[翻訳] Dir en Grey - Phenomenon
Another one from ARCHE. I had intended to do a different one before I'd take a look at Phenomenon, but somehow, Phenomenon took over and uh, just galloped away with me at4am.
I took on these lyrics entirely differently than how I usually do, simply because translating alone doesn't really help much in this case. I mean, wow I understood this song much better than I could ever translate it after I charged right into the meaning ahaha. Picking the meanings in their singularity apart is waaaay too… ineffective, so I'll just hit you with explanations via a messy interpretation of the song at the end of the translation, with a few exceptions. I don't usually do it like that, trying to keep it “free to interpret as you wish”, but in the case of this song, I find it’s just not understandable if left uninterpreted, so I just went up and typed away with all the imageries and, yeah, please bear with the messiness augh.
NOTE however, this song is VERY explicit, aka, entirely sexual, so in case you're sensitive to that, have a big fat
NSFW
I transcribed the lyrics from the booklet directly, romaji and translation are my work. Prepare for even more notes at the end of the post than before.
If you want to share this, please don't repost without linking back to this post, and leave me a message if you do, thanks a bunches.
Phenomenon
穴の色に入れ混ぜる
七色無限の肉
曲がりくねる本能の血走り
たかが箱
されど体温
夕立の言葉
狂わされて行くのか
溢れた愛 継ぎ足す愛
貴方のうぶな声
もう飽きた過去が手招き
されど体温
宿す肉
「また明日ね」
肩に伸ばし掛かる真実から
狂わされて行くのか
今更ながら 夕立が綺麗
水飴を透かして
今更ながら 夕立が綺麗
これ以上…
Phenomenon
ana no iro ni iremazeru
nanashoku mugen no niku
magarikuneru honnou no chibashiri
taka ga hako
saredo taion
yuudachi no kotoba
kuruwasareteyuku no ka
afureta ai tsugitasu ai
anata no ubuna koe
mou akita kako ga temaneki
saredo taion
yadosu niku
「mata ashita ne」
kata ni nobashikakaru shinjitsu kara
kuruwasareteyuku no ka
imasara nagara yuudachi ga kirei
mizuame wo sukashite
imasara nagara yuudachi ga kirei
kore ijou…
Phenomenon (0)
Into the colour of the hole mixes [1]
infinite flesh in rainbow colours
The turning and twisting instincts become bloodshot,
and it is at most a box [2]
Even so, body temperature
Words at a sudden evening shower [3]
Am I going to be driven mad [4]
Love, that overflowed love, that extends
Your innocent voice
The past I got tired of already beckons
Even so, body temperature
Conceiving flesh
“See you again tomorrow”
Because it's a truth hanging long over your shoulders
Am I going to be driven mad
This late as it is the evening showers are beautiful
Holding up water candy to the light [5]
This late as it is the evening showers are beautiful
More than this…
notes
[1] Iremazaru would translate as "mix", however literally it means "enter, and mix/stir".
[2] The significance of the "becoming bloodshot", or possibly everything he's just described, is "at most a box". However, what is usually read and translated as "box" has a second meaning, which would be "feces". See the long note for further explanations.
[3] "Sudden evening shower" - it's rain showers, not showers you take in the bathroom, in case there's some confusion about this.
[4] More than "am I going mad", he asks whether he is going to be "driven mad", it's not him who just happens to be going mad, there's someone making him so.
[5] Amemizu would never be translated as "water candy", because it's actually "starch syrup". You'll see in (0) why I chose to translate it literally in this case. The verb used here can mean "hold up to the light", or "looking through something".
(0) HOLY MOLY, this song is highly sexual, or how should I put it in just a few words… it's about a fleshly relationship the I/he has gotten tired of, but somehow can't break away from, the “body temperature” is too tempting, as is some of the imagery with the colours and the evening showers, a certain despair about it being too late to really change anything (kore ijou, often used like “I can't take any more of this..” etc), even the evening showers have become beautiful; before it seemed the evening showers were just the time when they had sex, when there was "body temperature and words", but no significance, now they're more than that.
Right, one after the other: there’s the very first imagery - a "rainbow coloured flesh that literally enters and mixes with the colour of the hole", it’s like the penis (possibly rainbow coloured from the lube or latex of the condom, if you want to stay realistic) entering the girl, whichever hole. Infinite flesh... possibly he's got this image of himself ever growing inside her, or pretty much everything is flesh and bodies and doesn't stop. I'm sure you'll have your own ideas here.
The instincts that are mentioned might be the very instincts to twist and turn, aka have sex, and becoming bloodshot most likely because of it, well hello ok it's violent sex right there. However none of it does mean anything, it's at most “a box”, it's empty, meaningless, or if you take the other meaning of hako as pointed out in [2], it's just feces, aka shit. Nonetheless, it's tempting shit. So the question whether he's going crazy over the body temperature and (sweet, tempting, ...) words is justified.
There is talk about love, but it seems… misplaced… and it's in connection with the “innocent voice” of the you and the beckoning of the yesterday, or of the past that he's gotten tired of, oh but her flesh is so inviting, yadosu niku, literally flesh that keeps a guest - it's quite clear what kind of flesh keeps what kind of (fleshly) guest here. Yadosu however ALSO can mean ‘conceive’, so there's some sort of double entendre here with the possibility of the act producing a child.
The line with the truth hanging over the shoulder might be a way of saying that the TRUTH is he can't stop the relationship, so there will be a "seeing again tomorrow", apparently their fleshly relationship is a daily thing. What is hanging over her shoulders spread out long like that is her hair, and HAIR has a very sensual, erotic context in Japan, so the truth here again is that the sex with her is too compelling to stop, even though it drives him crazy, so he'll definitely come again tomorrow.
Here we've got what I've already mentioned further above: "as late as it is/has gotten" implies it's too late to do something (against it), and at this 'late hour' even the evening showers have become beautiful, or if you set the "evening showers" directly as metaphor of what happens during them, even their lustful, meaningless rendezvous have become beautiful.
The last imagery left unclear would be the “starch syrup” that might or might not be held up to the light, well, I did change the translations somewhat to what “starch syrup” literally means: water candy. Now I'm sure you can imagine sticky, watery candy that you can hold between your fingers, hold up to the light and have it shine through in a most compelling way, yes? Yes I'm sure you can.
━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━─
As I said, I don't usually deliver interpretations with my translations, but this one was very persistent, so why not.
When I first listened to Phenomenon, it immediately became one of my favourites from the album. I think it was the compelling rhythm and then the last lines with the yuudachi that just carried me off. When I first read the lyrics, I was a little perplexed haha, because I had not expected those kinds of words with that kind of music. Then again, knowing what it's about, the music does fit just perfectly. The rhythm, the way he audibly goes mad during the course of the song, then again catches himself with the sheer beauty of the last lines, which also depict the very beauty of the showers... hah. I can basically see Kyo dance across the stage in his typical way.
Hokay, I'm done. Outori, out.
Hope you enjoy, feel free to discuss and object etc.
My entire lyrics translation archive can be found here → here ←
I took on these lyrics entirely differently than how I usually do, simply because translating alone doesn't really help much in this case. I mean, wow I understood this song much better than I could ever translate it after I charged right into the meaning ahaha. Picking the meanings in their singularity apart is waaaay too… ineffective, so I'll just hit you with explanations via a messy interpretation of the song at the end of the translation, with a few exceptions. I don't usually do it like that, trying to keep it “free to interpret as you wish”, but in the case of this song, I find it’s just not understandable if left uninterpreted, so I just went up and typed away with all the imageries and, yeah, please bear with the messiness augh.
NOTE however, this song is VERY explicit, aka, entirely sexual, so in case you're sensitive to that, have a big fat
NSFW
I transcribed the lyrics from the booklet directly, romaji and translation are my work. Prepare for even more notes at the end of the post than before.
If you want to share this, please don't repost without linking back to this post, and leave me a message if you do, thanks a bunches.
Phenomenon
穴の色に入れ混ぜる
七色無限の肉
曲がりくねる本能の血走り
たかが箱
されど体温
夕立の言葉
狂わされて行くのか
溢れた愛 継ぎ足す愛
貴方のうぶな声
もう飽きた過去が手招き
されど体温
宿す肉
「また明日ね」
肩に伸ばし掛かる真実から
狂わされて行くのか
今更ながら 夕立が綺麗
水飴を透かして
今更ながら 夕立が綺麗
これ以上…
Phenomenon
ana no iro ni iremazeru
nanashoku mugen no niku
magarikuneru honnou no chibashiri
taka ga hako
saredo taion
yuudachi no kotoba
kuruwasareteyuku no ka
afureta ai tsugitasu ai
anata no ubuna koe
mou akita kako ga temaneki
saredo taion
yadosu niku
「mata ashita ne」
kata ni nobashikakaru shinjitsu kara
kuruwasareteyuku no ka
imasara nagara yuudachi ga kirei
mizuame wo sukashite
imasara nagara yuudachi ga kirei
kore ijou…
Phenomenon (0)
Into the colour of the hole mixes [1]
infinite flesh in rainbow colours
The turning and twisting instincts become bloodshot,
and it is at most a box [2]
Even so, body temperature
Words at a sudden evening shower [3]
Am I going to be driven mad [4]
Love, that overflowed love, that extends
Your innocent voice
The past I got tired of already beckons
Even so, body temperature
Conceiving flesh
“See you again tomorrow”
Because it's a truth hanging long over your shoulders
Am I going to be driven mad
This late as it is the evening showers are beautiful
Holding up water candy to the light [5]
This late as it is the evening showers are beautiful
More than this…
notes
[1] Iremazaru would translate as "mix", however literally it means "enter, and mix/stir".
[2] The significance of the "becoming bloodshot", or possibly everything he's just described, is "at most a box". However, what is usually read and translated as "box" has a second meaning, which would be "feces". See the long note for further explanations.
[3] "Sudden evening shower" - it's rain showers, not showers you take in the bathroom, in case there's some confusion about this.
[4] More than "am I going mad", he asks whether he is going to be "driven mad", it's not him who just happens to be going mad, there's someone making him so.
[5] Amemizu would never be translated as "water candy", because it's actually "starch syrup". You'll see in (0) why I chose to translate it literally in this case. The verb used here can mean "hold up to the light", or "looking through something".
(0) HOLY MOLY, this song is highly sexual, or how should I put it in just a few words… it's about a fleshly relationship the I/he has gotten tired of, but somehow can't break away from, the “body temperature” is too tempting, as is some of the imagery with the colours and the evening showers, a certain despair about it being too late to really change anything (kore ijou, often used like “I can't take any more of this..” etc), even the evening showers have become beautiful; before it seemed the evening showers were just the time when they had sex, when there was "body temperature and words", but no significance, now they're more than that.
Right, one after the other: there’s the very first imagery - a "rainbow coloured flesh that literally enters and mixes with the colour of the hole", it’s like the penis (possibly rainbow coloured from the lube or latex of the condom, if you want to stay realistic) entering the girl, whichever hole. Infinite flesh... possibly he's got this image of himself ever growing inside her, or pretty much everything is flesh and bodies and doesn't stop. I'm sure you'll have your own ideas here.
The instincts that are mentioned might be the very instincts to twist and turn, aka have sex, and becoming bloodshot most likely because of it, well hello ok it's violent sex right there. However none of it does mean anything, it's at most “a box”, it's empty, meaningless, or if you take the other meaning of hako as pointed out in [2], it's just feces, aka shit. Nonetheless, it's tempting shit. So the question whether he's going crazy over the body temperature and (sweet, tempting, ...) words is justified.
There is talk about love, but it seems… misplaced… and it's in connection with the “innocent voice” of the you and the beckoning of the yesterday, or of the past that he's gotten tired of, oh but her flesh is so inviting, yadosu niku, literally flesh that keeps a guest - it's quite clear what kind of flesh keeps what kind of (fleshly) guest here. Yadosu however ALSO can mean ‘conceive’, so there's some sort of double entendre here with the possibility of the act producing a child.
The line with the truth hanging over the shoulder might be a way of saying that the TRUTH is he can't stop the relationship, so there will be a "seeing again tomorrow", apparently their fleshly relationship is a daily thing. What is hanging over her shoulders spread out long like that is her hair, and HAIR has a very sensual, erotic context in Japan, so the truth here again is that the sex with her is too compelling to stop, even though it drives him crazy, so he'll definitely come again tomorrow.
Here we've got what I've already mentioned further above: "as late as it is/has gotten" implies it's too late to do something (against it), and at this 'late hour' even the evening showers have become beautiful, or if you set the "evening showers" directly as metaphor of what happens during them, even their lustful, meaningless rendezvous have become beautiful.
The last imagery left unclear would be the “starch syrup” that might or might not be held up to the light, well, I did change the translations somewhat to what “starch syrup” literally means: water candy. Now I'm sure you can imagine sticky, watery candy that you can hold between your fingers, hold up to the light and have it shine through in a most compelling way, yes? Yes I'm sure you can.
━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━─━─
As I said, I don't usually deliver interpretations with my translations, but this one was very persistent, so why not.
When I first listened to Phenomenon, it immediately became one of my favourites from the album. I think it was the compelling rhythm and then the last lines with the yuudachi that just carried me off. When I first read the lyrics, I was a little perplexed haha, because I had not expected those kinds of words with that kind of music. Then again, knowing what it's about, the music does fit just perfectly. The rhythm, the way he audibly goes mad during the course of the song, then again catches himself with the sheer beauty of the last lines, which also depict the very beauty of the showers... hah. I can basically see Kyo dance across the stage in his typical way.
Hokay, I'm done. Outori, out.
Hope you enjoy, feel free to discuss and object etc.
My entire lyrics translation archive can be found here → here ←