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

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