What is Free & Easy about?

[Yukitora]

Does anyone have any insights over this song? The PV and lyrics completely boggle me, and the Joan of Arc references and (completely opposite) live performances don't help

Any ideas are greatly appreciated

[truehappiness]

It's not exactly a clear cut answer, but here is the officially translated tidbit by Ayu from the DIRECTOR'S NOTES for RAINBOW at the official English site.

In Free & Easy, I wrote what I am feeling at the moment. In other words, "I want to be a person who lives by taking responsibility for my own freedom," and "I want to be a person for whom these words are perfectly applicable." But, when it came to recording, because I already had a nearly complete picture of "what I wanted to say," it was more difficult than usual to create a melody that would fit with the message of the lyrics.

Here is the portion written by her director [Kome, I think?]:

This track is the result of a sudden inspiration ayu and the producer had at an actual magazine photo shoot that they were attending while considering a cover tie-up with Free & Easy magazine.

I suppose she wrote this song because she wants to be someone who can create a "Free & Easy" life with their own hands as opposed to having it given to them. The lyrics sound like she's talking to herself in a way? I am not entirely sure why the PV is so Joan of Arc-y but I guess it might have something to do with Joan being a symbol for a powerful woman that took charge of her own destiny.

Hope this helps. I wish Ayu would explain some of this stuff, but some of the fun in it is piecing it all together. (She likely has more answers in interviews around the time of release though.)

[hsienko]

I always thought the song about being backed into mental corners - struggling to fight your way out, while having a special person giving you hope and encouragement to do so.

[Yukitora]

O wow I didn't realize Free & Easy is a name of a real magazine. I thought it was an one-off magazine ayu did. It seems like a men's magazine.

Thanks for your insights Rainbow is such a great album! And I'm finally appreciated F&E.

[Didz-19]

Originally Posted by truehappiness

...but I guess it might have something to do with Joan being a symbol for a powerful woman that took charge of her own destiny.

^^ I totally agreed with this one~~~

[mellody]

Let me share my opinion as well here.

About the PV which is so Joan of Arc-y, like truehappiness said, I think she wants to be someone who can create a "Free & Easy" life with their own hands as opposed to having it given to them. Joan of Arc is the perfect character to describe this kind of wish.

Why it's perfect? If you know the story about Joan of Arc it would be easier to understand, but if not, this is the point: She keeps believing about everything she has done is true and taking responsibility for everything she has done even though not every people believe her or joining her, and the result? She is burned at the stake alive, but still, she didn't lost her faith until she dies.

I think it's just like Ayu herself.
She choose what she wants to, even though some people didn't agree with her, she keeps moving forward without no doubts, I believe she herself knows the risk, but it doesn't matter for her.

The whole Free & Easy could be described like:
"I believe my own freedom, I live within it, and this is it, this is what I choose."

Actually there's something more I want to share but kinda hard to building the english sentence. That's my conclusion.

[Yukitora]

^Thanks for that interpretation! That really makes it clearer

Just a note though "until she dies" gives the impression Joan did lose her faith when she died.

[mellody]

^ Thanks for correction, she didn't lose her faith even though she dies actually XD

[YuriChan]

I always thought it was about a scandal from one of her concerts... She felt like Joan of Arc because everyone attacked her and that kind of sort. That's how "Free & Easy" was born. Given the translation of the lyrics, that's how I see it... But that's just me! ^^;;

[maikaru]

Originally Posted by YuriChan

I always thought it was about a scandal from one of her concerts... She felt like Joan of Arc because everyone attacked her and that kind of sort. That's how "Free & Easy" was born. Given the translation of the lyrics, that's how I see it... But that's just me! ^^;;

That's exactly what this song is about. I can't remember which interview it was, but it said when she was writing Free & Easy, she had to battle the controversy of Countdown Live 2001 - 2002, and she put her thoughts about this incident into the song. She wouldn't apologize for what happened, because she knew exactly what happened, and didn't believe that she needed to apologize. I remember this one clearly, because even I was kind of disappointed since I believed media. Like Joan of Arc, everyone loved her and supported her until a small rumour that wasn't true blew up, and everyone turned against her and almost destroyed her.. I remember everyone thinking maybe it's the end of Hamasaki Ayumi. And in a way it was; her popularity never really recovered from that one.

[glowlydays]

sorry to ask, but what scandal are we talking about?
I may not know this one, so if someone could explain...

[truehappiness]

During CDL01-02, it was reported that Ayu had told a disabled/handicapped fan to start standing up because they were sitting down. However, this was not the truth, as the person who she was telling to stand up was a friend of hers.



Apparently, this was a HUGE deal and plenty of people believed it despite it being untrue and amplified by (the world's largest anonymous BBS) 2ch / 2channel. I read on masa's site that the president had to release an official comment about it because it got so bad?

Here's masa's small article about it:

　To Hamasaki Ayumi, the beginning of a year seems to be the season of misfortune. In the past three years, she was given great mental shocks by the incidents or the situation changes which happened in the beginning of the years, but managed to create her albums in autumn or winter by getting over the difficulties somehow or other. The year 2002 wasn't exceptional, either, and it fell on her from the very unexpected direction.
　I write the outline briefly. -- 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 prople told there must have been a victim and made a fuss, though there was no such a person actually. On Feb. 4, about two weeks after the tumult began, avex gave out the comment of President Yoda and made the facts clear. And on Feb. 12, Mr. Itoi Shigesato, who had heard the story from her, picked up the matter in his own homepage giving appropriate support to her, and the situation returned to normal at last. But even after the truth was revealed in this way, none of the "2 Channellers" who had done great harm to the fansites apologized.
　Though the incident was a year and several months ago, I feel bad recalling it now. Because the people I dislike most are those who hurt someone and enjoy it, and the "2 Channellers" are just the kind of fellows. (It's a pity that such nasty fellows seem to inhabit at higher rate in Japan in other countries.) In my opinion, they did four sinful things then. The first one was of course that they hurt her badly. The second is that they hurt the feelings of many administrators and users of the BBS's. The third is that they made themselves fall low. The fourth is that they disturbed the desirable development of democracy. (The explanation of this point would be very long, so I don't do it here.) What I want to tell them is just one thing -- "Look at yourself."
　On the other hand, there was some problem in the move of avex and her at that time. Avex first left the tumult and waited for the natural calming down. Two weeks passed, it didn't calm down at all. So they gave out the comment of the president exceptionally and intended to settle the matter immediately. And they made her not to say a word about it during the time. I hear the reason was that if she had done so, it might have added fuel to the flames or complicated the matter. But what many fans wanted then was nothing but her own words. Besides, as the correct information wasn't transmitted for as many as two weeks, the fans were also confused and splitted, which invited the unreasonable acts of the "2 Channellers" as a result. Reflecting upon the matter now, I say the best way at that time should be that she gave out her own comment soon after the tumult began and removed the misunderstandings. (Actually, as she might learn from this experience, later in September when a magazine named "Josei Seven" printed the article of her close relationship with Iseya Yuusuke, she gave out her comment quickly and stopped the rumour to grow.)
　But, as it was for the first time for both avex and her to experience such an incident, there might be no help for that reaction. By the tumult and being stopped making any remarks on it, she got depressed badly. I was afraid at that time that she might lose self-confidence again and have fear of holding a concert. But she was not so weak a person. Or all sorts of hardships since the debut as a singer made her considerably strong. During the time she was obliged to be silent, she was preparing a powerful three-piece set consisting of a single, a PV and a special issue book, as the expression of her attitude toward the tumult.

He then leads into the creation of Free & Easy (why did I not think to check his site before?!):

2. "Free & Easy" and "Hamasaki Republic"
　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.
　In such a dirty world like this　　("Free & Easy")
　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. Also, have you noticed that there are a subtle difference (only two characters in Japanese) between the beginning part and the ending part of this lyrics?
　I sometimes ask myself
　How far I should go to reach the goal

　I have sometimes asked myself
　How far I should go to reach the goal　　("Free & Easy")
　I think it shows the passage of time. In other words, I think the former phrase expresses her mental state before the trial, and the latter, after the trial. (A quite delicate technique to express the past by the present tense and express the present by the past tense.) 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.
　I'd like to touch on the PV later, together with other ones. "Hamasaki Republic", put on sale on the same day as the single, is the special issue book featuring Hamasaki Ayumi, consisting of the interview article and the photos with the unified image of Jeanne d'Arc. I think this long interview, done in the same period as the making of the single, is as substantial and valuable as that of "ROCKIN' ON JAPAN", done a year before. She had mainly talked about her past closely in the "ROCKIN' ON JAPAN" interview, while this time she talked about her various thoughts and feelings of that time honestly and openly. (Sometimes seemed to me too openly.) Let me extract just a little, for example.
　O (Onozato): Do you do the works you like and find easy?
　A (Ayumi): I do the works which I like but find difficult. Because the works I dislike are the easy ones (Q24)
　O: Do you think it's better that your life is with fun and at ease?
　A: I don't need the life with mere fun. (Q25)("Hamasaki Republic")
　How stoic she is!
　Well, so, why did she intend to make such a book and make it public at that time? -- I think as follows. The Maxi-single "A", the "ROCKIN' ON JAPAN" interview and this interview -- she made the most naked confessions when she had hard times and mentally put into the corners. In other words, when she came to mental crises and her sense of values were confused, she always wanted to return to her firmest belief -- "to be honest", without taking into account which results it would bring and feeling desparate to some degree. Those who always take a utilitarian view of things and try to find practical calculations and intentions in her words and deeds would not understand this part, "without taking into account which results it would bring."
　By the way, the only one regrettable thing of this book was the exaggerated and silly headwords and preface thought out by the editor. For example,
　The voices heard from all over Japan now are quite alike the painful cries of France in the medieval age. Unless a savior going beyond the bounds of common sense appears, this country cannot be saved. 　　(from the preface of "Hamasaki Republic")
　How could a grown man write such sentences so seriously ! Viewing the lyrics or the PV of "Free & Easy" for instance, you will see her manner of making works is just the opposite of his. To avoid talking boastfully, to keep from explaining as much as possible, not to say what she doesn't believe, etc. etc. Those who want to leave excellent works in good taste should learn from Hamasaki Ayumi.

(I think he translated these directly from his Japanese articles so they may be a bit difficult to understand.)

[glowlydays]

thank you so much. I thought this might be it, but now it's all clear
thanks

[mellody]

I'm aware about this controversy, in the end this is one of the conclusion.

Originally Posted by maikaru

She wouldn't apologize for what happened, because she knew exactly what happened, and didn't believe that she needed to apologize.

She keeps believing that everything she has done is true.

She had to battle this controversy, and the result is the cover of this single, a battle pose while holding a sword.

[panda♥]

i don't understand how that got so blown out of proportion. i never really understood the controversy around what happened at that CDL until now, and it's so silly. i'm really glad that Ayu stood up for herself and didn't apologize because she knew what really happened. we all feel that way in life and Ayu stayed very true to herself and didn't give into the rumors.

[Surreal17]

Wow! I never knew about these happenings but I always felt that Free & Easy is such a true song.

[AyuWorld]

By the tumult and being stopped making any remarks on it, she got depressed badly. I was afraid at that time that she might lose self-confidence again and have fear of holding a concert. But she was not so weak a person. Or all sorts of hardships since the debut as a singer made her considerably strong.

wow! i know about the incident but didnt know she got like really really bashed by the 2 Chanellers until she got she so deppressed! poor Ayu! she is indeed a strong girl and woman now!

[Pieces_of_SEVEN]

I'd say being there for someone, not giving up, etc.

[Minttulatte]

I've always wondered the meaning behind the cover of this single. Now I know why she's the medieval knight ready for battle in that cover. I think that I just started to love this song. I've never been a huge fan of it before but now that I know what it's about I find it easier to relate to its lyrics.

[Delicious n Bold]

Fight for what's right.