Quiz: (Song) Colorful? You're Dreamin'!
Use the vocabulary below the song to fill in the blanks within this "California Dreamin'" parody. The answers are at the bottom of the page.
![[IMAGE: one woman in red coat amid sea of dark-clad Japanese]](../images/darkclothes.jpg "one woman in red coat amid sea of dark-clad Japanese")
I'll admit that not ALL Japanese fall/winter clothing is
- dark brown
- black or
- gray.
But it seems that way. A few people, at least when I lived in the Kansai (Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe) area, wore a seemingly official auxiliary color in the fall and winter:
- red in two years (like the woman above)
- orange the next year and
- lavender the year after that.
But for the majority:
Colorful? You're Dreamin'!
By Kevin Sullivan, with apologies to "California Dreamin'" by The Mamas and the Papas (written by John and Michelle Phillips, 1963)
All the clothes are brown, or they're black or gray
Fall and winter clothes, in Japan are that way
Why no others worn? "(?), (?)
Fall or winter season, all else is too (?)."
Stop into a (?), the twelfth along the way
Well, I get a (?), and warm my hands and pay
I notice more-than-usual starin', I think I hear them say:
"(?), turquoise-wearin'? On such a winter's day?!"
All the clothes are brown, or they're black or gray
Starts October 1st, short sleeves (?)
Early fall's still warm, why can't you delay?
All they say is "(?), (?)."
Colorful? You're dreamin'! Japan's fall clothes? No way!
Colorful? You're dreamin'! (?)
- dewa kore made
- ではこれまで: well, that's it (literally: well, up to this)
- gaijin
- 外人: foreigner (gaikokujin 外国人 is more polite, gaikoku no kata 外国の方 even more so)
- hade
- 派手: flashy, gaudy
- kankoohii
- 缶コーヒー: brewed canned coffee, often with milk and sugar and sold heated (invented by Japan's UCC Ltd. in 1969)
- konbini
- コンビニ: convenience store—which are everywhere (short for konbiniensu sutoa コンビニエンスストア)
- koromogae
- 衣替え: annual changing of dress on Apr. 1st and Oct. 1st, especially for student and receptionist uniforms (it's even printed on some calendars)
- [NOUN] mo dame
- 〔名詞〕もだめ: [NOUN] is/are also no good
- Sss
- ツ (tsu): sound of sucking air against teeth in response to uncomfortable question (it also helps to simultaneously tilt your head to the side)
- shoganee
- しょうがねえ: (shouganai しょうがない) it can't be helped, that's just the way it is (-ee = coarse -ai, used by many Tokyo teens, used here for rhyme)
- sou desu ne . . .
- そうですね。。。: well, uh . . .
Answers below
Scoring
- 7-10: Get a job at the United Nations (as a singing interpreter).
- 4-6: Not bad.
- 0-3: Do you dream in black and white?
Answers
Colorful? You're Dreamin'!
By Kevin Sullivan, with apologies to "California Dreamin'" by The Mamas and the Papas (written by John and Michelle Phillips, 1963)
All the clothes are brown, or they're black or gray
Fall and winter clothes, in Japan are that way
Why no others worn? "Sss, sou desu ne . . . .
Fall or winter season, all else is too hade."
Stop into a konbini, the twelfth along the way
Well, I get a kankoohii, and warm my hands and pay
I notice more-than-usual starin', I think I hear them say:
"Gaijin, turquoise-wearin'? On such a winter's day?!"
All the clothes are brown, or they're black or gray
Starts October 1st, short sleeves mo dame
Early fall's still warm, why can't you delay?
All they say is "koromogae, shouganee."
Colorful? You're dreamin'! Japan's fall clothes? No way!
Colorful? You're dreamin'! Dewa kore made
Except for parodied song source, all contents of this Language and Humor page copyright © 2001, 2002 Kevin Sullivan, languageandhumor at gmail dot com. Posted September 20, 2007.