Phonon Belt (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
phonon_belt) wrote2011-06-03 02:38 pm
phonon_belt) wrote2011-06-03 02:38 pm
平沢進 -「人体夜行」/ Hirasawa Susumu - "Night Walking Wearing the Human Body" Lyrics
Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been busy and have a cold. ;_;
This song came up in a meme I did recently elsewhere, and so I decided to translate it. I find this song pretty relaxing and good for going on a walk, what with the steady beat, the random electric noise in the background, the gently flowing lyrics interrupted only by the oddly cute "ha ha ha ha" linesthat sound like "bwabwa bwabwa".
But as for the lyrics: this song is essentially a ghost story with intriguing Buddhist nuances. (Be sure to check out the translation notes below!)
平沢進 -「人体夜行」
頂上に降る雪
夜は密か
身体を着て立ち
キミよ行けよ
失われた道を
風に読み
知りえたもの全て
何も持たず
笑えよ Ha Ha Ha ha
夜は無尽蔵
掘り出せ Ha Ha Ha Ha
怯まず Ah Ha Ha Ha
一夜にして成る
キミの国
勝ち得たもの全て
水に流せば
歌えよ Ha Ha Ha Ha
キミは無尽蔵
掘り出せ Ha Ha Ha Ha
悔やまず Ah Ha Ha Ha
めくるめく雨
誰も濡れず
声を出して立て
謎は終わりと
笑えよ Ha Ha Ha ha
道は無尽蔵
掘り出せ Ha Ha Ha ha
怯まず Ha Ha Ha ha
息を山河の無常に預け あー
声に地上の自在を灯し あー
橋を鼓動の波紋で洗い あー
川を此岸の歓喜に染めて あー
Hirasawa Susumu - "Jintai Yakou"
(The title might also be "Jintai Yagyou" - not sure.)
Choujou ni furu yuki
Yoru wa hisoka
Shintai kite tachi
Kimi yo yuke yo
Ushinawareta michi o
Kaze ni yomi
Shirieta mono subete
Nani mo motazu
Warae yo Ha ha ha ha
Yoru wa mujinzou
Horidase Ha ha ha ha
Hirumazu Ah ha ha ha
Hitoya ni shite naru
Kimi no kuni
Kachieta mono subete
Mizu ni nagaseba
Utae yo Ha ha ha ha
Kimi wa mujinzou
Horidase Ha ha ha ha
Kuyamazu Ah ha ha ha
Mekurumeku ame
Dare mo nurezu
Koe o dashite tate
Nazo wa owari to
Warae yo Ha ha ha ha
Michi wa mujinzou
Horidase Ha ha ha ha
Hirumazu Ah ha ha ha
Iki o sanga no mujou ni azuke Aah
Koe ni chijou no jizai o tomoshi Aah
Hashi o kidou no hamon de arai Aah
Kawa o shigan no kanki ni somete Aah
Hirasawa Susumu - "Night Walking Wearing the Human Body"
Snow falling on the peak
At night, you secretly
Put on a human body and stand there
You, go!
Reading the wind
To find the lost path
You don't have
Any of the things you learned
Laugh! Ha ha ha ha
The nights are unlimited*
Dig it out! Ha ha ha ha
Without flinching Ah ha ha ha
Your country
Will be completed overnight
If you let go of**
All the things you gained
Sing! Ha ha ha ha
You are unlimited***
Dig it out! Ha ha ha ha
Without regret Ah ha ha ha
The dazzling rain
Doesn't soak anyone
Standing as you speak
The mystery is at an end
Laugh! Ha ha ha ha
The paths are unlimited
Dig it out! Ha ha ha ha
Without flinching Ah ha ha ha
Leave your breath to the evanescence of the mountains and rivers Aah
Kindling your free will on earth with your voice Aah
Washing the bridge with the ripples from the beat Aah
Dyeing the river with the joy of this world Aah****
Translation Notes:
- The title literally is "Human Body Night Walk" if you break it down, but I really like the official English title better. :)
* The nights are "unlimited" in the sense of having an inexhaustible supply of them. "Unlimited" in other lines has the same meaning.
** Literally "if you let them get washed away in the water," which usually means something along the lines of "let bygones be bygones" or simply "forget the complicated past and move on." (Think of the English phrase "water under the bridge.") It seems weird to recommend letting go of all the things you gained (which are presumably good things), but here it's probably meant in the sense of "rid yourself of your earthly possessions" to achieve spiritual happiness. The idea of establishing your "country" or dominion by ceding your territory rather than expanding it is interesting, too.
***Like the note above, "you" comes in unlimited supply.
****This whole last stanza is a bit awkward for me, but I've done what I can. It hints at various Buddhist things. "This world" is Shigan, the realm of our present lives. In Japanese Buddhism, this world is separated from the land of enlightenment, Higan, by a river. You can cross the river by ridding yourself of worldly desires. Seven days after your death, you can cross the river at a bridge if you were a good person in life--otherwise you have to cross at a ford or (if you were evil in life) at a spot with serpent-infested deep water. The "you" in the song may be in that time between death and the river crossing, roaming around like a ghost clinging to its human form until at last it finds the bridge at the end of the song. There it is told to let go of its attachment to the human form and to joyfully cross over to the next world as a reward for the good deeds it did in life. Indeed, "the mystery is at an end."
This song came up in a meme I did recently elsewhere, and so I decided to translate it. I find this song pretty relaxing and good for going on a walk, what with the steady beat, the random electric noise in the background, the gently flowing lyrics interrupted only by the oddly cute "ha ha ha ha" lines
But as for the lyrics: this song is essentially a ghost story with intriguing Buddhist nuances. (Be sure to check out the translation notes below!)
平沢進 -「人体夜行」
頂上に降る雪
夜は密か
身体を着て立ち
キミよ行けよ
失われた道を
風に読み
知りえたもの全て
何も持たず
笑えよ Ha Ha Ha ha
夜は無尽蔵
掘り出せ Ha Ha Ha Ha
怯まず Ah Ha Ha Ha
一夜にして成る
キミの国
勝ち得たもの全て
水に流せば
歌えよ Ha Ha Ha Ha
キミは無尽蔵
掘り出せ Ha Ha Ha Ha
悔やまず Ah Ha Ha Ha
めくるめく雨
誰も濡れず
声を出して立て
謎は終わりと
笑えよ Ha Ha Ha ha
道は無尽蔵
掘り出せ Ha Ha Ha ha
怯まず Ha Ha Ha ha
息を山河の無常に預け あー
声に地上の自在を灯し あー
橋を鼓動の波紋で洗い あー
川を此岸の歓喜に染めて あー
Hirasawa Susumu - "Jintai Yakou"
(The title might also be "Jintai Yagyou" - not sure.)
Choujou ni furu yuki
Yoru wa hisoka
Shintai kite tachi
Kimi yo yuke yo
Ushinawareta michi o
Kaze ni yomi
Shirieta mono subete
Nani mo motazu
Warae yo Ha ha ha ha
Yoru wa mujinzou
Horidase Ha ha ha ha
Hirumazu Ah ha ha ha
Hitoya ni shite naru
Kimi no kuni
Kachieta mono subete
Mizu ni nagaseba
Utae yo Ha ha ha ha
Kimi wa mujinzou
Horidase Ha ha ha ha
Kuyamazu Ah ha ha ha
Mekurumeku ame
Dare mo nurezu
Koe o dashite tate
Nazo wa owari to
Warae yo Ha ha ha ha
Michi wa mujinzou
Horidase Ha ha ha ha
Hirumazu Ah ha ha ha
Iki o sanga no mujou ni azuke Aah
Koe ni chijou no jizai o tomoshi Aah
Hashi o kidou no hamon de arai Aah
Kawa o shigan no kanki ni somete Aah
Hirasawa Susumu - "Night Walking Wearing the Human Body"
Snow falling on the peak
At night, you secretly
Put on a human body and stand there
You, go!
Reading the wind
To find the lost path
You don't have
Any of the things you learned
Laugh! Ha ha ha ha
The nights are unlimited*
Dig it out! Ha ha ha ha
Without flinching Ah ha ha ha
Your country
Will be completed overnight
If you let go of**
All the things you gained
Sing! Ha ha ha ha
You are unlimited***
Dig it out! Ha ha ha ha
Without regret Ah ha ha ha
The dazzling rain
Doesn't soak anyone
Standing as you speak
The mystery is at an end
Laugh! Ha ha ha ha
The paths are unlimited
Dig it out! Ha ha ha ha
Without flinching Ah ha ha ha
Leave your breath to the evanescence of the mountains and rivers Aah
Kindling your free will on earth with your voice Aah
Washing the bridge with the ripples from the beat Aah
Dyeing the river with the joy of this world Aah****
Translation Notes:
- The title literally is "Human Body Night Walk" if you break it down, but I really like the official English title better. :)
* The nights are "unlimited" in the sense of having an inexhaustible supply of them. "Unlimited" in other lines has the same meaning.
** Literally "if you let them get washed away in the water," which usually means something along the lines of "let bygones be bygones" or simply "forget the complicated past and move on." (Think of the English phrase "water under the bridge.") It seems weird to recommend letting go of all the things you gained (which are presumably good things), but here it's probably meant in the sense of "rid yourself of your earthly possessions" to achieve spiritual happiness. The idea of establishing your "country" or dominion by ceding your territory rather than expanding it is interesting, too.
***Like the note above, "you" comes in unlimited supply.
****This whole last stanza is a bit awkward for me, but I've done what I can. It hints at various Buddhist things. "This world" is Shigan, the realm of our present lives. In Japanese Buddhism, this world is separated from the land of enlightenment, Higan, by a river. You can cross the river by ridding yourself of worldly desires. Seven days after your death, you can cross the river at a bridge if you were a good person in life--otherwise you have to cross at a ford or (if you were evil in life) at a spot with serpent-infested deep water. The "you" in the song may be in that time between death and the river crossing, roaming around like a ghost clinging to its human form until at last it finds the bridge at the end of the song. There it is told to let go of its attachment to the human form and to joyfully cross over to the next world as a reward for the good deeds it did in life. Indeed, "the mystery is at an end."