Gold -Mata Au Hi Made-

I don't have the full context to what went into this song's creation. All I really know are the lyrics, the video visuals, and how it makes me feel. There's a lot I want to unpack about this song, Gold (Mata Au Hi Made; Until the day we meet again).

It is accompanied by a music video that I dare say is equally as important, nay, inseparable to the song as the audio itself.

With Utada walking down an empty, foggy street that appears to resemble Shinjuku City, undertoned with a lovely piano ballad, there's a sense of somber loneliness you can feel, before any words are even spoken.

Unfortunately for me, the lyrics start off with ideological and figuratives in regards to the ebbs and flow of those unavoidable rises and falls during the events of life. Happiness - it's just waiting nearby. It's not all fun and games, but even the things that suck will one day blossom like flowers. It's unfortunate because I'm an absolute sucker for this kind of writing. Anyone that shines like you, "gold", that refuses to be an ornament and worn by anyone.

As the song continued, my heart steadily started to sink once I started to piece things together - that this song could be about the void that's left when someone close is no longer around.

This song, if I recall correctly, is Hikaru's first single ever since their 2022 release of the English-Japanese BAD MODE album. That album was Utada's first time mixing multiple languages into one album, but the artist continues to break new ground even here. Being of Japanese heritage, born in New York, and living in London, Mata Au Hi Made sees one of the first times Hikaru blends in three languages in one song!