Bump of Chicken: K

01.08.05
Artist: Bump of Chicken
Title: K
Words: Fujiwara Motoh
Music: Fujiwara Motoh

a black cat walks the big weekend avenue
holding the curled tail it prides itself on majestically,
because of how it looked, the cat was detested.
people threw stones at its body,
which melted into the darkness

the cat got used to being alone,
in fact, it wanted to be
it was too much bother to feel for others
it was just such a cat that the young painter took in his arms
'what a lovely little 'un tonight. we're quite alike you and I'

struggling in his arms, the cat frantically scratched away
an escape route called loneliness.

it ran, and ran
still unable to trust the first kindness
the first warmth of its whole life

but no matter how far it ran
the stranger followed close behind.

and so,
it came to be the cat and the young painter's second winter together.
the painter gave his friend a name 'Lucky Black' Holy Night
his sketchbook was mostly black colors
the cat too, found itself closer to its first friend,
and nestling up to him
but then one day,

its godfather, fallen ill from his life of poverty,
wrote one last letter and told the cat

'run, run and bring this to her,
the girl who awaits the homecoming,
of this boy who ran off with dreams in his head. '

pictures of a bad luck black cat never sold,
but still, you drew only me
hence, you grew cold,
and with determination I took the letter

the black cat ran along the mountain road, in the snow
holding the promise it made to its deceased friend in its mouth.
and the children threw rocks 'look, its the servant of the devil!'
it doesn't matter what they call me,
I have a name they can't take away!
Holy Night, he called me "Holy Night!".
He called me Holy Night, *1
with all of the kindness and warmth he had.
perhaps there's a reason one as detested as I was born,
maybe I was born for what I must do today,
I'll run as far as I have to!

he arrived at his friend's birthplace.
It was only a few miles to his lover's place

he ran, he fell, now covered by wounds
no time to even stand up again,
the jeers and violence
I mustn't lose! I'm Holy Night!
dragging his arms and legs that were about to fall off,
he took off running again, I've found it! This is the house!

the lover who read the letter,
buried the motionless cat in the garden under one letter.
she buried her Holy Knight.

Translated By: Brian Stewart & Takako Sakuma

Translator's Notes: I think Motoo's a cat person.

* 1 - The touching twist in this song, is that the painter names the cat hori- naito with no indication what the naito refers to. The cat assumes it means "Night" which comes across in the Japanese lyrics, but by the end when he's buried under the letter K, we realize that his name was in fact "Holy Knight".

Romaji

shuumatsu no oodoori wo kuroneko ga aruku
gojiman no kagishippo wo suihei ni ifuudoudou to
sono sugata kara neko ha imikirawareteita
yami ni tokeru sono karada megakete ishi wo nagerareta

kodoku ni ha nareteita mushiro nozondeita
dareka wo omoiyaru koto nante wazurawashikute
sonna neko wo dakiageru wakai egaki no ude
'konban ha suteki na ochibi san bokura yoku niteru'

ude no naka mogaite hisshi de hikkaite
kodoku to iu na no nigemichi wo

hashitta hashitta umarete hajimete no
yasashisa ga nukumori ga mada shinjirarenakute

dore dake nigeta tte kawari mono ha tsuitekita

sore kara neko ha egaki to nidome no fuyu wo sugosu
egaki ha tomodachi ni namae wo yatta 'kurokisachi' ho-ri-naito
kare no sukecchibukku ha hotondo kurozukume
kuroneko mo hajimete no tomodachi ni kuttsuite amaeta ga aru hi

munashii seikatsu ni taoreru nazuke oya
saigo no tegami wo kaku to kare ha kou itta

'hashitte hashitte koitsu wo todoketekure
yume wo mite tobidashita boku no kaeri wo matsu koibito he'

fukitsu na kuroneko no e nado urenai ga
sore demo anta ha ore dake egaita
soreyue anta ha tsumetaku natta
tegami ha tashika ni uketotta

yuki no furu sandou wo kuroneko ga hashiru
ima ha nakishinyuu to no yakusoku wo sono kuchi ni kuwaete
'miro yo, akuma no shisha da!' ishi wo nageru kodomo
nanto demo yobu ga ii sa ore ni ha kienai namae ga aru kara
'ho-ri-naito' 'seinaru yoru' to yondekureta
yasashisa mo nukumori mo subete tsumekonde yondekureta
imikirawareta ore ni mo imi ga aru to suru naraba
kono hi no tame ni umaretekitan darou dokomademo hashiru yo

kare ha tadoritsuita shinyuu no kokkyou ni
koibito no ie made anto suu kiro da

hashitta koronda sude ni manshinsoui da
tachiagaru ma mo naku osoikuru basei to bouryoku
makeru ka ore ha ho-ri-naito chigiresou na teashi wo
hikizuri nao hashitta mitsuketa kono ie da!

tegami wo yonda koibito ha mou ugokanai neko no na ni
arufabetto hitotsu kuwaete niwa ni umeteyatta
seinaru kishi wo umeteyatta

Romaji By: Brian Stewart