The moment in “Whisper of the Heart” where Shizuku, prodded along by Seji, begins to sing nervously, and is soon joined by Seji’s uncle and his friends to form an ensemble, is my favourite moment in any Ghibli film, and one of my favourite film moments altogether. The reasons for this are half-quality wise and half-personal. It’s a well directed scene, of course. The version of the song itself is a wonderful arrangement, portraying the simplicity of the scene and expressing how beautiful such simplicity can be. This is the sort of scene where Ghibli films have a clear distinction from Disney films. In a Disney film, this moment, a song, would perhaps start with the solo violin and then quickly transform into a full musical number with a professional singer and production. But Ghibli keeps the simplicity and the beauty of the scene. Shizuku sings as any regular girl would, starting off nervously, a tad off-key in one part, but gaining confidence as the song progresses. The ensemble joins in and you have a lovely moment of musical harmony, and a small moment of pure happiness.

That’s the quality part. It’s a great scene. But perhaps it moves me more deeply because of my personal connection. After all, you all must know by now that I am a very musical person and music is a big part of my life. And making music, together, is one of the greatest joys of life, in my opinion. That’s why it was a particularly personal effect that I had when I viewed that scene. Seeing the joy on Shizuku’s face, the contentment from Seiji’s grandfather – a bunch of people, some of them strangers to one another, together making music.

But now to get to the crux of this post – the difference between the Japanese Ghibli version and the original english version. Because oddly enough, I simply have never been able to appreciate John Denver’s “Country Road”. And yet the Ghibli rendition is an absolute favourite. Is it contradictory? I don’t think so.

The lyrics are a key difference. As John Denver’s chorus begins, the lyrics do resonate - “Country road…..take me home….to the place…I belong…….” - this is a very simply lyric but also very effective, nostalgic, a sense of yearning. But as the chorus continues – he talks about “West Virginia” and “Mountain Momma”, and all of a sudden the connection wears off…..because I, an average guy from Toronto, Canada, simply can’t relate with what Denver is going on about. There is a distinct image and feeling formed as I hear those first few lines, but it’s shattered when Denver starts talking about West Virginia. I simply can’t relate to it. That is one of the reasons that I just can’t like Denver’s edition. I can relate with that initial feeling of yearning, but it cuts off as I realize he’s thinking something completely different than me. But Shizuku’s lyrics in “Whisper” are less about specific places and more about ideas, emotions, feelings.

I also simply prefer the arrangement of the Ghibli ensemble version. I prefer Shizuku’s pure, innocent voice. I prefer the simple ensemble. John Denver’s country ensemble is fine, but the song when played in that “country” style becomes too light, in my opinion. It loses something (yes, ironic considering that Denver’s is the original). I prefer the Ghibli ensemble version, which is joyful, but which contains that tinge of bittersweet emotion and yearning. Listen to the chorus after the ensemble has joined together, and listen to the beautiful and deep emphasis from the strings on the D-Minor chord (more audible in the actual video then the CD recording). It is such a beautiful moment – out of a consistent movement in major tonality come these held, penetrating notes from the cello and violin – as if they are embodying that sense of yearning directly, and reach straight for the heart. These small details will perhaps go unnoticed by the majority of Ghibli fans, but I find them worthwhile, even if I am one of the few who may notice them.