DER ZIBET Lyrics | Stony Room

Words by ISSAY

Music by HAL

Japanese

聞こえてるのは雨音 …聞こえる雨音…
ポリリズムを刻んでる …ポリリズム刻む…
寝つけない夜 何度も寝返る
寝つけない夜 何度も寝返る
明日は何を着ていこう

エアコンは静かに動いてる …寡黙なエアコンディショナー…
風のストリングス奏でる …風のストリングス…
寝つけない夜 新聞配達の足音
寝つけない夜 明日は何時に起きようか

医者にもらった錠剤は 記憶を無くしてしまうのさ
In the Stony Room 時計だけが動いてる
The Stoned room at inn 夢と現のはざまで

ベッドに熱が溜まってく …熱の溜まったシーツの上…
今は昨日なのか今日なのか …今は夜なのか…
寝つけない夜 青い部屋の中ひとり
寝つけない夜 お前の顔が浮かんで消える

医者にもらった錠剤で 明日の朝は頭痛とめまい
In the Stony Room お前だけがいない
The Stoned room at inn 声だけがこだまする
In the Stony Room 時計だけが動いてる
The Stoned room at inn…
In the Stony Room

Romaji

By: Yoshiyuki

Kikoeteru no wa amaoto … Kikoeru amaoto…
Netsukenai yoru nando mo negaeru
Netsukenai yoru nando mo negaeru
Ashita wa nani wo kite ikou

Eakon wa shizuka ni ugoiteru … Kamokuna eakondishonaa…
Kaze no sutoringusu kanaderu … Kaze no sutoringusu…
Netsukenai yoru shinbunhai tachi no ashioto
Netsukenai yoru ashita wa nanji ni okiyou ka

Isha ni moratta jouzai wa kioku wo nakushite shimau no sa
In the Stony Room tokei dake ga ugoiteru
The Stoned room at inn yume to utsutsu no hazama de

Beddo ni netsu ga tamatteku … Netsu no tamatta shiitsu no ue…
Ima wa kinou nano ka kyou nano ka … Ima wa yoru nano ka…
Netsukenai yoru aoi heya no naka hitori
Netsukenai yoru omae no kao ga ukande kieru

Isha ni moratta jouzai de Ashita no asa wa zutsuu to memai
In the Stony Room omae dake ga inai
The Stoned room at inn koe dake ga kodamasuru
In the Stony Room tokei dake ga ugoiteru
The Stoned room at inn…
In the Stony Room

English

By: Yoshiyuki

All I can hear is the rain … I can hear the rain…
Pattering¹ out a polyrhythm … Pattering¹ a polyrhythm…
Sleepless nights Tossing and turning over and over
Sleepless nights Tossing and turning over and over
What should I wear tomorrow

The aircon is working quietly … A taciturn² air conditioner…
Strumming³ the strings of the wind … Strings of the wind…
Sleepless nights Footsteps of the paperboy⁴
Sleepless nights What time should I wake up tomorrow

The pills the doctor prescribed erases memories
In the Stony Room Only the clock is ticking
The Stoned room at inn Between dreams and reality

Heat⁵ is building in the bed … On the warmed⁵ sheets…
Is it yesterday now, or is it today … Is it night now…
Sleepless nights Alone in a blue room
Sleepless nights Your face comes to mind

The pills the doctor prescribed gives me headaches and dizziness the next morning
In the Stony Room Only you’re not here
The Stoned room at inn Only voices echo in the background
In the Stony Room Only the clock is ticking
The Stoned room at inn…
In the Stony Room

Notes:

¹ 刻む (kizamu) usually means “to engrave/carve”. In this line, it is to imply that the sound of the rain is “carving” it’s rhythm into the narrator’s mind. That’s a little bit too much information to put in that one line so I went with “pattering” since this word creates the sound once read, effectively “carving” it into the reader’s mind.

² “Taciturn” was used to describe the air conditioner precisely because 寡黙な (kamoku na) is typically used to describe a person of few words. Take it as a personification of the aircon.

³ 奏でる (kanaderu) is the verb for playing string instruments. I could use a generic “playing” instead of “strumming” but since the lyrics itself mentions strings, I went with “strumming”. Although, one could argue that “plucking” can be a valid choice too.

⁴ 新聞配達 (shinbun haitatsu) literally means “newspaper delivery”. If you’ve read Issay’s February 1994 interview with Rockin’ on Japan, you’d know that he once did newspaper delivery as a job. The mention of “footsteps” leads me to assume that it’s a door-to-door delivery service which would be done by a paperboy as he once was. Thus, the choice of translation.

⁵ At first read, I thought 熱 (netsu) was implying a fever since it’s the same word. I’ve ended up translating it as “heat” and “warmed” because those are typical phrases anyway, but considering the mention of doctors and pills, I just get the feeling that he actually did mean to imply a fever.