SUCK OF LIFE

  • Lyrics & Music: Kazuya Yoshii
  • Arrangement: The Yellow Monkey

Original Lyrics

ファスナーをおろして 強く強くHOLD ME TIGHT
女はケモノさ 君には必要ない

OH HONEY 僕は君の HONEY 虜だよ
OH HONEY 誰にも渡さない

夢の中のキズを開いて
急いで噛みついて BABY
腐りかけの黒いスコーピオンネック
媚薬で直してよ

AH-ジレンマの僕に手を添えて
今からめる とけるような

I AIN’T GONNA STAND FOR IT BODY
I AIN’T GONNA STAND FOR IT BODY
COCK SHOCK WO-BABY SUCK OF LIFE
AS IF YOU READ MY MIND

その赤いキッスをたれながし 凍える夜に
メカニズムが動き出せば踊ろう SILENT TONIGHT

壁に両手をついて MY PLAYBOY
純白の涙を OH
汚い君の目最高さ
銀色に見える BLUE EYE

AH-レジェンドな君に手を添えて
今ときめく濡れるような

I AIN’T GONNA STAND FOR IT BODY
COCK SHOCK WO-BABY SUCK OF LIFE
I AIN’T GONNA STAND FOR IT BODY
AS IF YOU READ MY MIND

その赤いキッスをたれながし 凍える夜に
メカニズムが動き出せば踊ろう SILENT TONIGHT

AH FOR YOUR LOVE
IT’S MUSCLE OF LOVE

悪女の深情けは無用さ
女狐の涙に用は無い
君の彼はゲイでおまけにデブ
幸せなんて言葉はない

WANT TO LIVE GOOD BOY & SUCK OF LIFE
WANT TO LIVE GOOD BOY & SUCK OF LIFE
WANT TO LIVE
WANT TO LIVE
WANT TO LIVE

長い髪を振り乱し暴れる夜に
AH エゴイストが鼻につけば終わる SILENT TONIGHT

目が覚めて鏡を見れば 口紅で I LOVE YOU
メカニズムも止められて終わる SUCK OF LIFE

BE MY SUCKER
OH BE MY SUCKER
BE MY SUCK OF LIFE I WANT YOU BABY
BE MY SUCK OF LIFE

虹を集めゴージャスな ドレスを作って
もう一度溶けるような
BE MY SUCKER OF LIFE


Romanized Lyrics

fastener wo oroshite tsuyoku tsuyoku HOLD ME TIGHT
onna wa kemono sa kimi ni wa hitsuyou nai

OH HONEY boku wa kimi no HONEY toriko da yo
OH HONEY dare ni mo watasanai

yume no naka no kizu wo hiraite
isoide kamitsuite BABY
kusari kake no kuroi scropion neck
biyaku de naoshite yo

AH dilemma no boku ni te wo soete
ima karameru tokeru you na

I AIN’T GONNA STAND FOR IT BODY
I AIN’T GONNA STAND FOR IT BODY
COCK SHOCK WO-BABY SUCK OF LIFE
AS IF YOU READ MY MIND

sono akai kiss wo tarenagashi kogoeru yoru ni
mechanism ga ugokidaseba odorou SILENT TONIGHT

kabe ni ryoute wo tsuite MY PLAYBOY
junpaku no namida wo OH
katanai kimi no me saikou sa
giniro ni mieru BLUE EYE

AH legend na kimi ni te wo soete
ima tokimeku nureru you na

I AIN’T GONNA STAND FOR IT BODY
COCK SHOCK WO-BABY SUCK OF LIFE
I AIN’T GONNA STAND FOR IT BODY
AS IF YOU READ MY MIND

sono akai kiss wo tarenagashi kogoeru yoru ni
mechanism ga ugokidaseba odorou SILENT TONIGHT

AH FOR YOUR LOVE
IT’S MUSCLE OF LOVE

akujo no fukanasake wa muyou sa
megitsune no namida ni you wa nai
kimi no kare wa gay de omake ni debu
shiawase nante kotoba wa nai
WANT TO LIVE GOOD BOY & SUCK OF LIFE
WANT TO LIVE GOOD BOY & SUCK OF LIFE
WANT TO LIVE
WANT TO LIVE
WANT TO LIVE

nagai kami wo furimidashi abareru yoru ni
AH egoist ga hana ni tsukeba owaru SILENT TONIGHT

me ga samete kagami wo mireba kuchibeni de I LOVE YOU
mechanism ga tomerarete owaru SUCK OF LIFE

BE MY SUCKER
OH BE MY SUCKER
BE MY SUCK OF LIFE I WANT YOU BABY
BE MY SUCK OF LIFE

niji wo atsume gorgeous na dress wo tsukutte
mou ichido tokeru you na
BE MY SUCKER OF LIFE


Translated Lyrics

Unfasten my zipper and hold me so, so tight
Women are animals, and you don’t have any need for them

Oh honey; I’m your honey, and you’re my prisoner
Oh honey; And I won’t give you up to anyone

Opening up a wound in my dreams
Hurry up and bite at me, baby
A rotted scorpion neck
Cure me with its aphrodisiac

Ah, putting your hand on me, who’s having such a dilemma
We entwine now, as though we’re fused together

I ain’t gonna stand for it body
I ain’t gonna stand for it body
Cock shock, wo-baby suck of life
As if you read my mind

Discharging that red kiss on a freezing cold night
When the mechanism starts to move, let’s dance; Silent tonight

Put your hands up against the wall, my playboy
Show me those pure white tears, oh
Your vulgar eyes are the best
It makes your those eyes look silver

Ah, putting my hand on you, who are such a legend
I get excited now, as though I was wet

I ain’t gonna stand for it body
Cock shock, wo-baby suck of life
I ain’t gonna stand for it body
As if you read my mind

Discharging that red kiss on a freezing cold night
When the mechanism starts to move, let’s dance; Silent tonight

Ah for your love
It’s muscle of love

The excessive love of an evil woman is unnecessary
A vixen’s tears are useless
Your boyfriend’s gay, and also fat
There’s no such word as “happiness”

Want to live, good boy & suck of life
Want to live, good boy & suck of life
Want to live
Want to live
Want to live

Disheveling your long hair on this rough night
Ah, once an egoist catches a whiff, it’s all over; Silent tonight

When I wake up and look at the mirror, “I love you” is written there in lipstick
The mechanism has stopped, and it’s all over; Suck of life

Be my sucker
Oh, be my sucker
Be my suck of life, I want you baby
Be my suck of life

Gathering up rainbows and making them into a gorgeous dress
As though we’re fused together, once more…
Be my sucker of life


Notes

Suck Of Life - Yoshii and Emma (Punch Drunkard Tour, 1999)
Yoshii and Emma “mixing it up” during Suck Of Life (Punch Drunkard Tour, 1999)

This was the B-side on the “Avant garde de ikou yo” single, though it was the “Original Version” which starts after the intro. I’m glad that they decided to add the intro though, because it makes for a much better start to the song. Apparently this was a number that they’d been playing since their indie days, so it’s a favorite of long time fans of the group. It also gets arguably the biggest reaction when performed live, from the very moment that Yoshii sings the first syllable of “Fastener”.

Suck Of Life - Yoshii and Emma (Super Japan Tour, 2016)
Yoshii and Emma “mixing it up” again (Super Japan Tour, 2016)

No one probably needs me to tell them that this is a song about a gay relationship, and the second that we’ve heard from Yemon so far on the subject. This one goes about describing the relationship in a very different way though. This Is For You explored it from much more of an emotional perspective, whereas Suck Of Life explores it almost exclusively from a sexual perspective. So the title most likely means exactly what you think it does! And to me it reads very much as a story of one more experienced person trying to convince another person who is much more unsure about their sexuality. The handful of references to not needing women is what really drives that home, since they’re all presented in a way that one person might use to convince another. I think they’re meant to be a part of the story being told here, and aren’t meant to be taken literally. Though since this song comes from Yemon’s indie days when Yoshii was by his own admittance not very good to women, who knows. At any rate, I’m choosing not to interpret those statements as actually directed toward women.

Suck Of Life - Emma and Yoshii (Tokyo Dome Live, 2001)
Yoshii behind the drum set helping Emma so he can talk to the crowd (Tokyo Dome Live, 2001)

I like the very artful way that sex is depicted in Suck Of Life. It can be argued as to whether or not the…weird English used throughout the song ruins that or not. Even though it’s definitely odd, I don’t think it’s odd enough to really lower the value of the song. In fact the most troublesome part of the lyrics for me is actually the “Your boyfriend’s gay, and also fat” line. Not only is the “fat” part of it not really that great or necessary, but it also doesn’t make a whole lot of sense within the context that the song has established. We’ve already established that one side is trying to convince the other to move away from relationships with women and into relationships with men…and this seems to upset that. However I think that the “your” here is not the other guy, but rather the girlfriend that he’s being pulled away from. The wording doesn’t make that very obvious, but it’s the only thing that really makes any kind of sense.

Suck Of Life - Yoshii on the ground (Mekara Uroko 10, 1999)
Man down! Man down! (Mekara Uroko 10, 1999)

Suck Of Life certainly isn’t the most realistic portrayal of a gay relationship (especially versus something very down to earth, like This Is For You), but if you consider that it’s meant to be fanciful and artsy, I feel like you could do a whole lot worse. Keep in mind I’m a straight guy, so my opinion on this matter doesn’t count for very much! Either way, I think the song itself is incredibly well composed. I’d argue it has more definition to it than just about any other of Yoshii’s songs we’ve heard so far, with its distinctive intro and outro. I like Suck Of Life a whole lot, and it probably falls somewhere in my upper echelon of Yemon songs as a whole.

Suck Of Life - Heesey and Emma (Super Big Egg Tokyo Dome, 2017)
A very cute picture of Heesey and Emma (Super Big Egg Tokyo Dome Live, 2017)

And though they don’t do it every single time that they perform it, this song is often used for a couple of different purposes. Sometimes it’s used for Yoshii and Emma to perform some fan service in a way very in line with the themes of the song. It often involves Yoshii making out with , humping, and fellating Emma via his guitar (just watch the video below, you’ll see). Sometimes it’s also used to introduce the band. A single performance of Suck Of Life has sometimes gone on for over 20 minutes as a result! When performed live (and also in the recently re-recorded version for The Yellow Monkey Is Here), Yoshii often shouts “Hey! chikubi dashi na!” (“Hey! Let’s see your nipples!”) after the intro ends, but before the vocals start again. There’s also something that he usually shouts right before going into the “nagai kami wo…” line, which is apparently “dekka na ichimotsu baby!” (“What a big dick you’ve got, baby!”). It’s an incredibly fun song to hear live though.

Suck Of Life - Heesey (Super Japan Tour, 2016)
“Oh honey…” (Super Japan Tour, 2016)

In my memory they’d performed this song on just about every concert recording, but that’s actually not the case. The first recorded concert in which it was performed was the 1995 Smile tour, specifically the concert that was their first time at Budokan. It was also performed during the Four Seasons tour (1996), Sicks Tour (1997), Punch Drunkard Tour (1998, 1999), Mekara Uroko 10 (1999), the initial final live at Tokyo Dome (Mekara Uroko 8, 2001), the Super Japan Tour (2016), Mekara Uroko 27 (2016), and the Super Big Egg Tokyo Dome live (2017).

Suck Of Life - Heesey (Super Big Egg Tokyo Dome, 2017)
Heesey with his rock face on, in the section leading out of the Suck Of Life intro (Super Big Egg Tokyo Dome Live, 2017)

As mentioned above, a re-recorded version of Suck Of Life was included on the 2017 re-recorded greatest hits album The Yellow Monkey Is Here. It’s absolutely the version to listen to, due to being a much better quality and updated recording. My only real issue with it is that the backup vocals aren’t as prominent as they were in the original recording, which takes a little bit away from the song.

Suck Of Life - Yoshii Mic Stand Spin (Mekara Uroko 27, 2016)
This happens during every performance of this song (Mekara Uroko 27, 2016)

(From the Smile Tour, 1995)

(I’m not sure when this is from, but I’m going to guess it’s pre-Smile.)

(From the initial final live at Tokyo Dome, 2001)