Kyu Sakamoto - Kanashiki rokujuusai

The song "kanashiki rokujusai" (悲しき六十歳), translated "sad sixty year old", is the august 1960 Japanese cover of "Ya mustafa" by Kyu Sakamoto (坂本九). The original song first achieved some acclaim as performed by the Lebanese singer Bob Azzam and was sang in Arabic, Italian and French. The cover version by Sakamoto did away with this linguistic diversity for a purely Japanese lyric. The song was a big hit in Japan, the first Sakamoto had after his early career transfer to Emi Records.

For a karaoke rendition by a Japanese guy and the lyrics click here.