"Swallowtail Butterfly (Ai no Uta)" | ||||
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Single by Yen Town Band (Chara) | ||||
from the album Montage | ||||
B-side | Mama's Alright | |||
Released | July 22, 1996 | |||
Format | CD Single | |||
Genre | J-pop | |||
Length | 4:49 | |||
Label | Sony Music Japan | |||
Writer(s) | Chara, Shunji Iwai, Takeshi Kobayashi, Takayo Nagasawa, Bryan Burton-Lewis | |||
Producer(s) | Takeshi Kobayashi | |||
Yen Town Band (Chara) singles chronology | ||||
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"Swallowtail Butterfly (Ai no Uta)" (あいのうた Suwarōteiru Batafurai Ai no Uta?, "Love Song") is a song by Chara, released under the name Yen Town Band. It was the lead single from Montage, a concept album released for the Shunji Iwai film Swallowtail Butterfly that also starred Chara. This song was used as the theme song for the film.
The single debuted at #31 on Oricon's singles charts. Two months later, after the release of the film and album, the single managed to reach #1.
The song was written by Takeshi Kobayashi, in collaboration with Chara and film director Shunji Iwai.
The music video begins with a long panning shot over a cityscape. It then shows Chara against a farm windmill. It then switches to a junkyard, where Chara and several other people are filtering through rubbish. They eventually find a working piano, which they bring back on the back of a pickup truck. Chara plays the piano as the car drives off. This scene is intersperces with scenes from the movie.