Click here for lyrics only.
Here is how I came up with my rewrite. Japanese has many open ended syllables while English often ends in consonants. I sometimes strayed from the translation to allow for similar sounds. I tried to make sure the English equivalent sounded nice when accented (often sung louder and paused). I also tried to maintain rhyme format (ABAB, AABB, etc).
I do not have access to a native japanese speaker. Please forgive me if I have misrepresented anything here. I aimed to balance translating the song with maintaining the beauty of the lyrics. I worked on this about 7 times over 2.5 weeks.
| 漢字 kanji + romanized japanese | translation | my interpretation | reasoning |
Note: accented syllables are bold
Intro
| 教えて 教えてよ oshiete, oshiete yo | tell me, please tell me | Oh say to me, please say to me now | 3 open vowel sounds |
| その仕組みを sono shikumi wo | that mechanism/structure | the truth you think you know | mechanism/structure do not sing well |
| 僕の中に Boku no naka ni | inside me | What hides inside of me | extra words to achieve syllable count |
| 誰がいるの？ dare ga iru no? | who is there? | I fear will never show | syllable count |
| 壊れた 壊れたよ Kowareta, kowareta yo | it/it’s broke/n, I broke | I’m breaking down, a broken heart in | syllable count |
| この世界で kono, sekai de | in this world | a dark and starless world. | tried to keep world neutral but syllable # |
| 君が笑う Kimi ga warau | you smile/laugh | You smile as dreamers do | syllable count |
| 何も見えずに nanimo miezu ni | without seeing anything | while blind to what you see. |
Verse 1
| 壊れた kowareta | broken/broke | So broken now | |
| 僕なんてさ boku nante sa | someone like me | but still me somehow | |
| 息を止めて iki wo tomete | hold my breath | no time for my next breath. | syllable count |
| ほどけないhodokenai | won’t come undone/can’t unravel | Won’t fall apart, | “fall apart” sings better |
| もう ほどけないよ mou hodokenai yo | it won’t come undone anymore | I, won’t fall apart so, | |
| 真実さえ, freeze shinjitsu sae, freeze | even the truth, freeze | truth itself will just, freeze. |
Pre-Chorus
| 壊せる 壊せない kowaseru, kowasenai | can break, cannot break | was breakable, can’t break me now, | opposites |
| 狂える 狂えない kurueru, kuruenai | can go mad, cannot go mad | delusional, see clearly now | opposites, repeat now to mimic original |
| あなたを見つけて 揺れた anata wo mitsukete | having found you | the day that I fin’lly found you. | syllable count + accents |
Chorus
| 揺れた 歪んだ yureta yuganda | shaken, distorted | Our cold shattered world I | tried to get the meaning across |
| 世界に sekai ni | in the world/ in this world | am lost within | the entire phrase |
| だんだん僕は dandan boku wa | little by little I | its chaos, | regardless of order |
| 透き通って見えなくなって sukitootte mienaku natte | become transparent, fade from sight | disappearing, slipping away. | -ing, gradually (little by little as in previous line) |
| 見つけないで mitsukenaide | don’t find me | Just leave me unseen, | |
| 僕のことを boku no koto o | me, about me | the truth I dare not show, | redundancy for syllable count |
| 見つめないで mitsumenaide | don’t stare/gaze at me | please don’t look at me. | |
| 誰かが dareka ga | someone | Someone unknown | |
| 描いた世界の中で egaita sekai no naka de | within the world someone drew/created | within our world they’ve reimagined. | “our” sings better than “the” |
| あなたを anata wo | you | Beyond its pain | |
| 傷つけたくはないよ kizutsuketaku wa nai yo | I do not want to hurt | let me not draw the dark to your light. | syllable count |
| 憶えていて 僕のことを oboeteite boku no koto o | remember me | I’m begging you please, always remember me, | oboeteite vs omoidashite, remember vs recall |
| 鮮やかなまま azayaka na mama | as I was, vivid, still vivid | as vivid as I once was |
Verse 2
| 無限に広がる mugen ni hirogaru | spreading infinitely | Endlessly, into the night | syllable count, night = vast, infinite |
| 孤独が絡まる kodoku ga karamaru | loneliness entangles | our loneliness shall intertwine. | |
| 無邪気に笑った mujaki ni waratta | laughed/smiled innocently | Your joy remains innocent, | “joy” sings better than smile or laugh |
| 記憶が刺さって kioku ga sasatte | memories pierce me | these memories, they pierce me | |
| 動けない、動けない、動けない ugokenai x3 | I can’t move x3 | can’t walk away x3 | syllable count, accents |
| 動けない、動けない、動けないよ ugokenai x2 ugokenai yo | I can’t move x2 I really can’t move | can’t walk away can’t walk away, oh | |
| unraveling the world | unraveling the world | unraveling the world. |
Bridge
| 変わってしまった, kawatte shimatta 変えられなかった kaerarenakatta | it/I changed, could not change it back | It changed me, without my, will I find my way back, | antanaclasis – “will” is the end and beginning of each phrase. double usage |
| 2つが絡まる, futatsu ga karamaru 2人が滅びるfutari ga horobiru | two things entwine, two people perish, | our fates now, align as one, our hearts collapse, in silent dark, | syllable count, roundabout way to say the same thing |
| 壊せる 壊せない, kowaseru kowasenai 狂える 狂えない kurueru kuruenai | can break, cannot break, can go mad, cannot go mad | was breakable, can’t break me now, delusional, see clearly now | |
| あなたを汚せないよ anata wo kegasenai yo | I cannot stain you/I won’t corrupt you | I won’t corrupt the light inside you. | syllable count |
Chorus, 2nd half
| 誰かが dareka ga | someone | Someone unknown | |
| 仕組んだ孤独な罠に shikunda kodoku na wana ni | into a lonely trap someone set | has trapped us in shadows out of sight. | “out of sight” instead of “lonely” |
| 未来がほどけてしまう前に mirai ga hodokete shimau mae ni | before/while the future unravels, comes undone | The future, unraveling, slips away from me | |
| 思い出して 僕のことを omoidashite boku no koto wo | remember me | I’m begging you please, somehow remember me | syllable count. recall vs remember |
| 鮮やかなまま azayaka na mama | as I was, vivid, still vivid | as vivid as I once was |
Post-Chorus
| 忘れないで、忘れないでwasurenaide x2 | don’t forget, don’t forget | Please don’t forget me x2 | syllable count |
| 忘れないで, 忘れないでwasurenaide x2 | don’t forget, don’t forget | please don’t forget me x2 | |
| 変わってしまったことに kawatte shimatta koto ni paralyze | paralyzed by what has changed | This change in me now has left me so paralyzed, | |
| 変えられないことだらけ paradise kaerarenai koto darake paradise | paradise full of things that cannot be changed | the pieces that can remain belong to paradise. | “in” paradise seems physical, “to” more inclusive |
| 憶えてて 僕のことを oboeteite boku no koto wo | remember me | I’m begging you please, always remember me. | syllable count |
Outro
| 教えて oshiete | tell me | Oh say to me, | |
| 教えて oshiete | tell me | please say to me, | |
| 僕の中に boku no naka ni | inside me | I fear I’ll never know | switched these |
| 誰がいるの？ dare ga iru no? | who is there? | what hides inside of me. | to avoid 3 me’s |