“Who wrote the Yumenomori School Song?”
In a 4th-grade music class, we explored our school song in depth. The lyrics were written by Shuntaro Tanikawa, and the music was composed by his son, Kensaku Tanikawa. Shuntaro Tanikawa’s poems are also included in Japanese language textbooks for elementary and junior high schools.
School Song of Manabiya Yumenomori
“It is good to be alone, Run Run Run,
So is being with everyone, Run Run Run
It is good to be alone sometimes,
but I think that it is better to be with everyone.
Me and you, and you and me
Me and you, and you and me
The things that I like are different, but
the things that I don’t like are differnt, too
One person, and one person, and one person, makes everyone
One person, and one person, and one person, makes everyone
Yumenomori, we all learn together
Yumenomori, we all play together
We’re exploring for everyones tomorrow
Under today’s brightest big blue sky
Do-Re-Mi-Fa-So-La-Shi-Do ♪
Do-Shi-La-So-Fa-Mi-Re-Do ♪
Yumenomori,
We learn and play everyday!”
Shuntaro Tanikawa has written the lyrics for many school songs. The students looked at and listened to songs from other schools and then circled their favorite parts of the Yumenomori School Song’s lyrics.
The students shared why they liked certain parts of the song:
“Because the tempo is good and it’s easy to sing,”
“Because it feels refreshing and makes me feel cheerful,”
“Because it’s bright and lively,” and other reasons.
Even though it’s not in the lyrics, they also shout “Yaa!” at the end when singing. This was a great opportunity to learn more about the Yumenomori School Song, and we hope the students continue to sing it with energy!
