--- title: "KODOMO MITAI" meaning: "KŌAN C Japanese song: mama's voice won't reach: lost key to forgotten memories, want to be like a child, secret-base simple feelings before adulthood stole them." year: 2022 release: "KŌAN" releaseType: "album" artist: "Scoobert Doobert" artistId: "#scoobert" credits: "Written, performed, and mixed by Luke Francis Walton. Mastered by Riley Knapp. Artwork by Grizzard Graphics." spotify: "https://open.spotify.com/album/2wGa9TxP1UvCn1hnfyyV6v" apple: "https://music.apple.com/us/album/kōan/1618191665" themes: ["KŌAN", "Japan", "childhood", "memory", "Japanese"] press: - outlet: "KCRW — Morning Becomes Eclectic playlist" url: "https://www.kcrw.com/shows/morning-becomes-eclectic/stories/morning-becomes-eclectic-playlist-july-5-2022" desc: "July 5, 2022 — KODOMO MITAI from KŌAN C (Beformer); DJ note: out of San Diego, like a child in Japanese." - outlet: "Beformer — KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic (Instagram)" url: "https://www.instagram.com/p/CiN9BHmPbR2/" desc: "Beformer celebrates KODOMO MITAI on Morning Becomes Eclectic; Anthony Valadez on-air quote on the artist name." isrc: QZES92291014 isrcSource: soundexchange lyrics: | ママの呼ぶ声 帰っておいで 目の前にいるのに 届きそうもない 忘れた思い出 散らかった心が それを閉じ込めてる 閉ざされた場所 に 無くなったカギ なぜ置いてきてしまったの 知りすぎない方がいい 自由な鳥みたいに 静かな山みたいに 何も知らないみたいに 子供のように まいにちまいにち 雲が通り過ぎてく 流れ続ける川が とまらないな 子どもみたいになりたい 子どもみたい 子どもみたいになりたい 子どもみたい 秘密基地のなかでは シンプルな感情を見つけた そこを出てから 変わってしまった 未来にとらわれてる 同じ毎日の繰り返し なにをしてるんだろう？ 忘れた思い出 散らかった心が それを閉じ込めてる 閉ざされた場所 に 無くなったカギ なぜ置いてきてしまったの 知りすぎない方がいい 自由な鳥みたいに 静かな山みたいに 何も知らないみたいに 子供のように まいにちまいにち 雲が通り過ぎてく 流れ続ける川が とまらないな 子どもみたいになりたい 子どもみたい 子どもみたいになりたい 子どもみたい 子どもみたい 子どもみたい 秘密基地のなかでは シンプルな感情を見つけた そこを出てから 変わってしまった draft: false --- Track sixteen on [*KŌAN*](/albums/koan/), **KŌAN C** (June 2022), after [*Who Am I Really Fooling Anyway*](/songs/who-am-i-really-fooling-anyway/). Luke solo. Title means **like a child** (子ども *kodomo*, child; みたい *mitai*, like). The second major Japanese lyric on the LP after [*SHIAWASE NO IMI*](/songs/shiawase-no-imi/), from the same Japan/Zen season as [無門関](/songs/mumonkan/) and [The Bent Stick](/writing/the-bent-stick/). It opens on a closeness that won't connect: mama calls *帰っておいで* (come back) even though she's standing right in front of you, and still it doesn't reach. The childhood memories are locked in a sealed place, the key lost and left behind on purpose, because *better not to know too much*. The chorus is one wish said four ways: like a free bird, like a quiet mountain, like knowing nothing, like a child. Verse two names the cost. In the *秘密基地*, the kids' secret fort, you found simple feelings, and leaving it changed you: trapped by the future, same days repeating, *what am I doing?* No resolution, only longing backward. Pairs with [*SHIAWASE NO IMI*](/songs/shiawase-no-imi/) and [*Who Am I Really Fooling Anyway*](/songs/who-am-i-really-fooling-anyway/) on KŌAN C: child self against adult performance. **KCRW:** [Morning Becomes Eclectic](https://www.kcrw.com/shows/morning-becomes-eclectic/stories/morning-becomes-eclectic-playlist-july-5-2022) spun **KODOMO MITAI** **July 5, 2022** (KŌAN C · Beformer); published DJ note: *Out of San Diego. Translates to "like a child" in Japanese.* [@beformer celebrated the spin](https://www.instagram.com/p/CiN9BHmPbR2/) and quoted host **Anthony Valadez** on air: Scoobert Doobert has *probably one of the coolest names in music*. See [/catalog/#radio-playlists](/catalog/#radio-playlists) · [/press/#radio-playlists](/press/#radio-playlists). ---