平沢進 -「SIAM LIGHTS」/ Hirasawa Susumu - "Siam Lights" Lyrics

2 July 2011 00:11
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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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平沢進 - "Archetype Engine" / Hirasawa Susumu - "Archetype Engine" Lyrics

4 June 2011 21:11
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If I recall correctly, Mr. Hirasawa mentioned somewhere that he had a moment in Thailand where he saw many elegant SP-2s (the male-to-female transgender women he's friends with) walking through the neon-lit back alleys of a city in Thailand one night. The whole atmosphere was so surreal that he thought he was in a sci-fi movie where beautiful androids roam about a futuristic artificial city or something. (If I find the source I will link to it here later.) My impression is that this is (roughly) the concept behind the Sim City album from 1995, which is HEAVILY influenced by Mr. Hirasawa's post-1994 impressions of Thailand.

So let's take a look at this song from Sim City (and the later tribute album Switched-On Lotus. It seems to be about Malaysian androids who are too beautiful and too powerful to resist...

平沢進 - "Archetype Engine"
( Japanese lyrics. )


( Romaji lyrics )


Hirasawa Susumu - "Archetype Engine"
( My English translation. )

Translation Notes: ( Sorry these are so long... )
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平沢進 - "Mermaid Song" / Hirasawa Susumu - "Mermaid Song" Lyrics

11 April 2011 11:50
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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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平沢進 - "Nurse Cafe" / Hirasawa Susumu - "Nurse Cafe" Lyrics

10 April 2011 11:21
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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 )
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平沢進 - "Switched-On Lotus" / Hirasawa Susumu - "Switched-On Lotus" Lyrics

5 April 2011 18:54
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This song is off the Switched-On Lotus album that Mr. Hirasawa dedicated to several transexual/transgender Thai friends who passed away. Lotuses have long served as symbols of purity, beauty, strength, and spiritual growth. But what about the "Switched-On" part? ( The background of the title is actually pretty interesting. )

The other thing that's cool about "Switched-On Lotus" is how this is one of (at least) three songs Mr. Hirasawa wrote that use lotus flowers as a motif. So I kind of think of this song as part of a set with the songs "Lotus" and "Rotation."


平沢進 - "Switched-On Lotus"
( Japanese lyrics. )


( Romaji lyrics. )


Hirasawa Susumu - "Switched-On Lotus"

( My English translation. )
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