Is TRAIN-TRAIN 'Run and Go' or 'Running Along'? Covers of Showa-Heisei Masterpieces

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Hello. I am the manager of Lovely Plants.

Recently, I finally watched director Nobuhiro Yamashita's film 'Linda Linda Linda' and found myself thinking again, 'The Blue Hearts are great, aren't they?'

Following that train of thought, I searched for Blue Hearts songs on YouTube and was surprised to find that quite a few people cover them. As I listened to various covers, I noticed a strange sense of discomfort with the covers of 'TRAIN-TRAIN'.

The reason for the discomfort when listening to 'TRAIN-TRAIN' covers is the lyrics in the chorus.

Many people sing it as

Quite a few famous musicians also sing 'run and go'.

Wait? In my memory, I felt like it was

but??

So, when I listen to the original 'TRAIN-TRAIN' by The Blue Hearts, it is indeed 'run and along'.

Then, why do so many people sing the most important chorus lyrics differently?

The cause lies in the lyric sheet for The Blue Hearts' 'TRAIN-TRAIN'. Surprisingly, the original lyric sheet does not have the lyrics written for the chorus section. (*I confirmed this by doing an image search for the 'TRAIN-TRAIN' lyric sheet on Google.)

It is not just 'TRAIN-TRAIN'; in fact, the chorus part of 'Linda Linda' is also not written down. Hiroto, who wrote the lyrics for 'Linda Linda', left these words about the lyrics:'I don't know either. There was never an answer to begin with. That's why 'Linda Linda' isn't written on the lyric sheet, right? It's not even registered, so you're free to sing it however you like.'

In other words, the same might be said for the lyrics of 'TRAIN-TRAIN', which were written by Mashima.

Because of this, music sites on the internet write the lyrics as 'TRAIN-TRAIN run and go', and perhaps the younger generation is influenced by that notation when they sing. It is possible that the karaoke lyrics are also set to 'run and go'. However, when rock artists like 10-FEET or KALMA cover it, they correctly sing 'run and along'.

However, I am sure that neither Mashima, who wrote the lyrics, nor Hiroto, who sings them, would care about such minor details. So in the end, it might be that it doesn't matter whether it's 'run and go' or 'run and along', and that 'you are free to sing it however you like'.

Covers of Showa and Heisei Masterpieces

Well, the introduction has been too long, but this is the second installment of my recommended cover song project. Since the Beatles cover song post I published last time got more views than expected, I decided to do a second installment if there is demand.

Click here for the previous article on Beatles covers.

In this article, I will introduce three recommended covers of Showa and Heisei masterpieces. Since the readers of this note are likely in their late 30s to 60s, and I feel the age demographic is surprisingly high, I selected these songs thinking you would enjoy covers of Showa and Heisei classics.

Now, let's get started!

Regal Lily - Sotsugyou (Original: Yuki Saito)

Regal Lily's cover of "Sotsugyou" (Graduation) is an arrangement of Yuki Saito's 1985 debut song, reinterpreted through their unique rock style.

The original song is a masterpiece that depicts the delicate emotions of a girl nearing graduation. Regal Lily reconstructs it with their own signature band sound.

In this track, the sense of speed is further accelerated by the light, rhythmic drums. It's also cool how they finish the song with an alternative rock sound. Also, personally, I find the way vocalist Hono-chan says "Gome~n ne" (Sorry) to be cute.

This cover was released as the first installment of the "Spring 3-Month Consecutive Cover Digital Release Project 'Memory'," which Regal Lily carried out for the spring season (February, March, April) of 2025. By the way, for the second installment, they covered Chatmonchy's "Saraba Seishun", and for the third, they covered Hoff Dylan's "Smile". Both can be heard on Regal Lily's official YouTube channel.

Regal Lily's "Sotsugyou" is not available as a standalone CD release and can only be obtained digitally (via streaming and download).

Clammbon - Night Cruising (Original: Fishmans)

Clammbon's cover of "Night Cruising" is a cover of the masterpiece released in 1995 by the legendary Japanese band Fishmans.

While retaining the dreamy dub and reggae atmosphere of the original, it features delicate arrangements characteristic of Clammbon. Ikuko Harada's vocals, amidst the sense of floating, give the song a new lyricism, making it the ultimate healing music for me.

This cover song is included on the Fishmans tribute album "SWEET DREAMS for fishmans," released in 2004.

This track is also included on Clammbon's own cover album "LOVER ALBUM," released in 2006.

Hitsujibungaku - Ginga Tetsudo no Yoru (Original: GOING STEADY)

Hitsujibungaku's "Ginga Tetsudo no Yoru" (Night on the Galactic Railroad) is a cover of the masterpiece released in 2001 by the Japanese punk band GOING STEADY.

They vividly reconstruct the emotional intensity of the original with the alternative rock sound unique to Hitsujibungaku. While developing their own worldview, the arrangement shows respect for the original song.

This song was produced as the theme song for the AR game "Galapagos no Bibindo" (Micro-vibration of Galapagos), released in 2020. Furthermore, it became a hot topic because vocalist Moeka Shiotsuka took on the challenge of voice acting for the first time as the game's heroine.

Hitsujibungaku's "Ginga Tetsudo no Yoru" is not available as a standalone CD release and can only be obtained digitally (via streaming and download).

How was it? Did you enjoy it??

I think cover songs aren't enjoyable unless they have a unique worldview not found in the original, so I struggled a lot with selecting the songs.

The three cover songs I introduced this time were all selected from official YouTube channels with copyright in mind. Therefore, I don't think they will suddenly become unavailable, so if you like them, please enjoy them as many times as you want from this article.

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