The "North Country" in "Spring in the North Country" refers to Iwate Prefecture, one of the six prefectures in Northeast Japan. The entire song "Spring in the North Country" describes the singer Qian Changfu's longing for his hometown.

The background story of "Spring in the Northern Land"

According to the "Japan New Overseas Chinese News", a reportage published in 2010 by Chihiro Ito, a senior reporter of Japan's "Asahi Shimbun" revealed He learned a lot about the creation of this song. Japan officially recognizes that "Spring in the Northland" sings about Iwate Prefecture, one of the six northeastern counties of Japan. In the snow-covered foothills of Iwate Prefecture in early spring, there are large tracts of white birch forests growing on the snowfields. It is said that there are 1 million white birch trees there. There are so many, it is "the most beautiful birch forest in Asia".

In the first month of 1977, lyricist Hiromasa Ide accepted a commission from a record company to compose a song for male singer Masao Chi. At that time, Senmasao was advertising for his hometown of Iwate Prefecture on TV. In order to highlight his northern color, the title of the song was decided on, "Spring in the Northland".

However, Ide had never been to Iwate Prefecture, but he thought that Nagano Prefecture and Iwate Prefecture were not much different. They were both severely cold areas, and their desire for spring was very similar, so he naturally thought of it when he was a child. Country life spent.

All of this naturally turned into the lyrics written by Ide. He also recalled that when he went to university in Tokyo, he saw rural specialties sent by their mothers in the dormitories of his classmates. Ide's father died early, and he spent his college life relying on living expenses sent by his brother who worked in Osaka. So he couldn't help but imagine that if his father were still alive, he and his brother would probably sit around the fire and drink silently. Thousands of longings for my hometown and relatives turned into lyrics very naturally.

After writing the lyrics, Ide ran to the home of composer Endo Minoru, who also lived in Tokyo. After Endo stood in the corridor and read the lyrics, he said to him, "Just drink whiskey for a while and wait." After that, Endo went up to the second floor with the lyrics. Unexpectedly, only 5 minutes later, Endo came downstairs. Ide thought Endo had forgotten something, but Endo said to him: "The song is finished."

Extended information

Various versions of "Spring in the North"

1. "Spring in the North (Mandarin version)" sung by Jiang Dawei, this song is included in The album "Spring in the North Country" was released on January 1, 1999 by Jiesheng Records. The album contains 14 songs.

2. "Spring in the North Country - Piano Music" played by Youlan Key. This song is included in the album "2016 Piano Song Selection", which was released on 2017-05-22. The album contains 28 song.

3. "Spring in the North Country (Pure Music Version of Saxophone)" performed by Xiaohou SAX Hou Junxi, this song is included in the album "Spring in the North Country (Pure Music Version of Saxophone)", 2016-11 -24 Released, this album contains 1 song.

4. "Spring in the North Country (Electric Blow Pipe Version)" sung by Youyouzj, this song is included in the album "The Sound of Electric Blow Pipe-01" and was released on 2020-01-01. This album Contains 34 songs.