test

HTML Map

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!

Friday, December 28, 2012

Tokyo Eulogy / 東京讃歌 English Lyrics Translation


ENGLISH


Tokyo Eulogy

This city's got the sky and the land
Somehow it's different
From the town I was raised in
But why am I saying this?
Since coming here I've learned how different it is

There are so many lies
I am cold
I can't see the stars
It's a storm of grievances
It's retaliation for all my difficulties
But this place can take anything I dish out

What did I come here to do?
Who's sake was it for?
The highway and the railroad
Are joined, but
Even still

It was my choice to leave
It was my choice to struggle here
This city is all I know
Open the drawer
Of forgotten dreams

Back then, we were always together
With those people
That we hated and loved
I realized after coming here
That I've come to remember them fondly

No matter where you go
You are the same person
The people you leave behind
And the self you leave behind
Keep on living

This place was your choice
You chose to hate it on your own
This city is all I have
I can't go back
To the place where you are

There will be a lot of lies anywhere you go
Even if you can see the stars
You'll get bored of them anyhow
And we disagreed for similar reasons
Because few people even come here

What did I come here to do?
Who decided it?
The land and the sky
Are joined
As are the future and the past

It was my choice to leave
It was my choice to struggle here
This city is all I have
I can't go back
To the place where you are
This town is all I know
How can I return
To the town where was raised?


----------------------------------------------------------------------------


JAPANESE


東京賛歌

空と地面がある街だよ
育った街と
どう違うだろう
違いが言えるのはどうしてだろう
ここへ来てから教わったんだよ

嘘が多いとか
冷たいとか
星が見えないとか
苦情の嵐
上手くいかない事の腹いせだろう
ここは幾つも受け止めてきた

何をしに来たんだっけ
誰のためなんだっけ
道路も線路も
繋がってるけど
そりゃそうだけど

勝手に飛び出して
勝手に辿り着いた
この街だけが知ってるよ
忘れた夢の
引き出しを

あの頃いつも側に居た
嫌いな好きな
その人達を
今ほど大切に思えてましたか
ここへ来てから気が付いたんだよ

人はどこに居ても
その人のままだよ
離れた誰かも
離れた自分も
生きてるんだよ

勝手に選ばれて
勝手に嫌われた
この街だけが持ってるよ
帰れない君の
いる場所を

嘘が多いのはどこでもだろう
星が見えたって
どうせ飽きるだろう
すれ違う中には似た理由で
ここへ来た人も少ないだろう

何をに来たんだっけ
誰が決めたんだっけ
地面も空も
繋がってるんだよ
未来と過去も

勝手に飛び出して
勝手に辿り着いた
この街だけが知ってるよ
取り返した夢の
その続きを

勝手に選ばれて
勝手に嫌われた
この街だけが持ってるよ
帰れない君の
いる場所を
この街だけが知ってるよ
育った街への
帰り方を


----------------------------------------------------------------------------


OPINION

This song ranks #1 out of all of BUMP OF CHICKEN's songs for making me feel happy! It's very much a travel song, doesn't it make you feel like you're going somewhere? One thing to put a translation note on, though, is the very end of the song. Japanese often leaves out verbs and implies them, but the implication at the end is left up to interpretation, probably on purpose. I think it works well to translate it as a question, "How can I return to the town where was raised?" 

No comments:

Post a Comment