Koi no Bakansu – The Peanuts | 1963 – Words in Japanese Song

恋のバカンス [Koi no Bakansu]
ザ・ピーナッツ [Za Pīnattsu]
Words : 岩谷時子 [IWATANI Tokiko]
Music : 宮川泰 [MIYAGAWA Hiroshi]

The Peanuts was a vocal duo from Nagoya ^wiki, consisting of twin sisters Emi and Yumi Ito. They were active internationally and even appeared on shows like The Ed Sullivan Show. They were also quite famous in East and West Germany as well as Italy at the time. Additionally, they were well-known for hosting music programs and appearing in the kaiju movie Mothra ^wiki. Incidentally, Emi was once married to Kenji Sawada.

“Koi no Bakansu” (or “Koi no Vacance”) is a song released in 1963. It became popular right after its release and was later covered by many singers. Furthermore, in 1965, it was a major hit in the Soviet Union when a popular singer there (Нина Васильевна) performed it in Russian (Каникулы любви / Песня о счастливой любви). The song is still well-known in Russia and former Soviet countries.

The lyrics were written by Tokiko Iwatani, who also wrote “Koi no Kisetsu” yesterday.

恋　[koi] : love, romance
バカンス　[bakansu] : vacation

The title is similar to “Koi no Kisetsu.” In this case, it might be easier to understand “koi” as meaning romance.
“バカンス / Bakansu” is a French word (vacances) meaning vacation. The word “bakansu” became a buzzword in Japan, partly due to the advertising campaign for a product called “Bakansu Look” released the same year. The word is still used today. Similarly, the Japanized term “バケーション / bakēshon” (=vacation) is used in a way that emphasizes leisure more than the original meaning. For the simple meaning of “vacation,” words like “休み / yasumi” or “休暇 / kyūka” are used in Japanese.

ため息の出るような
tameiki no deru yō na
あなたのくちづけに
anata no kuchizuke ni

ため息（ためいき） [tameiki] : sigh
出る（でる） [deru] : come out, emerge
あなた　[anata] : you
くちづけ　[kuchizuke] : kiss

(translation) “A sigh comes out from your kiss.”

甘い恋を夢見る乙女ごころよ
amai koi o yume miru otome gokoro yo

甘い（あまい） [amai] : sweet
夢見る（ゆめみる） [yume miru] : dream
乙女ごころ（おとめごころ） [otome gokoro] : maiden’s heart

(translation) “A maiden’s heart dreams of sweet love.”

金色に輝く熱い砂の上で
kin’iro ni kagayaku atsui suna no ue de
裸で恋をしよう
hadaka de koi o shiyō
人魚のように
ningyo no yō ni

金色（きんいろ） [kin’iro] : golden
輝く（かがやく） [kagayaku] : shine
熱い（あつい） [atsui] : hot
砂（すな） [suna] : sand
上（うえ） [ue] : on
裸（はだか） [hadaka] : naked
人魚（にんぎょ） [ningyo] : mermaid

(translation) “On the hot, golden sand,
let’s love naked,
like mermaids.”

The phrase “金色に輝く” (=golden and shining) is particularly cool.

“Loving while naked” gives quite a bold impression. The mention of “naked” likely refers to an image of being on a beach. Just to clarify, “恋 / koi” does not carry the connotation of “make love”. Perhaps this reflects the Japanese image associated with “Vacance” or “Vacation”…?

陽にやけたほほよせて
hi ni yaketa hoho yosete
ささやいた約束は
sasayaita yakusoku wa
二人だけの秘めごと
futari dake no himegoto
ためいきが出ちゃう
tameiki ga dechau

日に焼ける（ひにやける） [hi ni yakeru] : sunburn
頬（ほほ・ほお） [hoho] : cheek
寄せる（よせる） [yoseru] : lean
ささやく（ささやく） [sasayaku] : whisper
約束（やくそく） [yakusoku] : promise
二人（ふたり） [futari] : two people
だけ [dake] : only
秘め事（ひめごと） [himegoto] : secret

(translation) “With sunburned cheeks pressed close,
the whispered promise,
is our secret,
a sigh escapes.”

The variation of the word “出る / deru” seen in “出ちゃう / dechau” is not something you often find in recent lyrics. It has a certain cute nuance to it.

ああ恋のよろこびに
aa koi no yorokobi ni
バラ色の月日よ
bara iro no tsukihi yo
はじめてあなたを見た
hajimete anata o mita
恋のバカンス
koi no bakansu

喜び（よろこび） [yorokobi] : joy
バラ色（ばらいろ） [bara iro] : rosy
月日（つきひ） [tsukihi] : days
初めて（はじめて） [hajimete] : first time
見る（みる） [miru] : see

(translation) “Ah, the joy of love,
rosy days,
when I first saw you,
Koi no Bakansu.”

The “ああ / aa” here is a filler.

“バラ色 / bara iro” is used in this context to metaphorically represent a state full of happiness and hope.

陽にやけたほほよせて
hi ni yaketa hoho yosete
ささやいた約束は
sasayaita yakusoku wa
二人だけの秘めごと
futari dake no himegoto
ためいきが出ちゃう
tameiki ga dechau

ああ恋のよろこびに
aa koi no yorokobi ni
バラ色の月日よ
bara iro no tsukihi yo
はじめてあなたを見た
hajimete anata o mita
恋のバカンス
koi no bakansu

Among the 1960s songs I’ve covered so far, this one has a relatively large variety of vocabulary.
The music was composed by Hiroshi Miyagawa (note, it’s pronounced “Hiroshi,” not “Yasushi”), who is also known for his work on Space Battleship Yamato ^wiki. The music has a swing jazz feel, which was quite rare at the time. Many cover versions have a Latin-style arrangement.
The Peanuts’ harmonies are incredibly beautiful. I feel like singers from that era were very skilled. Tomorrow, I’ll introduce another female group with beautiful harmonies.