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Hello, how is everyone? :)

I have in my hands my first Hirasawa boxed set--HALDYN DOME. It really is a thing of beauty. And I am very excited to have all the song lyrics in one convenient PDF file!

It was also Mr. Hirasawa's birthday a few days ago, on April 2. Happy belated birthday! I wish him good health and good luck, and look forward to a new album from him soon!

Now...on to some music! It's time to look at some more tracks from the 1996 album, Siren. And why not start with the "電光浴" series? There are (as far as I can tell) three versions of "電光浴"--version 1, 2, and the "default" version from the single. 電光浴- 1 is simply the first half of the "default" version, and 電光浴- 2 is the second half.

The title of these tracks is (if you want to be overly literal) "Electric Light Bath," a reference to phototherapy and the idea of using UV or infrared light or simulated sunlight to treat a number of physical and mental ailments. [Edit: Just noticed that the English title on Mr. Hirasawa's website is "ELECTRIC LIGHT BATHING", so we'll go with that now. :) ]

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平沢進 -「電光浴- 1」
Japanese lyrics )

Romaji lyrics )

Hirasawa Susumu - "Electric Light Bathing-1"
Rough English translation. )

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The siren that started playing in the background then smoothly transitions us into the second track of the album, the famous "SAIREN*Siren*" (not to be confused with "Siren*SEIREEN*" haha).

The second part of "Light Bath" doesn't play until almost the end of the album, right after the heart-wrenching "Siam Lights."

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平沢進 -「電光浴- 2」
Japanese lyrics )

Romaji lyrics )

Hirasawa Susumu - "Electric Light Bathing-2"
Rough English translation. )

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I use "titanic" here in the sense of "made of titanium" but the idea of the Titans or the famous ship that crashed into an iceberg is out there, too. Not sure if that's intentional.

"Light Bath-2" then transitions into the unforgettable "Mermaid Song." Wow, what an intense album.

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Finally, for the sake of completeness, if you combine "Light Bath-1" and "2", you get the "Default Version." It lacks the siren sounds from "Light Bath-1" and is possibly a bit more therapeutic-sounding.

平沢進 -「電光浴 (default version)」
Japanese lyrics )

Romaji lyrics )

Hirasawa Susumu - "Electric Light Bathing (Default Version)"
Rough English translation. )
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"Siam Lights" is from Mr. Hirasawa's second post-Thailand solo album, Siren. Siam being an old name for Thailand and (apparently) a neighborhood in Bangkok, it's clearly drawn from Mr. Hirasawa's experiences in Thailand. The song reappeared on the tribute album Switched-on Lotus, which makes me think it has some personal significance to him. The sound alone is beautiful, but the lyrics are filled with an almost terrible longing and when his voice soars in the refrain, it's heartbreaking. I simply love these sorts of gentle, powerful songs he makes every now and again.

This is my own vague weird interpretation... )

平沢進 -「SIAM LIGHTS」
Japanese lyrics )

Hirasawa Susumu - "Siam Lights"
Romaji lyrics )

My disappointingly awkward translation )
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This is one of the most beautiful songs ever, in my opinion. Read more... )

平沢進 - "Mermaid Song"
Japanese lyrics )


Romaji lyrics )


Hirasawa Susumu - "Mermaid Song"
Rough English translation. )


An acquaintance of mine also says this song describes how Hirasawa fans respond to Hirasawa's singing--everything stops and we would like to drown ourselves in his voice. Ahem. Well. That is certainly another possible interpretation of this.
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This song. I don't even. Can we just assume it's about having fun at a cabaret in Thailand or something and leave it at that? (Though I guess this is as close as we'll get to a good drinking song from Hirasawa...)


平沢進 - "Nurse Cafe"
Japanese lyrics )


Romaji lyrics )



Hirasawa Susumu - "Nurse Cafe"
Attempted English translation )