An old Japanese-Okinawan song, Shima Uta (島唄, lit. Island Song) by Japanese band The Boom in 1992, written by vocalist Kazufumi Miyazawa. [Update] The MV has been deleted, couldn’t find another one; embedding a live performance video instead…
The song is about a message from an islander who was separated with his/her love one. It’s inspired by the Battle of Okinawa in World War II where over 100,000 civilians died (many because of starving and suicide instead of being in the line of fire).
The lyric itself is not as sad as the story behind, but a mix of sorrow and sweetness. Musical wise it’s a breakthrough with a fusion of traditional Okinawan music and modern pop elements; and it’s sung partly in Okinawan dialects.
Many artists have covered the song over the years, including a few in other languages.
