Hi, after a while I decided to translate another Japanese song into English. I guess this makes it the fourth song, huh? o.O (For other song reviews/translations, read here!)
Well, I love this song because it’s the ost of one of my favorite winter dramas. The title is 天国と地獄 ～サイコな2人～/Tengoku to Jigoku: Psycho na futari/Heaven and Hell: Two psychos. It’s such a great drama, and I really appreciate Takahashi Issey’s acting here. He’s amazing! Well, the story is about two people that switched bodies. Ok, you might think it’s common, but what makes it super interesting is, one is a police officer and the other is the suspect of a serial murder. Can you imagine the tension yet? I mean, from the police pov, imagine becoming someone that is suspected of murders and that you must actually arrest? Will you turn yourself in? Or will you find a way to prove your innocence? And from the suspect view, imagine being suspected of murder and suddenly becoming a police officer? Will you arrest yourself (the police officer in your body)? Or will you get rid of the evidence so that you are no longer a suspect? It’s really interesting. Not to mention the mysteries surrounding the body-switch and other characters that are involved. Well, even though it’s a “suspense” drama, there are some funny scenes too. If you love this kind of theme for a drama, I’ll highly recommend you to watch it. It’s not boring at all. And since I watched this when it was still ongoing, I always looked forward to the next episodes. I really love it 🙂
So, well, that’s why I decided to translate the song. Well, let’s just say that I’m not quite satisfied with the English translation I found and so I decided to translate it myself while honing my Japanese skills 😉 But, ugh, I get that it’s not easy to translate Japanese songs into English. There are at least two reasons why it’s not easy. First, translating a song into any language is never easy. It’s because we really have to match the lines with the rhythms and the melody sometimes, and we have to do so while maintaining the meaning and making sure that they make sense. Well, it’s not easy. That’s why I kinda combine some lyrics and put them in one line so that I can translate them into a full sentence that makes sense. It’s because if I translate it per line or per phrase or per clause, it will sound a bit weird. LoL Also, both English and Japanese are not my first languages, so excuse me. But hey, I tried my best ^^ The second reason why translating especially from Japanese is not easy is that Japanese often omits the subject in their sentences. Hence, it really leaves a lot of room for interpretation. For example, for the same sentence, one might use “I” as the subject, and others might use “We” or “You” depending on how they understand or interpret it.
Well, for this song, I tried to translate based on my understanding of the whole song. The way I understand it, this song tells about “losing and missing someone”. It can be because of a break-up, or because the other person died. Well, my guess it’s because the other person passed away. Partly from the drama and the music video and especially from the fact that the mail is still sent to the same address where they used to live together. I mean, if they broke up and the other person moved out, their mail will be sent to their new address, right? But that’s not the case in this song. So, in brief, the two lived together, one of them died, and so they’re left alone. And the room felt different after they’re gone. And the place reminded them of the time when they were still together including all the memories they had together. They missed them so much it made them sad as the place now became gloomy without the person they loved. They wonder if they’d meet someone (again) someday. Well, yeah, I know, it’s a very sad song 🙁
But anyway, without further ado, here are the lyrics in kanji, romaji, and the English translation 🙂
手嶌葵「ただいま」
Teshima Aoi「Tadaima」
あなた宛ての郵便がまだぽつりぽつりと届きます
anata-ate no yūbin ga mada potsuripotsuri to todokimasu
The mail that is addressed to you will still arrive one by one,
ドアを開けて点けた明かりが今日もこの胸を暗くする
doa wo akete tsuketa akari ga kyō mo kono mune wo kuraku suru
The light that turned on when I open the door will make my heart gloomy today too
別れ話は冗談だと言って
wakarebanashi wa jōdanda to itte
Saying that the talk about breaking up is just a joke,
ふざけた顔で驚かせて お願い
fuzaketa kao de odoroka sete onegai
Making me surprised with a playful look. Please.
「ただいま」とつぶやいた
`tadaima’ to tsubuyaita
I muttered “I’m home”,
同じ景色にあなただけがいない
onaji keshiki ni anata dake ga inai
In this same view, only you aren’t here.
愛していると素直になれば
aishite iruto sunao ni nareba
If we are honest when we love,
想いはすべて伝うでしょうか
omoi wa subete tsutaudeshou ka
Will all of our feelings get conveyed?
頬をしずかに流れた星に
hoho wo shizuka ni nagareta hoshi ni
In the stars that flowed silently through my face,
祈る願いは叶うでしょうか
inoru negai wa kanaudeshou ka
Will the wish that I pray for come true?
去年一緒に旅行に行った
kyonen issho ni ryokō ni itta
We went on a trip together last year.
長い休みがまた来ます
nagai yasumi ga mata kimasu
A long vacation will come again.
「次は君の生まれた町が見たい」と
`tsugi wa kimi no umareta machi ga mitai’ to
“Next, I want to see the town where you were born,”
約束してたのに
yakusoku siteta no ni
Even though we’ve made that promise…
散らかす人のいなくなった部屋は
chirakasu hito no inaku natta heya wa
The room where someone who makes a mess is no longer around
悲しいくらい綺麗に片付いたまま
kanashiī kurai kirei ni katadzuita mama
It remains cleanly tidy, sad and gloomy.
散らかった思い出は仕舞い切れずに胸をあふれてくる
chirakatta omoide wa shimai kirezu ni mune wo afurete kuru
My messy memories keep flooding my heart without stopping and breaking.
ひとりで生きていけるそぶりが上手くなるのが嫌になります
hitori de ikiteikeru-so-buri ga umaku naru no ga iya ni narimasu
I come to dislike the fact that the way I can keep living alone is going well.
誰も知らない弱い私はいつか誰かに出会うでしょうか
daremo shiranai yowai watashi wa itsuka dareka ni deaudeshou ka
Will the weak me that nobody knows meet someone someday?
忘れ物の腕時計がこの手の中で
wasuremono no udedokei ga kono-te no naka de
The lost watch inside this hand
ああ もう戻らない時間を無情に刻む
ā mō modoranai jikan wo mujō ni kizamu
Well, it mercilessly reminds me of the time that will never return.
愛していると素直になれば
aishite iruto sunao ni nareba
If we are honest when we love,
想いはすべて伝うでしょうか
omoi wa subete tsutaudeshou ka
Will all of our feelings get conveyed?
頬をしずかに流れた星に
hoho wo shizuka ni nagareta hoshi ni
In the stars that flowed silently through my face,
祈る願いは叶うでしょうか
inoru negai wa kanaudeshou ka
Will the wish that I pray for come true?
あなたの声の「おかえり」がまだ目を閉じれば聞こえてくる
anata no koe no `okaeri’ ga mada me wo tojireba kikoete kuru
I can still hear your voice saying “Welcome back home” when I close my eyes.
I haven’t got the time to sing and post this song, but maybe it’s better that way so that people don’t have to see me ruining the song. Haha But, well, I made the lyrics video here if you want to watch it 🙂
