2021.09.22 | Victor Entertainemnt
Go Go B-T Train
Love¹ (Koi)
Words by Sakurai Atsushi
Music By Hoshino Hidehiko
Japanese
ずっと前から そう わたしの中に‥
あなたが誰かを 知っている
お顔を見せて ねえ 笑ってみせて
わたしの名前を 呼ん で 欲しい
恋 焦がれ 夢 幻
あなたは踊り疲れて 眠る ああ
真っ白な爪先 血が滲む ああ
天国への階段 登ってゆく
ひとりでゆくのさ ひとりきりだよ
降り出した雨に 誰も
暗闇を歩く 勇気はあるかい
怖くは無いよと わた し 嘘 を
恋 焦がれ 夢 破れて
あなたは踊り疲れて 眠る ああ
わたしのこの両手 すり抜ける ああ
天国への扉を 叩いている
踊る 踊る 踊る 君は 愛
淡く 淡く 滲む 僕の 恋
踊る 踊る 踊る 君は 愛
淡く 淡く 滲む 僕の 恋
Romaji
By: Andy
Zutto mae kara Sou Watashi no naka ni‥
Anata ga dare ka wo shitte iru
Okao wo misete Nee Waratte misete
Watashi no namae wo yon de hoshi i
Koi Kogare Yume Maboroshi
Anata wa odori tsukarete nemuru Aa
Masshiro na tsumasaki chi ga nijimu Aa
Tengoku e no kaidan nobotte yuku
Hitori de yuku no sa Hitori kiri da yo
Furi dashita ame ni dare mo
Kurayami wo aruku yuuki wa aru kai
Kowaku wa nai yo to wata shi uso wo
Koi Kogare Yume Yaburete
Anata wa odori tsukarete nemuru Aa
Watashi no kono ryoute surinukeru Aa
Tengoku e no tobira wo tataite iru
Odoru Odoru Odoru Kimi wa ai
Awaku Awaku Nijimu Boku no koi
Odoru Odoru Odoru Kimi wa ai
Awaku Awaku Nijimu Boku no koi
English
By: Yoshiyuki
Since the very beginning, yes, inside me‥
I’ve always known who you are
Let me see your face Hey, smile for me
Won’t you call me… by… my name
Love Aflame A dream An illusion
You dance until you tire You sleep Ah
Alabaster nails Blood trickles Ah
I climb the stairway to heaven
I go alone All by myself
In the pouring rain, who
Dares traverse the dark?
“Fear not,” I… lied
Love Aflame A dream Torn apart
You dance until you tire You sleep Ah
These two hands of mine slip through Ah
I’m knocking on heaven’s door
Dance Twirl Sway You are my love
Lightly Faintly Trickling My affection
Dance Twirl Sway You are my love
Lightly Faintly Trickling My affection
Notes:
¹ A very difficult word to translate. There’s a difference between the usual 愛 (ai) and this 恋 (koi). The easy way out would be to simply translate 恋 as “love” but therein lies the question, how do you differentiate between the two?
On its own, 愛 is something deeper than 恋. Most would actually define 恋 as something akin to a crush.
According to FT Magazine #101, Sakurai said that the idea behind this song largely revolves around life and death (go figure) and it was written as a sort of requiem for his friends and acquaintances, both from work and his private life, who passed away in these recent few years. And the word 恋 was the word that came to him when he was working on the song. In other words, 恋 doesn’t equate to a “crush” here.
So I looked at 愛しい (itoshii) versus 恋しい (koishii) to get another perspective. Note that these two are adjectives. This time, while both refer to affections, 愛しい appears to focus more on a sense of protectiveness towards the other, while 恋しい is more about an intense attraction towards the other and a strong desire to see them.
This other nuance, along with yearning (another definition of 恋) seems more aligned with what I think Sakurai is trying to convey.
So, while I still settled for “Love” for the title, I’d really rather use something else but I just can’t quite come up with a better word in English.
You’ll see that I used “affection” towards the end so I hope it somewhat conveys some of that nuance.
All in all, I don’t actually think “Love” is the best possible English title for it, but I’m out of ideas at the moment.
So do drop me a message anywhere if you want to suggest something 🙂