For the inaugural post, I figured I should post a song I like. Of course, I like them all, so it was hard to choose. But after much deliberation, I decided on a song that isn't quite my favorite, but is darn close so I could start off on a good foot, but not completely blow it all before the blog even gets started.
So, without further ado, from the album Momo, Hoshi no Kazu Tsuki no Kazu.
モンゴル８００
モモ
夕暮れ時空へ続く道
赤く染まる
照れ笑うあなたの頬のよう
信号待ち時を刻む針
あざ笑うよ
焦る僕の気持ちを
言葉より確実な想い
手紙より愛歌う詩より
何一つ形にできないけど
誰も答えなんてわからない
それもまた乙かもね
泣かないで
僕に出来る事なんて
高が知れている
星の数だけ君を傷つけ
月の数だけ愛を贈る
一つだけ願い叶うなら
一つだけ感覚がほしい
五つでは伝えきれぬ想い
不器用に創られた
人間に足りない感覚
伝えなきゃ 伝えなくちゃ
この想い胸をしめつける
願いををかけた星は数知れず
人の尽きぬ悩み月の悩み
星の数だけ君を傷つけ
月の数だけ愛を贈る
星の数だけ
月の数だけ愛を贈る
ROMANJI READING:
Hoshi no Kazu Tsuki no Kazu
Mongoru Happyaku
Mongoru Happyaku
Momo
Yugare toki sora he tsutzuku michi
akakusomaru
Terewarau anata no hoho noyou
Shingomachi toki wo kizamu hari
Aseruboku no kimochi wo
Kotoba yori gakujitsuna omoi
Tegami yori ai utau utayori
Nan hitotsu katashi ni dekinai kedo
Dare mo kotenante wakarani
Soremo mata kou kamo ne
Nakanaide
Bokuni dekiru koto nante
Taka ga shiretiru
Hoshi no kazu dake kimi wo kisutuske
Tsuki no kazu dake ai wo okuru
Hitotsudake negai kanunara
Hitotsu da ke kankaku ga hoshii
Itsutsu de ha tsutaekirenu omoi
Bukiyou ni tsukareta
Ningen ni tarinai kankaku
Tsutaenakya tsutaenakucha
Kono omoi mune wo shimetsukeru
Negai wo kaketa hoshi ha kazu shirezu
Tsuki no kazu dake ai wo okuru
Hoshi no kazu dake
Tsuki no kazu dake ai wo okuru
Yugare toki sora he tsutzuku michi
akakusomaru
Terewarau anata no hoho noyou
Shingomachi toki wo kizamu hari
Aseruboku no kimochi wo
Kotoba yori gakujitsuna omoi
Tegami yori ai utau utayori
Nan hitotsu katashi ni dekinai kedo
Dare mo kotenante wakarani
Soremo mata kou kamo ne
Nakanaide
Bokuni dekiru koto nante
Taka ga shiretiru
Hoshi no kazu dake kimi wo kisutuske
Tsuki no kazu dake ai wo okuru
Hitotsudake negai kanunara
Hitotsu da ke kankaku ga hoshii
Itsutsu de ha tsutaekirenu omoi
Bukiyou ni tsukareta
Ningen ni tarinai kankaku
Tsutaenakya tsutaenakucha
Kono omoi mune wo shimetsukeru
Negai wo kaketa hoshi ha kazu shirezu
Tsuki no kazu dake ai wo okuru
Hoshi no kazu dake
Tsuki no kazu dake ai wo okuru
TRANSLATION:
Peach
When twilight comes, and the road that continues into the sky
Is dyed red
Like a waiting at a traffic light, your embarrassed laugh
Is etched onto your cheeks (1)
I’m (You’re?) sneering
My impatient feelings are
more certain than these words
more than this letter, more than this love song I sing.
I can’t do this one thing,
however, no one knows the answers.
This too, is just a back-up plan(2)
Don’t cry
I’m discovering the
Extent of things I can do
As many stars as there are, I will hurt you
My love will decrease to the number of moons.(3)
If I had only one wish,
I’d only want this feeling
I can’t tell you my feelings with only five senses(4)
Us awkwardly made humans
just don’t have enough senses to feel this
I’ve got to tell you
I have to tell you
That this feeling constricts my heart
That I haven’t discovered how many stars grant wishes
Or how many worries the human heart has, or the moon’s worries (5)
As many stars as there are, I will hurt you
My love will decrease to the number of moons.
As many stars as there are
My love will decrease to the number of moons
ANNOTATIONS:
(1)Ok, I took A LOT of liberties translating this….
(2) Although in the lyrics, it is written as乙 (reading being otsu) it is read as 甲(reading being kou). I they mean the same thing, but have different kanjis and reading. It means arch, or tortoise shell. There is actually a kotowaze (proverb) using these two kanji in any number of “one man’s ____ is another man’s______”. I don’t know if this has anything to do with the song, but it is interesting, nonetheless.
However, I’ve been told by the kindly science teacher that this often means a “plan b” scenario, since the kanji 乙 would really only be used if甲is unavailable.
(3)I tried forever to translate this correctly, but I just couldn’t. No matter what I do, it didn’t sound as nice as it does in Japanese. (I am a failure as a translator!) What it should say is that he knows he’ll hurt the girl as many times as there are stars, but that he’ll only love her. I think it’s implied that he doesn’t mean to hurt her, he just knows that he will. This song is a song about struggling to say I love you, and letting her know. “I love only you.”
(4)Kankaku or feelings, in this case, is in respects to the five senses. It’s hard to translate since English already has a concept of a sixth sense, and it certainly has no relation to the beauty of this song. He doesn’t see ghosts, or see the future. He’s saying that his love is not felt by the five senses alone. You need a sixth one.
(5) This is a pun that can’t be translated… well, not really a pun. More of a play on words. In Japanese, the two phrases sound very similar. Tsukinu namiya (worries that don’t run out) and tsuki no namiya (The moon’s worries) sound the same, and since he’s talking about the moon already, he’s talking about the worries of love.
When twilight comes, and the road that continues into the sky
Is dyed red
Like a waiting at a traffic light, your embarrassed laugh
Is etched onto your cheeks (1)
I’m (You’re?) sneering
My impatient feelings are
more certain than these words
more than this letter, more than this love song I sing.
I can’t do this one thing,
however, no one knows the answers.
This too, is just a back-up plan(2)
Don’t cry
I’m discovering the
Extent of things I can do
As many stars as there are, I will hurt you
My love will decrease to the number of moons.(3)
If I had only one wish,
I’d only want this feeling
I can’t tell you my feelings with only five senses(4)
Us awkwardly made humans
just don’t have enough senses to feel this
I’ve got to tell you
I have to tell you
That this feeling constricts my heart
That I haven’t discovered how many stars grant wishes
Or how many worries the human heart has, or the moon’s worries (5)
As many stars as there are, I will hurt you
My love will decrease to the number of moons.
As many stars as there are
My love will decrease to the number of moons
ANNOTATIONS:
(1)Ok, I took A LOT of liberties translating this….
(2) Although in the lyrics, it is written as乙 (reading being otsu) it is read as 甲(reading being kou). I they mean the same thing, but have different kanjis and reading. It means arch, or tortoise shell. There is actually a kotowaze (proverb) using these two kanji in any number of “one man’s ____ is another man’s______”. I don’t know if this has anything to do with the song, but it is interesting, nonetheless.
However, I’ve been told by the kindly science teacher that this often means a “plan b” scenario, since the kanji 乙 would really only be used if甲is unavailable.
(3)I tried forever to translate this correctly, but I just couldn’t. No matter what I do, it didn’t sound as nice as it does in Japanese. (I am a failure as a translator!) What it should say is that he knows he’ll hurt the girl as many times as there are stars, but that he’ll only love her. I think it’s implied that he doesn’t mean to hurt her, he just knows that he will. This song is a song about struggling to say I love you, and letting her know. “I love only you.”
(4)Kankaku or feelings, in this case, is in respects to the five senses. It’s hard to translate since English already has a concept of a sixth sense, and it certainly has no relation to the beauty of this song. He doesn’t see ghosts, or see the future. He’s saying that his love is not felt by the five senses alone. You need a sixth one.
(5) This is a pun that can’t be translated… well, not really a pun. More of a play on words. In Japanese, the two phrases sound very similar. Tsukinu namiya (worries that don’t run out) and tsuki no namiya (The moon’s worries) sound the same, and since he’s talking about the moon already, he’s talking about the worries of love.
Excellent! This is what I was looking for: thoughtful and fair translation.
ReplyDeleteI came into possession of Momo recently, this song quickly reached my favorites!
The whole blog is an interesting resource for monpachi listeners :D
Grazie!!
Stefano from Salerno, Italy