They Had Every Reason Not to Sing

The 14 voices in the theme song for Stretch aren’t a choir.

They’re the voices of kids who should have remained silent.

Half of them skipped school.

Some of them have no families.

Some stop attending classes, sports, anything.

Some run away before kickboxing matches even start.

But they sing.

They don’t sing because they’re proud.

They don’t sing because they were taught to.

They sing because no one else wants to or can sing this song.

“Seiza ni Narenai Houkago” is not a winner’s anthem.

It’s a song for kids who didn’t fit into the charts.

It’s a song for kids whose very existence was questioned.

It’s a song for the young people who get cut out of brochures and yearbooks.

But in the end, they sing together.

And it’s not in vain.