Mayonaka no Door (Stay with Me) – Miki Matsubara | 1979

真夜中のドア〜Stay With Me [Mayonaka no Doa / Stay With Me]
松原みき [MATSUBARA Miki]
Words : 三浦徳子 [MIURA Tokuko]
Music : 林哲司 [HAYASHI Tetsuji]

“Mayonaka no Door (Stay with Me)” is the first single by Miki Matsubara. The original plan was to name the song “Stay with Me,” but since a song with the same title was released in the same year, “Mayonaka no Door” was added at the last minute.
The composer, Tetsuji Hayashi, is the same as yesterday’s “Kanashii Iro Yane (Osaka Bay Blues).” The song, influenced by the sophisticated American pop music of the time, which later became known as “City Pop,” became a turning point in Hayashi’s career.
In the recent City Pop revival, the song enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in 2020, partly thanks to a cover by Rainych ^YT, an Indonesian singer and YouTuber.

(To you…yes my love to you yes my love to you you…to you)

私は私貴方は貴方と
watashi wa watashi anata wa anata to
昨夜言ってたそんな気もするわ
yūbe itteta sonna ki mo suru wa

私（わたし） [watashi] : I
あなた（あなた） [anata] : you
昨夜（ゆうべ） [yūbe] : last night
言う（いう） [iu] : say
..気がする（きがする） [ki ga suru] : feel like

(translation) “I am me, and you are you.
You said it last night, or so it feels.”

It sounds like a line from an argument. Whether this memory was from last night or not is uncertain.

グレイのジャケットに見覚えがあるコーヒーのしみ
gurei no jaketto ni mioboe ga aru kōhī no shimi
相変らずなのねショーウィンドウに二人映れば
aikawarazu na no ne shōuindō ni futari utsureba

グレー（ぐれー）[gurē] : gray
ジャケット（じゃけっと）[jaketto] : jacket
見覚えがある（みおぼえがある） [mioboe ga aru] : recognize
コーヒー [kōhī] : coffee
しみ [shimi] : stain
相変わらず（あいかわらず） [aikawarazu] : as always
ショーウィンドウ（しょーうぃんどう）[shōuindō] : show window
ふたり [futari] : two people
映る（うつる） [utsuru] : reflect

(translation) “A coffee stain I remember on your gray jacket,
You’re still the same as you were before. We see our reflection in the show window.”

It seems to be a recollection of the past.

stay with me…真夜中のドアをたたき
stay with me mayonaka no doa o tataki
帰らないでと泣いたあの季節が今目の前
kaeranaide to naita ano kisetsu ga ima me no mae

真夜中（まよなか） [mayonaka] : midnight
ドア（どあ）[doa] : door
ドアを叩く（どあをたたく） [doa o tataku] : knock on the door
帰る（かえる） [kaeru] : return
泣く（なく） [naku] : cry
あの [ano] : that
季節（きせつ） [kisetsu] : season
今（いま） [ima] : now
目の前（めのまえ） [me no mae] : in front of me

(translation) “Stay with me. knocking on the midnight door.
That season when I cried ‘Don’t go!’ is now before me.”

I’m not quite sure what the situation of “knocking on the door” means. It might be some sort of metaphor, but I’ll give a tentative interpretation. It seems the lover has left the house, and the narrator, filled with sorrow, is knocking on the door from inside, lamenting their departure.

stay with me…口ぐせを言いながら
stay with me kuchiguse o iinagara
二人の瞬間を抱いてまだ忘れず
futari no toki o daite mada wasurezu
大事にしていた
daiji ni shiteita

口癖（くちぐせ） [kuchiguse] : habit of saying
言う（いう） [iu] : say
時（とき） [toki] : time
抱く（だく） [daku] : embrace
まだ [mada] : still
忘れる（わすれる） [wasureru] : forget
大事にする（だいじにする） [daiji ni suru] : cherish

(translation) “Stay with me. while saying your usual words,
Embracing our moments, still not forgetting,
Cherishing them.”

In this lyric, “瞬間 / shunkan” (=moment) is read as “時 / toki” (=time). Please refer to “Sweet Fake Reading.”

恋と愛とは違うものだよと
koi to ai to wa chigau mono da yo to
昨夜言われたそんな気もするわ
yūbe iwareta sonna ki mo suru wa

恋（こい） [koi] : romance, romantic love (noun)
愛（あい） [ai] : love (noun)
違う（ちがう） [chigau] : different
もの [mono] : thing

(translation) “Romantic love and deep love are different,
You said last night, or so I feel.”

Another argumentative line has appeared, but setting aside the context, this is an important point. “恋 / koi” (=romantic love) and “愛 / ai” (=love) can sometimes be translated the same, but as you can see, they are distinct words, so it’s essential to differentiate between them.

二度目の冬が来て離れていった貴方の心
nidome no fuyu ga kite hanarete itta anata no kokoro
ふり返ればいつもそこに貴方を感じていたの
furikaereba itsumo soko ni anata o kanjiteita no

二度目（にどめ） [nidome] : second time
冬（ふゆ） [fuyu] : winter
来る（くる） [kuru] : come
離れる（はなれる） [hanareru] : leave
心（こころ） [kokoro] : heart
振り返る（ふりかえる） [furikaeru] : look back
いつも [itsumo] : always
そこ [soko] : there
感じる（かんじる） [kanjiru] : feel

(translation) “The second winter came, and your heart drifted away.
When I look back, I always felt you there.”

stay with me…真夜中のドアをたたき
stay with me mayonaka no doa o tataki
心に穴があいたあの季節が今目の前
kokoro ni ana ga aita ano kisetsu ga ima me no mae

穴があく（あながあく） [ana ga aku] : leave a hole

(translation) “Stay with me. knocking on the midnight door.
That season when a hole was left in my heart is now before me.”

stay with me…淋しさまぎらわして
stay with me samishisa magirawashite
置いたレコードの針同じメロディ繰り返していた……
oita rekōdo no hari onaji merodi kurikaeshiteita

淋しい（さびしい） [sabishii] : lonely
まぎらわす [magirawasu] : distract from
置く（おく） [oku] : place
レコード（れこーど）[rekōdo] : record
針（はり） [hari] : needle
同じ（おなじ） [onaji] : same
メロディ（めろでぃ）[merodi] : melody
くり返す（くりかえす） [kurikaesu] : repeat

(translation) “Stay with me. distracting myself from loneliness,
I placed the needle on the record, repeating the same melody.”

stay with me…真夜中のドアをたたき
stay with me mayonaka no doa o tataki
帰らないでと泣いたあの季節が今目の前
kaeranaide to naita ano kisetsu ga ima me no mae

stay with me…口ぐせを言いながら
stay with me kuchiguse o iinagara
二人の瞬間を抱いてまだ忘れず暖めてた
futari no shunkan o daite mada wasurezu atatameteta

温める・暖める（あたためる） [atatameru] : warm

(translation) “Stay with me. saying your usual words,
Embracing our moments, still not forgetting, warming them.”

Miki Matsubara was only 19 years old when she recorded this, but her performance is quite confident. Her singing style resembles that of veteran singers, with a touch of Shōwa-kayō or even enka.
Sadly, Matsubara passed away early in 2004 due to cancer. I hope she would be happy to know that this song has made a grand comeback, topping the global viral charts on Spotify for 18 consecutive days and leading to the reissue of the vinyl record.