Winter Songs: Classic tracks you want to listen to in winter. Songs you long for during the winter.

Do you want to build a snowman?Kanda Sayaka

Sayaka Kanda, Natsuki Inaba, Sumire Morohoshi – Do You Want to Build a Snowman? (From “Frozen”)

One of the insert songs from Disney’s 2013 blockbuster Frozen is “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” Because Anna, the protagonist, grows up over the course of the song, the Japanese dubbed version features three singers: Sayaka Kanda, Natsuki Inaba, and Sumire Morohoshi.

The scene where young Anna innocently invites her sister Elsa—who has shut herself in her room and won’t come out—to build a snowman is heartwarming.

However, the scene where the grown-up Anna, hurt by the trials she faces, speaks to Elsa as if seeking support is heartbreaking.

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Hamada Takuya

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Ballad of the Rainbow and SnowTo wa e mo wa

1971 Towa et Moi – Ballad of Rainbow and Snow (Single Version)

The famous song by Towa Teu Moi, created for the 1972 Sapporo Olympics, is a winter anthem that carries hope across the northern land.

Lyricist Bunichiro Kawamura was given three conditions by NHK—“a song that would be sung for many years after the Games,” “a song that expressed the feelings of Sapporo’s citizens,” and “a song ordinary people could easily sing.” After about two weeks of deliberation, he completed the lyrics.

Through the contrasting motifs of snow and rainbows, the piece conveys both the strength of people living amid harsh nature and a wish for peace that connects nations around the world.

Released in August 1971, it was also performed at that year’s Kōhaku Uta Gassen.

It’s a perfect song to listen to when visiting Sapporo in winter or when you want to face forward without yielding to the cold.

The pavement in a cold wintry windtenchi mari

Mari Amachi ☆ The Wintry Wind on the Pavement

Released in December 1974, Mari Amachi’s 12th single is a winter ballad set on a street corner swept by a cold, wintry wind, expressing a poignant longing for a youth that has passed.

With lyrics by Michio Yamagami, music by Koichi Morita, and arrangement by Yusuke Hoguchi, the song overlays the protagonist’s nostalgia for past love and connections onto the chill of a winter landscape.

It reached No.

14 on the Oricon chart and sold approximately 125,000 copies, marking a work in which Mari Amachi—who had captivated the nation with her bright, refreshing image—took on a new mode of expression.

When you wish to immerse yourself in the nostalgia of lost time, why not listen quietly at dusk in the cold season?

snow-cappedMatsuyama Chiharu

snow-capped

A beloved winter song by Chiharu Matsuyama, a singer-songwriter from Hokkaido, first released to the world on his 1978 album “Arukitsuzukeru Toki” (When You Keep Walking).

It opens with the quiet image of white snow falling steadily, and gently sings of the feelings that well up while alone in a cold room.

There’s nothing in particular to be sad about, yet the restrained, powerful lyrics leave an impression as they convey the earnest wish to simply hold someone dear.

In 1997, it was remade as the B-side to the single “Christmas,” and was also used in a commercial for Corona heating appliances.

It’s a piece that stays close to you on a silent winter night, when the falling snow mirrors your thoughts, offering quiet companionship as you think of someone special in a warm room.

snowneko

Cat Snow

The folk group Neko’s 1972 single “Yuki” is a classic in which the band gives voice to a song written and composed by Takuro Yoshida.

The protagonist’s aching longing for someone far away overlaps with the quietly accumulating snowfall.

The delicate tone of the 12-string guitar, the hi-hat-driven rhythm, and the restrained vocals create a clear, transparent sound that evokes the sophistication of urban folk.

How about listening to it on a winter night when you miss someone you can’t meet, watching the snow dance outside your window? It’s a song that sinks into the heart, keeping you company when you want to linger over past memories in a warm room.

December RainArai Yumi

December Rain / Jyunigatsu No Ame

This song, which captures the loneliness of winter and the bittersweet longing for a love that has passed, is a gem that represents the early work of Yumi Arai.

Released in October 1974 and included on the album MISSLIM, it features a restrained band performance as its foundation, while the beautiful choral work by Tatsuro Yamashita and Taeko Onuki leaves a strong impression.

There is even an anecdote that Yamashita agreed to join the recording on the condition that he handle the chorus arrangement.

Set against a winter scene of December rain, a quiet nostalgia for days that will never return rises to the surface.

It’s a song you’ll want to listen to softly by a window streaked with cold rain, when you feel like immersing yourself in memories of the past.

Snow, fall.Gam

Let it Snow / Gam

This song, which opens Gam’s December 1981 album Kazabana, by the lyrical folk duo renowned in the 1980s, is a winter ballad that echoes with bittersweet feelings entrusted to gently falling snow.

Carried by soft guitar tones, it delicately portrays the tremor of a heart thinking of someone amid a scene of swirling snow.

The transparent harmonies and introspective lyrics weave a world imbued with Gam’s signature lyricism, offering a warmth that seems to nestle into winter’s stillness.

It’s a track that seeps into the heart when, alone in the cold season, you find yourself recalling days gone by or someone dear.