By and by - Hotaru - N album
So, I thought about the title of the post before actually listening properly to the song, so, sorry if is just silly, lol, I'm laughing 'cause I really like that MC, yes, but this post has nothing to do with Arashi, or anything that foolishly fun, lol.
Click to viewThis song is written by THE YELLOW MONKEY's Yoshii Kazuya, the same person who wrote the lyrics for Bara to taiyou from their latest single, and also in this album, meaning N album from Kinki Kids. He also participated as a guitarist for the recording of this piece. I'm in love with many of this album's songs, and tbh the first time I listened to this song when they performed it at Mste, I didn't particularly like it. I was so wrong. This song is amazing, I'm quoting some details on this song below. But, not only that, I love this song because it has one of my most favourite themes on songs, *I'm a bit dark, gomen*, but yes, in my defence it is a reality in life, actually a big part of it, lol. Anyway, leaving my preferences aside, I think the music is amazing, but the lyrics are absolutely beautiful, I really tried to put a lot of effort into trying my translation to reflect a bit, at least, of that. As usual, sorry for any mistakes in both languages. So, the kanji is from here, as usual, maybe later, I'll add rōmaji.
KinKi Kids
ホタル
Fireflies
Lyricist：吉井和哉 (Yoshii kazuya)
Composer：吉井和哉 (Yoshii kazuya)
夏祭りの川のほとりで 行き帰りの人を仰ぐ
破れたスニーカーで 未来はぼんやりして
Natsu matsuri no kawa no hotori de yukikaeri no hito o aogu
yabure ta sunīkā de mirai wa bonyari shi te
During the summer festival by the side of the river, looking up to the people coming and going
with a pair of worn-out sneakers, while being careless about the future.
今年もまた会いに来ました 魂だけがホタルになって
ただ認められたくて ただ許して欲しくて
Kotoshi mo mata ai ni ki mashi ta tamashī dake ga hotaru ni natte
tada mitomerare taku te tada yurushi te hoshiku te
I'm coming to see you this year again, but this time my soul has become a firefly
Just wanting to be accepted, just wanting to be forgiven
すれ違う幼い子を抱えた母と
遠くから聴こえてくる 夕暮れの鐘
Surechigau osanai ko o kakae ta haha to
tōku kara kikoe te kuru yūgure no kane
And here there is this young child that passes by, carried by his mother
and at the distance, the evening bells can be heard
子守唄でさすりながら 母の胸で泣いたよ
風に吹かれ またどこかへ
誰かを探してる ホタルが飛んでいる
Komori uta de sasuri nagara haha no mune de nai ta yo
kaze ni fukare mata doko ka e
dare ka o sagashiteru hotaru ga ton de iru
He's crying over his mother's chest, who's patting him while humming a lullaby.
And blown by the wind, where are they going now?
the fireflies are flying around looking for someone
ボーダーになった心の闇は 日々の愛やら憎悪やらで
毎日スライスして やがて透き通るのかな
Bōdā ni natta kokoro no yami wa hibi no ai yara zōo yara de
mainichi suraisu shi te yagate sukitōru no ka na
The despair in my heart has become a boundary, constantly sliced by emotions such as love and hate from everyday
I wonder if before long, it will become transparent
夕立の後に歌う 蝉のこだまは
新しい死者が残す 祈りの声か
Yūdachi no nochi ni utau semi no kodama wa
atarashii shisha ga nokosu inori no koe ka
After the evening rain, there's the echo of the singing of the cicadas,
or maybe it's the voice of prayers that the newly deceased left behind
生きる意味を奪い去られ 飛び立ってしまったよ
そこにはただ抜け殻だけ
踏み潰されてゆく
Ikiru imi o ubaisarare tobitatte shimatta yo
soko ni wa tada nukegara dake
fumitsubusare te yuku
They leave away stealing the meaning of life, they had flown away
Over there is just an empty shell,
lying to be trampled underfoot
澄んだ水で泳ぐ魚
氷の上を滑るペンギン
大草原に眠るライオン
僕らのパラダイス(楽園)
Sunda mizu de oyogu sakana
kōri no ue o suberu pengin
dai sōgen ni nemuru raion
bokura no paradaisu
Fishes swimming in clear water,
penguins sliding on top of the ice,
lions sleeping on the prairie
That's our paradise
どこに行けば あるのだろう 天国かな それともただ
母の背中で聴かされた あの幼い子供の 子守唄に揺られながら
海へ続く川に ホタルが消えてゆく
Doko ni ike ba aru no darou tengoku ka na soretomo tada
haha no senaka de kikasareta ano osanai kodomo no komori uta ni yurare nagara
umi e tsuzuku kawa ni hotaru ga kie te yuku
Where are they going? Does it exist? Maybe heaven?, or it's just
that the answer can be searched at that mother's back, who's soothing her kid with a lullaby,
in the river that goes into the sea, where the fireflies are vanishing.
[T/N]: So, this was an amazing process, I was falling in love more and more with the lyrics as I listened to them, I might not share with him the same beliefs about what could be the truth behind all of this, but the nostalgic feeling surely got transmitted.
So, I hope I was able to be fair with how much I liked this. I may edit it later, I usually do, so..
And the way Tsuyoshi starts his lines is amazing, I mean Koichi is great and all, but Tsuyo-chan is the one who always melts my heart.
[Edit] Added the romaji and a bit of meaning by editing the English! sorry I think I'll never be okay with the result, but I did make a mistake, so, now that I have a bit of time, I corrected it. And also in the colors, now it's better, ha. And have you noticed how just perfectly divided this is, I love it, at the beginning especially, where Koichi is speaking about the child and Tsuyo-pon especially about the fireflies, and then it's all the same thing, and you can feel how everything is connected and the nostalgic feeling about that childhood memories... It's just so nostalgic...
[Edit2 - 5/1/22] I think I love this song even more if that's even possible, I corrected the ICE part! just now I've realized that, and a little the romaji which was also with mistakes and that's probably the reason I stopped adding it lol I LOVE THIS SONG, plus the metaphor of the cicadas and the dead bodies, I noticed this now, and wow... I think I knew about that before but I didn't mention it.
💿 N Album - English Lyrics
🎶 薔薇と太陽 (Bara to Taiyou)
🎶 ホタル (Hotaru)
🎶 陽炎 〜Kagiroi (Kagerou ~ Kagiroi)
🎶 雨音のボレロ (Ame no Borero)
🎶 夢を見れば傷つくこともある (Yume o Mireba Kizutsuku Koto mo Aru)
🎶 なんねんたっても (Nannen Tatte mo)
Now, a couple of quotes about this song, I love how much Tsuyo-pon loves his Nara, for some reason this song reminded me of "Eni o Yuite" which I also love, maybe the music, the different instruments? I don't know.
In the Bunka Hoso radio show [..] “Firefly” was introduced for the second consecutive week. Ahead of putting on this piece, Tsuyoshi clearly stated that “Firefly” is “an excellent piece”. “Listening to this piece, I can recall my childhood episodes in Nara, when I wore knee trousers and ran into a pond. I can feel as if I in my childhood were standing in front of me. I think the guitar sound probably makes me have such mysterious feelings.” “On the day of the TD (tracking down) for ‘Firefly’ I was seeing fireflies in Nara. Perhaps because of such experience, I am attached to this piece more deeply. I think everyone can understand such feelings when listening to the piece.” (Source)
And this is just a bit about the inspiration for the song, I especially like the last sentence, I love both songs, and I think they truly reflect the essence of both Domotos.
While only the first verse was introduced in the radio show, the lyrics of the piece was wonderful and suggestive of a grown-up guy’s memories in his childhood of his mother whom he can never see again. [..] A Twitter comment from a Kazuya Yoshii fan suggests that this piece is full of a Kazuya Yoshii flavor from the very beginning and that his own view of life and death is apparently being reflected in this piece. According to another Kazuya Yoshii fan Twitter comment, Kazuya Yoshii himself allegedly indicated that “Roses and Sun” (with sexiness) may have an image of Koichi and “Firefly” (with nostalgia and focus on life) that of Tsuyoshi.(Source)
And a at last I wanted to point out about the song Roses and Sun, because I was also doubtful about the Va-cu-van part, it's nice to have an answer.
With respect to the lyrics of KinKi Kids’ single piece titled “Roses and Sun” released in July, the author was not sure of the meaning of the phrase “Va-Cu-Van”, but the problem has just been solved. The author was wondering if this meant a vacuvin, a stopper utensil for a wine bottle. In the latest Fan Club Newsletter, Koichi Domoto said that the phrase referred to a wine-related utensil and that it probably meant the sound of gunfire as well. (Source)
Lastly as freely as Mr. Kazuya Yoshii shared his impressions and beliefs about life, I want to share a verse that comprises all my hopes for life and death.
"He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” [Revelation 21:4 New Living Translation (NLT)]
I do have hopes, even though sometimes is hard to live up to them every single day. I do hope for a paradise to be waiting for the ones who search for it.
And that's it, I'm positively sure I'll try to translate two more songs from this lovely album. Jaa ne~
Ps: I'm almost done with ep 3!