My Music Composition - My Bento Friend

Music Title : My Bento Friend
(A Song for Nakajima-san)
Date of Composition : Sometime in 2000 or 2001
Language : English

Link to music :　http://www.box.net/shared/zdnxj204k0
Link to voice :　http://www.box.net/shared/zjzwheb0o0

Most of the songs I have written are Christian songs. I am a direct person and can only write songs spontaneously on subjects or topics I really feel about. Thus, I usually write songs about God.

This one is special as the song is not about God, but about my Japanese friend and ex-colleague, Yuko Nakajima. Nakajima-san was working in US tax compliance when I joined Ernst & Young in Tokyo sometime in year 2000 or 2001. I think in Japan, it is not easy to integrate in the Japanese social group quickly. When I joined the company, all my colleagues get their own bento (lunch box) and ate at their desk. Either life was really busy or people were not keen to social. To start with, I am not great with remembering names so it was hard in the beginning to remember my colleagues' names. Honestly, I was bored with a group of people who usually work and eat by themselves.

However, I brought with me the Singapore food culture to Japan. I soon made friends with Nakajima-san who seemed to know all the places to get bentos which looked tasty and "pretty" (きれい/kirei). The bentos and food soon became our topic for communication and I soon learnt that once I become friends with a Japanese, the Japanese can be very sincere in being friends with me.

Unfortunately, Nakajima-san soon made it to move to work in Corporate tax which is a different business unit from where I was. As part of farewell, I wrote this song.

Interesting items to note:
1) In Japanese, bento is not described as "pretty". Instead, it is described as おいしい (oishii which means yummy). But, in order to display my mark of "naughtiness" in this song, I purposely used an incorrect but literal description since my first reaction when I saw Nakajima-san's bento box was, "it sure is きれい!"

2) Until now, Nakajima-san sends me a photo of her twin daughters to me every year so I get to see her daughters' growth from those pictures which I kept. Indeed, we are still friends after being apart for 6 to 7 years.

3) Every time I visit Tokyo, Nakajima-san and Okada-san (another friend and ex-colleague) search Yahoo Japan! for nice restaurants to take me to. As we are all interested in good food, it is great that we may all have great fun eating together and enjoying one another's company. Indeed, I miss my friends in Tokyo.

Lyrics :

Verse 1
Life was a bore since I came,
I had no friends and was waiting for some fun to begin.

But, thanks to the very blessed day,
it was through your pretty bento that we soon became friends.

But, good things never last for long,
you'll be transferring, to another section,
through another door! Ooh...

Life has been fun,
life has been good,
with your presence each work day!
I can't imagine life without you
and your 'kirei bento'!

You will be missed, as you leave,
Oh, why do you have to leave us so soon,
and take your bento with you.

Verse 2:
Although I know I will miss you,
I also know that love is not possessive in any way.

So, my blessings go with you,
as you venture out into a fresh new field.

May you enjoy every task you do,
in your new area,
And don't work so hard that bento is left to cool. Ooh...

Life will still be fun,
Life will still be good,
as I'll check your bento each work day,
and continue to be amazed at your kirei bento.

I know we'll be good friends for long,
as we both share a special friendship,
that goes a long way back to the bento
that I will miss so soon.