Lullaby Lyrics

Song Facts:

• Genre: J-Pop
• Lyricist: Utada Hikaru
• Composers: Utada Hikaru

2000 album "Love & Peace."

Artist Info:

Utada Hikaru is the Japanese-American singer/songwriter behind the voice celebrated to have defined J-pop and much more through her melodies and powerful lyrics. Born in New York City into a family of musicians, from her very tender age, she had developed an inclination toward Japanese and Western music. Her debut album in 1999, that became "First Love," had brought her to stardom in Japan; it was so overwhelming that it actually set records for astronomic sales. Most of the time, the work of Utada was dealing with themes of love, loneliness, and intricacies of human emotions, fusing elements of pop, R&B, and electronic music. She is being known for an introspective songwriter who keeps herself at the forefront through the years in the music business, with influence to many artists all around Asia and across the globe, having two languages up her sleeves to reach out to the masses in the most effortless way, intertwining many cultural nuances into her music.

Annotations and Meaning:

"Lullaby" by Utada Hikaru is a compelling track, drawing similes from the use of metaphor to a lullaby and the content of it to a deep yearning for emotional intimacy and comfort. The word "lullaby" is repeated several times in the song, symbolizing something that brings peacefulness instead of the "moving lights" of the city, which imply a never-ending, chaotic life outside. This brings about a juxtaposition whereby the fast overwhelming world is counterpoised with longing for steadiness and stillness. Indeed, the lyrics seemed to take on much personal closeness and intimacy, with calls to "come closer" and feel "the passion inside." Those very words give voice not only to closeness but intimacy in a physical existence and emotional connection to that which the speaker feels drawn. The motion of moving "city lights" is used to explain the continuous change and impersonal nature of city life, which complements the need for personal, stabilizing relationship symbolized by the lullaby. Repeated lines on the city lights and being by someone's side emphasize this theme of companionship as refuge from the robotic bustle of life. It speaks to the very human need for connection and the comfort found in being next to someone loved. The song uses the metonymy of night and city to connote feelings of loneliness and that comforting presence of a lover. From every frame of mind, this Utada Hikaru's "Lullaby" ideally brings out the feeling of hoping to find one's solace and comfort in the loved amidst all the worldly chaos. It is a great expression of delicacy toward the depth of intimacy and love with the simplicity of a lullaby, an excellent metaphor for peace and emotional security.