Katteni Shiyagare – Kenji Sawada | 1977

勝手にしやがれ [Katteni Shiyagare]
沢田研二 [SAWADA Kenji]
Words : 阿久悠 [AKU Yū]
Music : 大野克夫 [ŌNO Katsuo]

Kenji Sawada is a very famous singer and actor in Japan. His nickname is “Julie.” He gained popularity as the lead singer of the band “The Tigers” in the late 1960s and later achieved success as a solo artist. He was very popular among women.
In the 1970s, he released several songs in Europe, particularly in France, where he had several hits.
The title of this song comes from the Japanese title of the French film “À bout de souffle : Breathless ^wiki,” released in 1960.

勝手に（かってに）[katteni] : arbitrarily
する（する）[suru] : do

“勝手にしやがれ / Katteni Shiyagare” means “Do Whatever You Want”. “しやがれ / shiyagare” is the imperative form of “する / suru”, but it is an old-fashioned term. It sounds like a line from an old movie.
The lyrics were written by Yū Aku, who holds the record for the second highest total sales of single records among lyricists in history. The music was composed by Katsuo Ohno, who is also known for being active in the same band as Kenji Sawada and for composing music for the anime series “Meitantei Konan” (=Detective Conan, “Case Closed” ^wiki) since 1996.

壁ぎわに寝がえりうって
kabe giwa ni negaeri utte
背中できいている
senaka de kiite iru
やっぱりお前は出て行くんだな
yappari omae wa dete ikun da na

壁ぎわ（かべぎわ）[kabegiwa] : wall edge
寝返り（ねがえり）[negaeri] : turn over
背中（せなか）[senaka] : back
聞いている（きいている）[kiite iru] : listening
やっぱり（やっぱり）[yappari] : after all
お前（おまえ）[omae] : you
出ていく（でていく）[dete iku] : leave

(translation) “Turning over by the wall edge,
listening with my back,
after all, you are leaving.”

“背中で聞いている / senaka de kiite iru” means listening while turning one’s back as if there were ears on the back.
“おまえ / omae” is a rather rough second-person pronoun. If you use it, make sure you are very familiar with Japanese and use it only with close friends. It pairs well with “ore” (a male first-person pronoun) seen in the song “Itoshi no Ellie.”

悪いことばかりじゃないと
warui koto bakari ja nai to
思い出かき集め
omoide kaki atsume
鞄につめこむ気配がしてる
kaban ni tsumekomu kehai ga shiteru

悪い（わるい）[warui] : bad
思い出（おもいで）[omoide] : memories
かき集める（かきあつめる）[kaki atsumeru] : gather
鞄（かばん）[kaban] : bag
つめこむ（つめこむ）[tsumekomu] : pack
気配（けはい）[kehai] : sign

(translation) “Saying it’s not all bad,
gathering memories,
I sense you packing them into a bag.”

行ったきりならしあわせになるがいい
itta kiri nara shiawase ni naru ga ii
戻る気になりゃいつでもおいでよ
modoru ki ni narya itsudemo oide yo

行く（いく）[iku] : go
しあわせ（しあわせ）[shiawase] : happiness
なる（なる）[naru] : become
いい（いい）[ii] : good
戻る（もどる）[modoru] : return
気（き）[ki] : feeling
いつでも（いつでも）[itsudemo] : anytime
おいで（おいで）[oide] : come

(translation) If you’re going and not coming back, then feel free to be happy.
If you ever feel like coming back, you’re always welcome.

The expression “幸せになるがいい / shiawase ni naru ga ii” (=Feel free to be happy) is also interesting. Like the title’s “shiyagare,” it’s old-fashioned and gives off a bit of a villainous vibe. It fits better with lines like “不幸になるがいい / fukō ni naru ga ii” (=Feel free to be unhappy)”.
“おいで / oide” is a very gentlemanly expression.

せめて少しはカッコつけさせてくれ
semate sukoshi wa kakko tsukesasete kure
寝たふりしてる間に出て行ってくれ
neta furi shiteru aida ni dete itte kure

せめて（せめて）[semate] : at least
少し（すこし）[sukoshi] : a little
カッコつける（かっこつける）[kakko tsukeru] : show off
寝る（ねる）[neru] : sleep
ふり（ふり）[furi] : pretend
間（あいだ）[aida] : while
出ていく（でていく）[dete iku] : leave

(translation) “At least let me show off a little.
Leave while I’m pretending to sleep.”

Men want to show off a bit.

バーボンのボトルを抱いて
bābon no botoru o daite
夜ふけの窓に立つ
yofuke no mado ni tatsu
お前がふらふら行くのが見える
omae ga furafura iku no ga mieru

バーボン（ばーぼん）[bābon] : bourbon
ボトル（ぼとる）[botoru] : bottle
抱く（だく）[daku] : hold
夜更け（よふけ）[yofuke] : late at night
窓（まど）[mado] : window
立つ（たつ）[tatsu] : stand
ふらふら（ふらふら）[furafura] : unsteadily
見える（みえる）[mieru] : see

(translation) “Holding a bottle of bourbon,
standing by the window late at night,
I see you walking unsteadily.”

さよならというのもなぜか
sayonara to iu no mo nazeka
しらけた感じだし
shiraketa kanji dashi
あばよとサラリと送ってみるか
abayo to sarari to okutte miru ka

さよなら（さよなら）[sayonara] : goodbye
言う（いう）[iu] : say
なぜか（なぜか）[nazeka] : somehow
しらける（しらける）[shirakeru] : stale
感じ（かんじ）[kanji] : feeling
あばよ（あばよ）[abayo] : farewell
さらりと（さらりと）[sarari to] : lightly
送る（おくる）[okuru] : send off

(translation) “Somehow saying goodbye feels stale,
so I’ll send you off lightly with ‘farewell.'”

You might know the word “sayonara,” but “あばよ / abayo” is less known. It’s old-fashioned, delinquent-like, and a bit pretentious. Even in 1977, it was probably non-standard.
“Abayo” was a famous catchphrase used by actor Shingo Yanagisawa ^google who act in the drama “Fuzoroi no Ringo Tachi.”
“さらりと / Sarari to” means smoothly or nonchalantly, which adds a cool touch to the farewell.

別にふざけて困らせたわけじゃない
betsu ni fuzakete komaraseta wake janai
愛というのに照れてただけだよ
ai to iu no ni tereta dake da yo

別に（べつに）[betsu ni] : particularly
ふざける（ふざける）[fuzakeru] : fool around
困らせる（こまらせる）[komaraseta] : trouble
愛（あい）[ai] : love
照れる（てれる）[tereru] : shy

(translation) “I wasn’t particularly fooling around to trouble you.
I was just shy about love.”

夜というのに派手なレコードかけて
yoru to iu no ni hade na rekōdo kakete
朝までふざけようワンマンショーで
asa made fuzakeyo wanman shō de

夜（よる）[yoru] : night
派手な（はでな）[hade na] : flashy
レコード（れこーど）[rekōdo] : record
朝（あさ）[asa] : morning
ふざける（ふざける）[fuzakeru ] : fool around
ワンマン（わんまん）[wanman] : one-man
ショー（しょー）[shō] : show

(translation) “Playing a flashy record at night,
let’s fool around until morning with a one-man show.”

Records refer to vinyl LPs.
What kind of music is a flashy record? Could it be this music as well?

There is also an English version of this song “One Man And A Band”, though it did not become a hit.
Additionally, a comedy titled “Katteni Sindbad” was created, borrowing half of its title from “Katteni Shiyagare” and the other half from Pink Lady’s “Nagisa no Sindbad.” In 1978, Southern All Stars released a single with the same name.
Moreover, Momoe Yamaguchi song “Playback Part 2” is said to be an answer song to this one. I’ll cover that tomorrow.