Cinderella / shinderera / シンデレラ : “Cinderella”
Cinderella: Oku Hanako’s 12th single, released on January 11, 2011. The fun and upbeat feel of this song is almost deceiving: this is a sad love song (almost made me cry reading the translation, actually; yes, there’s a translation available at the end of this post). Even Oku Hanako says so: 「歌詞は切ないけど、曲は明るく。」 (“The lyrics are sad, but the song is bright”). The speaker likens herself to Cinderella in that she had a man who truly loved her, but she still chose to break up the relationship anyway for whatever small reason (perhaps accidentally, in this case?).
シンデレラ／奥 華子 by ponycanyon [YouTube]
Quite the video, I must say. She plays the piano in the cold (her fingers got really cold) and the scenes even match up with the lyrics.
There’s a slightly different feel to it when you know what the song says (perhaps not so different if you’re already familiar with Hana-san’s style). Her tone of voice and the strings add that touch of sadness that the song conveys. On top of that, the almost-bright feel to the song can be representative of the fun times the speaker had with her lover, and may also suggest that things will work out in the future. Overall, well done!
The team involved in the Cinderella music video.
Lyrics →
Thoughts on Oku Hanako 