'Dekoboko March (Tairetsu wa kimi ni tsuzuku)' - Uneven March (The Ranks Lead to You) lyrics translation

Dekoboko March (tairetsu wa kimi ni tsuzuku)
Uneven March (The Ranks Lead to You)
Music by Yoko Kanno
Original Japanese lyrics by Maaya Sakamoto

You walk on, I walk on with all of you
Waving your arms about, crowding and jostling
The ranks march forward and onwards

First love laughs like a bird, loneliness has its eyes cast down
And the past I want to forget and the guilty lies I have told chatter behind
Justice pulled up to attention scrambles with arrogance to take the lead
Curiousity with its innocent face pays more attention to the sky

When I turned round the ranks were waiting for a signal to advance

You walk on, I walk on with all of you
Waving your arms about, crowding and jostling
The ranks march forward and onwards
You walk on, taking all of the others with you
No matter if you get lost on the road or if your back is unreliable
Everyone believes in you

The things I wanted to know were always right next to the things I didn't want to know
They told me that like twins I have to love them both

When I turned around the ranks nodded reassuringly

You walk on, I walk on with all of you
Even if cowardice stops in its tracks or jealousy turns the other way
Do you think we're going to leave anyone behind!?
You walk on, I walk on with all of you
Wipe sadness' tears and hold hands with joy, we'll continue walking together

You walk on, I walk on with all of you
Waving your arms about, crowding and jostling
The ranks march forward and onwards
You walk on, taking all of the others with you
No matter if you get lost on the road or if your back is unreliable
Everyone believes in you

I walk on, whatever happens I will walk on
Even if cowardice stops in its tracks or jealousy turns the other way
Do you think I'm going to leave any of you behind?
I walk on, I walk on with all of my different selfs
Wiping sadness' tears and holding hands with joy, we'll continue walking together

'More Than Words' - lyrics translation

More Than Words
Maaya Sakamoto
Music by Yoko Kanno
Original Japanese Lyrics by Yuho Iwasato

You as you stand there
Are not just of this moment
You live together with the joys
and sorrows you have experienced till today

There's no need for you to say out loud the things you hold most dear
This sky, the sound of leaves in the breeze - the world already knows everything

Isn't 'Freedom' sad?
You've become an adult
Isn't 'Freedom' sad?
Just a little

I have something I want to tell you, more than 100 words
I believe it will reach you, more than 100 words

Though I thought you were always
Close enough that I could wipe away your tears
I didn't notice anything
Neither your pain nor your trembling

Like small flames, the truly important things we will never lose hope in
So the wind does not vanish we raise our hands up high

Isn't 'Freedom' sad?
You're all alone now, aren't you
Isn't 'Freedom' sad?
Until the end

I have something to tell you, more than 100 words
I think only of you, more than 100 words

Isn't 'Freedom' sad?
You've become an adult, haven't you
Isn't 'Freedom' sad?
Just a little

Isn't 'Freedom' sad?
You're all alone now, aren't you
Isn't 'Freedom' sad?
Until the end

Isn't 'Freedom' sad?
You're completely alone, aren't you
Isn't 'Freedom' sad?
Until the end

You as you appear before me
You are not just of this moment, the now
You live together with the many joys
and sorrows you met along the way

We Believe in Music TV Special on air today and more Driving in the SIlence

Maaya will be interviewed as part of the We Believe in Music TV Special to be aired later on today (6pm March 11th) as part of a series of artists talking about the earthquake and tsunami which happened exactly one year ago today. It will be aired on the cable channel Music! On TV.

'Chikai', as Maaya has said, is a song that resulted from her thoughts after the disaster and so it is fitting that another perspective on the album lyrics in the form of Frecklegirl's translations have been uploaded today. Take a look at the lyrics here.

Goodbye Winter a.k.a Driving in the Silence full album translation summary

Firstly, we have officially reached 20,000 hits. I am slightly amazed but thank you to everyone who has visited this blog over the past four years (yes, I am surprised it has been four years as well...) and I hope you will continue to visit in future.

Back on topic.

 

Kaijyuu_M wrote a rather lovely translation of the song ‘Driving in the Silence’ a couple of months ago and I have been meaning to link to it for quite some time. I shall thus publish this post to all collect all the album lyrics together including a link to Kaijyuu_M’s translation below.

I hope he doesn’t mind too much, but I am far too much of an admirer of his work to try writing my own after reading his. Quite often I yield to other translations when they are available! Unless it is a song I really, really feel strongly about or there are no other translations available, I prefer to read the written word of others.

I hope you enjoyed the album even more after reading the English (I will post a link to Frecklegirl's translations when she's posted hers on her site too). 

It’s pretty much spring now, so I guess we should all follow Maaya’s advice to put away the CD until winter comes round again in November. Or earlier if you live in a cold country, of course.

Driving in the Silence – Album Lyrics Translation

Original Lyrics by Maaya Sakamoto

01.  Driving in the Silence (external link)

02.  Sayonara Santa

03.  Melt the snow in me (English so no translation necessary)

04.  Homemade Christmas

05.  Kotoshi Ichiban

06.  Tatoeba ringo ga te ni ochiru you ni

07.  Kyokuya

08.  Chikai

For example, like an apple falling into your hand (Tatoeba ringo ga te ni ochiru you ni) - lyrics translation

Translation note: The final two lines are actually the same in Japanese 'motto SHIMPURU ni kimi ha doushitai?' which literally translates to: more simply, what do you want to do?

This implies that the person she is talking to is so caught up in the bigger picture about what this means for the two of them (see first chourus where she tells them to stop thinking about all the other stuff they are caught up in) and simply follow their heart. They met, they are in love, why not be together? Stop over thinking! Is the message. I totally read this as the other person having a significant other already...I think I have been watching too many K-dramas! There's always something dramatic to it.

More simply (as Maaya said) it could be a song about two friends and one of them doesn't want to ruin their friendship be getting together as lovers. Or something. Sorry, I need to stop extrapolating things that are quite possible not there!

Anyway! Why did I write the last two lines like I did? I don't know, but it felt right when I wrote it down. Which is why I put the translator's note above. If you prefer your translations more literal and with less interpretation than please feel free to return the final two lines to 'more simply, what do you want to do?'. Hurray, a do it yourself translation.


For example, like an apple falling into your hand (Tatoeba ringo ga te ni ochiru you ni)
From 'Driving in the Silence'
Original lyrics by Maaya Sakamoto


For example, like spring coming after winter
Like an apple falling into your hand
Like being unsatisfied with the end of a film
Like the earth being round

It's all completely obvious
Our love has already begun
Forget about all stuff we're tangled up in
What do you think? What do you want to do?

For example, when you have a random dream
When the first snow has fallen
When you've cut your hair short
When you've just seen a blimp in the sky

Who do you want to tell first?
Who's face floats up in the back of your mind?
I want to believe in this strange rainbow coloured feeling that's burst up
I want to believe in it
What do you think? You!

I'm afraid of us changing how we are now as well but still...

Who do you want by your side?
For example, even when there's nothing exciting happening
Raising our glasses on nights when there's no anniversary
Simply side by side

It's all completely obvious
We met each other
And there's nothing more to it than that, it's everything
Think about it more simply, what do you want to do?
In the simplest form you can make it, what do you want to do?

'Homemade Christmas' - lyrics translation

Homemade Christmas
From Driving in the Silence
Original lyrics by Maaya Sakamoto

The red door marks the spot, I'm waiting for the doorbell to ring
Don't forget to put a big ribbon on the presents
Everyone choose your wines, we've been waiting for tonight
Make sure you dress up in your best
At 7 on the dot let's strike a toast

Let's spend this Christmas together
Let's gather around the fire, clap and sing

If one of our friends is alone and down
Let's invite them over
And raise our glasses again and again

Let's spend this Christmas together
And be thankful for everything we see around us

Following the sound of laughing voices, look, here he comes
Even after you've grown up he's still by your side

Let's spend this Christmas together
Let's be the happiest we've ever been
I'm sure a lot will happen next year too
But if we're together then it'll be fine, let's just be happy

'This year's most' (Kotoshi Ichiban) - lyrics translation

This song's title is literally 'number one/the most (??) this year' but...I don't know, can that be made to sound poetic in English? Any suggestions would be most welcome. In the end I've left it as 'this year's most' as it could be filled in with anything: the coldest night of the year, the best thing, the worst thing. I guess it's supposed to be open to interpretation.

Maaya commented on Vitamin-M that her friends and family who heard the song felt these lyrics were very 'adult', that this kind of situation was a very grown-up one. I guess I can see why they felt this way as the lyrics could be interpreted to mean one of them (or both of them are) is already attached to someone, or the timing isn't right due to some other circumstance.

So maybe you're walking home from the office with someone you've liked since joining the company, but that person is already married but still you can joke around and pretend to yourself on your way back to the station that this is what it would be like if you were together... OK, definitely reading too much into this!

Listen to the song, read the lyrics and interpret them how you like. Let me know what you think of this song (^^)VV it's one of my favourites from the album.



This year's most (Kotoshi Ichiban)
From Driving in the Silence
Original lyrics by Maaya Sakamoto

Let's walk a short dream in the long night
We can buy a hot can of coffee
If you don't mind, that is

The main roads are much too bright
Two people being together
Is more lonely than being alone, isn't it?

Too late, too early
Why did you have to appear before me now?
Under cover of darkness, staying clear of the light cast by the street lamps
Until we wake from this dream

The blue illuminations look like winter fireflies
On this, the coldest night yet this year
You're here, here by my side

I'm at a loss, because in truth
It seems I can't go back to who I was before I met you

Too late, too early
Why did you have to appear before me now?
As if they were dancing, those two shadows playing around
Have no names

I'll walk you back to the station
Let's walk along in this short dream

Pledge (Chikai) - lyrics translation

Since I made a big deal about 'Polar Night' supposedly being about the same thing as this song, I thought I'd better translate it and post it up so people could compare the themes and imagery. It's worth a look at, anyway. There were also some tricky phrases in this! I hope I pulled it off alright. JLPT level 1 means nothing, nothing I tell you!

So, as in Polar Night, the point of view in this song is of someone who has lost their lover (although in this case it felt to me like someone who was married but I think I am reading Maaya's own marital status into that and she wasn't even married when she wrote this song so that shows some bias on my part!!) and is still stuck in the place and time they shared. I felt like maybe Chikai was a thaw after the long Polar Night before it...I wonder if that's how the two relate. Anyway, enjoy!!

P.S. This song was written in the days and weeks after the March 11 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami last year.

Pledge (Chikai)
From 'Driving in the Silence'
Original Lyrics by Maaya Sakamoto

I want to become stronger
I want to become a kinder person
Just like you were
More and more

I always thought about it
I always asked myself
What would you say?
Always, always

Even if I lose something I'll keep on living, right?
Whatever sadness I experience I'll be able to overcome it, right?
When we pledged our love we also promised a goodbye

*And now winter is coming to an end, shaking off the sorrow
The season you loved is
Passing by and sweeping everything away
And I'm still here like this, like this

Today warm rain
Gently continued to fall
I thought I could hear your voice
Softly, softly

Different people with different ways of living
The two of us chose the same path
We promised to share the happiness between us

#And now I move forward, clutching my pride to my chest
In this world that you loved
To the destination that we looked to together
I'm still here like this, like this

*Repeat

#Repeat

Polar Night (Kyoku-ya) - lyrics translation

From 'Driving in the Silence', this song's title is in keeping with the concept album's theme of winter. If you look up polar night on Wikipedia the definition is when "the night lasts for more than 24 hours" in the arctic or antarctic circles. Apparently the prolonged darkness can trigger depression.

Maaya mentioned on her radio show that this song takes the opposite point of view of 'Chikai', the song that follows on from it on the CD, although they are both talking about the same thing. While this song is pretty...well, the first time I heard it the song brought to mind a desolate wasteland of snow and ice, 'Chikai' is much warmer.

Notes, notes. The second verse, 'frozen stars' is 'kotta hoshi' in the Japanese so I thought she meant the sun was a frozen star instead of the 'rising [normal] sun', then I looked up polar night and no, no sun BUT you can see the stars all day in some forms of polar night Thank you, Wikipedia. .

The final line was also a bit tricky as she literally says 'I will be far away, just a little' in the Japanese and so I changed that to 'slightly further away' as I interpreted her words to mean that, in the end, even though they are not together anymore they are still both in the same country and city (and on the same planet!) they were before...just...apart. Slightly further apart, so to speak.. And in Tokyo, I suppose you always have the possibility of running into your ex because practically everyone lives there....

Now enough of my translator babble.



Polar Night (kyoku-ya)
From Driving in the Silence
Original lyrics by Maaya Sakamoto

As soon as I wake up in the morning I remember you
And quickly close my eyes once more
How many more sleeps will it take before all the sad things
Melt away like ice into tears, I wonder?

It's starting, a new day
It's starting, here
As if it's going to swallow everything completely
It's starting, once more

A sun that won't rise, frozen stars
There's no such thing as time standing still
But I'm still here even though you're gone
Who should prayers be offered to and who are they meant to save?

Making noise, shivering
To the point where I feel like I'm going mad
I'm alive, living

I'm alive, right now

Right now

Until we meet again someday, someplace
I'll be slightly further away

'Driving in the Silence' lyrics in progress

Frecklegirl has uploaded all the romaji lyrics (and soon to be translated) lyrics to Maaya's latest concept album 'Driving in the Silence' on her site. So keep an eye on Nostalgic Lavender for all your lyrical needs.

'Driving in the silence' - Sayonara Santa lyrics

Once I've seen you off from the window
I'll never see you again

Goodbye, I loved you
When we first met I was still a girl, but since then
Many winters have passed
And I am now all grown up

The day we first sang together
The lights the prism reflected on the wall were laughing
I wanted to be a good girl
Like you wanted
I always wanted to be
Someone who would be perfect for you

Goodbye, I loved you
Tomorrow you'll become someone else's, won't you
Though I've grown this tall
Though I've become this good at singing
If only you'd waited a little
Then surely, surely it would be me

We won't be able to meet any more
Many winters have passed
And I am now all grown up
I'm grown up
Once I've seen you off from the window
We'll never meet again

'Okaerinasai' lyrics by ear - in full!

Well, the full version of the 'Okaerinasai' PV leaked so I thought I would updated my by-ear lyrics translation. The full version did not dissapoint. And that final section...well, I almost teared up. It's such a pretty song and a really, really warm feeling tingles all over when I listen to it.

Lyric-wise, the section about 'the shape of heaviness' in the second bridge was a bit tricky to translate. If anyone has any suggestions after listening to the song about a better way to translate it I would be very grateful. Still, it came together quite well for a by ear translation. Again, this will need to be updated or replaced by Frecklegirl's translation when the official lyrics come out! But for now, enjoy!

Through the remains of the summer rain
I ran to the station
And saw you from behind
In my half sleeved school uniform
I ran after you in a hurry
Drops of water hitting my eyelashes

We knew the beautiful colours of all the kind things in the world
But we didn’t know anything about the world back then

Welcome home to the memories
When you want to cry, when you want to meet up
We will be here

Welcome home
We’re still protecting the dreams we had,
the things we loved
And you

While combing my hair
I imitated the girl I saw in that movie
When I washed my face in cold water
All of my sadness was washed away

All of the things that had been written above the skies
Have all landed here right in front of my eyes
And I also keenly feel the shape of heaviness

Welcome home to the memories
Turning back
Or changing are not weaknesses

Welcome home
I understand
Without saying anything,
Without even asking,
I'll embrace you softly

Welcome home to the memories
When you want to cry, when you want to meet up
We're right here next to you

Welcome home
I want you to realise that to live is to forget
And it's always the present that sparkles the most brightly

'Okaerinasai' Lyrics by Ear

This is certainly not official but I had a go at translating the lyrics to okaerinasai from the PV uploaded on Maaya's official channel by ear. So forgive me if (and when!) the official lyrics come out and they turn out to be completely wrong. That said, they are shaping up to be lovely.

A couple of weeks ago on Vitamin M when she was talking about the song, Maaya mentioned that the lyrics are about the friendship between girls and I certainly know what she means. I've moved around so much in the past three years and now I'm on the other side of the world, but when I go home it is like nothing has changed and my childhood friends are always there to welcome me home.

Anyway! These are certainly not 100% accurate, but for the next month they should keep us going till the official lyrics come out.

Through the remains of the summer rain
I ran to the station
And saw you from behind
In my half sleeved school uniform
I ran after you in a hurry
Drops of water hitting my eyelashes

We knew the beautiful colours of all the kind things in the world
But we didn’t know anything about the world back then

Welcome home to the memories
When you want to cry, when you want to meet up
We will be here
Welcome home
We’re still protecting the dreams we had,
the things we loved
And you

New Maaya Sakamoto translation archive on delicious

Frecklegirl of Nostalgic Lavender a.k.a Maaya Sakamoto lyric translation goddess has created a link archive of all the English language translations of Maaya Sakamoto on her site, this blog and deltafour's website.

To go with her explanation:

All Maaya translations by deltafour, dilly, and me (as well as a few of the old translations by others dilly has archived) linked from one place, organized by tag!

http://www.delicious.com/maayas

Want to look at all the things (essays, interviews, etc) pertaining to one album or release? There you go. Want to look at all the translated IDS! newsletters we have so far among us? There you go. And so on...

Any questions, just ask me... hopefully this will be a good resource for everyone.

I've added it to the link bar on the side as well, but how useful!! Thank you for all the hard work Frecklegirl.

'You Can't Catch Me' full album translation

Hurrah! I hear the internet community shout, for Frecklegirl over on Nostalgic Lavender has translated all of the songs from Maaya's latest release 'You Can't Catch Me'.

Go and sing along here.

In other news, it seems like FROG MINUTES has done rather well on the app chart in Japan. Very nice! I read a review of it last week that commented how odd it was that Princess Amidala was talking about Jabba the Hutt (a joke on Maaya's role dubbing Natalie Portman in Star Wars and frogs being a lot like Jaba the Hutt...well, it was funny to me but now I write it down it doesn't seem as witty) but I'm sure it's a lot of fun.

Once more, Chibikko Folk - blog by Hiroshi Ichikura

The lyricist Hiroshi Ichikura, who wrote 'Chibikko Folk' for Maaya's album 'Shounen Alice', has posted a blog entry on his website revisiting the lyrics in light of the recent earthquake and tsunami in north east Japan.

The English lyrics for 'Chibikko Folk' I borrowed from Joonas Kirsi's translation here, and I found the blog through the Japanese fansite 100331 so thank you to them as well.

Note: the Kafka aphorism is no.52 according to Wikipedia.


Once more, Chibikko Folk
Original blog entry here (Japanese)

Closing the book I was reading and putting down the bread I was nibbling, I open the window and notice
that a single feather has fallen on the window board.
Nobody knows where the dreams of children disappeared

（Omitted）

I gently put a blanket over the sleepless nights of children
who live in lands that hate each other and cities that hurt each other.
I’m staying awake.
I’m right here, so don’t worry

Oh ho oh 　Oh ho oh 　Oh ho oh -
I’m watching over you, so don’t worry
Oh ho oh 　Oh ho oh　 Oh ho oh -
I’m by your side, so don’t worry

Kafka once said, “If the whole world fights against you…”
If the whole world ever fought against me,
if that ever happened
I think I would ally myself with the world of my enemy

（Omitted）

Song／Maaya Sakamoto　　Music／Yoko kanno

This is a song that I created after 9.11, just after the subsequent war. It quotes a famous aphorism by Kafka.

In the struggle between yourself and the world, second the world.
Im Kampf zwischen dir und der Welt sekundiere der Welt.

There are various interpretations of these words, and I think that the diversity is a good thing. For example, right now I interpret them in the following way:

Instead of fearing radiation contamination, support the land that suffers the disaster.

Or, like this:

Do not cry for yourself, cry for the world (for others)

'Tegami' Lyrics

And it's so short and beautiful, it would be a shame not to translate this song...it's actually a lot shorter than I thought it would be. Curse you previews! I think the film is probably going to be a tearjerker going by this song. From You Can't Catch Me released this week.


Tegami
Letter

The things that you and I loved
Poplars and the crescent moon,
Summer clouds and the smell after a rainfall

We were by each other’s sides
For a time that was longer than eternity

Just one thing,
If it will still reach you,
Thank you for your love,
The person who touched my loneliness

The things that you and I loved
Poplars and the crescent moon

"Moonlight (or, music for you to sleep to)" Lyrics

I got my copy of Maaya's new album in the post yesterday, what a lovely surprise! I certainly did not expect it to come so quickly. I didn't have time to listen to it so I just went through now. There are some really good songs on. And reading the lyrics was so inspiring I decided to run off a translation.

The first time I listened to this song, I found the composition slightly less beautiful than the lyrics themselves. But listening through (three times, iTunes tells me) it really began to shine. It's a lullaby, and Maaya does have nieces(?) if I remember correctly, perhaps this is a song for them.


Moonlight 'Mata wa kimi ga nemuru ongaku'
Moonlight (or, music for you to sleep to)

Even when you grow up the future will always be in the future
There isn’t anyone who can teach you the things you really want to know, I’m sorry
The moonlight taps on the window
Countless wonders are waiting for you
Now close your eyes, goodnight

When you are in love, words all die away
One short kiss can solve the mysteries of the universe, it’s true
Don’t rush off, moonlight
Send your voice to the lover you’ve yet to meet
"Until we come across each other, goodbye"

The wind blew, blowing through my hair
And carried off my teardrop to the other side of the milky way where it disappeared from view

You will soon become an adult, it’s true
The moonlight taps on the window
Countless wonders are awakening inside of you
Now let’s quietly goodnight
Wonderful occurrences,
Undeniable tomorrows,
Are coming just for you
So until then goodnight

"Shitsuren Cafe" Lyrics

Another track from 'Kazeyomi', this time the background music of a break-up, 'Shitsuren Cafe'. Pretty bitter-sweet. I really like the lyrics of this album. Some of them are really nice. This one's standard break-up fare but enjoy regardless! Kind of hard to make the title of this one flowery!!

Shitsuren Cafe
Dissapointed in Love Cafe
Album: Kazeyomi
Original Lyrics: Maaya Sakamoto

“It was fun” do you really mean that?
The one who ended it was you, right?
Until the end you don’t realise
That being too kind is actually cruel

Aa, you’re further away than a stranger
What should I call you from today?
You gave me much, much happiness
Hey, what did I give to you, my beloved you?

Saying that we drew each other like the law of universal gravity,
You remember that right?
I’m soaked in memories like at the end of a film
The scenes of our encounter like a refrain

Aa, love and the sunset are always orange
Dusk only sees me off
It would be good if it could become a bright and sweet memory
If you remember then please let it be of a smiling me

Aa, you’re further away than a stranger
Even though until today you were at my side more than anyone
Drinking my coffee then standing with a strangely bright ‘good bye’
I smile like an adult and say something like: well then, good bye

Something, something, something meaningful
To you, to you, I can’t say it

I want to hold you, I want to hold you
Even just once more I want you to let me hold you
I won’t forget, I won’t forget
Good bye
The person I loved.

"Guitar-hiki ni naritai na" Lyrics

Another new song from Maaya's new album, this time 'Guitar-hiki ni Naritai na'. This is a really nice way to end the album I think. Really sweet. What a great album!!

Guitar-hiki ni Naritai na
I want to be a Guitar Player
Album: Kazeyomi
Original Lyrics: Maaya Sakamoto

If I am reborn, I want to become a guitar player
In the corner of a city somewhere,
As I’ll sing about what’s happened today
If you catch a listen of a melody you like
Stop your feet and listen

Aa, even if I’m reborn
It would be nice if I could be found by you

What’s the password?

Hey, even if I complete change my shape form
Please notice that it’s me.