Hydrangea and Sunny Day Service: Rainy days and …

サニーデイ・サービス、歌詞(Lyrics)『あじさい』(English Translation)

Some song lyrics are just impossible to translate into another language because of their highly contextualized form of language use. “Hydrangea” (1996) by Sunny Day Service is one of those songs. The band is well known for their unique, retro style of lyrics, arrangement and visual image. They are sometimes called a modern Happy End, a well known Japanese folk rock band around 1970 .
ときに翻訳困難な歌詞があります。ある文化にあまりに固有の意味を持つ言葉づかいが、その理由です。サニーデイ・サービスの「あじさい」は、まさにそうした曲です。レトロな歌詞やアレンジ、またメンバーの見た目やジャケットデザインなどで知られていて、ときに「現代のはっぴいえんど」とも称されます。

Hydrangea conjures up a very particular set of imagery of the rainy season in Japan. The color of pale blue and pink, and raindrops shining on the green leaves. Flowers by the quaint, old buildings that give peaceful, quiet shades. Overall lucid elegance enlivened by misty air of the wet season.

あじさいと聞くだけで、梅雨の情景が一気に心に浮かぶのですが、それは淡い青やピンク、青葉に光る雨粒。落ち着いた日本家屋の軒下の花々。雨の季節、雨に煙る優しい透明感とでもいいようなものが、全体的に浮かぶわけです。

The set is hydrangea and the prop is a series of words and retro items that remind us of the old times. The imagery of the street with retro, chic signs actually give us a sense of rundown street that fails to keep up the changing times. Flower scissors and tatami floor apparently refer to the imagery of traditional Japanese residence. All of these are something that gives us clear imagery but that can hardly be found today. Here is an interesting gap between the reality and our reminiscences.

セットがあじさいなら、小道具は古き良き時代を思わせる言葉や生活の道具です。レトロ看板並ぶ通りは、実際は時代に取り残された感のある通りを、花鋏や畳はもちろん日本家屋を、これらは明らかに鮮明なイメージを思い起こさせるわけですが、実際には今は目にすることはないのが現実です。現実と追憶のギャップがここにもあるのです。

Beyond mirage – an unrealistic wish that never be achieved – emerges a comforting memory.

決して実現しない願いとでも言える蜃気楼の向こうに、懐かしい思い出が浮かんだりもするのです。

 

サニーデイサービス

あじさい

This hydrangea I saw
On a rainy evening of the wet season
Railway tracks, trains come and go
She was there on her own for no reason
With an arch grin
Asking spring wind to blow in

The mist came down
The street with retro, chic signs
I let her take my hand
And we found a nice place to hop in

These golden roses
I see from an upstairs window
Through the straw blind
They bloom but never get fruits
Dissolve into the damp, drizzly sky
Her gaze down at the tatami floor
The night comes and leaves us behind
A beaming smile of hers

Your finger on the straw, the cider glass
A faraway mirage, and your smile

Who left the flower scissors in the shade?
Look at the flowers seeping out of the mesh of tatami floor
Your finger on the straw, the cider glass
A faraway mirage, and I just followed her lead

 

Catch The Wind and Happy End: Spring Dreams

はっぴいえんど、歌詞(Lyrics)『風をあつめて』(English Translation)

Spring dreams are magical in that they provide nostalgic reminiscences for those remembering good ol’ days. “Catch the Wind” by Happy End (1969-1972), one of the most important rock bands in Japanese rock history, is remembered by many for its lyrical uniqueness.
春の夢は幻の様で、私たちの追憶を掻き立てます。日本のロック史上非常に重要なバンド、はっぴいえんど(1969-1972)の『風をあつめて』は、その特徴的な歌詞によって多くの人の耳に残っているようです。

The lyric definitely refers to Tokyo, its metamorphose around the 1964 Olympic games. The city landscape changed drastically, many of the tram ways gone, places connected to childhood memories lost or replaced with tall buildings. With smaller spaces for free play and more convenience, children less often played outside and people forgot how to slow down. All these nostalgia and reminiscences sigh aloud through this lyric in a really intricate and sophisticated way. Let’s look into each unique usage of vocabulary.
歌詞の世界は、明らかに東京を、1964年の東京オリンピック前後の東京の変貌を歌っています。路面電車は姿を消し、子ども時代を思い起こさせる場所は消え去り高層ビルに取って代わられ、都市の景観は様変わりした。便利さは増す一方で遊び場は減り、子どもの外遊びの機会は減り、人々はペースダウンすることを忘れてしまった。こうしたノスタルジックな嘆息が、繊細かつ文学的に、歌詞から響いてきます。では、その特徴的な言葉遣いを見ていきましょう。

“Senobi” means stretching up in the hope of looking taller and more competent. This refers physically to extended streets or high rising buildings, figuratively urban people desperate to look sophisticated to impress people. “Tainted haze” refers to hazardous smogs as a result of hurried urban development. The tramway is referred to as a symbol of good old Tokyo. There were fewer and fewer spaces or services in Tokyo that people associated with a simple, slow and laid-back attitude towards life. This perception leads you to see a mirage with tramway cars crossing the sea, allowing you to feel connected to something lost. From the phrase, “an out-of-the-bed tramway”, you might feel the coolness and silence of the morning and see the mist, through which tramway cars make their way. Even the whole city blurs and get dissolved into the morning mist.

「背伸び」は、より高くより良く見えるようにすること。物理的には、長い街路や高いビルを、比喩的には、いいところを見せようと懸命な人々の姿が思い浮かぶ。「汚点だらけの靄」は急速な都市開発によるスモッグを、「路面電車」は昔懐かしい東京の姿を感じさせます。素朴でのんびりした暮らしを思い起こさせるような空間やサービスが少なくなっってしまった、そんな感覚が「路面電車が海を渡る」という蜃気楼を見させ、失われたものとのつながりを感じさせます。「起きぬけの路面電車」からは、朝のひんやりとした静けさと、漂う霧の中を進む路面電車の姿が感じられ、都市そのものが霧の中に溶けだしていくような感覚も得られるのではないでしょうか。

The city is an amalgam of different aspirations and experiences. We hope the city provides us with encounters and affluence which would hopefully make our life richer, but we sometimes dream about escaping from urban hustle-bustle. It’s described as an escape “into the blue sky” by means of the city “with crimson sails.” Contrast continues by comparing two different textures: “cracked glass” and “rustling of the skyscrapers.” All of these urban memories and frustration push us to catch something real. There comes the wind to have in our hands.

都市は、人々の期待や経験の混交体。生活を豊かにしてくれるような出会いと豊かさ、そんなものを都市に期待する一方で、そのせわしなさから逃れたいとも考える。それが、「緋色の帆を掲げた都市」の力を借りて、「蒼空を翔けたい」との言葉に表れる。色のコントラストに引き続いて、「ひび割れた玻璃」と「摩天楼の衣擦れ」という肌触りを対比させています。失われた都市の追憶と葛藤によって、何かリアルなものを掴みたいという衝動へ導かれる。そこに、掴むべき風がやってくるのです。

“Catch The Wind” is definitely one of the most important lyric works in Japanese modern rock history. With its well-crafted layout of familiar imagery and highlighted contrast, we can easily relate to this uniquely constructed world of magical words. This song was used in a 2004 movie, “Lost in Translation”, and there is much lost in translation when it comes to a song like this.

日本のロック史上の最重要歌詞の一つの「風をあつめて」ですが、聴き手の共通体験へのアクセスを促す小道具遣いと、さまざまなコントラストの仕掛けによって、独特な言葉の結びつきであっても、自然と心に沁み込むような言葉の魔法がありますね。2004年の映画『ロスト・イン・トランスレーション』でもこの曲は使われましたが、確かに、翻訳の過程では失われるものは多いように感じます。

風をあつめて
Catch The Wind

On the street run-down and pretentious
I was talking a walk
Through the tarnished draperies of haze
I saw an out-of-the-bed tramway crossing the sea
Well, that made me think of
Catching the wind, catching the wind
Taking wing into the sky
Into the sky

Through the morning glow
I was making my way
Over the dreary breakwater
I saw a city at anchor
With crimson sails set
Well, that made me think of
Catching the wind, catching the wind
Taking wing into the sky
Into the sky

At a coffee shop empty in the morning
I was sipping my cup empty
Through the cracked glass
I saw rustling of the skyscrapers
Surging over the pavements
Well, that made me think of
Catching the wind, catching the wind
Taking wing into the sky
Into the sky

Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter: Spring in Your Step

泉谷しげる、歌詞(Lyrics)『春夏秋冬』(English Translation)

Throughout this series, Spring in Your Step, we’ve been examining varied ways of ending and starting things, especially setting out. Many of them involve bittersweet aspects of life. Spring, Summer, Fall & Winter (1972) by Shigeru Izumiya should be another great song of this kind.
本シリーズ「春に跳ぶ」を通じて、主に旅立ちを主題として、物事を終えること・始めることを考えています。そこには人生の甘酸っぱさがついてくるのですが、泉谷しげるの春夏秋冬(1972)も、そうしたことを歌った名曲と言えるでしょう。

We often start because of hope, expectations or promise. Other times we start because we get tired of, sick of or fed up with what we’ve been doing. This song is about the latter type of start.

希望や期待を抱いて、私たちは旅立つわけですが、ある時はこれまでの日々に嫌気がさして、旅立つこともあります。この歌は後者の旅立ちを歌っています。

This song starts by giving us a new insight into our look at the nature and changing seasons, whose beauty is sometimes oversimplified. Many Japanese people are very proud of the natural beauty and seasonal charms of this country, but it’s not always appreciated by everyone. It’s not because of their lack of taste or sensitivity. Sometimes everything gets so hectic that people, even the most aesthetically sensitive people, don’t even notice natural beauty. At times we are, physically and emotionally, so drowned in the depth of cares and duties that it feels like everything just passes us by. It doesn’t mean we are not capable of appreciating beauty of the nature. The same sensitivity, when directed toward human society, overwhelms us. Sadly cares and concerns over human relationships and professional duties and whatsoever overshadow the beauty of flowers, birds and heavenly bodies. This song gives a warm embrace to people of this kind, who are just honest enough to look at an uncomfortable, sometimes ugly, truth.

ときに単純化されがちな自然や季節の美しさに、透徹した目を向けて、この歌は始まります。多くの日本人が季節の移り変わりや花鳥風月の美しさを称えますが、すべての人がそれを愛でているわけではありません。それは、教養がないからでも、感性を持ち合わせていないからでもありません。日常があまりにもドタバタと降りかかる中で、どんなに感受性豊かな人も、自然の美しさに目をとめることもなく、人のためにすべきことで身も心も疲弊する毎日の中で、ただすべてが自分を通り過ぎて行ってしまう感覚。自然の見せる美しさに気づく感性を持ち合わせているかどうかではなく、その人間らしい感性こそが、人の世の中に向けられたとき、私たちを疲弊させてしまう。悲しいかな、人間関係や職業生活やらの前では、花鳥風月もかすんでしまう。あまりにも正直で懸命だから、ときに醜く不都合な真実に目が向いてしまう、そんな人を優しく抱くような歌となっています。

Making conscious decisions makes us honest but living an honest and diligent life doesn’t seem to pay off. But these people know that ugliness is a part of human nature, that you learn by first-hand experience involving a lot of conflict and frustration, and that beauty shines through sighs you give out, tears you hold back and hands with which you grab mud. This song tells much about such a down-to-earth approach to life.
意識的な選択を重ねて私たちは誠実になる。しかし、そんな生き方は必ずしも報われない。しかし、そんな人は知っているものです。醜さは人間の一部で、葛藤と焦燥を経た実体験にこそ学び、ため息に、堪えた涙に、泥を掴んだその手に美が輝くと。そんな地に足の着いた人生が、こんな歌からも見えてきませんか。

Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter

Born in a town, a town with no season
Raised on the hill, the hill with no wind
Leaving home, home with no dream
Meeting people, people with no love

Just for the sake of others
From east to west
Slaving myself away
Nice things I got to find
Wither away so easily

Too busy to savor the beauty of spring
Too tired to get through the fieriness of summer
Raking fallen leaves to warm myself in fall
This bag of bones gets chilled in the cold of winter

Everything will come to end today
Everything will be different today
Everything will pay off today
Everything will get started today

Born in a town, a town with no season
Raised on the hill, the hill with no wind
Leaving home, home with no dream
Meeting people, people with no love

Out of the corner of my eye
Wondering if I’m on the right track

Get streetwise
It’s not something to despise
Crack a self-conscious smile
It’s something to put up with for a while

There’s nothing great about my place
Why don’t you come over on your way
Such being the case
Seeing you will make my day

Then, Now and Tomorrow: Spring in Your Step

吉田拓郎、歌詞(Lyrics)『今日までそして明日から』(English Translation)

Then, Now and Tomorrow (1971) is one of the best songs of Takuro Yoshida, who was a pioneer of singer-songwriter in Japan. Using simple language, laying out words just as murmuring, he achieved maximizing uniqueness of Japanese phonetics and wording. In 70’s, when a lot of musicians were exploring musical and lyrical expressions in Japanese language, Takuro Yoshida established himself as a truly original musician and led the music industry to the next stage.
『今日までそして明日から』(1971)は、シンガーソングライターという言葉を定着させた吉田拓郎の代表曲と言えるでしょう。平易な言葉を用いて、つぶやくように言葉を次々と並べていく、そこに日本語らしい語感が響く。多くのミュージシャンがそれぞれのやり方で、日本語の音楽表現を探っていた時期に、彼もまた独自の世界を築き上げ、音楽界を新たな次元へと導いた一人でした。

The very first line shows what you can pull out of Japanese language. What a difference one single word makes ! Instead of just telling the fact, the replacement of “ikite-kimashita (I’ve been living)” with “ikite-mimashita (I’ve been doing my best in living)” adds a cute twist to expressing opinions, which makes lyrics much more relatable to listeners. Natural and everyday language takes on a catchy melody in a good way. There is no need to use items like slide doors or a public bath to arouse imagery unique to Japanese language. This song particularly plays a perfect role in expressing images and messages that a songwriter has in his or her mind.

何よりも冒頭の「わたしは今日まで生きてみました」に、日本語らしさが最大限に生かされています。「生きてきました」でなく「生きてみました」という表現が伝える語感。意見や主張を、こうした表現で「外す」ところが特徴的で、それにより聴き手により共感を抱かせます。そうした自然で日常的な日本語が、ごく自然にメロディに乗る心地よさ。障子やら銭湯やらの和のテイストを持ち込まなくても、掻き立てられる日本語のイメージ。自分の心の中にあるイメージやメッセージを、他人に伝えるという歌の機能を存分に果たしています。

The uniqueness of this song – the message itself and how the message is expressed through unique wording – makes it particularly difficult to translate the feel that native Japanese speakers would have. The beauty of expressing everydayness by using an everyday language should not be dramatized or reduced to cliche. Below is my translation, which may sound moralistic but make you feel how a single word makes a big difference in creating an overall tone of the lyric.

歌詞の内容もさることながら、その言葉遣いを特徴とするこの曲の雰囲気を、外国語に訳しきるのは非常に困難に感じます。ありきたりのことをありきたりの言葉で伝えることの魅力を、いかに脚色じみていなく、かつ凡庸でない翻訳として伝えるか、悩ましいですね。今回は、教訓的な調子で訳してみましたが、言葉一つで歌詞全体の雰囲気が変わることを体感できますね。

The repeated refrain seems to symbolize our repeating day-to-day existence. The past can be interpreted and evaluated in whatever way and the future can not be predicted enough. Then, patiently and with certainty, you just have to live through everyday challenges. The song resonates with listeners heart when they need to get determined and self-assured.

繰り返されるリフレインが、繰り返される毎日の積み重ねである人生を象徴しているようにも聴こえます。これまでのことはどのようにでも評価でき、また、この先のことは誰にも予測できない。ならば辛抱強く日々を積み重ね行く。その決意を自分に言い聞かせているようにも聴こえます。

There will be some tomorrows that would help you move on because of a big change and other tomorows that would duplicate what it is today. The sound and lyric of this song tells much about how people get to take on this responsibility. All of these have made this song a great song. Then, we wonder how he pulled out all of these in his 20’s after all.

何かが大きく変わって動き出す明日もあれば、今日までと変わらず続く明日もある。そんな明日へと向き合う責任の重さを、自分なりに背負っていく。そういう人の佇まいをも感じさせる。やはり名曲ですね。そして何よりも、こうした歌を20代のうちに世に送り出したことに改めて驚嘆させられます。

Then, Now and Tomorrow

Up until now
Things were OK
I think I gave it a good try
At times I called on someone to help me
At times I needed someone really badly
Up until now
Things were OK
I think I gave it a good try
Which made me think
I’ll be living this way
Tomorrow and beyond

Up until now
Things were OK
I think I gave it a good try
At times I got contemptuous
At times I got challenged
Up until now
Things were OK
I think I gave it a good try
Which made me think
I’ll be living this way
Tomorrow and beyond

Up until now
Things were OK
I think I gave it a good try
At times I felt betrayed
At times I felt warm hand in hand
Up until now
Things were OK
I think I gave it a good try
Which made me think
I’ll be living this way
Tomorrow and beyond

You’ve got your own way of living
Well, nothing starts
Before you get to know who you are
Well, but things change
You have no idea when and how
Beyond your control
That’s how you get to move on
Tomorrow and beyond

Up until now
Things were OK
I think I gave it a good try
Which made me think
I’ll be living this way
Tomorrow and beyond

Young, Reckless and Kandagawa: Spring in your Step

南こうせつとかぐや姫、歌詞(Lyrics)『神田川』(English Translation)

Lyrics stand out when they convey the feel of a certain generation. Kandagawa (1973) by Minami Kosetsu & Kaguyahime is one of the best songs of that kind. The imagery throughout the song is nothing but a young couple spending a certain period of time together, leading a humble, intimate life that simplicity and frugality made possible and eventually breaking up. All the details of lifestyle depicted in this song could be relatable to people of a certain age group as well as modern listeners who know of what it used to be like.
ある時代の雰囲気を伝える歌詞というものがあります。南こうせつとかぐや姫による「神田川」はその代表と言えるでしょう。歌詞全体に描かれているのは、ある一組の若い男女。一定期間を共に過ごし、簡素で慎ましやかなことで生まれた、こじんまりとした温かな暮らし、そして別れ。ある年代の人間にとっては、大いに共感できる暮らしぶりでしょう。また、その時代の雰囲気を少しでも知っていれば、現代でも大いに感じるところはあるのではないでしょうか。

One of the mysteries this song left is the meaning of its lines from the chorus: I was young and reckless, full of conceit/But when you were simply nice and sweet/It felt too mellow/I got cold feet. To put it simply, you feel intimidated when your partner is simply nice and sweet. To explore this meaning, let’s get back to the days when this song was written, days when people always had something to question, challenge and stand up to.

最も大事な数行には、しかし、まだ謎が残るのではないでしょうか。なぜ「あなたのやさしさがこわかった」のでしょうか。相手がただただいい人であることで感じる不安とでもいうのでしょうか。その意味を考えるために、この歌詞が生まれた時代に戻る必要があります。人々が常に何かに疑問を持ち、異議を唱え、何かのために立ち上がった、そんな時代に。

Tadashi Kitajo, a writer of this song, started wading into social activism when he was young. He got home, exhausted after one long day and saw his partner cooking at the kitchen in a calm, homely manner, which struck him alarming because it was something that could pull him out of furious, frantic and frenzied activism and lure him into a rustic, safeguarded and peaceful nest. He was intimidated at what seemed to be too mellow, or a simple way of life, contrary to what he devoted himself to..

この歌の作詞者である喜多條忠氏は、社会活動に身を投じた若者でした。ある長い一日を終え戻ると、恋人が台所で料理をしているのが目に入りました。その穏やかで家庭的な空気に、彼は恐れを感じたというのです。大きな目的に身を燃やす生き方をやめてみようか、簡素で暖かい穏やかさの中に身を落ち着けてもいいのではと。現在自分が心血注いでいるものとは正反対の穏やかな日常のやさしさ、それが怖かったのだと。

Is this because of youth or because of devotion to a great cause at the expense of simple, if not naïve, happiness one could enjoy? The change of seasons never withers the luminosity of a truly relatable song that arouses particular images the moment a certain word comes out. That is why this song really stands the test of time.

若かったからなのか、純朴とは言わないまでも、素朴な暮らしの中にある幸せを犠牲にしてまでも、大きな目的に身を捧げてしまうからなのか。季節がめぐり、時代が移り変わっても、ある単語が聞こえた瞬間から胸を熱くさせるイメージの力、そんなものが伝わる名曲ですね。

Kandagawa

Do you remember
With a red towel instead of a scarf to wear
Going to a bath around the corner
Saying you wouldn’t come out any later
But all too often it was me to wait outside
And got a chill with my hair undried
A small piece of soap clattering in the pail
Holding close my shoulder that turned pale
And you said “Don’t you feel cold?”

I was young and reckless, full of conceit
But when you were simply nice and sweet
It felt too mellow and I got cold feet

Do you remember
Crayons in 24 colors you got somewhere
My portraits you promised to draw perfect
Never as good as I could expect
Under the window ran the Kandagawa
My place small as a sheltered bower
With only one single room to equip
Turning your gaze at my fingertip
And you said “Are you feeling sad?”

I was young and reckless, full of conceit
But when you were simply nice and sweet
It felt too mellow and I got cold feet

 

Unbearable Sadness and Sonnet Of A Fool: Spring in Your Step

さだまさし、歌詞(Lyrics)『道化師のソネット』(English Translation)

Released in 1980, Sonnet of a Fool has been considered one of the best songs by Masashi Sada. Exploring our life journey with striking imagery, this song highlights underlying and inevitable sadness we go through in spite of our thirst for pushing away negativity.
1980年発表の『道化師のソネット』は、さだまさしの代表曲の一つと言えるでしょう。胸を打つイメージの力で人生という旅路を描きながら、悲しみから逃れたいという願望とは裏腹の、根底にある悲しみの避けられなさについて歌っています。

It starts with prayers for smile. There are two kinds of smile: Smile that you give to others and to yourself. You smile to someone in the hope of making a positive influence on the situation when you feel powerless in the face of difficulty. You can also give a smile to yourself, a smile of affirmation. You know you are the first and last person to say yes to who you are.

微笑みを望む気持ちで幕を開けるこの歌ですが、微笑みには2種類あるようです。誰かに対する微笑みと自分に向けた微笑み。誰かに向けて微笑むとき、私たちは自分にできることがないとわかっていながら何とか状況を良くしたいと願う。また、自分に微笑みを向けることもある。「それでいいんだよ」とでもいうような自分を認めてやるような微笑み。自分に対して「大丈夫」と、最初にも最後にも言えるのは自分だけだと。

The song delves into the meaning of sadness by depicting our existence with powerful imagery. Our existence is absurdly small, so incapable and hopeless that we sometimes get lost wondering how to unload overwhelming sadness. The song, however, claims that we are destined to load our life down with sadness. All we can do is let it go just as letting a boat go down the stream. We tend to believe we need to resolve our feelings and get over ourselves at each stage of our life course but our journey doesn’t allow us to tidy things up.

この歌は、聴く人の心にイメージを湧き上がらせながら、人生と悲しみの意味に分け入っていきます。生きていても、私たちの存在はあきれるほどちっぽけで無力、悲しみという荷を降ろしたくもなるものです。しかし、この歌が訴えるのは、むしろ、私たちは悲しみという荷物を積み続けるということです。人生に悲しみを積み続けながら、人生という流れにまかせていくしかない。気持ちに整理をつけようとか、乗り越えようとか、人生の節々に思うわけですが、そうはいかない。

In the office, on the street and at home, we are more or less frustrated and disappointed and need a thrill of a smile, but a fake smile disheartens us all the more. Smile is not there for driving away negativity but for getting us to face the reality in a fun and ridiculous way. We need to start from this understanding that we sometimes have to play out a fool to confront challenges and a fool knows our existence is weak, small and sorrowful.

職場で、街で、家庭で、葛藤や失望を味わい、微笑みの温かさを求めるものですが、作り笑いではもっと惨めになる。微笑みは、嫌な気持ちを忘れるためにあるのでなく、笑ってしまうようなやり方で現実に向き合うためにある。困難に向き合うためには、道化師を演じ切る必要も時にはあり、道化師こそが人生の弱さと卑小さと悲しみを知っているのだと、そう思えたら始められるのです。

Sonnet Of A Fool

I wanna see your smile
So both of us can go another mile

Our existence is like a tiny boat
Loaded with sadness
With each of us at the helm
Steering down the passage of time

Your hands, so small
With overwhelming sadness
If a smile could help you out,
I would be a fool

Because
I wanna see your smile
So both of us can go another mile
All of us have our own journey to go
Walking along the same stream

Our existence is like a climb
To each summit to conquer
As tireless as wayfarers
Toiling over the vast expanse

Your arms, so weak
Filled with unbearable sadness
If a smile could help you out,
I would be a fool

 

Days That Used To Be: Spring in Your Step

山口百恵、歌詞(Lyrics)『いい日旅立ち』(English Translation)

Released in 1978, written by Shinji Tanimura and sung by Momoe Yamaguchi, Days That Used To Be has soon reached lyrical milestone by its imagery and lyricism in depicting the arrival of spring and emotional landscape of leaving for another place. The main character gets to find some kind of closure about the past and make a step forward.
「いい日旅立ち」は、過去に整理をつけ、当てのない未来へ踏み出そうとする、そんな主人公の姿を描いています。春の訪れと旅立ちの情景を抒情的に描いた歌謡曲の金字塔ですね。

Winter passes and spring is on its way when you look up the sky and throw your past plans and anticipations away. You used to have people around, with whom you shared your dreams and memories. You are alone now and determined to step forward on your own.

季節は確実に巡り、芽吹きを感じさせている。そんな時、過去の計画や期待やらを空に投げかけます。過去の夢を分かち合った人たちは、今はもうここにいない。つまり、自分は一人で歩まなければならない、そう決意するのです。

It feels like you have lost your home. Well then, you just can leave the past behind and start to make memories. Though your outlook seems as fickle as going somewhere else, you still have some confidence in what future will bring. You just seek something that would warm you heart.

自分には帰るところがないようにも思える。ならば、その思い出をこれから作っていこうという決意を込めて、過去に別れを告げる。あてのなさは、「日本のどこか」というほど頼りないものであっても、心のどこかで未来を確信している。求めるのは心を暖めるような原風景。

It’s no easy translating these sentiments, or nostalgia, in a way that the lyricism speaks to readers of another language. It’s still a universal human tendency to use songs to think of days that used to be.

こうした日本情緒を英語の語感にのせて訳すのは非常に難しく感じます。しかし、歌の力によって原風景を心に浮かべるとことは普遍的なものと感じられもするのではないでしょうか。

Days That Used To Be

When snow starts to melt
With spring thaw on its way
I call out for the northern sky
To bring back all dreams lost in time
I feel warm inside
With all those gone crossing my mind
All I can do is just set out all by myself

Ah, somewhere on this land, not across the sea,
There must be someone ready to meet me

No better day for leaving
For a sunset I saw
On the back of my dear mom
All those songs will stay in my mind

Fishing at the rocky beach is a small boy
Going home through the green plume grassland
From here my memories are to made
Leaving a good bye message on the sand

Ah, somewhere on this land, not across the sea,
There must be someone ready to meet me

No better day for leaving
For cotton-wool clouds I saw
What I learned from my dad
All those songs will stay in my mind

Ah, somewhere on this land, not across the sea,
There must be someone ready to meet me

No better day for leaving
For happiness
What I loved to sing
All those songs will stay in my mind