Favourite Lyricists?

[emmny 4139]

the topic of lyrics has been discussed a lot on here, whether they're important or not etc its all subjective lalala.

for those of us that take them heavily into consideration/find them important, who are your favourite lyricists?

a lot of my honmei bands are distinguished by brilliant lyrics, thats the way i can latch onto a band. if the vocal is expressing themselves in a way that i can relate, their music and words take on a new, more sentimental value. of course, the lyricists mentioned wouldn't have resonated without a decent western following who translated lyrics, interviews, other material; so im sure there are a few artists who are equally brilliant but not mentioned similarly in the western fandom as there simply aren't resources to understand what they're saying.

none of these translations are mine

 

mako (ex. deadman, kein)

deadman - sakura to ame

"Flowers are scattering in down pouring tears
Your smile is also falling apart
Another drop from among the trees
A flow of countless falling petals"

credit: http://web.archive.org/web/20041108083218/http://www.mikawawan.net/heaven/sakura.htm

my deadman obsession came from his beautiful words and reflections on love, life, religion, emotion etc

 

temari (ex. amber gris, ruvie)

amber gris - feel me
"Flowers bloom in the depths of my dreams
in the distance, a bell resounds
I wonder if the next time we meet
I’ll be able to return to the me that you loved

Thank you.

―Good night."

https://antares489.wordpress.com/2012/02/11/feel-me-amber-gris/

temari's lyrics fuck me up severely like i cant even describe but they're so bittersweet i've cried so much reading amber gris/ruvie lyrics its not even funny its just pathetic

 

hitomi (ex. moran, fatima)

fatima - blue velvet
"Those words I haven't told you have begun to tickle the inside of my throat.
When I was by your side, it was different.
Anxiety, which has seemingly sharpened, is festering,
Always fading away, like a light balloon with a hole.
I feel "it shouldn't have ended like this," as tears slowly roll down my cheeks.
Nevertheless, the night sky remains a tender blue."

http://web.archive.org/web/20070306031237/http://www.nakigoe.info/bluevelvet-e.htm

what people forget a lot about moran is how big of a personality hitomi had in fatima, its hard to describe but the whole band was coloured by his personality and influence. moran is more straightforward, but his poet soul still comes across strongly.

 

daisuke (ex. kagerou, the studs)

kagerou - kusatta umi de oborekaketeiru boku wo sukutekureta kimi

"To you who saved me from drowning in this rotten sea
I can't lie anymore, because i love you

The present we've come to hate, even you
I can't protect you, I'm a weakling
I'm sorry you associated with my selfishness
For now thank you and goodbye"
daisuke wrote next level emo boy breakup songs that actually werent shit. kusatta umi is the seminal breakup song, and the last few lines in the song hurt like a bitch.

 

tsuzuku (mejibray)

Mejibray - shuuei OBI (poem on the side of the cd or whatever an obi is)
"Cosmos, that are in full bloom.
Quick, raise your fair faces to me.
Your visages after rain that look to be full of tears
And those on sunny days that might be as smiles,
They all carry to me feelings from that day.
Do not wither
Do not pass me by
I am but paint,
But you cosmos, there is none like you."
love him or hate him, no one writes like him. the fandom is lucky to have a brilliant translator (herisarchy on tumblr) who really does his lyrics justice--she also turns his writing into an episode of the da vinci code or something its hard to believe that someone who seems so erratic writes with such intense intent and planning.

 

ryo (keel)

9GOATS BLACK OUT - tenshi
"An angel being embraced strongly,
Even if you don’t look hard it’s visible to you, right?
A warm weight in both those arms, touching your smiling face,
There’s always someone beside you, longing for you,
that’s why you smile so softly,"

https://antares489.wordpress.com/2009/05/24/tenshi-9goats-black-out/

ryo's lyrics are awesome and usually quite complex yet still accessible. he's lovely.

theres a bunch more great lyricists (nigu, kazuma, yuuki, ruki, kyo etc), but these are my favs tell me yours!

i swear im not that big of a sap

[vanivani 558]

(I would provide examples, but I'm not much in the mood to try and translate lol)

 

My favorite visual kei lyricists would have to be....

 

SaToRu / グラムヘイズ-glamhaze-

Their first single has really resonated with me on a personal level. His lyrics appear to be simplistic, but deep and/or get to the point. I like the theme of the songs so far. Themes of the struggles of life but still moving forward. Really curious if SaToRu is going to branch out with his lyrics in future releases or stick to similar themes.

 

Kazuki / ザアザア-XAA-XAA-

His lyrics tend to also be simplistic in my opinion, but are beautifully/cleverly written. 

 

AKIRA / MASKED RIDER SYSTEM

Love AKIRA's style of writing. His lyrics are simple, get to the point, yet are very beautifully written. The lyrics on their last single are especially emotional. The last song is a farewell to the fans.

[Koike 301]

Some of my favourites are Tatsurou/Miya from MUCC, especially on 朽木の灯 (and older releases in general). Lyrics on that album are packed with so much emotion and rage at the same time (遺書 pls)

[hiroki 5521]

I hate lyric threads because I always spend more time than I should on them. Ok not really, I love them.

 

What I look for in lyrics: subtlety, complexity, porosity, a signature style that cannot be forged.

 

I hate cheesy/repulsive lines like those you find in Johnnys music (e.g. “I love you and I want to meet you”, “I want to spread my wings and fly to a new tomorrow”). I also detest outmoded tropes, motifs, iconography that have been recycled to death.  

 

I can think of 4 lyricists off my head now (might come back and edit this post a little later..) Random sampling of said lyrics + long ramblings in spoiler tags. You have been warned.

 

HERO – Jin

You can refer to this post to get a taste of his lyrics. This is probably one of his most straightforward songs, though no less moving. It's formally complex, but the narrativistic perspective is clear and there’s very little left to figure out, as it were. Some other HERO songs like 笑わなかった少年 have attracted vibrant debates among Japanese fans on its interpretation even 3-4 years on.

 

DIV – Chisa

Chisa’s lyrics are a bit inconsistent, but he’s brilliant at his best. I’m reminded of the 1^st chorus of SEASONS where he (probably without knowing it) uses the Symbolist technique of synaptic interruptions in an extremely elegant way; with 4 disparate transient images that flash past over 2 lines, he captures the psychologically discontinuous passing of time in a way very few lyricists can.

 

VANISH is another personal favorite. The chorus is deceptively simple:

 

隣に来て
瞳閉じて
壊れた夢
嘘?タダの自由

 

I’ve been mulling over the 4^th line for more than 3 years now. What’s the 嘘 (lie) and what’s its connection with 自由 (freedom)? More concretely: is the apparent freedom in front of us a lie? Or is it because we’ve been lied to that we’re now, paradoxically, free? The lack of conjunction here creates this space of ambiguity that becomes lost in English translations because the two nouns will have to be conjoined somehow for grammatical correctness. And why does Chisa append タダ (“tada” in Katakana no less!) to the freedom? “Tada” usually means “merely” or “just” as in ただの人間 (“I’m just human”) – so it's a cynical spin on the freedom because perhaps it's not really true freedom ("well, it's just 'freedom'"). At the same time, “tada” can mean “free of charge” and that no payment is required for the commodity. So this freedom is also “free” in a second sense of the word – it’s absolute, unrestrained freedom that goes beyond having any material exchange value. The two are obviously incompatible. Again, another subtle tension opened up by the brilliant lyricist.

 

SID – Mao

Lol I think Mao’s lyrics speak for themselves. Some of the most idiosyncratic lyrics in the Japanese language. I wanna know what he's smoking when writing lyrics. ‘Nuff said.

 

Vistlip - Tomo

Tomo’s lyrics can be summed up succinctly as in 3 words: they are untranslatable (Mao’s too, actually). It’s a bit like trying in vain to translate Mallarmé from French into English. I confess that I have a penchant for sprawling, labyrinthine, “modernist” lyrics that don’t seem to make any sense at first glance until you dig deeper, and they suddenly strike you as a totally new set of lyrics if you just take a break and return to them 5 minutes later. My taste will appear rather curious to most people, but since I’m insane enough to read 18^th century texts and write conference papers on them, please excuse me. I also strongly believe that any attempted translation of vistlip’s lyrics must be appended by at least 10 pages of footnotes to do them justice (I serviced a request for a vistlip translation once, and needless to say, I never got another one).

 

So, as a random example (I really could have picked any other section from vistlip's songs - their lyrics are that good) let's look at the penultimate section of chapter:ask, a song that’s part-voyeuristic, part-mythical:

 

こんなにもあなたは綺麗で
こんなにもあなたは聡明で
こんなにもあなたはあなたで
こんなにもあなたを愛してる
こんなにもあなたは透明で
こんなにもあなたは虚ろで
こんなにもこんなにもあなたは・・・あなたは・・・嗚呼

 

I don’t have time to go into any reasonably sustained analysis of this, except to point out that the seemingly innocuous adjectives with which each line ends are actually so wonderfully conceived to stage the disappearance of the addressee. From 綺麗 (beautiful) to 聡明 (intelligent/wise), interspersed by an あなた (you) in the 3^rd line – before the lyrics takes a surprising turn in the subsequent lines – the “you” becomes 透明 (transparent), then 虚ろ (hollow), before finally collapsing into the “anata” in the 7^th line that’s very different from the 3^rd – it’s now drawn out, like an unfinished sentence that will never end. What happened here is that the corporeal/sensible qualities (beauty, intelligence, etc.) stabilizing and consolidating the “you” in the 3^rd line have now given way to the incorporeal and all that’s left is a floating signifier “you” marked by a gaping void (transparency, hollowness). It’s no longer a "you" as in a person, but a “you” that no longer exists except as a word mediated by the speaker’s voice that only he can hear, ringing on interminably and helplessly.

 

A lot more can be said about this passage alone (the repetitive structure, the interplay of the で particle and the る that syntactically denotes the sentence boundary, etc.), but I won't.

 

Ok now you know how good Tomo is.

[Aferni 2381]

Jin -儿-(ex-NEGA -> now in THE BLACK SWAN)

NEGA - RESONANCE

 

SHUT MOTHERFUCKER!

くだらねえ理想論　上辺だけの POSITIVE

吐き気がする BETTY SMILE

 

誰も彼もが腐った雌に媚を売り欲を掻き立てる

響くはずもない嘘だらけの言葉に踊らされてる

飼い殺されてるお前らに其処に立つ資格はない

ならば本気で叫んでみろよ？ 3…2…1…SHUT UP!!

 

PLEASE STOP FOR ME

I FEEL NAUSEA

RESONATE REASON

 

REASONANCE [VOICE]

FAKE VERCE

 

[bURST]

PLEASE TELL ME THE ANSWER

I DON'T NEED EXCUSE

I FELT MURDEROUS

LIKE A DILDO

 

誰も彼もが腐った雌に媚を売り欲を掻き立てる

響くはずもない嘘だらけの言葉に踊らされてる

此処に掲げた「理由」も無く　不実の種は殻が破れる

目を抉じ開けて見定めろ　其処にある虚栄の花と

 

「真実」を…

 

 狂鬼-kyouki- (ex- RELOAD, now in グリーヴァ)

 

 

グリーヴァ - 「絶望ノ朝」

 

 

二人で過ごした

この部屋からは

君の残り香が…

 

嗚呼…晴れた空を見ると

想い出が溢れ出して

痛イ…痛イ…痛イ…

 

雲一つ無い

よく晴れた朝

こんな日には首を吊ろう

光が差すテラスの椅子で

遺書を描いて君に送ろう

 

掻き消したい

よく晴れた空

こんな朝に君の元へ…

肌を撫でる

そよ風 浴びて

君に宛てた言葉を綴ろう

 

 

吐-Habaki- (ex-針槐-halienju-)

 

針槐-halienju- - Dances cleverly

 

 

高笑いの貴方様には

娯楽の類でしょう？

吊すも断つも

指先一つの首擡げて

 

狡猾なれ

dances cleverly

気取るなよ

悲劇のAntoinette

 

不条理の上に散る夢と

雁字搦めな自由

平等に仕組まれた未来

誰が為踊るのか

 

Hey,master

please hear my voice.

Till when is this continued?

Intolerable for seeing.

Avaricious dance is ugly.

 

刹那咲くなら其れでも良い

断首台誇らしき死を。

誰の為でもない君の舞台

足掻く様に踊れ

 

棘と変えよ利用価値を

捨て駒らしく悲劇を演じ

甘き水を啜ろう

…幕を下ろせば

踊り疲れた華は枯れ行く

 

 

im only posting these three cause its late, more tomorrow tho <3

[beni 2149]

Hella neat thread! Any thread about lyrics is an instant thumbs up from me!

 

Damn it, there's so many to choose from! I have a big ass file with a load of translated songs and albums I have printed. >.> Loving the lyrics from your favourites. I'll be using the same format for my picks below~

Honorable mentions goes to:

(so many...) awoi, first, because their songs are always amazing with totally awesome lyrics, but on paper, it looks quite repetitive and probably doesn't look all that effective unless you listen while reading along xD I'm going to say D'espaires Ray and DELUHI are another two I'll just mention because like awoi, I don't think their lyrics looks all that impressive in text but super effective when reading while listening. Versailles have SO MANY segments I'd love to include too. ;; I was so close to including Utada Hikaru too because she is more than deserving of her song writing praise.

 

ANYWAY, here ya go, aha~

 

Ryutaro of Plastic Tree (surprise, surprise~ well.. pretty much all the dudes should be mentioned here tbh) (lyric credit: bloompsychedelicdream)

 

When I send down love, you’re my rain; when I compose love, you’re my song

When I smile at love, you’re my Pierrot; when I stray from love, where are you?

When I fall into love, you’re my trap; when I peek at love, you’re my hell

When I strengthen love, who is it for? Hey–

 

^ There's SO many options with this one, it was hard to pick just a small segment but I thought that'd be the best before I spam. Romantic, bittersweet and poetry like, this is just what Taro ordered. One of my favourite songs because of its sound, as well as for its gorgeous lyrics.

 

Gackt (lyric credit: amaia)

 

The earth goes on forever, everything is beautiful

the season when you closed your eyes is passing by

Even now, the sadness won't vanish, but

the world I longed for is beginning

 

At the end of my sadness, I found it at last

I held the flower named "you" close

The love overflows and it overwhelms me…

 

If I am reborn, let it be by your side

You are the irreplaceable flower

 

^ Bit more text than I intended but this whole song is a feel trip from start to end like the majority of his songs. Love it for its emotional value.

 

Takanori Nishikawa (Abingdon Boys School) (lyric credit: gacktpause)

 

I'll sacrifice everything for you now

If it comes true

Your request to just be guaranteed warmth

Don't let go of my hand

 

...

 

Regardless of where you are, I'll bring this feeling

Overflowing as it is

I'll take you along with me, far away

So don't look at me with those eyes

 

I'll sacrifice this life of mine for your sake

Because we met each other

Those bygone days will never return, but even so

never let go of my hand

 

^ Love, love, love his lyrical work in ABS. It plays beautifully in my head when reading the lyrics along with listening to the song.

 

hyde (l'arc en ciel) (lyric credit: hanithelightoflove)

 

I'm so happy that I was able to meet you in one of the corners of this ever changing world

The emotions seemed to overflow and I couldn't put them into words

If I can meet you again someday I wonder if I'd be able to tell you better?

I'll overshoot that distant rainbow

Good luck my way, on the path I believe in

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------

 

Riding on the winds we fly, towards a place somewhere different

Crossing oceans, crossing times, it will certainly bloom 

Like the sun, for all the days for all the time

I want to protect you

I want to shine on you

And always like that dazzling sun,

I will defend you from all the darkness,

This is the truth from my heart.

 

^ Two song samples because I couldn't help myself. Kinda sappy, but too adorable and positive, I just love it.

 

Lacroix Despheres (lyric credit: lacroixdespheres)

 

Now

Even your kindness, even your warmth,

and your everything I will hold with my hands

Even your pain, and even the unforgettable grief

disappeared in the distant night

 

^ Really fits there whole style, and it goes together with the whole music like a charm. 

 

Motoo Fujiwara of BUMP OF CHICKEN (lyric credit: utau-inu)

 

We’re scared, you and me

to look at ourselves, to have others see us

or to see into others

but we send out this mayday like a prayer

from the depths of the part of ourselves that we drown

 

the signal sounds out

deep in a chamber of the heart

so this is where you were, come here, don’t run away

once i’ve found where it’s coming from, I’ll give you this kiss

It’s from yourself, I’ve kept it for you.

 

Do I have the courage? Once my hand takes yours

I’ll take you outside without letting go, you can trust me

Will my breath hold out until we get outside the heart to where it shines

When I finally breathe again, it will be together with you

 

^ One of my favourite songs because of the continuous, story like portrayal of the 'drowning' theme. Executed perfectly, it's an unforgettable song once you read over its lyrics.

 

Yūki Ozaki of Galileo Galilei (lyric credit: wingedsheep)

 

The world spread out, we're right here

A thousand colors are blending little by little

I can stay myself

You can stay yourself

We'll never forget that flower's color

 

Its colors will never fade

 

^ Second best to BOF if you ask me. Just as charming lyrics on the cute and positive side, also has a metaphorical meaning behind it which is always a plus.

 

Yojiro Noda of RADWIMPS (lyric credit: masitata)

 

I've already decided that we'll sleep in the same bed, even when we're 50

Maybe if we hold hands, we'll become one, and we'll never be apart for the rest of our lives

Let's keep dreaming like this, pretending we'll never wake up

But then again, it's called a "dream" because we wake up from it, right?

Then let's name it something else

 

You can be called "lo" and I can be called "ve"

Then, it won't seem like we could ever part! I'll write a song about that one day

 

...

 

Even if it's astrology, or a bad luck year,

Or if I'm from jupiter, and you're from mars,

No matter what you say,

I'm from earth. And even if I were from jupiter,

you're only a planet away.

I'll use my once in a lifetime warp right here.

 

^ One of my FAVOURITE lyrics right here. Everything about this is the sweetest thing ever, I just want my partner to sing this to me every night.

 

Masafumi Gotoh of ASIAN KUNG FU GENERATION

 

You may get sad

It may get painful

You may let out a sigh

You may become miserable

You may start thinking about mortality

But let's keep on breathing

 

Open up

Your heart

What's there to feel guilty about?

Why is it so difficult for us?

 

Shine

With your words

Cause that's what counts

Reach out into the darkness, no matter how far

Go

 

^ I always forget how inspiring their lyrics are and how much they mean to me.

 

Takahiro Moriuchi of ONE OK ROCK

 

Although time passes and we get older

These are irreplaceable treasures

That cannot be seen for form has nothing to do with it

They are my most precious memories

Now and always...

 

So everybody ever be buddies

Days we grew up are days we will treasure

Everybody show is beginning 

curtain has risen

Make your own storyline

Dream as if you will live forever

And live as if you'll die today

 

^ An important message. These guys can always pull off wonderful lyrics and meaningful masterpieces.

 

Phew, there we go!

[emmny 4139]

yes on ryuutaro ++++1, moonlight gets me fucked up everytime; i just havent read enough translations to include him on my list

 

hiroki go awf with that english major realness!! i spent like an hour making and chosing the pics for the thread for literally no reason LOL

i have similar criteria but i cant resist the sad girl visual kei tropes of the rain, pathetic fallacy in general and flowers. those fucking flowers man.

[violetchain 912]

Takuro from GLAY and Sakurai Kazutoshi from Mr.Children are definitely two of the biggest ones for me.

 

Takuro:

Hitohira no jiyuu - http://utau-inu.com/centj/translations/hitohiranojiyuu_glay.htm

Minamigochi - http://utau-inu.com/centj/translations/minamigochi_glay.htm

Fighting Spirit - http://utau-inu.com/centj/translations/fightingspirit_glay.htm

 

Sakurai:

Tenohira - http://utau-inu.com/centj/translations/tenohira_mrchildren.htm

Surrender - http://utau-inu.com/centj/translations/surrender_mrchildren.htm

Ame nochi hare - http://utau-inu.com/centj/translations/amenochihare_mrchildren.htm

 

^None of those translations are mine, btw. The links go straight to the translator's website.

 

I think Chiba Yusuke (Thee Michelle Gun Elephant/ROSSO/The Birthday)'s mix of manly directness and weird, sometimes almost random imagery is glorious as well. I have no idea what he's talking about most of the time, but whenever I try to translate one of his songs the images always stand out really clearly in my mind - like he's gluing scenes from old movies I vaguely remember watching together.

 

Here's my sketchy translation of ROSSO's "Hitogoroshi"

 

"The two of us are lovers

I don’t know her name

 

I said “Let’s leave this city at dawn, on the first train”

The morning sun shone in from the window, lighting the two of us

There were cookie crumbs in the coat we were wrapped up in

 

It’s too green, that meadow we’d planned to go to

But, because this train wouldn’t make it there

At that time, I didn’t know

The policemen are everywhere

 

The two of us are lovers

I don’t know her name"

 

--

 

Here are some pieces of my attempt at The Birthday's "GILDA":

 

"Happy birthday, dear Gilda

A bat or ice cream;

Which should I choose

To give as a present?

 

Happy birthday, dear Gilda

Wear your casket

And we’ll go to pick blueberries

For a bottled jam

Dear Gilda, I love you

Yesterday a pink rain fell,

And we laughed

 

Open your eyes! Open your eyes! Open your eyes!

 

...

 

At dawn, on the rings of Saturn,

Should we have an indy race?

 

Happy birthday, dear Gilda

The warm time has come,

So shall we bury our precious treasures in the field?

 

Dear Gilda, I love you

There was no wind,

So you could hear the little bird’s chatter

Dear Gilda"

[plastic_rainbow 2162]

I wish I paid more attention to lyrics........I only read two or three from bands I like. Or either I come across a bad translation and don't grasp the real meaning of the song. I've read quite a few of Plastic Tree's though (thank goodness for all the good translations!), but I can't say that I've read most of them. They have so many songs anyway! But every time I read a new one, Ryutaro's beautiful writing always gets to me. His lyrics are tangible, bittersweet, sad, and most often times about loneliness.

Plastic Tree - Yume no Shima (the whole thing because it's pretty short anyway)

A devil came and, singing,
Asks, “How is the world you wished for?”
It seems that I won’t be able to grasp helping hands anymore
My talent is being alone
“I didn’t have a place,” I tried to answer
On a beautiful day, my wishes seem to turn to ash
I wonder why I can’t remember the spell to wake from this dream?

 

Where should I go to throw away this sadness that has entered my mind?
Where is the glittering dream island?
I want to rot with the garbage that’s burned and won’t go away
We’ll go together to the glittering dream island

Where should I go to throw away this sadness that has entered my mind?
Where is the glittering dream island?
I want to rot with the garbage that’s burned and won’t go away
We’ll go together to the glittering dream island

 

Recently, now that I know an adequate amount of Japanese, I've found it more effective to read lyrics in Japanese while listening. But I'm not saying that my Japanese is sufficient enough to understand them fully either. I mainly do this because some lyrics I want to read haven't been translated to english yet...AND it's always nice to read the original~

Kobayashi from THE NOVEMBERS

THE NOVEMBERS - はじまりの教会

もういいんだ行ってもいいんだ
もういいんだ言ってもいいんだ
降りられないメリーゴーラウンドを降りたい
今瓦礫の上へ

自由の終わりと理由の終わりへ行こうよ
喜んだり悲しんだりするんだよ

 

I've read a few from Tsukiko Amano too, and I especially really like this one. The whole song is spoken word, which works out quite nicely while listening.

Tsukiko Amano - Ten

Tears turn to pearls
Pearls turn to an ocean
The ocean turns to a storm
The storm turns to the sky

 

The sky falls
And turns into a flower
A flower called you

[Tokage 5930]

Agreeing with Ryo, Temari, Hitomi, Mako, the Plastic Tree gang and old MUCC. Based only on the translations i've read, i also thought Liphlich, Guruguru Eigakan, Jun Togawa, Inugami Circus Dan, Strawberry Song Orchestra, The Gallo, Merry and cali≠gari have interesting lyrics.

[Pretsy 1343]

Even though I am not a huge fan of fan translations anymore (considering that about 60-70% of the actual meaning could be conveyed through such method anyway), not to mention the fact that understanding artists' lyrical work in-depth would rather spoil all the fun (take say, all those J-rock bands with pseudophilosophical verses and shizznit) - I have a few staple works in my mind:

 

YUI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKL1rEtVr74
 

夕暮れのコンビ二の駐車場
明日を知らない子供が
小さくアタシに手を振っている

知恵をつけなさい　将来負けないように
説得したいのに　うまく話せない
そんなんじゃダメ　納得もできない

oh 神様　ちょっと不公平だって思うよ

 

On the parking lot of a super market at dusk

a kid that knows nothing about tommorrow

waves at me a little bit with his hand.

"Please make yourself knowledgable, so that you don't lose out in the future!"

I want to convince it, although I can't bring it across in a good way.

It is useless anyway. It can't even understand.

Oh God, I think this is a little unfair.

 

 

Ayumi Hamasaki had this lyrical gem I still half-sing/hum to nowadays:

 

 

Special mention:

Hikaru Utada (go figure)

 

[Tokage 5930]

Bonus additions I forgot the first time around:

Kenji Ohtsuki and andymori. Oh, and TK from Rin Toshite Shigure's interesting if only for the amount of times he can cram the words ''plastic'' or ''tornado'' into a song

[Pretsy 1343]

Bonus additions I forgot the first time around:

Kenji Ohtsuki and andymori. Oh, and TK from Rin Toshite Shigure's interesting if only for the amount of times he can cram the words ''plastic'' or ''tornado'' into a song

I forgot to add TK too (his lyricwork makes me crack up sometimes tho -"Fake's Plastic World/Keep It Secret Motion"??!!) - off my

:

 

 

SWAY, SWAY

SWAY, SWAY

SWAY, SWAY

SWAY, SWAY

SWAY, SWAY

So fuck you lady, so fuck you lady

So fuck you in my room

…

So fuck you lady, so fuck you lady

So fuck you in my room*  (ps. LTS didn't print this part in italics for some reason, lol)

…

Fuck you lady sway

 

hear me, hear me, hear me 感情

tell me, tell me, tell me suicide

見えてない 聞こえてない 見えてない

君無しで伝えたい未来を 見させて 僕に見させて

僕は君に何かを叫んでる

君無しで伝えたい未来を 見させて 僕に見させて

僕は君に何かを叫んでる

 

 

Just - wow.

[Tokage 5930]

Honorable mention also to Shuuji Ishii's LEGENDARY broken english

[blackdoll 907]

Yuuki

この手は不器用に
残滓と戯れる

終わりの舞踏台に
ボレロを滑らせる

僕には何故 翼が無い
君を抱いて 悲劇の歌を踊ろう

やがてくる 最後の夜
今ここで踊ってみせよう
愛しても 愛しても この翼じゃ
届かなくて
朽ちてゆく 悲鳴を上げ
終幕のエンドロール
消えないで 消えないで 優しげな
君の声が 冷たくて 愛しい

月夜の沈む晩に
鳴くのは 迷い猫

奏でる悪魔たち
踊るは天使たち

あぁ 君を愛した果てに儚い歌が泣き続けた

僕には何故 歌えない
君を抱いて 悲しい夢と踊る

やがてくる 最後の夜
今ここで踊ってみせよう
揺れながら 揺れながら いつかみた
君を想うよ

懐かしい光を背に
今この手で終わらせよう
愛してた 愛してた 君がいた
あの場所へ 飛びたとう

舞い上がれ

 

also

Got that Super Soaker
Pussy pop like Cola Coca
Plus it's tighter than a choka'
Got em smilin' like the Joker
Got that ne-ne-ne-ne-ne-ne-ne-ne
Little Mermaid on my linen
When yo mama sleepin'
You can call me and get all up in it
Bank rolls
Gimmie all them pretty furs
Cause my pussy game cold
When he hit it he say bur
He say b-b-b-b-bur
I'mma I'mma marry her
And he p-lay with that purr (pearl)
Like he strummin' his guitar
That's me; I am Minaj
I am Ni-Nicki Minaj
And if you want a menage
Keep a couple pretty broads
Look head game busy busy
Make a nigga dizzy dizzy
Bitch I'm at that slumber party
Sippin on that frizzy chrissy

[TetsuAkira 289]

_{For me - Tatsurou from Mucc.}

 

_{Especially early stuff, so raw and emotional.}

[odrep 68]

Gara from Merry now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

 

 

I want to steal your heart, your face, your body, your voice, your breath, I want all of you

Somehow I fall in love with you, I've accepted with resignation

Thats why at least for now keep looking only at me and hold me tightly

As the desk lamp embrace us with its light, our fake love story unravels

 

I hush my voice and escape from reality

 

All I can see is past

I snuggle up to my pain and suffer without a word

 

Please, name my heart

Please, name my sadness

My wounded heart started to ache suddenly

What am I lacking?

Please, just tell me

Even though there's no hope for me

 

It might be the end...So will you hear me out?

I hope to reach you...

There's no comfort for me...My slight hope fall like blossoms... 

 

I was reluctant to part, I was overwhelmed by a flood of emotion

I looked up so my tears wouldn't fall...

My mother cried

 

Tonight I feel very lonely...

It might have been a girlish thing to do...

But as I thought about my family...I cried...

 

And Gekisei

 

Regarding western lyricists, Mike Kinsella (American Football, Owen)

 

thanks http://merrymitsu.tumblr.com

[Tokage 5930]

Honorable mention also goes to Dokusatsu Terrorist for their delivery of maximum laughs:

 

Yo I'm stupid, I'm dumb yo, I'm ultra stupid without any help
Yo I'm stupid, I'm really super stupid; my mind's weak, but my cock is stronger
Yo I'm stupid, yo yo hey yo... I forgot the words...
Yo I'm stupid, but my cock is stronger, yo I'm stupid -- cock respect

Speak Japanese right! Who are you anyway?
Speak Japanese right! Are you from the boonies?!

 

This is North Korea (The People's Democratic Republic of Korea)
The TV news doesn't have a set
The soldiers look like supermen (Fire the dog bomb!)
If we get tired, let's secretly try to be like the south

[anakuro 847]

Lmao I love Dokusatsu Terrorist's lyrics too. They have a song that's "my daughter is a bangya" and it's hilarious.

 

Serious note though my favorite would have to be HaL from Minus Jin-Say Orchestra. Some examples of my favorite lyrics of his would be

• 少女、時々雨。
• 鳥人間たかし
• ヰらない子
• うた歌い筆を折って

I like Kazuki from XAA-XAA's lyrics too but it's a bit simplistic and redundant at the same time.

[Ikna 1225]

Almost all of the not so serious, funny VK bands have great and comedic lyrics. See La'royque de zavy. I also find most of Yuuga's (Devil Kitty) lyrics to be amusing.

 

On a more serious spectrum, I like most of the lyrics by the late 90s Nagoya bands, particularly Phobia and Merry go Round (I wish there were more translations of songs from the latter.)

 

Surprised no one mentioned Hisui/Madeth gray'll yet. From what I have seen their lyrics may look very edgy and angsty, but upon closer look they turn out to be very beautiful – albeit macabre – poetry. 

[chemicalpictures 1888]

BEST THREAD EVER.

 

Loved your in-depth post, hiroki! I got zero japanese skills, but just the PV of 25億秒の使い方。 is gut-wrenchy enough...  Made me really curious about vistlip's lyrics aswell!

 

And omg dat 'Tetris' lyrics. Makes me love this song even more!

 

I'm really thinking on studying japanese just for fun purposes, I can't help but wonder if some of my favorite emotional pieces have equally great lyrics... (oh, what are the best places to find translated lyrics around the web? for romaji I usually go to peffy's excellent hiphopvomit or jpopasia, but translations are so hard to find...)

 

I love xTRiPx's 10+1 lyrics, mostly because they acknowledge that it's okay to fail, It's okay to not be as sucessfull as you expected (in any area of your life) as long as you do the best you can with what as given to you, that's what matters in the end.

 

Life is what is changing

What can be seen with closed eyes

I’ll get to that future waiting up ahead someday

As long as I keep on believing

Even if my wish doesn’t come true

My life will glow

 

Pay Money to my Pain has some great straightforward lyrics too. 'Innocent in a Silent Room' and 'This Life' are good examples...

[Haruto 60]

I think all of my favorite lyrics are written by Otogi from Awoi (アヲイ).
The lyrics are deep, dark, desperate and real. He creates amazing sceneries and mental images and there are a lot of plays on words, too.

Akane also writes some interesting lyrics. He strikes me as one to do a lot of research and make a lot of hints, for example biblical references or the soul weighing 21 grams. I like stuff like that.

[YuyoDrift 1540]

Ruki from the GazettE

Daisuke from Kagerou

Wataru from 12012

 

All because Nostalgia played a big role

 

God I love Japanese Lyrics.

[Tokage 5930]

One band with absolutely HORRIBLE lyrics is D, in my opinion.. They're so fucking cheesy in a bad way, i can't deal with it

 

also i sort of am getting sick of the ''blooming like a flower'' metaphor japanese bands LOVE to use...

[*littlelamb 78]

Another vote for Gara! I basically studied Japanese for 3 years so I could understand him, not even ashamed to admit it. He's good at creating vivid imagery, but his lyrics also usually have a point to them, a story or a clear message that is to the point. I also like the variety of topics.

 

Some of my favourites (my translations):

 

Rest in Peace:

Before we know it, it has passed away...
The time has passed and now it remains as something called history
now... we cannot go back, however...

Don't forget... Don't forget
The great happiness of the present...
We grew up without knowing one...

We are the children born without knowing war
We are the very children who don't know war
To the children of those days who knew nothing but dark skiesーー
"The sky now is blue and truly clear..."

So that we won't forget in the name of "reality" and "peace"
let's engrave it in our heart...
So that it won't vanish in the name of "reality" and "peace"
let's engrave it in our heart...

 

“Tokyo”:

A red-light intersection overflowing with people.
If I were to step forward, would I feel better, I wonder?
The past me now raises a question inside my heart
Did the dreams come true? Tokyo

When the light changes green, everyone proceeds to pass me
Alas… I’m left behind alone here as well…
From the many seeds I must’ve planted
The only ones to bloom are the flowers of anguish
Repeatedly I escape reality, day after day an empty shell

I tried to ask my withered heart
Why do I stay in this place, I wonder
Over the town flies a brightly coloured airship inflated with dreams
Surely dreams will bloom. Someday I’d like to seize happiness
The dreams I keep chasing are still in this place…

Tokyo! I was wandering around wounded
In this back alley there is no wind or a single person
Struck by the rain and listening carefully
I fell on the asphalt and I’m waiting and waiting
Sooner or later my dreams will bloom

The town where too much time passes, Tokyo
Doesn’t mean I’m turning my back and walking in the opposite direction, but
the place I struggled on to is the place I’m most used to seeing
Until now, rather than obtaining happiness, I’ve lost
far too many things, but before I knew it I’d got used to that as well…

Tokyo! I was wandering around wounded
In this back alley there is no wind or a single person
Struck by the rain and listening carefully
I fell on the asphalt and I’m waiting and waiting
Surely sooner or later
Therefore Tokyo, let me stay here a little bit longer

With the memory of the dreams I kept chasing, I’d like to stay here
If tomorrow compared to today, if the future compared to tomorrow
could be a little different, it would be nice
Help or such nobody's asking, this is Tokyo

 

Gunjou (Ultramarine):

Everything was dazzling, I had faith in everything, I wasn't scared of anything. Time has passed since those days... now...

flash back

During the repeating days, at some point I learned to give up, I was fighting alone with my old self...

It appeared as though everyone was shining. Feelings that seemed to burst, I harboured inside my chest.
No matter how many times I'm tread on, I still keep crawling up. Beyond this road, good luck!

The sun who kept gently shining on me in those dear old days, is shining strongly inside this heart

flash back

"Well, it can't be helped right?" became my favourite phrase. I was always just looking for excuses
I get sick of myself who can't change at all. Somehow or another, to such me now, good luck!

In those dear old days, there were some small and important dreams, weren't there? Don't forget the promise we surely exchanged, Sun!
My endless journey continues. In order to one day be able to laugh, keep shining as close to me as possible, Sun!

Keep shining... inside this heart... 

 

Happy life:

I only worry about the people who are important to me
This tiny body cannot be burdened with such big matters
When I was little I also had a dreams of becoming a hero, however
because those dreams are impossible, they still remain dreams

Aspirations are aspirations, but my life consists of having friends and laughing at trivial matters
Because you are beside me
I can make the most of the present like this

I don't really care what becomes of the world
I only want to make the people before my eyes happy
I don't really care what becomes of the world
as long as you are in front of my eyes

When it comes to big tragedies I mourn them within my capacity, but
nevertheless that is my selfish sentimentalism
There are people lined up to scold me for being this way, but
since there are times when the world keeps turning, there must also be times when it doesn't

"What will be will be"
To have people who lend an ear to such favourite sayings of mine
Because you are all by my side
That is how happiness is spreading

I don't really care what becomes of the world
I only want to make the people before my eyes happy
I don't really care what becomes of the world
as long as you are in front of my eyes

I don't really care what becomes of the world
Since there are bad days there must be good days as well
My life is the happiest
I want to etch the important moments into my mind
I don't really care what becomes of the world
The sun is still rising today as well!

 

Enzetsu ~surrealism~ and [human farm] (these translations came with the European version of the album):

 

Speech ~surrealism~

No one would listen to us
We just do as we are told
Before you know it, you're riding on the shimmering rail before your eyes
Another day of repetitive labor for mass production

I don't know about my future, but it must be clogged with anxiety
A speck here and there leads to a mansion of junk
What we need is infancy
It sheds as we become adults.
What restraints us is poverty
If you want popularity, why don't you try being merbromin!

Only the mind sees surrealism
Everyone lives feeding on dreams.
Come let's watch the coming of the end of the world together, shall we!?
Come let's watch the coming of the end of the world together, shall we!!
Welcome to the human farm.

[human farm]

Welcome! human farm
Welcome! to the human farm
Welcome! human farm, garbage world

Wear your collar You will be ID-ed You will now be known only by numbers

Welcome! human farm
Welcome! to the human farm
Welcome! human farm, garbage world

Reared by temperament, thron away by convenience,
there is no relieve in this ideological society

The dream and ideal you've yearned for is now in a place so far away

After all, there is no way to break free from here
Because humans are being raised by the society

Welcome! human farm
Welcome! to the human farm
Welcome! human farm, garbage world

There is no such thing as equality, it's sad but that is the truth

The dream and ideal you've yearned for is now in a place so far away

After all, there is no way to break free from here
Because humans are being raised by the society

Welcome! human farm
Welcome! to the human farm
Welcome! human farm
Welcome! to the human farm
Welcome! human farm
Welcome! to the human farm
Welcome! human farm, garbage world