“Fight” by Nakajima Miyuki (1983)

(“Fight” used in a commercial for Calorie Mate)

“Fight” by singer-songwriter-all-rounder-entertainment legend Nakajima Miyuki was the final song on her tenth album Yokan, released March 5, 1983, and was later re-released over a decade later on May 15, 1994, as part of a double A-side single with “Sora to Kimi no Aida Ni”. This song has been covered by artists across multiple genres (most memorably by the punk-in-spirit folk singer Takehara Pistol) and is a popular choice for commercials. It’s still getting shout outs by the new generation of artists like Snow Man’s Meguro Ren. In 2021, it’s possibly the best known song from an artist who herself is incredibly well known and loved.

The music landscape was very different back in the 1970s when Nakajima Miyuki was coming up. If you’ve listened to my idol history series then you’ll remember that the 1970s were the era of television music shows. Nakajima has never been the type to appear on them, although she wrote hit songs for artists who did. Her breakthrough came when she won the grand prize at the 1975 Popular Song Contest with the song “Jidai” and soon after came her first number one single in 1977 with “Wakareuta”. 

Nakajima is a fascinating artist. Probably the closest parallel in American music is somebody like Joni Mitchell or Laura Nyro--except Nakajima was still putting out chart topping albums well into the 1990s and as far as I know was still touring through at least 2020 (pre-COVID). Her songs crossed the ocean and Mandarin covers by singers like FanFan in Taiwan are also extremely well known. She’s written hits for top artists like Sakurada Junko. She is a Japanese show business institution, a living legend. 

Her performance style is quite unique. She once appeared barefaced and barefoot with an acoustic guitar on pop show Yoru no hit stajio. To this day she wears her hair long and sings in a clear voice looking up and out above the audience… “FIGH-TO!”

Nakajima writes in all sorts of genres and styles and “Fight” is certainly one of them. The song is unusual enough that it wasn’t actually very well liked when it was first released in 1983. Like the slow build of the music itself, “Fight” took some time to find it’s audience. 

The intro takes about 40 seconds and consists of a drum machine playing a slow, sparse beat over a four count that rests for a full measure not once but twice before Nakajima starts singing. That’s two full measures of silence before the song begins. TWO! It’s remarkable. Eventually a bass enters and then a synthesizer playing a flute patch to take us through the chorus but that off kilter drum loop keeps playing and playing. A piano joins the song, it turns into a march about halfway through just in time to bust into a screaming guitar solo and more and more instruments join until the song becomes this powerful anthem. It all starts from a small spark.

The lyrics play off the two meanings of fight in the Japanese context. The first is that 頑張る or doing your best. You can often hear ファイト or “fight” yelled out to encourage athletes or just wishing somebody luck as they go off to a job interview or something. The second meaning is… well, fight or 闘う which we hear repeated over and over again. Life is a battle, sometimes against yourself.

The origins of the song are in Nakajima Miyuki’s popular and long running radio program All Night Nippon, which would end with reading a postcard from listeners. 

She wrote, I graduated middle school but can’t get a job

Her words were tough but her handwriting was shaky

Nakajima paints some grim pictures in the lyrics.

Even though they’re still kids, the boys whose cheeks are slapped have old eyes

Holding on too tightly to disappointment, their nails dig into the flesh of their closed fists

I saw it for myself yesterday at the train station

The weak smile of a woman and child knocked down

I was surprised and didn’t call for help

I ran away scared; my enemy is me

But the chorus is rousing.

FIGH-TO! The guys that don’t battle will probably laugh at the songs of you, who are

FIGH-TO! Climb out, shivering, from underneath the freezing cold water