Forbidden Lover: History of a song 2
II.The LYRICS
This is intended to be a sort of analysis of the lyrics, an interpretation of forbidden lover, on the basis of a few precious hints hyde himself gave here and there in some interviews. I’ll try to make a precise distinction between what he said and my own thoughts.
So, as soon as I thought: “ah, hyde is coming”, I started playing games in another room. (laugh) (ken)
The person who is in charge of writing lyrics, usually hyde, before starting his work, asks the composer which image the tune came from. But since ken composed the song with the so-called “No-guard tactics”, of course he had no idea about the lyrics, too. Already aware that hyde usually writes down the lyrics more or less when they are recording the rhythm, this time ken tried not to meet him on purpose, and started playing games in another room!
Though hyde had to work by himself, he ended up choosing a word often used by ken at that time: the sea. It seems that back then, ken was fond of this word and hyde used it at the beginning of the song.
Since he started writing the lyrics when the arrangement was already completed, he tried to choose themes and words fitting the new dramatic atmosphere the addition of timpani and strings had brought to the melody.
I wanted something that could be symbolic (hyde)
The main themes hyde pointed out for lyrics were wars among countries throughout history and doubts on God.
As for the first one, he described war as an historical fault, broken out because of something like difference of race. The images of war and fire were recurrent when he was writing the lyrics, for a long time he had the image of being wrapped by the wartime fire above the sea.
This idea has been clearly represented on stage when the band performed the song during L’7 tour: the stage, shaped as a ship, was surrounded by fire on screens.
About the religious aspect, it was something hyde put explicitly in the lyrics at the time he was thinking about the guitar solo. When he listened to that part, after it had been arranged with the addition of timpani and strings, he was of course impressed by how the song had changed. He immediately had clear in his mind that he had to put a pretty important word just before the interlude, which represents the climax in the song: with common words he would have been defeated by the excessive magnificence of that part.
So, when he started writing the lyrics, the word “God” came up, but, feeling pressed by the importance of that part, he decided to wait a little more and, leaving out only that word, he wrote the rest of the text. Eventually he came to the conclusion that only that word would suit that part and he used it.
He once explained the reason for the persistence of this word in his mind: he had watched a movie about Dracula and the idea that “Dracula curses God” maybe remained inside him, with the word “God”. I’m not able to find which movie he was talking about, here it’s what he said about the plot: In the movie, Dracula for the sake of God goes to war and wins. But his girlfriend was killed by his enemy. Therefore he thought: “for the sake of who I was fighting?”
He also thought about using the word “country”, as it was more important to him, but it didn’t fit well in the part when the protagonist addresses directly to someone.
Focusing a little bit on the protagonist of the song, hyde clarifies that he is giving voice to a man who has undergone a very sad experience and is recalling only faint memories. It’s likely that his beloved girl was killed, while, on the other hand, he hadn’t thought about a possible death for the protagonist, he only stated that there is no happy end.
About the title, he searched for something that could symbolize the rage and sadness depicted inside the song. He confessed that he associated the word “forbidden” with the Biblical episode of Adam and Eve and the forbidden fruit. According to ken, it seems that he chose the title before ending the lyrics.
The choice for harsh lyrics has a connection with the music, because he believed that nothing else would have suited that dramatic sound.
The whole operation didn’t take a long time, and hyde said that the reason was the fact that maybe he has only created a different situation in things he usually thinks of. But another reason could be the fact that, since for snow drop writing lyrics took a considerable time, about forbidden lover he was considerably pressed.
It has become a deep song, hasn’t it? (interviewer) It is so (yukihiro)
AA KOGOERU KURAI UMI E
NAGASARETEYUKU REKISHI NO NAMI NI NOMARE
YAGATE MAKU WA AGARI
HAKANAI YUME O TSURETE ARASOI NI HI O TSUKERU
ITSU NO HI NI MIUSHINATTA KOKORO WA KURIKAESU WASURESARARETA TSUMI O
AYAMACHI O SODATE SONO KEGARETA AI DE GAREKI NI KIZUKU RAKUEN
Ah, I’m going adrift on the dark,
frozen sea swallowed by the waves of history
At any time now the curtain will rise
Bringing a fleeting dream it will light the fire of strife
Someday the heart I lost sight of will repeat the forgotten sin
with that love, tainted by raising faults, it will build a paradise on the rubble
I think that “forgotten sin” refers to war and killing. The protagonist has committed that sin, this means that he is engaged in the war.
In the beginning, it seems that war is on a pause, and he’s in a suspended condition, so he depicts this sensation as being adrift in a sea that represents history. This may mean that this man didn’t start the war, but feels like carried away by history.
When hyde listened for the first time to this song, he felt it gives a sensation of coolness.
That’s why he put the word “Ah” at the beginning of it.
Then, after a short time, the war starts again.
In the Japanese text, it’s not clear which is the subject of the sentence “light the fire of strife”, it could be the protagonist or the curtains. Even if it may sound a little strange, I chose the second, because “at any time now” is different from the “someday” on the following sentence.
The “fleeting dream” can be perceived as peace, but also have a close relationship with his desire of rebuilding a paradise on the rubble, after war has ceased.
Also the words “raising faults” remind that he will go on fighting.
FORBIDDEN LOVER... AWAI KIOKU
TSUYOKU DAITE MO KASANARI AENU SHIKISAI
IKI O HISOME CHIKAU
AMAI KOI NO HATE WA YOKISENU TOKI NO ITAZURA
Forbidden lover...faint memories
Though I hold them tightly, the colours won't overlap
I still my breath and vow
The end of a sweet love is an unexpected trick
Taking the title of the song into consideration, I think it refers to the protagonist. His love is forbidden because he has committed sin, but also because his beloved girl is dead (as he speaks of “the end of a sweet love”). I dare say that, since she was probably killed because of that war, he could have indirectly killed her, taking part in the war.
When asked about the word forbidden, hyde said that this word reminds him of the forbidden fruit. Though it’s not possible to make a comparison between these lovers’ sin and Adam and Eve’s sin, I can say that consequence of their action is similar: they were chased from their heaven. For the lovers in the song, their heaven was, of course, their peaceful land.
Now this man is not able to remember clearly the life before that war, and he can recall only “faint memories”.
MOEAGARU HONOO NI TORIKAKOMARE KUZURE YUKU FUNE NI INOCHI TSUKAMARE
OBIETA HITOMI WA TEN O AOIDE SAKEBU KAMI NO NA O
Surrounded by burning flames my life is seized by a crumbling boat
Fearful eyes look up to heaven and cry God's name
In the second chorus hyde comes back to the metaphor of the sea used at the beginning of the song. But this time war has already broken out, so he feels surrounded by wartime fire while sailing on a boat. This image has been recurrent when thinking of these lyrics.
The detail of a “crumbling boat” is a clear reference to the decadence of that time.
In these circumstances he add the religious theme: the doubt about God. If we want to make it explicit, it can be: “Why does God allow men to kill each other?”.
SORA TAKAKU MAIAGARE KONO KOKORO UZUMAITA WARUI YUME YORI TAKAKU
TOKIHANATSU ANATA E NO KONO OMOI TOOI CHI E KAGAYAKI O HANATTE
ARATA NARU KUNI NI YAGATE KURU HI NI MO
ONAJI MICHI O MATA TOORU DAROUKA
FORBIDDEN LOVER...
My heart, flying high to the sky, higher than the swirl of nightmares,
releases my love for you, shining as it reaches a far off land
Even the day when I’ll come to the renewed land
I wonder if we’ll walk again on the same road
forbidden lover...
Since his love is impossible now, this man decides to release his feeling overflying a “swirl of nightmare” (which refers to war). I think that “far off land” is probably a reference to the place where his beloved is (maybe paradise?).
Then he express his desire for his next life: coming to a renewed (=peaceful) land, meeting again his beloved girl.
When I come to “sakebu kami no na o”, I always cry (laugh) (tetsu)
The main point of hyde’s singing is, of course, high passion. The scale is wide, but he’s able to reach high tones without using falsetto.
It seems that hyde asked ken a comment about his vocals and ken approved of it. He commented that hyde’s voice was affecting the song and was making some parts relieved, while hyde thought that his vocals made the tune even more intense.
When adding lyrics, he paid attention not to make the tune aggressive and this is why his singing can recreate a wide space.
(To be continued. Part 3: The PV -> next week)
*** OMAKE
….
Hyde: other members unexpectedly don’t know my lyrics. But surely I can’t play guitar like ken-chan. I’ve heard them singing songs at random. (everybody laughs)
Interviewer: They often sing!?
Hyde: Yes it is so. Yesterday, too, they were singing quite inaccurately. Tecchan was singing Kasou, but instead of “hitomi aketa mama” [whit eyes still open], he was singing: “Hitomi tojita mama” [with eyes still shut]. (everybody laughs) I thought: “But it’s not correct. Well, it’s just the same”.
Tetsu: I’ve made a mistake? I thought it was like that. (everybody laughs) I always sing this song (forbidden lover). When I come to “sakebu kami no na o” [cry God’s name], I always cry (laugh)
…
From “A feeling not allowed”, PATi PATi, November 1998
***
Sources:
WHAT’s IN, October 1998
“A feeling not allowed”, PATi PATi, November 1998
“snow drop & forbidden lover- 2 singles released in 2 consecutive weeks!! ”, GB, November 1998
“snow drop & forbidden lover”, uv, vol. 35
“Interview of 2 singles, snow drop & forbidden lover”, B-Pass November 1998
“L’Arc~en~Ciel into labyrinth”, RR Newsmaker, November 1998
Album “ark”, jacket, July 1999