|
Bump of Chicken: Bench and Coffee
04.06.01
Artist: Bump of Chicken Title: Bench and Coffee Words: Fujiwara Motoh Music: Fujiwara Motoh I took a seat on the blue bench and drank a hot cup of coffee. the sun starting to rise, painted the eastern skies. It was such a stunningly beautiful sight, I couldn't believe my eyes. A man in a suit rushes to the station, the collar of his shirt sticking up, when he notices this and goes to fix it, he quickly scans the faces of the people around him. it's as if I'm looking at myself there, I can't stand to watch, it got me *1 Here I am, acting all aloof, like it doesn't phase me everything has to be logical with me. I foolishly get all flustered, try to keep my composure, *2 I won't even admit as much. I hope that person makes it to work on time. the person shadow boxing, running laps zig-zaging through the line of trees I see in his singularly determined eyes that he's not concerned with the sweat the thing is, just look at me, pathetic! it got me. Here I am, acting all aloof, like it doesn't phase me full of bullshit excuses. I foolishly pretend to see it, never putting in the effort to learn I hope that person doesn't lose their fight. I'm singing aren't I? Who was I singing to? I understand, don't I? What did I understand? Walking the road home, the red and black backpacks, a boy and a girl, one next to another *3 They just come right out and say "I like you" to each other's faces I'm jealous because that's not within me, I give up. Here I am, acting all aloof, like it doesn't phase me playing the adult. Unable to say how I really feel, I tried to laugh. I hope the black one's feelings reach the red one. where am I lost? What am I worrying about? Who should I sing to? Should I sing to myself? pigeons gathered around the blue bench Sorry guys, I don't have any feed for ya. I'm no good to you. Gotta stop this, guess I'll head home, when I drank the cold coffee I vaguely recalled your face, how you loved coffee I bet you'd laugh at what's happened to me today I bet you'd you'd see right through to how I was feeling today. I going through this 'acting aloof, like it doesn't phase me' stuff when I take a closer look, it's all wrong. It really got me. You're drinking coffee with that same face as always next to this hopeless guy, with that same look on his face. I hope I can give you this song tomorrow you warmed up my cold coffee. Translated By: Brian Stewart & Takako Sakuma Translator's Notes: I particularly like the lyrics to this song. But they are probably the hardest to understand on the album Jupiter. *s! * 1 - mairu naa is used in this case like someone saying, watashi no make You win. Who wins? Everyone else. There's a deep resignation in those words, an exhaustion. When someone is clearly better than you, or happier than you, or beyond your limited control, you can say mairu naa like a salaryman. * 2 - This is a very Japanese expression too. And if we could have come up with something closer to the meaning we would have. muda ni asette is an expression used to describe how the singer reacts to seeing the parallel between himself and the man on the train. He sort of gets flustered and tries to pull it together because he refuses to admit how sad it makes him. * 3 - In Japanese schools the boys wear black backpacks and the girls wear red ones. Thus Fujiwara is using those two colors to talk about how easy it is for children to say how they feel. Romaji aoi benchi ni suwatte attakai ko-hi nomimashita kore kara noboru taiyou ga higahsi no sora wo somemashita sore ha mou uso mitai ni kirei de odoroita naa eki he isogu su-tsu no hito waishatsu no eri wo tatteite sore ni kizuite naosu toki mawari wo kyorokyoro ukagatte maru de jibun wo miru you de modokashikute mairu naa kakkotsukete tsuyogatte rikutsu bakari no ore desu muda ni asette toritsukurotte sore sura mitomemasen ano hito ga kaisha ni ma ni aimasu you ni shado-bokushingu suru hito jiguzagu ni namiki wo oufuku isshinfuran no sono me ha ase nado ki ni shinai moyou kataya jibun ha kono zama de nasakenakute mairu naa ano hito ga shiai de makemasen you ni ore ha utatteirun darou? dare ni utatteirun darou? ore ha wakatteirun darou? nani wo wakatteitan darou? ieji wo taodru randoseru naranda akakuro futaribun 'kimi ga suki da yo' to tayasuku me no mae de ittenoketa sore ha jibun ni nai mono de urayamashikute mairu naa kakko tsukete tsuyogatte otonakidori no ore desu sunao na kimochi ienai mama de warattemitari shimasu kuro no omoi ga aka ni todokimasu you ni doko de mayotteirun darou ? nani wo mayotteirun darou? dare ni utaeba iin darou? ore ni utaeba iin darou? aoi benchi no mawari ni hato ga atsumattekimashita ainiku esa ha mottenai yo kimira no yaku ni ha tatanai yo ii kagen ie ni kaeru ka na tsumetai ko-hi- wo nondara ko-hi- suki na omae no sa najinda kao ga ukanda yo konna ichinichi no hanashi wo warattekureru darou naa konna ichinichi no omoi ha omitooshi nan darou naa 'kakko tsukete tsuyogatte' kurikaeshiteru ore desu nozoitemireba zenzen dame de honto ni mairu naa itsumo no kao de ko-hi- wo nondeiru omae desu itsumo no kao de zenzen dame na ore no tonari ni imasu konna uta wo ashita omae ni watasemasu you ni tsumetai ko-hi ga atatametekureta Romaji By: Brian Stewart |