“Forbidden Colours” by David Sylvian and Ryuichi Sakamoto
The first time David Sylvian, a singer from the UK and the late Ryuichi Sakamoto (1952-2023), a musician from Japan, teamed up was on a 1982 track titled “Bamboo Houses”. They went on to become regular collaborators throughout the years, with Sylvian for instance making a couple of contributions to the 2022 LP “To the Moon and Back”, which served as a tribute to Sakamoto.
The second track they dropped together, “Forbidden Colours”, which came out in May of 1983, appears to be the most popular of all their collaborations.
For instance, this song, which was written by Sylvian and Sakamoto and produced by the latter (with David serving as the vocalist), was a chart topper in Iceland, peaked at number 15 on the Irish Singles Chart and 16 on the UK Singles Chart. And amongst all of the tracks they teamed up on, this one is considered one of the most successful.
“Forbidden Colours”, which is named after a 1950s Japanese novel, originally came out as part of the award-winning soundtrack, helmed by Ryuichi Sakamoto, of the 1983 film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence.
It acted as the vocal version of the film’s theme song. Subsequently, since it is a notable entry in both his in Sylvian’s discography, it went on to be featured on David’s solo album “Brilliant Trees” (1984) and “Secrets of the Beehive” (1987) as well as Ryuichi Sakamoto’s 1999 individual outing “Cinemage”.
The Lyrics of “Forbidden Colours”
There are two issues that immediately arise when analyzing this song, as to why there doesn’t seem to be a consensus concerning its meaning. First of all, the lyrics are very ambiguous, and second, with regular references to Jesus, they hold a religious connotation.
And as we have pointed out numerous times in the past, religious terminology naturally tends to be such that they incite different interpretations in and of themselves.
But if we were to interpret these lyrics as literally as possible, “Forbidden Colours” does read like a praise song, for lack of a more concise way of putting it. That is to say that what the addressee appears to be speaking to is something along the lines of dedicating his life to Jesus Christ.
With that in mind, it appears that the phrase “forbidden colors” may be a synonym, if you will, pointing to adopting such a belief system, one that is in fact forbidden or looked down upon in some circles, such as perhaps the traditional background that the vocalist is coming from.
“Here am I, a lifetime away from you
The blood of Christ, or the beat of my heart
My love wears forbidden colours
My life believes”
So in the intro when he notes that “the wounds on your hands never seem to heal”, that may be a reference to the stigmata, i.e. the injuries Jesus suffered, including most notably to the palms of his hands, during his crucifixion.
And the first couple of lines of the third verse sound like the musings of someone who perhaps has made a heartfelt commitment to the ideologies prescribed by Christ, which revolve around putting a higher premium on believing in the Most High than what you can actually perceive.
In the bridge, the singer notes that “millions are waiting to give their lives for” the addressee, which again sounds like a reference to Jesus, as subscribing to Christianity is considered a full commitment, i.e. one in which adherents are usually expected to make major changes to their lifestyle.
“Forbidden Colours” is a Song about Homosexuality?
There have also been arguments that this song may be about homosexuality and how said practice, especially back in the 1980s, was perceived as a forbidden one.
That theory holds credence because the novel this track is named after is about same-sex love, as well as the aforenoted Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence sporting a gay subtheme. But all lyrics considered, that theory does not seem logical, at least not on the surface.
For instance, Christianity is a religion that is known to be against same-sex romances. So it wouldn’t particularly make sense per se for Sylvian and Sakamoto to drop a song which sympathizes with such an act while simultaneously namedropping “the blood of Christ” throughout.
That said, it doesn’t appear that Ryuichi was particularly religious, and whereas David did come from a Christian background, he later became a Buddhist. But both appear to have been very open-minded religiously. And taking this song as pointing to, as the Gospels would say, bearing one’s cross does not mean that the artists at hand have to be Christian.
Instead, in whatever context a listener decides to interpret the lyrics, whether it be homosexuality or war or any other themes in relation to the works cited above, it’s as if the artists are empathizing with those who do proceed to make such a choice through identifying with what it means to be a Christian in an environment where Christianity is not readily accepted.
But that interpretation would be stretching the lyrics to appease those who perhaps cannot accept that they are based on a hardcore religious theme. And that’s because to reiterate, on the surface they do read as is making a commitment to become more Christ-like, whether he’s actually a Christian or not.
