Darling Column
I quite liked this column, and I feel like I did an okay job of translating it, too. Well, maybe. In any case, it's funny, he talks about pigeons, and then talks about being a foreigner and loneliness. Plus a bonus mention of MOTHER 3!
Pigeon-like things
Pigeons or doves, which do you like more?
I was having a pointless conversation about things like that.
It was originally an open question,
so whatever your answer is, is fine.
It's a game. One where you think about various things.
"I kinda like that one," is just fine.
"Well, I get the feeling
that there aren't many doves in the countryside.
They're kind of a symbol of the city, for me,"
would also be acceptable.
"Doves are for PEACE, so DOVES!"
That's okay, too.
Me personally, I'd have to be of the pigeon school.
"I chase doves, they've given me some trouble before"
"Pigeons' heads are kinda cute"
"They've got that picturesque everyday feeling"
"I feel like I want to share some of my food with them"
"Roast pigeon seems like it would be good, but it isn't"
....anything's fine,
just keeping the conversation going is fun.
The game is just to have an unpredictable conversation.
I wasn't always aware of pigeons,
but I think I've spent a long time looking at them.
As a kid, pigeons were always nearby.
It seemed like if you cooked them, they'd taste great.
This seeming great taste was their charming point.
Kind of like pigeons, catfish always seemed like
if you caught one and cooked it, it would be delicious.
But, I could never actually catch a catfish, or a pigeon.
These kinds of things,
my longing for them left a deep impression on me.
So, when I have some time for it,
if I'm somewhere you can see, and there are pigeons around,
I unconsciously stop to watch them.
Incidentally,
when I got to be middle aged, I bought a catfish for a pet.
I haven't tried cooking and eating it, though.
I've always had a habit of watching pigeons,
but the times I really remember watching pigeons
was when I had traveled overseas by myself.
Places like parks, or a poolside restaurant,
outside of a hotel window, or any other place,
I watched a lot of pigeons.
Compared to the pigeons in Japan,
they might be a little different,
but I think I just saw them as pigeons.
If you asked me why I watch pigeons so much,
it's probably because I feel like I understand pigeons.
Whether you're in Japan or another country,
a pigeon is just a pigeon.
They're not thinking any grand thoughts,
probably just floating along in life.
Understanding that makes me happy.
That hoppy, rhythmic step and the way they look for bread crumbs,
Gathering, scattering, packing in, flying away,
I can understand each and every thing they do.
Just exactly what I see, that's what the pigeons are doing.
That makes me happy.
I was really excited to be abroad.
Having that kind of incredible scenery is nice,
but being just a foreigner, alone,
with strange surroundings, and when I hear people
I don't understand what they're saying,
signs on stores and in the street that I can't easily read,
quickly talking people on the television...
these things wear you out.
Living there every day,
if you were determined to spend some time there,
maybe you'd feel differently,
but as just a traveler who'd happened to make his way there,
for no particular reason,
I felt a wide gap between 'there' and 'me.'
And, there were pigeons there.
"Ah, Mr. Pigeon, I know all about you"
and it made me feel happier.
I know you. I know all about you. And I watched.
Maybe you're in another country,
or maybe you're feeling down,
but pigeons are always just pigeons.
Because of that, because I could 'understand' it,
it's like I took back something I had lost.
When I watch pigeons, I feel happy.
I can remember watching pigeons in lots of places abroad.
That's the chronicle of my time as a foreigner.
On the MOTHER3+ album,
there's a song called We miss you ~ Love theme.
It's the only song on the album with words,
and I wrote the lyrics.
They go like this.
Deep darkness, distant city
noisy with unknown words
When my ears are buzzing with 'unknown words,'
for me, that's probably when I feel the loneliest.
At times like that, when my eyes chance to find a pigeon,
it seems like there's no need to despair.
The pets we keep at home
might live a pigeon-like existance;
"I know all about you," we think,
or "You sure know me, don't you."
Really, for kids, their parents;
for husbands, their wives; for wives, husbands
take a pigeon-like role for us, I think.
Because this world of ours
doesn't ever go quite according to plan.
One time, a middle aged man I met at work said to me,
"Itoi, when I feel worried, I go to this one spot;
I go and look at a big tree," when we were at a bar.
On impulse, I said, "I'd like to see it. Let's go there,"
and we got a taxi.
We went to see the tree.
When I looked at it,
it didn't look like a very dependable tree.
But he said, "It's great, isn't it? When I look at this tree,
I don't feel embarrassed... It gives me courage.
I feel like, 'let's do it!' "
They understood each other, him and that tree.
When work or something got to him,
when all he heard was the clamoring or strange words,
he'd come to see this tree that he understood.
There are people who stop their car to look at the sea,
people who come back to see their childhood friends,
people who consult their moms with their opinions.
Whatever it is is fine, even pigeons.
They're great, you know, pigeons.
Ah, my dog just woke up.
You're great, too, Bouillon... There there.
Pigeon-like things
Pigeons or doves, which do you like more?
I was having a pointless conversation about things like that.
It was originally an open question,
so whatever your answer is, is fine.
It's a game. One where you think about various things.
"I kinda like that one," is just fine.
"Well, I get the feeling
that there aren't many doves in the countryside.
They're kind of a symbol of the city, for me,"
would also be acceptable.
"Doves are for PEACE, so DOVES!"
That's okay, too.
Me personally, I'd have to be of the pigeon school.
"I chase doves, they've given me some trouble before"
"Pigeons' heads are kinda cute"
"They've got that picturesque everyday feeling"
"I feel like I want to share some of my food with them"
"Roast pigeon seems like it would be good, but it isn't"
....anything's fine,
just keeping the conversation going is fun.
The game is just to have an unpredictable conversation.
I wasn't always aware of pigeons,
but I think I've spent a long time looking at them.
As a kid, pigeons were always nearby.
It seemed like if you cooked them, they'd taste great.
This seeming great taste was their charming point.
Kind of like pigeons, catfish always seemed like
if you caught one and cooked it, it would be delicious.
But, I could never actually catch a catfish, or a pigeon.
These kinds of things,
my longing for them left a deep impression on me.
So, when I have some time for it,
if I'm somewhere you can see, and there are pigeons around,
I unconsciously stop to watch them.
Incidentally,
when I got to be middle aged, I bought a catfish for a pet.
I haven't tried cooking and eating it, though.
I've always had a habit of watching pigeons,
but the times I really remember watching pigeons
was when I had traveled overseas by myself.
Places like parks, or a poolside restaurant,
outside of a hotel window, or any other place,
I watched a lot of pigeons.
Compared to the pigeons in Japan,
they might be a little different,
but I think I just saw them as pigeons.
If you asked me why I watch pigeons so much,
it's probably because I feel like I understand pigeons.
Whether you're in Japan or another country,
a pigeon is just a pigeon.
They're not thinking any grand thoughts,
probably just floating along in life.
Understanding that makes me happy.
That hoppy, rhythmic step and the way they look for bread crumbs,
Gathering, scattering, packing in, flying away,
I can understand each and every thing they do.
Just exactly what I see, that's what the pigeons are doing.
That makes me happy.
I was really excited to be abroad.
Having that kind of incredible scenery is nice,
but being just a foreigner, alone,
with strange surroundings, and when I hear people
I don't understand what they're saying,
signs on stores and in the street that I can't easily read,
quickly talking people on the television...
these things wear you out.
Living there every day,
if you were determined to spend some time there,
maybe you'd feel differently,
but as just a traveler who'd happened to make his way there,
for no particular reason,
I felt a wide gap between 'there' and 'me.'
And, there were pigeons there.
"Ah, Mr. Pigeon, I know all about you"
and it made me feel happier.
I know you. I know all about you. And I watched.
Maybe you're in another country,
or maybe you're feeling down,
but pigeons are always just pigeons.
Because of that, because I could 'understand' it,
it's like I took back something I had lost.
When I watch pigeons, I feel happy.
I can remember watching pigeons in lots of places abroad.
That's the chronicle of my time as a foreigner.
On the MOTHER3+ album,
there's a song called We miss you ~ Love theme.
It's the only song on the album with words,
and I wrote the lyrics.
They go like this.
Deep darkness, distant city
noisy with unknown words
When my ears are buzzing with 'unknown words,'
for me, that's probably when I feel the loneliest.
At times like that, when my eyes chance to find a pigeon,
it seems like there's no need to despair.
The pets we keep at home
might live a pigeon-like existance;
"I know all about you," we think,
or "You sure know me, don't you."
Really, for kids, their parents;
for husbands, their wives; for wives, husbands
take a pigeon-like role for us, I think.
Because this world of ours
doesn't ever go quite according to plan.
One time, a middle aged man I met at work said to me,
"Itoi, when I feel worried, I go to this one spot;
I go and look at a big tree," when we were at a bar.
On impulse, I said, "I'd like to see it. Let's go there,"
and we got a taxi.
We went to see the tree.
When I looked at it,
it didn't look like a very dependable tree.
But he said, "It's great, isn't it? When I look at this tree,
I don't feel embarrassed... It gives me courage.
I feel like, 'let's do it!' "
They understood each other, him and that tree.
When work or something got to him,
when all he heard was the clamoring or strange words,
he'd come to see this tree that he understood.
There are people who stop their car to look at the sea,
people who come back to see their childhood friends,
people who consult their moms with their opinions.
Whatever it is is fine, even pigeons.
They're great, you know, pigeons.
Ah, my dog just woke up.
You're great, too, Bouillon... There there.