Fifth track from Freezepop's debut CD Freezepop Forever released 2000 on Archenemy Records.
This song is catchy on its own; however, knowledge of the Japanese lyrics makes this song even more endearing. The Japanese has a very elementary feel to it, spoken/sung with a sense of hesitance and college-level recitation. However, some of the vocabulary is quite sophistocated. Is this amateur J-pop emulation or knowing self-referential mastery of the pop craft?
Syllables are separated in some cases (so-shi-te) and smashed together in others (desu): this feels wrong, but is quite normal for Japanese pop songs. It is equivalent to holding out words to fit metrical rhythm in English ("There's a plaaaaace from where I've just arr-iiiiv-ed / And I escaped, the last one a-liiiiiii-ve") though more pronounced due to the syllabic nature of the Japanese language. Also, the mixture of spoken word and lyrical song makes this hodgepodge of metrical mayhem seem a little off-balance, although it is not.
I'm pretty sure though that Liz Enthusiasm, The Duke of Candied Apples, and The Other Sean T. Drinkwater would shrug off any attempt such as my own to analyze one of their songs. Tenisu no Boifurendo is lighthearted and eerily self-mocking, full of charm and quizzical mystery. It is floating on a cloud far above the need for analysis.
sen shuumatsu dekakemashita
soshite anata o mimashita
anata wa tenisu ga joozu deshoo
machitaku nai desu, jaa ikimashoo
Last weekend, I went out.
And then, I saw you.
You are skilled at tennis.
I don't want to wait, let's go.
anata to watashi
anata to watashi
You and me
You and me
anata wa taitei
zuibun ogenki desu ne
tenisu no boifurendo
totemo ii desu yo
You are usually
awfully lively aren't you
Tennis boyfriend
It is very good!
tenisu o shimasen ka?
watashi wa heta desu ga
mainichi watashi wa naraimasu
watashitachi wa tenisu o shimasu
Don't you play tennis?
I am unskilled but
Every day I learn
We play tennis
anata to watashi
anata to watashi
You and me
You and me
anata wa taitei
zuibun ogenki desu ne
tenisu no boifurendo
totemo ii desu yo
You are usually
awfully lively aren't you
Tennis boyfriend
It is very good!
demo kyoo ame ga furimasu
dakara uchi ni imasu
anata wa totemo kawaii desu
anata no heya e ikitai desu
But today the rain falls
Therefore we go to the house
You are very cute,
I want to go to your room.
anata wa taitei
zuibun ogenki desu ne
tenisu no boifurendo
totemo ii desu yo
You are usually
awfully lively aren't you
Tennis boyfriend
It is very good!
The official lyrics for Tenisu no Boifurendo gleaned from freezepop.com.