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!

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.

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～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

ひょっこりひょうたん島

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.

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・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

• 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.