- Lyrics & Music: Kazuya Yoshii
- Arrangement: The Yellow Monkey
Original Lyrics
BREACH-PLEATS-CREVICE COME ON! (YEAH!)
DING DANG DING DANG DANG
美少女のときめきが
DING DANG DING DANG DANG
スピードを上げてきた
夢さりし恋人の 淡いスウィートゲーム
恋する乙女の唇は 恥じらいのチョコレート
知らない誰かに 恋い焦がれ
気が気じゃないかもね
夢さりし恋人は いじらしいよね (YEAH!)
DING DANG DING DANG DANG
いつもよりも派手な
DING DANG DING DANG DANG
スカートをはきだして
夢さりし恋人の 淡いスウィートゲーム
紅色乙女の唇は 夕暮れのジュリエット
ひっそり誰かに見つめられ
しどろもどろだろうね
夢さりし恋人は 恥ずかしいよね
アバンギャルドで行こうよ BABY!
アバンギャルドで行こうよ BABY!
アバンギャルドで行こうよ BABY!
アバンギャルドで行こうよ BABY! (BABY!)
DEEP-MIND-DEFEND COME ON! (YEAH!)
DING DANG DING DANG DANG
瞳が濡れてきて
DING DANG DING DANG DANG
声にもならなくて
夢さりし恋人の 淡いスウィートゲーム
恋する乙女の唇に かげりが見えだして
知らない誰かに 奪われて
目の色も変わるよね
夢さりし恋人は 難しいよね
アバンギャルドで行こうよ BABY!
アバンギャルドで行こうよ BABY!
アバンギャルドで行こうよ BABY!
アバンギャルドで行こうよ BABY!
アバンギャルドで行こうよ BABY!
アバンギャルドで行こうよ BABY!
アバンギャルドで行こうよ BABY!
アバンギャルドで行こうよ BABY! (BABY!)
Romanized Lyrics
BREACH-PLEATS-CREVICE COME ON! (YEAH!)
DING DANG DING DANG DANG
bishoujo no tokimeki ga
DING DANG DING DANG DANG
speed wo agete kita
yume sarishi koibito no awai sweet game
koi suru otome no kuchibiru wa hajirai no chocolate
shiranai dareka ni koi kogare
ki ga ki janai ka mo ne
yume sarishi koibito wa ijirashii yo ne (YEAH!)
DING DANG DING DANG DANG
itsumo yori mo hade na
DING DANG DING DANG DANG
skirt wo hakidashite
yume sarishi koibito no awai sweet game
beniiro otome no kuchibiru wa yuugure no Juliet
hissori dareka ni mitsumerare
shidoromodoro darou ne
yume sarishi koibito wa hazukashii yo ne
Avant-garde de ikou yo BABY!
Avant-garde de ikou yo BABY!
Avant-garde de ikou yo BABY!
Avant-garde de ikou yo BABY! (BABY!)
DEEP-MIND-DEFEND COME ON! (YEAH!)
DING DANG DING DANG DANG
hitomi ga nurete kite
DING DANG DING DANG DANG
koe ni mo naranakute
yume sarishi koibito no awai sweet game
koi suru otome no kuchibiru ni kageri ga miedashite
shiranai dareka ni ubawarete
me no iro mo kawaru yo ne
yume sarishi koibito wa muzukashii yo ne
Avant-garde de ikou yo BABY!
Avant-garde de ikou yo BABY!
Avant-garde de ikou yo BABY!
Avant-garde de ikou yo BABY!
Avant-garde de ikou yo BABY!
Avant-garde de ikou yo BABY!
Avant-garde de ikou yo BABY!
Avant-garde de ikou yo BABY! (BABY!)
Translated Lyrics
Breach, pleats, crevice, come on! (Yeah!)
Ding dang ding dang dang
A beautiful girl’s pounding heart
Ding dang ding dang dang
Sped her along
A fleeting sweet game of a lover leaving behind their dreams
The lips of a woman in love are a blushing chocolate
Yearning for someone that they don’t even know
She may be beside herself
A lover leaving behind their dreams is very sweet (Yeah!)
Ding dang ding dang dang
Putting on a skirt
Ding dang ding dang dang
That’s more showy than usual
A fleeting sweet game of a lover leaving behind their dreams
A woman’s red lips are those of Juliet at twilight
Being gazed at silently by someone
It’s disorienting, isn’t it
A lover leaving behind their dreams is very shy (Yeah!)
Let’s go avant-garde baby!
Let’s go avant-garde baby!
Let’s go avant-garde baby!
Let’s go avant-garde baby! (Baby!)
Deep, mind, defend, come on! (Yeah!)
Ding dang ding dang dang
Her eyes tear up
Ding dang ding dang dang
And she can’t speak
A fleeting sweet game of a lover leaving behind their dreams
When a shadow comes over the lips of a woman in love
And they’re taken by someone she doesn’t know
The color of her eyes changes too
A lover leaving behind their dreams is very unpleasant (Yeah!)
Let’s go avant-garde baby!
Let’s go avant-garde baby!
Let’s go avant-garde baby!
Let’s go avant-garde baby!
Let’s go avant-garde baby!
Let’s go avant-garde baby!
Let’s go avant-garde baby!
Let’s go avant-garde baby! (Baby!)
Notes
This was Yemon’s second single, released on 03/01/1993 (the same day as the Experience Movie album). It was also the only song to be released as a single from the album. Yoshii has stated in an interview that he was quite certain that this song was going to be a hit, and was very disappointed when it didn’t chart at all. It was also originally planned to be used in a cosmetics commercial because of the phrase “The lips of a woman in love”, but ultimately that all fell through.
Of all the songs we’ve heard on Experience Movie so far, this one might be the most fun with the highest level of energy. It has a pretty straight forward but rocking guitar riff that never lets up, and is very dance-able. And even though the chorus is literally just the same phrase repeated over and over, it feels like that was done specifically with the aim of getting the crowd to sing along as opposed to because of a lack of writing ability or inspiration. I think the picture that the rest of the song paints, and the phrases that it uses make up for the lack of substance in the chorus. Basically it’s a good marriage between a more complex glam rock number and a crowd pleasing participation song. “Avant-garde de Ikou yo” seems to be crafted a bit more carefully as a single, as opposed to “Romantist Taste” on the last album, which just sort of ended up becoming one (even though it served as a good choice). Yoshii has also described this as a song that really makes the members of the group happy. So when it’s played live, it’s often saved for somewhere near the end of the show to keep energy up.
Much like in “Shinbigan Boogie”, the backup vocals from Fujita and Tsuchiya really do a lot for the feeling of this song, during the “Ding dang ding dang dang” parts in both the versus and in the chorus (after each “Avant-garde de ikou yo Baby!”). Since Yemon doesn’t often have dedicated backup singers in their live performances (only during the occasional Mekara Uroko), sometimes the other members of the band will do the “Ding dang ding dang dang”, and sometimes the song will just go without them. It isn’t a big deal either way, but it takes a tiny bit away from the song not having them there. Also similar to “Shinbigan Boogie”, we have strings, horns, and even a sax that gets its own solo at the end! Note that only during an occasional performance at a Mekara Uroko concert would all of these additional instruments be included in the song when performed live.
On occasion Yoshii will also substitute lyrics in the final parts of the song for lyrics from a T.Rex song called “Solid Gold Easy Action”, since the vocal melody is similar in a specific part. T.Rex is a huge influence to the entire band, so this isn’t all that surprising.
But when performed at Mekara Uroko concerts, it always has a very lengthy and unique lead-in. The band will typically start playing their own often modified version of “Tokyo Boogie Woogie” (an old song from the 1940s by Shizuko Kasagi), with Yoshii primarily leading the song along on acoustic guitar. Sometimes he’ll sing most of it, but often he’ll make the other members do the bulk of the singing while he continues to play. He’s even drug Annie out from behind the drum set (who once he was pulled out, was quite the performer), and former regular keyboardist Yoshitaka Mikuni (who never knew all the words to the song, so just kind of faked it) from behind the keyboards. I also often sing my own modified version of this song to my cats whenever I’m giving them treats…
And after going on for awhile, Yoshii will reach a point in the song where he shouts “Avant-garde de ikou yo!”, and they launch into this song. It’s really a lot of fun! Yoshii would even keep this song around as an occasional part of a set list (and presented in the same fashion) during his solo career. That intro has come to known as “Ososo Boogie Woogie” among fans. It’s probably not a coincidence that this was a post World War II song, and the upcoming story of Jaguar (mentioned below, but we’ll get to him mostly when covering the next album) is also tied into World World II…
In parts of the music video for and on the cover of this single, the band appear dressed in the costumes that they wore in the lyrics booklet for the album. These are the same costumes that in the early days they would wear while performing 4000 tsubu no koi no koi no uta and Silk Scarf ni boushi no Madam. Yoshii in particular is dressed as Mary: the lover of a now dead soldier named Jaguar (we’ll get into him with the next album, Jaguar Hard Pain).
Avant-garde de ikou yo was a mainstay in the early days, and was played during the Experience Movie and Jaguar Hard Pain tours (1993 and 1994), and even a bit during the Four Seasons tour (1996). After that it became a song that was mostly saved for the celebration of older material that are the Mekara Uroko series of concerts. It was played, with some version of the grandiose intro featuring Tokyo Boogie Woogie (mentioned above), at every Mekara Uroko except for “8” (which was a bit of a departure from the Mekara Uroko formula, since it was their going-away concert).
(“Avant-garde de ikou yo” from Mekara Uroko 7, 1996)
