiteness in our hearts. Born into this world filled with unkindness, cruelty and bloodshed, we start to adopt the mentality of selfishness- Self before others. If we don’t kill, we don’t survive. This brings me to a line I read in “The world is flat”. It originally was an African proverb, but I find it really meaningful.

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.

It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed.

Every morning a lion wakes up.

It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.

It doesn’t matter whether you are the lion or the gazelle.

When the sun comes up, you better start running.

So we carry on living with this mentality. We try all means to outwit our closest buddies beside us, so that we can survive in this rat race. Words, or literal expressions, are one of the ways to cheat the others. Words make it difficult for others to see our hearts, our true intentions. So why? Why do humans have words? It makes it more difficult to see our hearts. Why can’t we live in our most natural self?

「それ偶然でもなくて、ありふれた夢なんかじゃなくて」- Feel My Soul
"It's not just a coincidence, it's not just a common dream."

「動き出せ　見えないけれど　道は開かれてる　そうもがきながらも　きっとこのまま　歩いてゆける」- Feel My Soul
"Get moving. Even if you can't see ahead, the road is paved out. Yes, even as you stumble, carry on, and you'll move ahead.

Both lines are from “feel my soul”. I guess this song has a special meaning to yui, as this song was the last song written by her before she departed her hometown, Fukuoka, to Tokyo. Everyone has their own dreams to pursue. Due to different talents, different perspective of an ideal life, all of us have different dreams. So no two dreams are similar, like thumbprints. Therefore from the first line, it says “It’s not just a coincidence, it’s not just a common dream.” Believe in yourself. Your dream is unique. No one is there to snatch it away from you. It’s there, waiting for you to reach for it.

Then the second line, as we take our first step towards our dream, it’s like stepping forward in total darkness. We can’t see what’s in front, thus giving us the uncertainty and the fear of the unknown. But we have to “Keep moving. Even if we can’t see what’s ahead, the road is paved out. Yes, even as you stumble, carry on, and you’ll move ahead.” We just need the first step to set off the next few steps. And soon, before we know it, we’re on our way to our dreams.

「簡単にいかないから　生きてゆける」- Life
"Life's not easy, that's why we keep on living."

This is straightforward. No matter how tough the going gets, no matter how many obstacles we see as we move along, we must understand one thing. “Life’s not easy, that’s why we keep on living.” All of us live for a purpose. If we only take one day, one week, or even a month to achieve it, what are we going to do for the rest of our lives? Therefore, the road there is never smooth, it’s never without hindrances. We have to keep on living to overcome these obstacles, and eventually see what lies ahead in our lives.

「何かを手放しで　そして手に入れる　そんな繰り返しかな」- Tokyo
We let go of something. We get hold onto something. Life's just a repetition of that.

Tokyo is probably one of my favourite songs. A simple melody, but lyrics full of emotions. I will listen to this song over and over again, when I go Japan next year. It basically describes all my feelings. The whole song is meaningful, but I find this line especially special. In a certain sense, it also implies that life is fair. There’s no person who can get the best of both worlds. So in order for us to achieve something, we have to sacrifice something else. And as we continue achieving more, knowingly or unknowingly, we have made more and more sacrifices.