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

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