Most of the Japanese music I listen to is pop and whatever I hear as the opening to animes. Sakamoto's song was really refreshing to hear. The whistling bit is great and it has a very uplifting tune. But then I looked up the lyrics and found out they're actually pretty sad. The lyrics tell the story of a man who looks up and whistles while he is walking so that his tears won't fall. The verses of the song describe his memories and feelings.
The title Sukiyaki, a Japanese hot pot dish, has nothing to do with the lyrics or the meaning of the song; the word served the purpose only because it was short, catchy, recognizably Japanese, and more familiar to most English speakers. A Newsweek columnist noted that the re-titling was like issuing "Moon River" in Japan under the title "Beef Stew."
