'Big In Japan' whats it about? (1 Viewer)

[Garrett Lundy]

Artist: Alphaville
Song: Big In Japan
Lyrics:

winter's cityside/
crystal bits of snowflakes all around my head and in the wind/
I had no illusions/
that I'd ever find a glimpse of summer's heatwaves in your eyes/
you did what you did to me, now it's history I see/
here's my comeback on the road again/
things will happen while they can/
I will wait here for my man tonight, it's easy when you're big in japan

when your big in japan, tonight/
big in japan, be tight, big in japan where the eastern sea's so blue/
big in japan, alright, pay, then I'll sleep by your side/
things are easy when you're big in japan, when you're big in japan

neon on my naked skin/
passing silhouettes of strange illuminated mannequins/
shall I stay here at the zoo/
or should I go and change my point of view for other ugly scenes/
you did what you did to me, now it's history I see.../
things will happen while they can/
I will wait here for my man tonight, it's easy when you're big in japan

when your big in japan, tonight/
big in japan, be tight, big in japan where the eastern sea's so blue/
big in japan, alright, pay, then I'll sleep by your side/
things are easy when you're big in japan, when you're big in japan

when your big in japan, tonight/
big in japan, be tight, big in japan where the eastern sea's so blue/
big in japan, alright, pay, then I'll sleep by your side/
things are easy when you're big in japan, when you're big in japan

Question: What is he singing about? (This has been bugging me for days).

 

[Lewis Besze]

Probably "lost in a translation". [German-English]

 

[Yee-Ming]

Probably meaningless, as were most 80s pop songs...

I remember being quite intriuged by Nik Kershaw's "The Riddle" when it came out in 1985 (86?). In interviews at the time, he said, yes it's a riddle with a solution, there are hints on the single's sleeve etc. My friends and I discussed it for hours on end and mulled over the lyrics, but couldn't come up with anything, and never found any published answers either.

Recently, when I watched his performance on Live Aid, it got me thinking and I Googled it. Lo and behold, on his official website, Kershaw now admits the lyrics were completely meaningless, and indeed were a mere place-holder whilst he recorded the album. He had intended to write "proper" lyrics to that tune, but as recording of the rest of the album progressed he found he couldn't come up with anything, and wound up recording those lyrics as-is. When asked about it during publicity interviews, he "froze" and played along, claiming that he really had created a riddle to be solved -- much to his admitted embarassment now.