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Welcome!

Here are my translations of the songs by the band BUMP OF CHICKEN, from Japanese to English. I hope this lets more people appreciate the beautiful lyrics of BUMP!

Links to each song can be found in "Albums" and "Singles."

BUMP's official website is http://www.bumpofchicken.com/!

Feel free to contact me at lebarrow@earthlink.net!

Monday, March 17, 2014

(Please) Forgive English Lyrics Translation

ENGLISH

(Please) Forgive

The airplane you ride
Takes you where you want to go
Please, don't let it shake too badly
Please let it arrive safely

Lately, I haven't been doing too well
But that's normal and I'm not unhappy
I don't try to change my life
I don't mix up reality and comic books

How long will things keep going like this?
Will there be an end?
My head is always spinning
And my heart is always
Even now

Incessantly screaming
Screaming at me
Even if I block my ears
I can still hear it, ah
I'm just so scared
To lose my freedon
To know what it was
That I was protecting

I chose this on my own
But I wan't to believe that I didn't choose it
I can't take a single step
I'm even suspicious of where this place is

The airplane you ride
Takes you to a place I can't go
At least, please don't let the sky cry
Please let it be kind and clear

How far will my deceptions stretch?
Who do I want forgiveness from?
I'm sure my head is lying to me
And I'm sure my heart is
Always more and more

Gazing into the distance
Gazing at the nearby surroundings
I see it
On the back of my eyelids, ah

I still want it
These days battle against my freedom
But I will persistantly keep drawing it
Again and again

I don't seek it
I don't mix them
I don't want it
I don't expect to

Because I am alive
If I am alive

We are so free that it's cruel
We can't run away from the truth
Your shaking hands and legs
Must decide everything
My heart is incessantly screaming
And watching you
Always, my heart goes on
You chose this

The airplane you ride
Takes you where I want to go
The airplane you ride
Takes you where I want to go


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JAPANESE

(Please) Forgive

あなたを乗せた飛行機が
あなたの行きたい場所まで
どうかあまり揺れないで
無事に着きますように

最近は別に元気じゃない
それが平常で不満もない
生活に変化は求めない
現実とマンガは重ねない

いつまで続けるの
終わりがあるものなの
頭はずっと忙しく
心はずっと
もうずっと

絶え間無く叫んで
私を叫んで
たとえ耳を塞いでも
聴こえてしまうんだ、ああ
ただ怖いだけなんだ
不自由じゃなくなるのが
守られていた事を
思い知らされるのが

自分で選んできたのに
選ばされたと思いたい
一歩も動いちゃいないのに
ここがどこかさえ怪しい

あなたを乗せた飛行機が
私の行けない場所まで
せめて空は泣かないで
優しく晴れますように

どこまでごまかすの
誰に許されたいの
頭はきっと嘘をつく
心はきっと
もっとずっと

遠くを見ていて
近くに見ていて
閉じた瞼の裏側に
映してしまうんだ、ああ

まだ憧れちゃうんだ
自由と戦う日々を
性懲りもなく何度も
描いてしまうんだ

求めない
重ねない
望まない
筈がない

生きているから
生きているなら

残酷な程自由だ
逃げようのない事実なんだ
震える手でその足で
全てを決めるんだ
絶え間無く叫んで
あなたを見ていて
それを続けた心で
あなたは選んだんだ

あなたを乗せた飛行機が
私の行きたい場所まで
あなたを乗せた飛行機が
私の行きたい場所まで


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OPINION

What does this song mean? I'm really not entirely sure. It seems to me like a friend watching a friend move on in life. He wants to move forward too, and only wishes good for his friend, but he can't go. There are just so many possibilities that he is scared. Where do you go? Will you ever be able to decide? It ends wistfully. It could be worth pointing out that in Japan there is often a sort of cultural attachment to airplanes of nostalgia and finality. Or at least I've observed that a lot. It might have something to due with Japan being an island nation, and once you've crossed the sea you're a world away. They can be a symbol of excitement and exploration, but I think airplanes are an international symbol of separation in any country. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the song for its beauty. I really like it and I'd love to hear other's interpretations and impressions too. :)

Japanese lyrics from: http://mojim.com/twy104445x35x13.htm


10 comments:

  1. thanks for translating this! i really really love this song :"D eventhough i dont really get the meaning but at least i know this song must have such a deep meaning :)

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  2. I'm glad you like it! It's my favorite song on the album. :)

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  3. I translated this song too a while ago. It's not a perfect translation whatsoever (haven't got myself to reedit it), but please do check it if you want to know my interpretation. I got the lyrics from the album's booklet.
    https://m.facebook.com/notes/respati-maulina-hidayati/bump-of-chicken-please-forgive/10152273775668903/?ref=bookmark

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    Replies
    1. Hmm the link doesn't seem to work... But it's really awesome other people are translating BUMP songs too!! :D

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    2. Oh, I'm sorry. I set its privacy setting to be accessible only by my Facebook friends. >_<
      I've changed the privacy setting now. You can access it from here: https://www.facebook.com/notes/respati-maulina-hidayati/bump-of-chicken-please-forgive/10152273775668903

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    3. Thanks! I enjoyed your translation. I think in that whole song, the most difficult bit is the line 現実とマンガは重ねない... I like the way you put it! :D

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  4. Yep, definitely the best song of the album. So simple and yet so addictive.... I don't get the relation between the title and the lyrics though :/

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    Replies
    1. Yeah it is one of my favorite BUMP songs ever!! Hmmm as for the meaning of the title... Would you like to hear my interpretation? I think the the title's words are directed at the friend of the speaker. He wants to be forgiven for something, maybe for being jealous or for not being as good a friend as he could have been? I don't quite understand it either but the feelings the words evoke seem to work together using that theory. :)

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  5. Hello, thank you for your translation! It's honestly my favourite song of the album ^^ How I perceive it, this song is about unrequited love. The singer likes someone, but the person the singer loves, loves someone else and the singer lets go the one he loves as he thinks that loving this person doesn't require them to be together, as long as his feelings still exist in his heart. But the "screaming" about how he should just move on to someone else keeps him from "protecting" his feelings for that person. But the last line, "The airplane you ride takes when I want to go" in my opinion is his final decision that he will still stick to his initial feelings and keep loving that person. That's just my theory, though, so feel free if you want to point out any oddities ^^

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    Replies
    1. I like your interpretation, that is really interesting! One reason song is so great I think is that it could be interpreted in so many different ways. It's a bit unclear what it's about, so that's what makes it have widespread appeal to different people. :) What a fantastic song, definitely one of my all-time favorites.

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