Japanese song: Baibaba Bimba by Tenniscoats

Today is a cloudy day, with big grey clouds crawling over grey buildings. It looks like a perfect day to listen to Tenniscoats’ old songs and feel both melancholic and creative.

There are not much lyrics, only a few lines:

ある暖かい閃光の上
その匂い瞬くんだ
足元かける
またでかい水蒸気なんだと

I had to check three words because I didn’t know their pronunciation. 閃光・せんこう is a glint of light, 瞬く・またたく means “to wink” and 水蒸気・すいじょうき is “vapour”, “steam”. I think she sings “いい匂いして” or something like that, instead of what is written above.

When she drums on the guitar, the guitarist says something that could be マイクが入っているよ…?? I am really not sure, I should stop watching YouTube videos and do some listening exercises for the JLPT 😫! But I find this kind of calm and repetitive song perfect to listen to while studying, especially on a cloudy November day.

Anyway, I will not venture in a translation of these lines and leave you with the images or feelings it evokes to you.

カントリー・ロード, Japanese Version

This song is a Japanese version of the famous Take me Home, Country Roads by John Denver. It appears in the Ghibli Studio film Whisper of the Heart, directed by Yoshifumi Kondo. The protagonist Shizuku, a 14-year-old girl, has to translate the original version into Japanese for her school. The song then becomes an essential element in the story.

Whisper of the Heart is my favourite Ghibli film. It may not have the magic and fascinating elements contained in Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke, but it is one of the most inspiring movies I have seen. I wish I had seen it when I was the same age as Shizuku, it may have encouraged me to follow my own way. It is a film about working hard to achieve one’s dream and finally find oneself. I feel empowered every time I watch it.

Contrary to other lyrics I have studied until now, I will focus more on translation and less on grammar and vocabulary.

ひとりぼっち おそれずに
生きようと 夢みてた
さみしさ 押し込めて
強い自分を 守っていこ

  • ひとりぽっち means “being on one’s own”
  • 押し込める・おしこめる can have several meanings. I think that the most appropriate one is “to shut up”, “to lock up”

I was dreaming of living all alone without fear. Let’s put the loneliness aside and preserve my determination.

カントリー・ロード
この道 ずっとゆけば
あの街に つづいてる
気がする カントリー・ロード

I knew the word 続く・つづく which means “to continue” but I was puzzled to see it with the particle “に”. By searching the dictionary, I learned that “Aに続く” means “to lead to A”, which naturally makes sense in these lyrics.

Country Road, I feel that if I kept following that road, it would lead me to that town.

歩き疲れ たたずむと
浮かんで来る 故郷の街
丘をまく 坂の道
そんな僕を 叱っている

  • 佇む・たたずむ stand still for a while, stop, linger
  • 浮かぶ・うかぶ I know this verb mainly as either “to float” or “come to mind”. I think that “come to mind” fit here.
  • 丘・おか a hill
  • 坂・さか a hill

To understand the difference between 丘 and 坂, let’s have a look at a Japanese definition:

  • 丘・おか: 土地の小高い所。低い山。小山
  • 坂・さか:一方は高く一方は低く、傾斜している道

丘 is used to describe the hill in itself, as a high place or a small mountain. 坂 is used to describe the inclination of the hill, the slope.

If I stand for a while, tired of walking, my hometown comes to my mind and the inclined path turning around the hill watches me reproachfully. 

I understand this passage as such: Every time “he” stops for a while, the souvenir of his home country haunts him and the “country road”, the path that leads to his home, reproaches him to walk away instead of following it to come back home.

カントリー・ロード
この道 ずっとゆけば
あの街に つづいてる
気がする カントリー・ロード

Country Road, I feel that if I kept following that road, it would lead me to that town.

どんな挫けそうな時だって
決して 涙は見せないで
心なしか 歩調が速くなっていく
思い出 消すため

  • 挫ける・くじける be depressed, lose heart, be discouraged
  • 心なしか・こころなしか somehow or other, I somehow felt, I somehow get the impression
  • 歩調・ほちょう the pace at which one walks

Even in the most disheartened times, by no means will I let my tears show. Somehow or other, I start to walk faster, to leave the memories behind. 

カントリー・ロード
この道 故郷へつづいても
僕は 行かないさ
行けない カントリー・ロード

Country road, even if this path leads to my home, I won’t follow it, I can’t follow it.

カントリー・ロード
明日は いつもの僕さ
帰りたい 帰れない
さよなら カントリー・ロード

Country road, tomorrow, as usual, I will want to return, I can’t return. Farewell, country road.

I am surprised to see that Shizuku totally transformed the meaning of the original song. When John Denver sang about returning home, Shizuku evokes, on the contrary, someone leaving his home behind and walking away, resisting the temptation to follow the “country road” that leads to his hometown.

It is much more natural for a 14-year-old girl who is thinking about her life, to wish to go away instead of “returning home”. That’s why I find the Japanese version of the lyrics so meaningful for the film. It also accentuates the bitterness she feels when Seiji goes to Italia, feeling that he fulfils the contents of her song and she doesn’t. She still has to learn that one doesn’t necessarily have to “leave” to follow one’s route.

These lyrics are the final translation of “Take me home, country roads” by Shizuku. But before completing the final version of her translation, she first wrote a first one and showed it to her friend Yuko. This is the extract Yuko sings in the film (with a rough translation):

白い雲わく丘を まいてのぼる 坂の街
古い部屋 ちいさな窓 帰り待つ 老いた犬

An inclined path that goes up around a hill surrounded by white clouds. The old dog is waiting for my return behind the small window of my old room.

カントリー・ロード
はるかなる 故郷へ つづく道
ウェスト・ヴァジニア
母なる山 なつかしい わが街

Country roads, the road that leads to my home, in the distance. West Virginia, mountain mama, old sweet home.

As we can see, Shizuku evolved a lot between the two translations. In the first one, she more or less stuck to the original version and the overall meaning of the song. In the final version, she gave a personal interpretation of the song. Having no experience herself about missing one’s home country, she wrote about what she felt, as she explains in the film. The new version is much more personal and very far from the original version, too. I never realised that the difference between the two translations of Shizuku was also a way to express how Shizuku’s personality develops and she slowly becomes herself. I can say that I discovered a new element of the film with today’s post!

 

Twice ~ Cheer up (Japanese version)

I am not a K-pop or J-pop fan and to be honest, I am not familiar with trendy groups. Having said that, I do appreciate some famous songs that I know and “Cheer-up” by Twice is one of them. This song was so popular when it came out that several candidates for the presidential elections (2017) in Korea used this song as part of their campaign, changing the lyrics to promote their candidature. This was one of the weirdest things I saw in my life…

Anyway, Twice has made their debut in Japan this summer and released an album with all their title songs in Japanese.

I hesitated a lot before translating the lyrics of “Cheer-up” because:

  • It’s much more difficult than I imagined, sometimes what they say just does not make sense (to me)
  • I have checked several English translations found on the internet, and they are all different! But the worst thing is that, in several parts, they all differ from mine! 😱There is a greater probability that they are all right, and I am wrong… But as it would be totally pointless to post my own translation if it were just a copy of others’, I will stick to my interpretation.

What decided me to turn thoughts into action is this post by Kotobites. Lyrics do not always make sense, and the meaning is sometimes hard to grasp because of limited grammar. But it is definitely an excellent exercise that forced me out of my comfort zone. And I did learn some very interesting expressions like “よそ見させない” or “既読スルーされる”.

The lyrics are very long, but I really had fun translating them. It is frustrating to understand every word and still don’t see what the meaning of a phrase is. But it is fun too, to try to crack the lyrics, especially if you study only one or two strophes a day like I did.

Please, keep in mind that I am maybe (certainly) wrong in some parts of my translation. Don’t hesitate to correct me in the comments!

Note: when I post about Japanese songs, I like to illustrate my post with a drawing inspired by the song’s music video or film in which the song appeared. In this case, it refers to the original Korean music video.

Lyrics

君から鳴る ベル ベル
ごめん マジ無理
バッテリー
減るの早すぎる

  • 鳴る・なる “to ring”
  • 無理・むり means “impossible”, while まじ means “seriously”, “really”. The two together mean something like, “really impossible”.
  • 減る・へる to decrease, to diminish.
  • 早い・はや(い) + すぎる. すぎる is a grammar point which means “too much”, “excessively”. Drop the い of the adjective and add すぎる.

I am sorry, but I can’t receive all your phone calls (it’s really impossible), my battery is decreasing too rapidly.

着信が 止まらなくて
スマホがパンっ!
弾けそうだよ

  • 着信・ちゃくしん incoming message or call (on the phone)
  • 止まる・とまる to stop. Here in the negative form 止まらない・とまらない + the form て which only means “and” “so”. With an い adjective or the negation ない, replace the い with くて.
  • スマホ smartphone
  • 弾ける・はじける to burst open. そうだ is a grammar point which means “look like”, “seem”. It is attached to the ます form. In the case of 弾ける it is はじけ+そうだ.

Calls from you won’t stop, and it seems that my phone will explode.

んで? なんで?
私のせい?って思うだけで
胸キュンするなんて
だけどね みんな カワイイねって近づくの

  • せい means “fault” here
  • って is a casual way of saying と
  • きゅんする means “be shocked by emotion” or “momentary tightening of one’s chest caused by powerful feelings” and is often used with 胸・むね chest.
  • なんて is a grammar which means “things like”.
  • だけどね however
  • 近づく・ちかづくto get acquainted with, to get closer to, to get to know.

Why is it my fault if your heart is torn apart (or things like that) when you think of me (by only thinking of me). It’s just that everybody is approaching me telling me that I am cute.

I first thought (and most translations on the internet go in that direction) that “っておもうだけで” referred to “why is it my fault”. The meaning would then be something like “I am sad or upset just to think that it could be my fault – that you consider it to be my fault”. But, きゅんする is used when suffering from a great emotional shock, for example when parting with a lover. I think this word would be strange referring to the girl being upset and instead, applies best to the boy being in love with her (but not able to see her often). Secondly, I think that the expression “なんて” (but I may be mistaken) may be used to take some distance from what is said and would suit better if it referred to the guy’s feeling. 🤔

As for people trying to get close by saying she is cute… I just don’t understand how it is supposed to make sense here. Is it a way to say that the boy’s approach is nothing new to her because she is used to hearing such things? Or on the contrary, that the boy is saying something else than just “cute”, and that’s why she will eventually fall for him? Or am I totally mistaken with the translation? But well, there are some lyrics that I don’t even understand in French, so… 

Ah さっきの電話ごめんね
友達といて shy shy shy
まだ会えないごめんね
かけ直すから later

  • さっき some time ago
  • 会えない・あえない is the potential form 会える・あえる of 会う・あう, here in the negative form: 会えない “not able to meet”.
  • かけ直す・かけなおす to call again, to call someone back.

Ah, sorry for not answering your call some time ago, I was with friends (that’s why I was shy). Sorry if we still can’t meet, I will call you back, so see you later.

おねがい 急かさないで
前のめりな Baby
もう少し ガマンしてね
よそ見させないよ

  • 急かす・せかす to hurry, to urge on. Here, the form ないで means “don’t…”
  • 前のめり・まえのめり first means “pitching forward”. But here, it describes someone who can’t wait to do things and urges things on.
  • 我慢する・がまんする to be patient
  • よそ見・よそみ means “to look away” but, in this particular context and associated with させない, the negative form of the causative form of the verb する, it means to look another girl/boy. よそ見させない・よそみさせない is a way to say “do not let or make your partner have an affair”.

I beg you, don’t urge me, restless baby. Be a little more patient, I won’t let you go after someone else (look at another girl).

When I googled よそ見させない, I found it associated with “浮気させない”. 浮気・うわき means “unfaithfulness”, “infidelity” or simply “extramarital sex”. I found out that there are three ways of using this word, which allow us to make a little grammar revision:

  • Active form: 浮気する having an affair, cheat on your partner
  • Passive form: 浮気される your partner cheated on you, your partner is having an affair.
  • Causative form: 浮気させる, more often used with the negative form 浮気させない which would mean “let or don’t let your partner cheat on you”.

CHEER UP BABY
CHEER UP BABY 追いかけて
胸の扉を叩いて
今よりも もっと大胆に
気がないフリして 恋してるの
ホントは君が好きだよ
Just get it together
and then baby CHEER UP

  • 追いかける・おいかける to chase, to run after
  • 扉・とびら door, gate
  • 叩く・たたく to knock, to beat, to strike. Here in the imperative form 叩いて・たたいて
  • よりも is an emphatic form of より.
  • もっと more
  • 大胆・だいたん bold, daring, audacious. It’s a な adjective, so changing な into に transforms the adjective into an adverb.
  • 気がない・きがない to be uninterested
  • ふりする means “to pretend to”
  • 恋する・こいする to love

Cheer up Baby and chase after me. Knock on the door of my heart more audaciously than now. I am pretending that I am not interested but I love you, I really like you.

ソワソワしてる姿 浮かぶし
ドキドキしてるの 伝わるけどね
ダメダメ軽いと 思われるから
メッセージ届いても 既読でスルー

  • そわそわ restless, nervous
  • 姿・すがた figure, form, state, condition
  • どきどき the heart beating fast
  • 伝わる・つたわる to be transmitted
  • 思われる・おもわれる is a passive form: I will be thought to be…? = you will think that I am…
  • 届く・とどく to reach, to arrive (ex: for a message)
  • 既読・きどく “already read”, it is the notification that will appear next to your message when it is read. (on Line, for example).

I am well aware of your restlessness (the restless figure of you comes to my mind), and I know that your heart is beating fast with emotion (your beating heart is transmitted to me), but no, it would not be good to reply to your messages (it’s no use), you would think that I am easy (light). I leave your messages “read” but unreplied. (Even if your messages arrive, I let them “already read”)

What she means is that she reads the boy’s messages so that he knows she has read them – the “read” 既読 mark will appear on his phone – but she does not reply, leaving him even more restless than if she hadn’t read them at all. I found this article about “being left already read” 既読スルーされる. I love this expression, haha!

Oh oh oh 許してね boy
やりすぎなのかな 胸が痛いよ
Oh oh oh どうすればいいの
夢中になっちゃう
夢中になってる

  • 許す・ゆるす means “to permit, to allow” but it most probably means “to excuse”, “to forgive” in our context.
  • やる means “to do” and is here associated with “すぎる”, which means “too much”. すぎる is attached to the ます form of a verb. In the phrase やりすぎなのかな, she is asking herself if she didn’t go too far.
  • すれば is the ば form of する. It means “if” and express a condition. “どうすればいい” means “how shall I do?, what should I do?”.
  • 夢中・むちゅう trance, delirium. 夢中になる・むちゅうになる means that you love something so much, you are in a trance. Here, the form てしまう is attached, which means that something is done completely with a possible negative consequence. 夢中になってしまう is contracted into 夢中になっちゃう.

Forgive me, maybe I went too far, my heart aches. What shall I do, I am so into you.

Ah 悩ませてごめんね
嫌いじゃないの shy shy shy
不安にしてごめんね
打ち明けるから later

  • 悩む・なやむ to be worried, to be troubled. 悩まさせる・なやまさせる is the causative form and means “to make someone be worried”.
  • 不安・ふあん means “to be restless”. 不安にする・ふあんにする means “to cause someone to be restless
  • 打ち明ける・うちあける to confide in sb, to open one’s heart to sb., to lay bare one’s feeling.

I am sorry that I have troubled you, I don’t dislike you (I am shy because I like you). I am sorry if you are restless because of me, as I will eventually open my heart to you, we’ll see each other later.

こんなに 苦しいのは
君のせいよ Baby
あと少し 本気見せて
奪いに来て欲しい

  • 苦しい・くるしい painful
  • N+のせい the fault of, because of
  • 本気・ほんきseriousness, earnestness. 見せる・みせる means “to show” and is here in the imperative form.
  • 奪う・うばう to take by force, to rob sth. The form ます + に来る means “to come to do sth”.
  • ~て欲しい・ほしい is used when you want someone to do something. “I want you to…”

If I am in such a pain, it’s your fault. From now on show me a little more earnestness and come to take my heart.

CHEER UP BABY
CHEER UP BABY 会いにきて
君の気持ちを 今すぐ
ありのまま 全部届けてよ
これ以上 私に近付いたら
恋してるオーラ隠せない
Just get it together
and then baby CHEER UP

  • 会う・あう Here again, the form ます+に来る. Come to meet (me).
  • 気持ち・きもち feelings
  • まま means “as something is”, for example, “show me your feelings as they are”. あり is the noun form of ある.
  • 届ける・とどける to deliver, to notify.
  • 近づく・ちかづく to come, get closer. The form たら means “if”.
  • 恋する・こいする to love
  • オーラ aura
  • 隠す・かくす to hide. Here, we have the potential form 隠せる・かくせる in the negative form 隠せない・かくせない be unable to hide.

Cheer up Baby and come to meet me. Tell me all that you feel for me right now (deliver all your feelings as they are, right now). From now on, if you come closer to me, I won’t be able to hide the fact that I love you (the aura of my love for you).

もぅ 傷つくの 怖いだけよ
臆病な心に 気づいて

  • 傷つく・きずつく to get injured, wounded.
  • 怖い・こわい frightening
  • 臆病な・おくびょうな cowardly, easily frightened, scared.
  • 気づく・きづく to see, to perceive, to notice, to become aware of, to be conscious of, to realize. Used with に.

I am just afraid of getting hurt and I am aware of my cowardice (my easily frightened heart).

君を好きな気持ちが
バレちゃう前に聴かせて
迷いをとかしてよ

  • ばれる “come to light”, “be discovered”, “be revealed”. Here again, the ~てしまう form contracted into ちゃう.
  • 聴かせる・きかせる is the causative form of 聴く・きく “let hear” or “let know”.
  • 迷い・まよい means “perplexity” or “indecision”, “doubts” or “delusion”. I think it can mean “indecision” or “doubts” here.
  • とかす means to dissolve

Before my feelings for you are exposed, let me hear (…), dissolve my doubts.

I think that what is meant here is: Before she exposes her feelings and reveals her heart, she wants to be sure (of the guy’s sincerity). To clear up her doubts, he should let her hear how sincere he is (this part is omitted in the lyrics). Once again, I don’t know if my interpretation is correct…

Be a man, a real man
gotta see u love me
like a real man

CHEER UP BABY
CHEER UP BABY 追いかけて
胸の扉を叩いて
今よりも もっと大胆に
気がないフリして 恋してるの
ホントは君が好きだよ
Just get it together
and then baby CHEER UP

倍書千恵子~世界の約束

This is the ending song of Howl’s moving castle. The song is sung by 倍賞千恵子・ばいしょうちえこ Baisho Chieko who is a Japanese actress and singer. She also gave her voice to Sophie in the film and interprets both young and old Sophie (two different actresses made the English version). That’s funny because it never occurred to me that the singer who sings the ending song was the actress who gave her voice to Sophie. To me, she has a very different voice when she speaks and when she sings.

Howl’s moving castle is far from being my favourite Ghibli film but it has a fantastic music. I find the ending song very sad, it leaves me with the same melancholy than the ending song of Spirited Away and From up on Poppy Hill.

涙の奥にゆらぐほほえみは
時の始めからの世界の約束

  • 涙・なみだ tears
  • 奥・おく inside, interior
  • ゆらぐ to swing, to sway
  • ほほえみ・微笑み smile (the verb is 微笑む・ほほえむ to smile)
  • 約束・やくそく promise

いまは一人でも二人の昨日から
今日は生まれきらめく
初めて会った日のように

  • 生まれ・うまれ birth (the verb “to be born” is 生まれる・うまれる)
  • きらめくto glitter, to glisten
  • Noun+のように means “like”, “similar to”

思い出のうちにあなたはいない
そよかぜとなって頬に触れてくる

  • 想い出・おもいで memories
  • うち inside
  • そよかぜ・そよかぜ gentle breeze, soft wind
  • I am not sure about “~となる” but I guess it is used together to say “to become”, instead of “~になる”.
  • 頬・ほほ cheek
  • 触れる・ふれる to touch. It is used with the grammar ~てくる which indicates a direction: the gentle breeze comes and touches the cheek.

木漏れ日の午後の別れのあとも
決して終わらない世界の約束

  • 木漏れ日・こもれび sunlight filtering through the trees.
  • 別れ・わかれ parting, separation, farewell
  • 決して・けっして never, by no means
  • 終わる・おわる to end. Here in the negative form 終わらない・おわらない

いまは一人でも明日は限りない
あなたが教えてくれた
夜にひそむやさしさ

  • 限りない・かぎりない endless, boundless, unlimited
  • 教える・おしえる means “to teach”, it is used with the grammar ~てくれる which means that the action made was made for the speaker, I don’t think that it can be translated directly into English.
  • ひそむ to be hidden, to lie dormant
  • 優しい・やさしい means “kind”, “gentle”. By replacing the ending い by さ it transforms the adjective into a noun: the kindness.

思い出のうちにあなたはいない
せせらぎの歌にこの空の色に
花の香りにいつまでも生きて

  • せせらぎ small stream
  • 香り・かおり aroma, fragrance
  • いつまでも forever, eternally
  • 生きて・いきて this grammar form is an imperative form but I wonder if it’s not better to understand it as 生きている with the grammar ~ている that describes a state.

平原綾香・いのちの名前

いのちのなまえ is the vocal version of the famous theme あの夏へ・あのなつへ from Spirited Away. Composed by Joe Hisaishi, the vocal version is sung by 平原綾香・ひらはらあやか Hirahara Ayaka. Music takes such an important place in Miyasaki’s film and Joe Hisaishi’s compositions confer to the story its emotional colours that make every film unique and so full of affecting echoes.

Lyrics:

青空に線を引く
ひこうき雲の白さは
ずっとどこまでも ずっと続いてく
明日を知っていたみたい

  • 青空・あおぞら blue sky
  • 線・せん line
  • 引く・ひく which first sense is “to pull” also means “to draw” (a line).
  • 飛行機・ひこうき here written in hiragana is “a plane”
  • 雲・くも cloud
  • 白さ・しろさ comes from the adjective 白い. By replacing the い ending by さ, the adjective is nominalized: the whiteness.
  • ずっと means “continuously for a long distance”, “throughout”, “all along”.
  • 続く・つづく means “to continue” and is here in the form “ていく”, the い being omitted: it continues and goes away.
  • 明日・あす note that she uses the other pronunciation of あした.
  • 知っていた・しっていた simply here the form “ている” which means “to be doing sth”, “to be in a state of” in the past tense.
  • みたい like, similar to, as if.

胸で浅く息をしてた
熱い頬 さました風も おぼえてる

  • 胸・むね chest, breast
  • 浅く・あさく comes from the adjective 浅い・あさい which means “shallow”. By replacing the い ending by く you change the adjective into an adverb.
  • 息をする・いきをする to breathe. Here again, the grammar ている which means “to be doing sth” in the past tense. The い is omitted, it should be: していた
  • 頬・ほお cheek
  • 冷ます・さます to cool, to let cool, to dampen. Past tense: the wind that cooled my hot cheeks.
  • 覚える・おぼえる means “to memorise” but in the form ている, it means “to be in the state of having memorised” i.e: to remember. Here again, the い is omitted. The ending “て” is just the form to say “and”, I think.

未来の前にすくむ手足は
静かな声にほどかれて
叫びたいほど なつかしいのは
ひとつのいのち
真夏の光
あなたの肩に 揺れていた木漏れ日

  • 未来・みらい the future
  • すくむ to cower, to be cramped
  • 手足・てあし hands and feet
  • ほどく means “to unfasten”, “to untie”. ほどかれる is the passive form of the verb ほどく: to be unfastened. The subject that is unfastened is “the hands and feet that were cramped, tied, bound” and they are unfastened by (に) a calm voice.
  • 叫ぶ・さけぶ means “to shout”, “to cry” and is here in the form masu-たい which means “to want to”.
  • ほど means “extend”, “to the extent”. Here it means that sth is so… that…/to the extent that…, and more precisely: it is so missed and desired that I want to cry.
  • 懐かしい・なつかしい desired, missed, it is used to express the nostalgy felt when thinking of the past.
  • ひとつ “one” when counting things
  • 命・いのち life
  • 真夏・まなつ Midsummer
  • 肩・かた shoulder
  • 揺れる・ゆれる to shake, to sway. Here again, the form ている in the past tense.
  • 木漏れ日・こもれび sunlight filtering through trees.

つぶれた白いボール
風が散らした花びら
ふたつを浮かべて 見えない川は
歌いながら流れてく

  • つぶれる to be smashed, to become useless
  • 散らす・ちらす to scatter, to disperse, to spread
  • 花びら・はなびら flower petals
  • ふたつ “two” when counting things
  • 浮かべる・うかべる to float
  • 見える・みえる to be seen, to be in sight, here in the negative form.
  • 川・かわ river
  • 歌う・うたう means “to sing” and is here in the form “masu+ながら” which means “while”, meaning that two actions are done at the same time.
  • 流れる・ながれる means “to stream”, “to flow”. The form ていく with the い omitted conveys the idea that it flows away.

秘密も嘘も喜びも
宇宙が生んだ神さまの 子供たち

  • 秘密・ひみつ secret
  • 嘘・うそ lie
  • 喜び・よろこび joy
  • 宇宙・うちゅう universe, the cosmos
  • 生む・うむ to give birth, to produce
  • 神さま・かみさま god

未来の前にすくむ心が
いつか名前を思い出す
叫びたいほど いとおしいのは
ひとつのいのち
帰りつく場所
わたしの指に 消えない夏の日

  • いつか sometime, someday, one day
  • 思い出す・おもいだす to recall, to remember
  • いとおしい sweet, precious, lovely
  • 帰り着く・かえりつく to arrive home, to return
  • 場所・ばしょ place, location
  • 指・ゆび finger
  • 消える・きえる to vanish, to disappear

いつも何度でも~木村弓

いつもなんどでも・いつもなんどでも is the ending song of Spirited Away. It is sung by 木村弓・きむらゆみ Kimura Yumi. It is certainly one of the most beautiful songs that appear in Ghibli films. The melody as much as the lyrics embody the melancholy that lingers at the end of Spirited Away, the feeling that you left the magic behind.

Lyrics:

呼んでいる 胸のどこか奥で
いつも心踊る 夢を見たい

  • 呼ぶ・よぶ to call, here in the form ~て いる, meaning “calling”
  • 胸・むね chest
  • どこか means “somewhere”
  • 奥・おく inside
  • 心躍る・こころおどる which literally means “the heart dances” means “to be excited”.
  • 夢を見る・ゆめをみる means “to dream”, literally “to see a dream”. Here it is used in the form “masu-たい” which means “to want to”.

悲しみは 数えきれないけれど
その向こうできっと あなたに会える

  • 悲しみ・かなしみ sadness, sorrow
  • 数える・かぞえる to count, to enumerate. It is used with the grammar “masu- きれない” which means “being too much or too many to finish or complete”.
  • 向こう・むこう opposite side, other side, over there, far away
  • きっと almost certainly
  • 会う・あう means “to meet” and 会える is the potential form meaning “being able to meet”.

繰り返すあやまちの そのたびひとは
ただ青い空の 青さを知る
果てしなく 道は続いて見えるけれど
この両手は 光を抱ける

  • 繰り返す・くりかえす to repeat, to do something over again
  • あやまち fault, error, faux pas
  • そのたび each time
  • ただ only, merely, just, simply
  • 青さ・あおさ the -さ ending is used to nominalize the adjective 青い.
  • 果てしなく・はてしなく eternally, interminably
  • 続いて・つずいて comes from the verb 続く・つずく to continue. I think it means that the road looks like it continues eternally.
  • 両手・りょうて both hands
  • 抱ける・だける is the potential form of 抱く・だく to embrace, to hold in the arms.

さよならのときの 静かな胸
ゼロになるからだが 耳をすませる

  • 静かな・しずかな quiet, calm
  • からだ means “body” but I wonder if it could not be understood as “soul” here.
  • 耳をすます・みみをすます to listen carefully. Here again, we have the potential form “すませる” of the verb “すます”

生きている不思議 死んでいく不思議
花も風も街も みんなおなじ

  • 生きている・いきている is the form “ている” which means “to be doing something” or describes a state.
  • 死んでいく・しんでいく uses the grammar “ていく” which is hard to explain but includes some kind of movement away from the speaker. Like “dying away”?
  • 不思議・ふしぎ can mean “wonder”, “miracle”, “mystery”.
  • 街・まち can mean “town” and “street”
  • おなじ means “same”, “identical” and is usually written 同じ・おなじ

ラララララララララ・・・・・・・・・
ホホホホルルルル・・・・・・・・

呼んでいる 胸のどこか奥で
いつも何度でも 夢を描こう

  • 何度でも・なんどでも means “several times”, “again and again”
  • 描く・かく to draw. The ending おう means “let’s…”

悲しみの数を 言い尽くすより
同じくちびるで そっとうたおう

  • 数・かず number, amount
  • 言い尽くす・いいつくす to tell all, to give a full account
  • より here it means “instead of”
  • くちびる lips, the kanji is 唇
  • そっと softly, gently, quietly
  • うたおう here again, the おう ending of the verb 歌う・うたう to sing, express the will to do something, the act of willing, and can be translated as “let’s…”

閉じていく思い出の そのなかにいつも
忘れたくない ささやきを聞く
こなごなに砕かれた 鏡の上にも
新しい景色が 映される

  • 閉じる・とじる to close. Here again, we find the grammar ていく. I must admit that the meaning is hard to grasp, at least to me. Maybe, if memories (想い出・おもいで) are closed, they get away from me, they tend to fly away?
  • 想い出・おもいで memories
  • 忘れる・わすれる to forget. It is here in the form 忘れたい which means “to want to” (masu- たい) but in the negative form. The negative form of this grammar is the same as an i- adjective. Just drop the “i” and add くない for casual form. 忘れたいくない means “don’t want to forget”.
  • ささやき means “whisper”, “murmur”.

It confirms, I think, the idea that the memories are “closing away”, fading away because they are closed, meaning that they are past memories that nothing reactivate, that don’t come to life anymore. But inside those fading away memories, there is this whisper the singer hears and don’t want to forget.

Maybe I am giving too much meaning to the grammar ていく, maybe it does convey the idea of moving away from the narrator…

  • こなごな砕く・こなこなにくだく “to smash to pieces”. “こなごな means “in very small pieces” and 砕く・くだく “to break”, “to smash”. Here, the verb 砕く・くだく is in the passive form: 砕かれる・くだかれる: to be smashed (to pieces), in the past tense.
  • 鏡・かがみ mirror
  • 景色・けしき scenery
  • 映す・うつす to project, to reflect. Here again, it is the passive form 映される・うつされる that we have: to be reflected.

はじまりの朝の 静かな窓
ゼロになるからだ 充たされてゆけ

  • はじまり beginning, origin
  • 朝・あさ morning
  • 窓・まど window
  • 充たす・みたす means “to fill”. Here again, the passive form: 充たされる・みたされる “to be filled”. As for the ending “てゆけ”, I am not sure, but my guess is that we have the grammar “ていく” once again, but the “い” is pronounced “ゆ”. The ending in “え” is certainly the imperative form. So, we would have something like “be filled (again) and go away”, meaning that her empty body (that became “zero”) will be filled again and go on living, go on with life. (?)

海の彼方には もう探さない
輝くものは いつもここに
わたしのなかに 見つけられたから

  • 彼方・かなた beyond, across, the other side
  • もう used with a negative verb means “not anymore”
  • 探す・さがす to search, to look for. In the negative form.
  • 輝く・かがやくto shine, to glitter, to sparkle
  • 見付ける・みつける to discover, to find. Here in the passive form 見つけられる・みつけられる “to be discovered”.

ひょっこりひょうたん島

ひょっこりひょうたん島~じま is a television program for kids broadcasted by NHK every evening from 1964 to 1969. In the film Only Yesterday, we can see the protagonist watching this TV show at home. Later, she starts singing in the street the TV program’s song that she knows well. She puts her frustration in this performance after having suffered an injustice and I really like this scene as much as I like this song, even if it’s a song for children 😁

 

波を ちゃぷちゃぷ
ちゃぷちゃぷ かきわけて
(ちゃぷ ちゃぷ ちゃぷ)

  • 波・なみ wave
  • ちゃぷちゃぷ splish-splash
  • かきわける to push one’s way through

雲を すいすい
すいすい 追い抜いて
(すい すい すい)

  • 雲・くも cloud
  • すいすい smoothly, unhindered
  • 追い抜く・おいぬく to pass

ひょうたん島は どこへ行く
ぼくらを乗せて どこへ行く
ウーー ウーー

  • ひょうたん島・ひょうたんじま is the name of the island where the character of the program evolves
  • ぼくら means “we”, used by men.
  • 乗せる・のせる to pick up, to help on board, to take on board
  • 行く is pronounced ゆく as in most songs.

丸い地球の 水平線に
何かがきっと 待っている

  • 丸い・まるい round, circular
  • 地球・ちきゅう the earth, the globe
  • 水平線・すいへいせん Horizon
  • きっと surely, undoubtedly, almost certainly
  • 待つ・まつ to wait

苦しいことも あるだろさ
悲しいことも あるだろさ

  • 苦しい・くるしい painful, difficult
  • ~だろさ expresses the probability, possibility that something occurs. “There is/will be probably painful moments…” This grammar is usually written “だろう”
  • 悲しい・かなしい sad

だけど ぼくらは くじけない
泣くのはいやだ 笑っちゃおう
進め

  • だけど but, however
  • くじける to be crushed, to be broken
  • 泣く・なく to cry
  • いやだ means “detestable” and is used to say that you hate doing something
  • 笑う・わらう to laugh. It is used with the grammar ~てしまう:わらってしまう which is contracted into わらっちゃう and means “doing something completely”. The ending is “おう” which means “let’s do…”. The formal way of writing this verb would be: 笑ってしまおう but the contraction form is 笑っちゃおう.
  • 進める・すすめる means “to advance” and is used here in the imperative form.

ひょっこりひょうたん島
ひょっこりひょうたん島
ひょっこりひょうたん島

 

関連画像

ひょっこりひょうたん島

 

手嶌葵~さよならの夏

This is the theme song and ending song of From up on Poppy hill. The name of the song, さよならの夏・さよならのなつ means Summer of goodbye and it is sang by 手嶌葵・てしまあおい Teshima Aoi.

Appearing at the end of the film, this song conveys a touch of sadness, echoing with some aspects of the film. It also shows how well the Ghibli films depict the complexity of emotions, when happiness and sadness sometimes coexist and melancholy is often inexplicable.

It’s not only a beautiful melody with a beautiful voice, the lyrics are also very beautiful. I found this live version and found it even more touching than the original version of the film:

光る海に かすむ船は
さよならの汽笛 のこします
ゆるい坂を おりてゆけば
夏色の風に あえるかしら

  • かすむ・霞む to grow hazy, to be misty, to get blurry
  • 汽笛・きてき steam whistle
  • ゆるい gentle (for a curve, a slope)
  • 坂・さか slope, hill
  • おりる・おりる means to descend (a mountain), to go down. Here we have おりてゆけば which is the form: 降りていく (the grammar ~ていくgiving direction) + the ~ば grammar, meaning “if”. In songs, the pronunciation ゆく for the verb 行く is often preferred than the usual pronunciation いく.
  • あえる is the potential form of 合う・あう “be able to meet”
  • かしら means “I wonder if…” She wonders whether she will be able to meet the spring-coloured wind, or the wind of the colour of summer.

わたしの愛 それはメロディー
たかく ひくく 歌うの
わたしの愛 それはカモメ
たかく ひくく 飛ぶの
夕陽のなか 呼んでみたら
やさしいあなたに 逢えるかしら

  • たかく and ひくく are both the adverbial form of the adjectives 高い・たかい and 低い・ひくい meaning “singing high and low”
  • かもめ is a seagull
  • 夕陽・ゆうひ it can also be written 夕日. It means, “evening sun”, “setting sun”.
  • 呼んでみたら is the form ~てみる (meaning “try to do”) attached to the verb 呼ぶ・よぶ to call + the grammar ~たら meaning “if”.
  • 逢う・あう means “to meet”. It is another way of writing 合う・あう

だれかが弾く ピアノの音
海鳴りみたいに きこえます
おそい午後を 行き交うひと
夏色の夢を はこぶかしら

  • 誰か means “someone”.
  • 海鳴り・うみなり rumbling of the sea.
  • みたい is a grammar point that means “to look like”, “to be similar to”
  • 聞こえる・きこえる means “to be heard”
  • 行き交う・いきかう to come and go. Here again, she pronounces “ゆく” instead of “いく”
  • はこぶ・運ぶ to carry

わたしの愛 それはダイアリー
日々のページ つづるの
わたしの愛 それは小舟
空の海をゆくの
夕陽のなか 降り返れば
あなたはわたしを 探すかしら

  • つづる to compose, to frame, to write, to bind together (pages)
  • 小舟・こぶね small boat

散歩道に ゆれる木々は
さよならの影を おとします
古いチャペル 風見の鶏(とり)
夏色の街は みえるかしら
きのうの愛 それは涙
やがて かわき 消えるの

  • ゆれる to shake, to sway
  • おとす・落とす to drop, to lose, to let fall.
  • 風見・かざみ weather vane
  • とり is usually written 鳥 while 鶏 is usually pronounced にわとり and means “domestic chicken”. Here , it describes the shape of the weather vane.
  • やがて can have several meanings, but I guess that here it means “eventually”, “finally”, “in the end”.
  • かわく means “to get dry”. So, tears eventually get dry and disappear.

あしたの愛 それはルフラン
おわりのない言葉
夕陽のなか めぐり逢えば
あなたはわたしを 抱くかしら

  • ルフラン is “refrain”, from French.
  • 巡り合う・めぐりあう which is written: めぐり逢う means “to meet fortuitously”, “to meet by chance”
  • 抱く・だく to embrace, to hold in one’s arms.

都はるみ ~愛は花、君はその種子

The song “愛は花、君はその種子” sung by 都はるみ・みやこはるみ appears at the end of the Ghibli film “Only Yesterday”, directed by Isao Takahata. It is a Japanese cover of “The Rose” by Amanda McBroom.

I don’t know if I would have loved that song so much, hadn’t I seen the film. It’s only the ending film song but it accompanies a very moving scene that retrospectively gives a new dimension to the whole film. The emotion conveyed in this last scene only proves the great quality of Ghibli films that make them so different from any other anime films, in my opinion.

It is very hard, if not impossible, to find the original version (I mean, the version of the film) on YouTube. I have to link to a cover then… If you haven’t seen “Only Yesterday”, I hope you will have a chance to watch it and listen to the ending song!

Lyrics:

やさしさを 押し流す
愛 それは川
魂を 切り裂く
愛 それはナイフ
とめどない 渇きが
愛だと いうけれど
愛は花 生命の花
君は その種子
  • やさしい means “tender”, “kind”. the “さ” ending nominalize it to “tenderness”
  • 押し流す・おしながす to wash away
  • 魂・たましい soul, spirit
  • 切り裂く・きりさく to cut off, to cut up, to tear to pieces
  • とめどない endless, ceaseless
  • 渇き・かわき thirst
  • 生命・いのち life. It is usually written 命・いのち
  • 種子・たね seed. Again, I think it is usually written 種・たね
挫けるのを 恐れて
躍らない きみのこころ
醒めるのを 恐れて
チャンス逃す きみの夢
奪われるのが 嫌さに
与えない こころ
死ぬのを 恐れて
生きることが 出来ない
  • 挫ける・くじける to be crushed, to be broken
  • 恐れる・おそれる to fear, to be afraid of
  • 躍る・おどる to pound (one’s heart)
  • 醒める・さめる to wake
  • 逃す・のがす to miss (an occasion)
  • 奪われる・うばわれる is the passive form of 奪う・うばう to snatch away, to dispossess, to steal
  • 与える・あたえる to give
長い夜 ただひとり
遠い道 ただひとり
愛なんて 来やしない
そう おもうときには
思い出してごらん 冬
雪に 埋もれていても
種子は春 おひさまの
愛で 花ひらく
  • 来やしない・きやしない ”やしない” is an emphatic negative form used after -masu stem
  • ~てごらん ”ごらん” is used after -te form of a verb to say “please, try to…”
  • 埋もれる・うもれる to be buried, to be covered, hidden
  • おひさま the sun
  • ひらく to spread out, to open up (for a flower)

The translation is very close to the original English one… I tend to like this version better but I am sure that I am influenced by the film which is one of my favourite Ghibli films.

つじあやの~かぜになる

This is the song 風になる from the singer つじあやの. It’s the song from the Ghibli film The cat returns. 

The lyrics:

忘れていた目を閉じて 取り戻せ 恋のうた
青空に隠れている 手を伸ばしてもう一度

  • 取り戻す・とりもどす to take back, to regain, to get back, to recover
  • 青空・あおそら blue sky
  • 隠れる・かくれる to be hidden
  • 伸ばす・のばす to reach out, to straighten

忘れないで すぐそばに僕がいる いつの日も
星空を眺めている 一人きりの夜明けも

  • 星空・ほしぞら starry sky
  • 眺める・ながめる to view, to gaze at
  • 夜明け・よあけ dawn, daybreak (note the pronunciation)

たった一つの心 悲しみに暮れないで
君のためいきなんて 春風に変えてやる

  • たった only, merely, no more than
  • 暮れる・くれる to be sunk (in despair), to be lost
  • なんて such a thing as, things like
  • 春風・はるかぜ spring breeze

陽のあたる坂道を 自転車で駆け上る
君と失くした想い出乗せて行くよ

  • 陽・ひ sun, sunshine, sunlight
  • 坂道・さかみち hill road
  • 駆け上る・かけのぼる to run up (hill, stairs)
  • 失くす・なくす to lose something
  • 乗せる・のせる to give … a ride, to give a lift, to place on

ラララララ 口ずさむ くちびるを染めて行く
君と見つけた幸せ 花のように

  • 口ずさむ・くちずさむ to hum, to sing to oneself
  • くちびる lips, the kanji is 唇
  • 染める・そめる to dye, to colour
  • 幸せ・しあわせ happiness

忘れていた窓開けて 走り出せ恋のうた
青空に託している 手をかざしてもう一度

  • 走り出す・はしりだす to begin to run, to start running
  • 託す・たくす to entrust
  • かざす to hold ons’s hands out

忘れないよ すぐそばに君がいる いつの日も
星空に輝いてる 涙揺れる明日も

  • 輝く・かがやく to shine, to glitter, to sparkle
  • 揺れる・ゆれる to shake, to sway

たった一つの言葉 この胸に抱きしめて
君のため僕は今 春風に吹かれてる

  • 胸・むね chest
  • 抱きしめる・だきしめる to hold someone close, tight, to embrace closely

陽のあたる坂道を 自転車で駆け上る
君と誓った約束乗せて行くよ

  • 誓う・ちかう to swear, to vow

ラララララ 口ずさむ くちびるを染めて行く
君と出会えた幸せ 祈るように

  • 出会う・であう to meet by chance, to run across, to encounter
  • 祈る・いのる to pray

陽のあたる坂道を 自転車で駆け上る
君と誓った約束乗せて行くよ

ラララララ 口ずさむ くちびるを染めて行く
君と出会えた幸せ 祈るように

君と出会えた幸せ 祈るように