I chose to go with their first and probably still most symbolic team song, "Korogaru ishi ni nare".
"Korogaru ishi ni nare" (Be like a rolling stone)
(from Team K 2nd stage "Seishun girls" - AKB48 1st album "Set list")
Team K (full team)
words: Akimoto Yasushi
music: Yamazaki Yo
point of view: female (as the speaking first person is the girls themselves), but the language used in this song is rather gender-neutral
theme: team song
original lyrics
listen to Korogaru ishi ni nare on youtube
Who is the flower on the roadside blooming for?
It is never noticed by the passer-bys...
Burnt by the sun, exposed to the rain
That far away dream is blown by the wind
Loneliness is always a compensation for freedom
Lost for words,
Walls are indifferent
You have no choice but endure it
Be like a rolling stone
Move according to your own mind
Change the times before burning out completely
Be like a rolling stone
Don't stand stock still where you are
Time flows on
Your passion is hidden
We're the team K
Who are the nameless stars shining for?
Forgotten in a corner of the night sky
It's unbelievable how hey keep believing
Their light is a ticket to ther future
Giving up is like turning your back
You have to stretch out your hand recklessly
As you struggle
Be like a sharp stone
Don't go with what everyone around you says
You have to live stubbornly
Don't round yourself out
Be like a sharp stone
Keep having something you can't concede
Humans are weak beings
Don't lose to yourself
Be like a rolling stone
Move according to your own mind
Change the times before burning out completely
Be like a rolling stone
Don't stand stock still where you are
Time flows on
Your passion is hidden
We're the team K
We're the team K
We're the team K
We're the team K
Comment
Team K's second stage "Seishun girls" was the team's first original stage, and also the first to have a team theme song (A1 had "AKB48" but it was a team song only because A was the only team back then).
"Korogaru~"'s lyrics are very straightforward and powerful. When the song was first performed, AKB48 was still a very young idol group, slowly climbing the stairs to success. If I think about what could have been the state of mind of Team K girls in July 2007, when they started performing K2, I can't help but think that this is a battle cry for them.
They'd only had a few months to warm up, they must have felt in the shadow of the more experienced and popular Team A, and they had to prove their worth with songs made especially for them. Even just one glance at the lyrics is enough to realize how strong its language and message are: it's not the usual "Do your best because I love you and believe in you", but it's "Even if you are alone, even if it's hard to be yourself, you can't give up".
That's why I believe that even after the shuffle this is THE Team K song. Not only because of how many times it has been performed as the K theme song, but also because the kind of strenght drawn from these words suits Team K, the strongest team, the team of deep bonds. (Unlike "Sasae", for example, which was the portrait of a particular moment of Team K. I will definitely pick this song up in the future).
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Next up, team B's "Shonichi" to conclude the Team Songs series.
If you have any request or suggestion about what you'd like to see after that, don't hesitate to post a comment!
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