Gold -Mata Au Hi Made-

Mata Au Hi Made (Gold) is the first single released by Hikaru Utada ever since the launch of their English-Japanese BAD MODE album in 2022.

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, Mata Au Hi Made, which translates to "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 sweeping statements, in regards to some of the unavoidable rises and falls of everyday living.

• 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... like gold, refuses to be an ornament and fashioned by just anyone.

In typical Utada fashion, they stroll down the street by themselves, as if they're in their own universe. Some truck drivers and whatnot can be noticed, but that's real life seeming to work around Utada's intentions, and not the other way around. Hikaru's method of cinematography enhances the intimacy of the scenarios that she sings about, focussing strictly on herself and her emotions.

As the song continued, my heart steadily started to sink once I started to piece things together, especially with regards to the song title. This song seems to be about the void that's left when someone close is no longer around.

また逢う日まで

また逢う日まで

また逢う日まで

Immediately after I piece this together, there's a change of tone and tempo. Looking back, I think this serves as the representation of self-reflection, since the lyrics change in tone pretty dramatically.

• Tragedies that could someday happen, I take them and say
  • F--k off, go bother me some other day

In the official video, 「おととい来やがれ」 is translated as "F--k off, you belong in the past", though the phrase directly translates to "Come back the day before yesterday", this has a bit of an indirect meaning. I think this translation as "go bother me some other day" more closely resembles the theme of the song than what was actually in the video, especially when considering the past lyrics where Utada acknowledged that the pain won't "ever really go away".

• I'm gonna fill my calendar with lots of fun plans
  • My tears are on hold, until the day we meet again

Oh my god. These are my favourite lyrics in the entire song, on principle of flipping the downcast tone from the song on its head. Grievance is a process, one that can consume someone entirely if they're left alone in their thoughts. But there is a sense of momentum and hope within these two lines, and it is beautiful to see how someone else was able to process these emotions in a positive and healthy way. It's not something I was able to do.

You can tell that the subject of the song is someone who has been unforgettable and inseparable from the beginning, and that bond will continue to be inseparable even outside of the realm of the living. At this point in the music video, Utada starts to walk jovially, even beginning to levitate, indicating the freeing nature of her mind letting go of the initial pain caused by the departure of the person close to them. At this point, their positivity is almost infectious, and Utada once again ensures that any out distractions don't detract from her achieving peace.

• You bystanders are making too much noise
  • Please shut up for a second.

This one made me smile for a bit, as the original Japanese word-choice Hikaru used came off as a bit arrogant by "politely" requesting that onlookers simply "shut up". Using "please" in the translation doesn't really convey this as obviously as it does in the original language, but it just reinforces that nothing can bring her down at this point. Her attitude here is really empowering, to say the least.

一番いいとこが始まる - "The best part is about to start."

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, Hikaru breaks into French in the next line. It only underscores here personal evolution, which is amazingly still on-point for the song.

The song breaks into a lovely layering of harmony and vocalisations that Hikaru is known for. It ties the song together, ending the tragedy on a momentous and comforting note.

I would be lying if I said this song doesn't make me emotional every time I listen to it. This might be one of the best songs I've ever listened to.