Sharin No Uta : English Translation : Bump of Chicken

Sharin No Uta : The Wheel Song

The rusty wheels make a shriek
Carrying our bodies to the station at dawn

As I peddle
The thing you transmit as you lean against my back
Is definite warmth

Up the hill along the train tracks
“A little more, just a bit further”
From behind your voice sounds like you’re having fun

The town is way too quiet
“It’s like we’re the only people in the world” you grumble softly
At the moment we reached the top of the hill
We were at a loss for words
The sunrise that welcomed us was way too beautiful

Then I think you laughed behind me
I couldn’t look back because I was crying

I don’t really know the town
The most expensive ticket on
First end of the ticket machine goes to

The cheapest of all, the platform ticket
Even though I’d use it immediately
I carefully put it away

The big bag you bought
The day before yesterday
Caught on the wicket and,
Unable to pass through, you looked at me

I nodded without meeting your eyes
And my hand freed the bag’s stubbornly caught cord

The resounding bell announces the end
The door opens only for you
Having stepped forward,
One step with more distance than many thousands, you say

"I promise! We’ll definitely meet again some day!"
Unable to answer, with my eyes cast down, I waved my hand

You... You weren't wrong that time...

Down the hill along the train tracks,I fly
Faster than the wind
I catch up with you and
The rusty wheel shrieks
With all my might, I line up with the train but
It slowly gets further away

You were crying, weren’t you
On the other side of the door
Even though I didn’t see your face,
I knew because your voice was shaking

I promise. We’ll definitely meet again someday
As you got further away,
I made a big wave with my hand so that you could see

The town was bustling but
“It’s like I’m the only person in the world” I grumbled softly

The rusty wheels shriek
Left behind, I’m carried along
A faint warmth

Supernova : English Translation : Bump of Chicken

Supernova: Bump of Chicken
Translation by Melissa Chasse ©

When I get a fever I realize
That I have a body
When my nose gets stuffy I realize
That I’ve been breathing all this time

You’re existence
I make sure of it so many times but
You know how truly precious someone is
Once they’re gone

When I refused your outstretched hand
There might have been a big earthquake
When I protected your outstretched hand
The one I wanted to protect may have been myself

You’re existence
I always held on to it so tightly but
I’m really afraid so
I just can’t let go

La la la…

Talking to people I realize
There’s nothing I want to say
When I try to put the words together
I understand I’m full of feelings I want to express

Your existence
I can keep talking about it like this but
true gratitude
Can’t be expressed by a mere “thank you”

La la la…

In our clock (In the time we have)
We want
to grasp just one truth
and pass it on…

When I try to count the years, I realize
However slight, I had a history
At almost the same time I understand
An end will come to that, too

I can remember you whenever I want but
What I really want is
Not memories, it’s the present

It's after I forget you that I remember
I had a history with you
It's after I loose you that I discover
I met you by chance

A person’s existence
In this world is worthless, but
Somebody’s world
Can be built on it

Your existence
I confirm it so many times, but
Your true existence is that
Even when you’re gone, you’re here

Our clock doesn’t stop
It’s moving

La la la…

Snow Smile : スノースマイル: English Translation : Bump of Chicken

Another one of my favorites!

Snow Smile by Bump of Chicken

It’s a really good thing winter is cold
Because there's no better reason
To invite your chilly left hand
Into my right pocket

“I wish it would snow!” you say with a pout
Well, if it doesn’t go the way you like
Don’t kick away the fallen leaves
We can still fall down in them
Why do you look like you’re having so much fun
Even though you’re angry?

In the still beautiful, untouched carpet of snow
Together we carve parallel lines of footprints
Even if this dream story never comes true
Smiles will overflow
This snowless road

There’s a little trick to our walking together
Your stride is so small
I look at the scenery as long as I can
Looking back at the scenery of you

Into the still dry curtain of the sky
Together we chime an orchestra of footsteps
Look! Before this dream story comes true
You will smile for me
I know it

Snow Smile

In the still beautiful, untouched carpet of snow
Together we carve parallel lines of footprints
Yes, even if you don't wish for this dream story
You taught me to smile
On the path that I take

I’m so happy we met
The same season has come around again
In my right pocket, the memory I put away
Just as I thought, I put it away and walk
On a path without you

"Tokyo Sanka" English Translation: 東京賛歌 : Bump of Chicken

In celebration of the recent release of Bump of Chicken's newest album, Oribital Period (chock full of good tunes like Namida no Furusato, Planetarium, Supernova, and Hana no Na.), I humbly present my very own translation of the Tokyo Sanka lyrics. If you haven't heard it yet, check out this video (orginally posted by Abbey) with some very Tokyo-core images to set the mood. (Still waiting with bated breath for the new video...)



Bump of Chicken = Best Japanese band. EVER.

*****

Tokyo Hymn (Tokyo Sanka)

It's a town with sky and earth
How is it different from the town where you grew up, I wonder?
Why can you tell the difference, I wonder?
I guess you've been taught since you came here

Things like all the lies, the cold, not being able to see the stars,
A storm of troubles
It's the revenge of things not going well, I guess
You started and quit so many here

What was it that you came here to do?
For whose sake was it?
Roads and railroad tracks are connected but... that's so but...
Jump out as you please, struggle along as you please
This town is all that you know
The drawer of your abandoned dream

Back then they were always nearby
The people you hate and like
Nowadays, do you care?
I guess you realized since you came here

No matter where a person goes
They are same as always

Separated from somebody and separated from yourself
You're alive!

Chosen as you please, hated as you please,
This town is all you have
The place where you, who can't go home, are

There are lots of lies everywhere, don't you think?
After all, when you can see the stars, you lose interest, right?
Among all the people passing one another by,
I think there are more than a few who came here
For similar reasons

What was it that you came here for?
Who was it that decided?
The earth and the sky are connected
The future and the past,too

You jumped out as you pleased, struggle along as you pleased
This town is all you know
The continuation of the dream you got back

Chosen as you please, hated as you please
This town is all you have
The place where you, who can’t go home, are
This town is all you have
The way back home to the place you grew up…

"Hana No Na" English Translation: 花の名 : Bump of Chicken

I just can't get the newest single by Japan's undisputedly best-ever band (in my humble opinion), Bump of Chicken, out of my head. It was definately the theme song of the soundtrack to my recent trip to Japan. When I wasn't straining to hear it over the random noise pollution of imo and sakana songs at the supermarket, lingering around the conbini onigiri section to catch the last few notes, or just hearing it drift around Osaka, I was singing it to myself. If you haven't heard it yet, give it a listen. If you have heard it and wished you knew what the heck they were saying, wish no more! The best thing about this new Bump song is it's relative easy vocabulary, grammar and pace, making it the perfect study tool!

In my hopes of spreading the joy of Bump this holiday season, I've translated Hana no Na for anyone who cares. I hope someone out there appreciates and enjoys it as much as I do!

The Flower's Name by Bump of Chicken

Translation by Melissa Chasse ©

If it is such a simple thing, I wonder why can't I say it?

If it's something I can't say, I wonder how I will express it?

Even if I forget the sky we saw together,

I won't forget that we were together

If you are a flower,

You're probably not very different from all the other ones

From them, I chose one

There is a song only I can sing

There is a song only you can hear

My being here is proof that you were here

The song that I leave here is proof that I was left with you

Since I borrowed the power to live,

While I'm alive I have to give it back

When you forget the tears and the smiles,

Please just remember

Lost in the same pain

There is a song that only you can sing

There is a song that only I can hear

Everyone has a person they want to see

Everyone has a person they are waiting for

If there are people that (people) want to see

Then there are people waiting for them

Always

If you are a flower,

You're probably not very different from all the other ones

From them, I chose one

For me, For you

Someday

When you forget the tears and the smiles,

Please just remember

Without losing my way

I chose

There is a song that only you can sing

There is a song that only I can hear

There is someone waiting only for me

There is someone who wants to see only you