This song, of rather irregular form, sounds more like a geisha song than that of a Kuma farmer. It may have reached the village through some visitor to a geisha house.
57
Karakasa no hone wa Bara bara
Kamya yaburete mo
Take ni sōtaru En ja mo[1]
Mis’te nasaru na
Rokurō-san
Nambo watashi ga
Yaburete mo
Us’te shon shon[2]
The ribs of the umbrella
Have fallen apart;
The paper is also torn,
But with bamboo
Tied together.
Do not throw it away,
Dear Rokurō.
Though I
Also am torn,[3]
Don’t desert me.
Flower-Like Sano
A verse often sung by women to honor or more often to tease some man present. Sung to Ohara bushi tune (130). The form is regular dodoitsu for 58a, and a short 7-7-5 for 58b.
58a
Hana no Sano[4] san ni
Horen mon na mekura
Meaki mekura no
Aki mekura
With flower-like Sano
Those who are not in love are blind,
With their eyes open they are blind,
Truly blind.
