Enquiries on Free & Easy

[mellody]

About Free & Easy...

There's something i wondering about...
About the song, it's just... AMAZING!
My favourite song in RAINBOW!

And the lyrics are very motivational for me..
As if this is a .... Gospel Song...

And the PV yet Amazing, a Joan of Arc story,
One of my favourite PV..

Anyway, is there any story behind this song?
Why Joan of Arc story in the PV?
The covers seems represents something that connect to the PV..

And lastly, this is a sing relesed after Daybreak..
Daybreak is break change for Ayu when she never write song about confusion and loneliness again..

Anyone can explain?

[Coelacanth]

You can find masa's interpretation here. http://homepage2.nifty.com/morimasa/rainbow1.html

In the middle of the Countdown Live concert 2001- 2002, she noticed some people in the front row was sitting, though the other audience were all standing, and warned them rather jokingly. The audience booed them in response to her words, and they stood up. But a few weeks later, it was rumoured that a physically handicapped person was among them. The people who gather at a BBS named "2 Channel" and like slandering and humiliating celebrities more than anything else (I call them "2 Channellers" after this) heard of it, and started to attack all together on the BBS's of Hamasaki Ayumi fansites late in January, blaming as, "Hamasaki made a discriminating remark against a physically handicapped person. Apologize! Apologize! Apologize!" All the BBS's were thrown into big confusion, and many of them were forced to be closed. -- But the fact was that there were no physically handicapped person among them sitting in the front row from the first, and indeed, they were her acquaintances. She said such words because she thought it wasn't good that her acquaintances in the special seats were sitting, while the common audience were standing. The absurdity of that tumult lied in that many people told there must have been a victim and made a fuss, though there was no such a person actually.

The influence of that tumult is obviously seen in the single song, "Free & Easy", released on April 24. I think it would not have been made without the incident. It's quite rare and unusual for her to use the phrase, "such a dirty world", as she likes finding something beautiful in the outer world and actually has often described it beautifully. The combination of this lyrics, the dramatic and excellent melody by CREA + D.A.I (it seems to me by its feature that she took the initiative) and the grave and classical arrangement by HAL made this song great and representative of her activities in the first half of the year 2002. I also think this monumental "fighting song" deserves to be called the central song of this album.

[chloeM]

well, can't believe you can dig your heart out for F&E

[PinkShinigami]

Aaw Why does averyone always missunderstand Ayu? XD

[pommy48]

oo thanks, i never knew that's why she wrote free & easy

[RikkuChii]

...I thought she wrote it cause of Joan of Arc?

[pommy48]

^ i think the lyrics are for the event and the PV is for joan of arc~

[Mitkki]

Ayu saw The Messenger:The Story of Joan of Arc and was inspired by it. The first few seconds of the song is also from the movie (uncredited).

[alternarist]

i read somewhere that it was someone who told her the story of Joan of Arc which inspired her to write this song.

i think i read it on the world's most reliable website.

Wikipedia.

[mellody]

Phew, it's a very good answer, somehow i didn't understand..

But it makes me clear now, though i don't understand yet why the title was "Free & Easy"

Thanks!

[noidea]

Originally Posted by Mitkki

Ayu saw The Messenger:The Story of Joan of Arc and was inspired by it. The first few seconds of the song is also from the movie (uncredited).

Of the song or the video?

[TeeMo]

Originally Posted by noidea

Of the song or the video?

Both maybe.

[noidea]

Originally Posted by TeeMo

Both maybe.

Joke?

[jimex289]

You should feel motivated by this song. This is also one of my top favorite songs from her. The CD art and PV all seem to be indicative of something medieval. My guess is as good as anyone else that she was portraying Joan of Arc on that cover with the sword and everything. Part of the PV where she sang "Konna konna yogoreta machi de" had her on what seemed to be a stake to me (definitely was something wooden). Maybe this represented the "burning at the stake" and all those red/orange drapes were the flames? Here you could probably make a connection. As for the song lyrics themselves, there's a lot you can get out of it. I think the most important thing to take away is that obviously it's a "fighter" type song. It makes it quite apparent that even after what happened she was strong not to cave in. The tense changes in the beginning and end say a lot as well. It seems like in the end she accomplished what she set out to do (with the past tense), just like Joan of Arc. I'm going to assume that she (Ayu) died in the PV but based on the nature of the song, her death was not in vain. Let's look at Joan of Arc...they burned the poor girl but she singlehandedly liberated France from the English during the Hundred Years' War; on top of all of this she was also later found innocent and considered a martyr. I think the idea behind the whole song does have its roots in Joan of Arc and it isn't all some kind of coincidence. Everything seems so symbolic of what happened to Joan. The only thing I find off is that I imagine Joan never got such a nice coffin haha. I don't find it surprising that Ayu would admire such a strong feminine (as in woman, not trait) character.

[ImpactBreaker]

Originally Posted by noidea

Of the song or the video?

The beginning instrumental part of the song samples (and doesn't credit, unfortunately) the song from the THE MESSENGER movie soundtrack called "No amen"

[jimex289]

^Oh word man. I didn't know that. Isn't that a serious infringement of copyright? Last time I checked even samplers need to be given proper credit.

[mellody]

So, if it's really took the part..
Somehow it's sounds Gospel..

Anyway, for jimex, thanks in advance, u always give a clear interpretation, and about the idea when she sings the chorus part, it really represents when Joan burned in the stake.

One thing that i haven't noticed yet was the title..
Medieval part of the cover, the PV yet, makes me wonder what's the meaning behind "Free & Easy"

[noidea]

I think it means going in death without feeling fear

@jimex I thought the same about the woodenpillar thing! I think it shows the moment a few seconds before her death in the video
@ImpactBreaker
Thats not nice...I hope its only like 5 seconds and not more, ill have to listen to this No Amen

[sanzo2011]

sr !! but can someone upload that song ?

[TeeMo]

Originally Posted by noidea

Joke?

Nope... I think both of them wanted to tell us the same thing -- "Free&Easy"...