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或いはアナーキー

DADA DISCO -GJTHBKHTD-
Lyrics by Imai Hisashi
Translation by Lola


Ah oh Ah oh~

I wanna be Anarchy! Spoiled brat Johnny FUCKIN' COOL (1)
Got no future! RIOT with a Futurist Manifesto oh oh!! (2)

The Hermetic art of Tanguy the Breton, DADA at the Cabaret Voltaire (3, 4, 5)
The exquisite corpse shall drink the new wine (6)

so what? so what? so what? so what?
Baby! JUST A sell it as being "provocative" (7)
I'm a lonely boy

DA   DA   DA   DA
DA   DA   DA   DA
GA   GA   GA   GA
GA   GA   GA   GA
Gadji beri bimba - Gadji beri bimba - (8)
Gadji beri bimba - Gadji beri bimba -

Ah oh Ah oh~

GJTHBKHTD

I wanna be Anarchy! Spoiled brat Johnny FUCKIN' COOL
Got no future! RIOT with a futurist manifesto oh oh!!

The Hermetic art of Tanguy the Breton, DADA at the Cabaret Voltaire
The exquisite corpse shall drink the new wine

so what? so what? so what? so what?
Baby! JUST A sell it as being "provocative"
I'm a lonely boy

DA   DA   DA   DA
DA   DA   DA   DA
GA   GA   GA   GA
GA   GA   GA   GA
Gadji beri bimba - Gadji beri bimba -
Gadji beri bimba - Gadji beri bimba -

Ah oh Ah oh~

GJTHBKHTD

so what? so what? so what? so what?
Baby! JUST A sell it as being "provocative"
I'm a lonely boy

DA   DA   DA   DA
DA   DA   DA   DA
GA   GA   GA   GA
GA   GA   GA   GA
Gadji beri bimba - Gadji beri bimba -
Gadji beri bimba - Gadji beri bimba -

Ah oh Ah oh~

so what? so what? so what? so what?
Baby! JUST A sell it as being "provocative"
I'm a lonely boy

DA   DA   DA   DA
DA   DA   DA   DA
GA   GA   GA   GA
GA   GA   GA   GA
Gadji beri bimba - Gadji beri bimba -
Gadji beri bimba - Gadji beri bimba -

Ah oh Ah oh~

Ah oh Ah oh~


Notes: Translated June 27, 2014.
(1) In Japanese the word for spoiled brat reads as "dadakko", which to me was a point of amusement since it could be seen as "Dada ko" or in English, "Child of Dada/Dadaism". Given the title of the song, and the whole surrealism theme, it's a clever word choice.
(2) The Futurist Manifesto was written by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti in 1909. With it sprung a new philosophy and art form known as Futurism, which promoted modernization, and cultural rejuvenation. Due to its glorification of war as a means of purifying the health of humanity, it was adopted into the ideology of Fascism.
(3) Hermeticism in art refers to two distinct yet linked ideas. One originates from the Hellenistic period, where the term refers to the esoteric teachings of the period. In art, the term would be associated with cryptic pieces, and mysterious imagery. In modern literature and art however, it refers to a certain school of style. In Hermetic poetry, the defining characteristics were said to be "obscurity, subjectivism and evocative power" x. In art, Hermetic artists were those who incorporated the occult into their pieces. Some of Tanguy's pieces have been labelled as Hermetic.
(4) While Tanguy the Breton is referred to here, I wasn't certain if Imai meant to refer to both him and to André Breton, the French writer, poet, and the founder of Surrealism. Given that they share the name "Breton", he could be referring to one, or both. So while I translated it as "Tanguy the Breton", it could also be "The Hermetic art of Tanguy, and Breton". Yves Tanguy was a surrealist painter and was said to represent the purest thread of Surrealism. He was commissioned to paint 12 pieces a year by André Breton.
(5) The Cabaret Voltaire was a nightclub in Zurich, Switzerland. It was created as a cabaret for artistic and political purposes. The idea was to have artists and writers gather for artistic entertainment, which featured spoken word, dance, and music. The Cabaret Voltaire was the birthplace of Dadaism, but it also featured the work of other artists such as Marinetti, and Chirico. The nightclub was known for attracting a variety of avant-garde, and experimental artists. The reason it was built in Switzerland wad due to it being a neutral country during World War I. Artists who sought refuge from the war often found themselves in Zurich. Much of the art exhibited at the cabaret was brutal and violent, a reaction to the atrocity of the war.
(6) This is a saying translated from the original French, "Le cadavre exquis boira le vin nouveau". It is a phrase derived from Surrealists who played a game in which, words or images are assembled together like a "cadavre exquis" or "rotating corpse". Each person playing the game adds to the composition and then folds the paper to conceal it then passes it on. The next person adds their continuation. If in drawing, usually the previous player lets the next person see just the end of their drawing so that they may continue from those lines. When in writing, usually you follow a certain rule like: The adjective noun adverb verb the adjective noun. A little bit like our modern day mad libs.
(7) While the original English in the line may be incorrect, I did not change it. The reason being that part of Surrealist writing was to break language, break the usual constructs of grammar, and syntax. In this way, we could argue that the mistake is part of the piece.
(8) "Gadji beri bimba" is a poem written by the Dadaist, Hugo Ball, one of the founders of the Cabaret Voltaire. You can read the full poem here. It is what is known as "sound poetry". It may seem nonsensical but that is the entire point. Dadaists were so involved with sound poetry that they actually had several different categories for it. Bruitist poetry, which is purely phonetic. The simultaneous poem, which as its name implies involves not only several speakers at once, but also several rhythms, tones, and even different languages (something reflected on this album). And finally the movement poem, which is the reading of the poem accompanied by primitive movements.
The line of the song "GJTHBKHTD" reflects this as well.

宇宙サーカス

Space Circus

Lyrics by Sakurai Atsushi
Translation by Lola


Space circus, pink rocket
Penetrate through and through
Anywhere there is desire (1)

It's good when I can fly freely like this
Ever plunging into your black hole of love

Space circus, rocket at full throttle
There is desire even in hell,
Slaughtered SACRIFICES

You can let yourself fly freely
Black hole of love convulsing

Ah, more, deeper and deeper, c'mon join me
Ah, we've reached Mother Earth at last

A space circus in the loneliness of space
A space circus, and a rocket adrift
No matter where it goes, there is desire
There is desire even in hell

It's good when I can fly freely like this
Then explode in your black hole of love

Ah, more, deeper and deeper, c'mon join me
Ah, we've reached the Mother's womb at last

Ah, more, deeper and deeper, c'mon join me
Ah, shattered apart, I wonder, where are we now?


Notes: Translated June 5, 2014.
(1) I had to invert the second and third verse in this stanza.

masQue
Lyrics by Sakurai Atsushi
Translation by Lola


Let us dance, masked. (1)
Let us make love for the night is dazzling.

This whole paradise is wrong (2)

masQuerade, come to the masquerade
masQuerade, here, have a mask
masQuerade, it's all in good cheer

Let us love one another, masked.
Let us glide our tongues over our eyes. (3)

This whole paradise is a lie

masQuerade, come to the masquerade
masQuerade, everyone has a mask
masQuerade, it's so beautiful

Let us dance, masked.

This whole paradise is wrong
This whole paradise is a lie

masQuerade, come to the masquerade
masQuerade, here, have a mask
masQuerade, everyone has a mask
masQuerade, aha! We will meet in hell
masQuerade, at the masquerade (4)

(ciao, ciao, masQuerade~
ciao, ciao, ArrivederLa. ) (5)


Notes: Translated June 6, 2014.
(1) The line could also be translated as something like, "Let us don a disguise and dance" or "Let us hide our true selves and dance". However, given the title, and the conscious repetition of the word "masquerade", I went with "Let us dance, masked".
(2) The original line in Japanese uses the Italian word, "Paradiso", which means "paradise" or "heaven". Usually I don't translate such words but instead simply add their meaning in a note but, somehow I found its use in this particular line to be jarring, especially as it was printed in all caps. When in Japanese, the word appears in the beginning of the sentence structure and therefore, it works very well. However, once it is translated I found reading this line as "This whole PARADISO is wrong" just didn't quite fit. This is of course, a personal preference so if you prefer it with the original Italian and caps then, you are quite welcome to read it that way.
(3) Licking someone's eyes was once, briefly considered to be a popular trend in Japan. Or so the media would have us think. Apparently in 2013, a hoax article sprung up in a gossip magazine that stated that this rising trend in sexualized eyeball licking was the cause of teens having increasing cases of pinkeye. However, later it was revealed to be untrue even though many foreign news sites had run with the story without checking their sources. The trend was reported on sites for Huffington Post, to the Guardian, and even CBS news. The story sensationalized as yet another whacky fad of the Japanese. It has been since debunked. Not to say that the fetish does not exist, but it is not the widespread trend that foreign media made it out to be. Personally, I found this to be a point of amusement in the lyrics; to have a line about licking eyes and then to follow up with another stating everything is a lie. Perhaps a hidden note to be wary of all the things we hear? Not everything is what it seems. Or perhaps, it is all just coincidence. Either way, I was amused.
(4) Here I inverted the fourth and fifth line in the stanza to have it work in English.
(5) Most know the meaning of "ciao" from the Italian as an informal word for meeting or parting ways. However, the literal translation which derives from its use in Medieval Latin actually means, "I am your slave". Just thought I'd note it for the word curious out there. Also to stress that it is extremely informal, as greetings go. "ArrivederLa" by contrast, is actually a very formal way of expressing goodbye and unlike "ciao", which can be used for both greeting and parting ways, "ArrivederLa" is solely for expressing a farewell in a formal fashion. "Arrivederci" is the informal form; which also expresses a parting of ways.

Devil'N Angel
Lyrics by Imai Hisashi
Translation by Lola


Which face should I listen to? (1)
Was it even a dream?
How can you even say, "I came from the house of the angel"
Now reality doesn't seem to cut it you know (2)

You lick, bite, and grab at me
And teasingly say,
"Angel's house is that way"
I know that's what you said, while pointing to the sky

When I touch you
I swoon
Impassioned
I did all of it for you!

Baby Don't you cry
Welcome to the wonderful world
Baby Don't you cry
Welcome to the wonderful world

"I want to go back to the angel's house"
What a ridiculous thing to say!
Your impossible demands vex me
You won't let me sleep NIGHT & DAY

If you cry
The whole world will CRY too
Night and day will no longer come
It was all for you

Baby Don't you cry
Welcome to the wonderful world
Baby Don't you cry
Welcome to the wonderful world

Baby Don't you cry
Welcome to the real world
Baby Don't you cry
Welcome to the real world
Baby Don't you cry
Welcome to the real world
Baby Don't you cry
Welcome to the real world


Notes: Translated June 28, 2014.
(1) Most people are familiar with the idea of the devil, and the angel on your shoulder. The two sides representing opposite desires and views, both vying for dominance when it comes to decision making. If you want to think of this in Freudian terms, the devil represents the temptation of the Id. That is to say the impulsive "I don't care about consequence" part of the psyche ruled by the "pleasure principle". The angel on the other hand, represents the moral Super-Ego. Its role is to remind people of what is right, to the point of being critical of anything less than perfection, it is the Ego's ideal. Finally, both the Id and Super-Ego are seeking dominance over the Ego. The part of the psyche that is firmly grounded in "the reality principle". The Ego strives to please the drives of the Id in realistic ways, while tempered by the Super-Ego.
I mention all this not only due to the title of the song, but the lyrics read very much like a conversation between the Id, the Super-Ego, and the Ego, beginning with the very first line asking, "Which face should I listen to?".
You can learn more about these concepts according to Freud by reading his works, "Beyond the Pleasure Principle", and "The Ego and the Id-On Metapsychology".
(2) Here the original line translates literally as, "Now reality is a little lacking". But I tried to make it sound more natural to suit the tone.

ボードレールで眠れない

Baudelaire Induced Insomnia

Lyrics by Imai Hisashi
Translation by Lola


Radiant and resplendent, the sun bursts forth
Dizzy, I cannot move
Gleaming and glowing, the sun melts
Unsteady, I cannot dance (1)

Show me what you have taken from the world
I've had enough of you and your dreadful heat
Fade away then for all I care

Shining and shimmering, the sun sinks
And I am unable to sleep due to Baudelaire (2)

sha la la sha la la la

Brilliant and blazing, the sun burns red
Soon I will forget even your face

Blazing and brilliant, the sun exists
And for that my heart is rent and broken

I creep along through the dregs of the world at night
Existing in the midst of the empty night
So fade away then, I don't care

Resplendent and radiant, it is the sun I long for
Unable to sleep due to Baudelaire

Daydreaming, loneliness, corruption, temptation
I cannot escape you and it makes me sick
Get lost, all of you!

Bright and blinding, I don't need the sun
Unable to sleep due to Baudelaire

To hell with the sun! It's blinding and bright
I don't need the sun! It's blinding and bright
It's blinding, it's blinding


Notes: Translated June 30, 2014.
(1) In the first, third, fifth, sixth, eight, and tenth stanza I inverted the lines for the English translation.
(2) The entire song can be a nod to French poet Charles Baudelaire but I thought I would note its similarities to one of his works in particular titled, "Le Coucher du Soleil Romantique", or "The Sunset of Romanticism" in English, which you can read in both the original French and various English translations of here.
Baudelaire was associated chiefly with the Decadent movement and due to his translation of Edgar Allan Poe's work, was often linked to the Symbolist movement as well. The term "decadence" was initially used as a critical word in regards to Baudelaire's work but he embraced the word. The Decadent movement was both literary and artistic and took inspiration from Gothic works. At its heart, the Decadents embraced vice and rejected the naïveté of the Romantics that preceded them. Their catch phrase was "Épater la bourgeoisie" meaning, "Shock the middle class". An idea reflected in Buck-Tick's earlier work as well as referenced in "Dada Disco".
Baudelaire's themes included death and sex, which were considered greatly scandalous at the time, so much so that several pieces of his original "Les Fleur du Mal" were banned from publication and he ended up being prosecuted for his offense against public morality, for which he was fined.

メランコリア

Melancholia

Lyrics by Sakurai Atsushi
Translation by Lola


Now I play the part of the sensitive Pierrot
Entirely alone, only a spectator

On stage, the goddess is smiling
As tonight once more, she pours blood into a glass

Ashes to ashes, as is its way in the wind BLOODY...
Dust to dust, as is its way flutters BLOODY...
Ashes to ashes, as is its way in the wind BLOODY...BLOODY melancholia

Now I play the part of the sensitive Pierrot

It's the scene...with the angel with white wings
And once more tonight, the devil will be stained crimson

Ashes to ashes, as is its way in the wind BLOODY...
Dust to dust, as is its way flutters BLOODY...
Ashes to ashes, as is its way in the wind BLOODY...BLOODY melancholia

On stage, the goddess is smiling
As tonight once more, her glass is filled with blood

It's the scene...with the angel with white wings
Again and again, stained crimson

Ashes to ashes, as is its way in the wind BLOODY...
Dust to dust, as is its way flutters BLOODY...
Ashes to ashes, as is its way in the wind BLOODY...
Dust to dust, as is its way flutters BLOODY... BLOODY melancholia
                                                  BLOODY... BLOODY melancholia
                                                  BLOODY... BLOODY melancholia


Notes: Translated June 1, 2014.

PHANTOM VOLTAIRE
Lyrics by Sakurai Atsushi
Translation by Lola


You can't sleep, can you? Not with a sex crazed incubus (1)
Knocking at your door (2)

Hips joined in frenzy with yours, the man grins maniacally
La Danse Macabre (3)

Don't you dare covet everything for you are me, PHANTOM
You're the dead one! Is that it?!

It's kind of laughable, 25 years, it's a downright OPERETTA
Cabaret Voltaire
It's not like I have a place to return to anyway, so guess I'll dance some more
Cabaret Voltaire

A Walther on the dashboard, a cigarette on the lips (4)
She's addicted to this

The woman laughs madly like Mephistopheles (5)
Oh Oui, to the Champs-Elysées (6)

Don't be so afraid of everything, break through the darkness, PHANTOM
You're the one who's dead! Is that it?!

It sort of makes me laugh, 25 years of your OPERETTA
Cabaret Voltaire
It's not as though dawn will come anyway, so let's dance some more
Cabaret Voltaire

Don't you dare covet everything for you are me, PHANTOM
You're the one who's a poem! (7)

Don't be so afraid of everything, break through the darkness, PHANTOM
You're the one who's dead! Is that it?!

It's kind of laughable, 25 years, it's a downright OPERETTA
Cabaret Voltaire
It's not like I have a place to return to anyway, so guess I'll dance some more
Cabaret Voltaire


Notes: Translated June 24, 2014.
(1) I have explained the meaning of incubus in a previous note for 'Barairo no hibi', here.
(2) I had to invert part of the first verse with the second for the English translation.
(3) Known in English as the "Dance of Death". An allegory for the universality of death, that no matter what you do in life, no matter who you are, death comes for everyone, we are united in death. It also serves as a reminder of the fragility of life.
(4) Walther is a German make of firearm. Carl Walther made significant progress in the development of pistols in particular.
(5) Mephistopheles is the devil in Goethe's tragedy, "Faust".
(6) The French here simply means, "Oh yes" and the "Champs- Elysées", or "Elysian Fields" in English, can refer to the avenue in Paris, France or more likely due to the content of the song, to the land of the dead according to Greek mythology.
(7) Here there is a play on words in the Japanese between "死" meaning "death", and "詩" meaning "poem" as both words are pronounced "shi".

SURVIVAL DANCE
Lyrics by Sakurai Atsushi
Translation by Lola


Dance, dance, survivor of love
Form a ring and dance! This dream is paradise
You can sing with abandon, YOU are a survivor
This dream is paradise, you can have a perfect orgasm (1)

Bamboo, you are bamboo in the eyes of the beast
A swarthy skinned dancing panda
Sambo, sambo beneath the palm trees (2)
And now your butter is completely melted

Rimbaud, Rimbaud's "A Season in Hell" (3)
The sun is radiant, the absinthe sweet
It's more than just limbo, it's mambo and chacha
You are sunshine, and the sinking sunset

A cobalt blue ocean
My whole body completely wasted with TEQUILA!!!

Dance, dance, survivor of love
Form a ring and dance! This dream is paradise
You can sing with abandon, YOU are a survivor
This dream is paradise, you can have a perfect orgasm

A cobalt blue sky
And the whole world's completely wasted on TEQUILA!!!

Dance, dance, survivor of love
Form a ring and dance! This dream is paradise
You can sing with abandon, YOU are a survivor
This dream is paradise, you can have a perfect orgasm

Dance, dance, survivor of love
Form a ring and dance! This dream is paradise
You can sing with abandon, YOU are a survivor
This dream is paradise, you can have a perfect orgasm


Notes: Translated June 24, 2014.
(1) The literal line translates as "being able to do something to perfect completion". However when the verb "iku" is printed in katakana, it can have the meaning of "to cum/have an orgasm". I don't always translate it this way but in the case of this line, really, I thought it best.
(2) Sambo here may refer to the Russian martial art, which uses a hand-to-hand wrestling technique. If that is the case, I think it's clear what it's alluding to. However, I do think it's important to note that sambo may also refer to the racial slur of someone of mixed blood, in English the term refers to a person with Native American or African blood. A popular children's book was written titled "Little Black Sambo" about an Indian boy who outsmarted a group of hungry tigers. This tale was much beloved in Japan and was even translated into Japanese as a pirated version of the original, in which the boy was instead illustrated as an African boy instead of an Indian boy. Eventually questions of copyright arose and the original is now in print, however it is still considered controversial due to its racist overtones. You can find various articles about this controversy and all the various reprints and retellings of the story the Japanese tried. TIME magazine even ran a story in 2001 titled "Japan Prejudice and Black Sambo".
(3) Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud was a poet and writer who played a great influence over the Symbolists, Dadaists, and Surrrealists. He was a libertine known in France as the typical enfant terrible who led a vagabond life filled with absinthe and drugs along with Paul Varlaine, with whom he had an affair. Rimbaud's work, "Une Saison en Enfer" ("A Season in Hell"), was thought to be a pioneer piece of Symbolist writing.

サタン

Satan

Lyrics by Sakurai Atsushi
Translation by Lola


RAIN... you are in the midst of a dream
RAIN... in the thrall of a nightmare before long

Alley cats in a Swanky TANGO
Satan whispers, "Come tomorrow,
There shall be only darkness, sweet lover
All who are alone shall tremble in their sleep"

IN... still in the midst of the dance
OUT... still in middle of the bed

Stray dogs do back alley LOVE LOVE LOVE
Satan embraces you, "Come tomorrow,
There shall be only darkness and soft Blue Velvet (1)
Every last one of of you shall tremble in your sleep"

Yes, deeper and deeper, sinfully filled with desire
Hey, are you dead? You stared as I kissed you (2)

LOVE... we join together
SEX... we make love, beaten by the rain

Alley cats in a Swanky TANGO
"Look, it is the dawn," Satan lies
"But there is only darkness for you, my lover
And all who are alone shall tremble in their sleep"

Yes, deeper and deeper, sinfully filled with desire
Hey, are you dead? You stared as I kissed you
Ah your lips seem to burn sinfully
Hey, did you love me? You stared as I kissed you


Notes: Translated June 25, 2014.
(1) Possibly a reference to the film of the same name that was categorized as having both elements of film noir and surrealism. The 1986 film is known as one of the best mystery thrillers of its time which displayed the director's warped vision, aimed at showing something that lies beneath the surface, usually hidden. The film has been described as being dreamlike, weird, and dark.
It also uses the song of the same name in it. One of the lines of the song "Blue Velvet" is "Bluer than velvet was the night/Softer than satin was the light", which was why in the verse written by Sakurai, I chose to translate 'yasashii' as 'soft' as a nod to the original lyrics written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson.
"Blue Velvet" is also the name of a drug made by mixing tripelennamine and morphine.
(2) Literally the line would be, "Hey, have I killed you? You stared as I kisssed you" but I chose to go with "Hey, are you dead?" as a personal preference.

NOT FOUND
Lyrics by Imai Hisashi
Translation by Lola


A magical comet diffuses into the night in a swirl of ash and dust (1)
Creating a delusion of a hanging garden in the empty sky where Icarus flies (2,3)

"I'm searching for you"
In the language of flowers it's, 'Absence' (4,5)
"I can't find you"
Right, because you were never there to begin with

That's when it all burst, dissipated like sparks

Strewn amidst a maze of redirection are the roving memories of the wanderer's shadow (6)
I dozed off into a parallel world where Schrödinger's cat perished due to an error (7)

"We met in a dream"
In the language of flowers it's, 'a joke'
"But it doesn't exist"
Right, because you were never there to begin with

That's when it all burst, dissipated like sparks
With the faintest scratch it shattered completely and vanished

It all burst as is the beautiful way of life
It all shattered completely as is the beautiful way of life
It all burst as is the beautiful way of life
That with the faintest scratch, it will shatter completely and that's beautiful


Notes: Translated July 2, 2014.
(1) A reference to H.G. Wells' science fiction novel, "In the Days of the Comet" wherein the world is saved from a dystopian state by a magical comet, which eliminates all the hate, distrust, and selfishness of the world. As a result of the comet the world becomes a utopian society where war is no longer a necessity. Humanity is transformed from being greedy and violent to peaceful and loving, living all within a single Utopian state.
(2) The Hanging Gardens of Babylon were considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the only one whose location is not definitively known.
(3) The story of Icarus is that in his desire to fly he fashioned wings out of wax and feathers but foolishly did not heed his father's warning to stay away from the sun. Upon flying too close to the sun's heat, his wings melted and he fell to his death in the sea.
(4) A reference to another of Wells' books, "A Modern Utopia" wherein the main character is accompanied only by his friend, the botanist. Together they arrive on a planet identical to Earth in every respect, even having a duplicate of each person, but it differs in that it is a Utopian Earth. The protagonist and the botanist travel through the world discussing the merits and problems of this parallel Earth. However, the botanist cannot get over his love for a woman back on the real Earth that did not go to his satisfaction. The protagonist even becomes annoyed at the botanist's constant mooning, believing it to be undignified and unworthy of being discussed in this Utopia. This obsession proves to be the foil in the story as when the botanist finally meets the duplicate version of the woman he loves, the intensity of his reaction causes the imagined bubble of the world to burst, leaving the two men back in London.
The burst bubble is referred to several times in the song as is the botanist's longing.
(5) Interesting to note that within the language of flowers, the plant associated with "Absence" is wormwood. The reason being that it is such a bitter plant and nothing feels worse than the bitterness of absence. This bitter plant is also amusingly enough used in the making of Absinthe, a drink favored by many of the artists referred to on this album and imbibed by Imai himself. It is also used in vermouth, bitters, and as flavoring in some wines.
(6) Possibly a reference to Nietzsche's "The Wanderer and his Shadow", which was the third installment of his book, "Human, All Too Human: A Book for Free Spirits". The Wanderer refers to Zarathustra of "Thus Spoke Zarathustra", and of course his shadow whom he sends away, "redirects" back to the cave from which Zarathustra emerged. In these works, and with Zarathustra in particular which came later, he writes of the free thinker's role in society. Zarathustra was a free thinker who struck out against the herd to follow the path of wisdom and who wished to better society. However, Zarathustra is shown to be failing in his task. Just like many other failures alluded to in this song.
What is noteworthy about the mention of memory here is that Nietzsche was believed to have Cryptomnesia. This occurs when a forgotten memory comes to mind but without the person realizing it is a memory and instead believes it to be an original thought. It is not deliberate plagiarism nor is it considered coincidence, for the thinker genuinely believes this thought or idea is their own, and has come to them through inspiration of sorts.
The incident of this in "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" has been attributed to Nietzsche's cognitive degeneration caused by neurosyphilis.
(7) Schrödinger's cat is the simplification used to explain the quantum theory of superposition. The purpose was to illustrate the issue Schrödinger had with the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics when applied to everyday things. The idea being that a cat may be considered simultaneously alive and dead while in a sealed box with a vial of poison. It put forth the question: when does a quantum system stop existing as a superposition of states and become one or the other?
However, there are those who find the experiment to be in error and who maintain the cat would of course be dead. The reason being that cats need air to breathe and if they are in a sealed box, no air can get in. Therefore, the cat will use up the little air supply and die. The poison is then utterly irrelevant due to the limited oxygen supply in the airtight box.
This is usually the argument postulated by those unfamiliar with such experiments in physics, where in fact, the box is a BiOsphere eXperiment (BoX) and contained a fully sustainable atmosphere within it.

世界は闇で満ちている

The world is filled with darkness

Lyrics by Imai Hisashi
Translation by Lola


The birds were singing and the sun was shining as I was gazing up at an empty sky
This is how it is when I dream of you, and it's perfect

On the nights that I lay trembling, the world seems so distant
Grief stricken, I long to fly to the heavens
To the very end of the world

A shooting star streaks through the night sky
I wipe the tears that seem to escape with a fingertip
Hallelujah to you

The world is filling with darkness so that you can shine

But when I feel like nothing I do makes a difference (1)
Still, in my dreams I can have wings and fly
Anywhere I want

A shooting star streaks through the night sky
I wipe the tear that seems to escape with a fingertip
Hallelujah to you

Look, there's a new light
Of moon tears and solar blooms
Look, there's a new light
Of moon tears and solar blooms

I try so hard, so desperately hard
Not to lose sight of you (2)

Shooting stars cover the starry sky
With both hands I brush away the tears that begin to overflow
The bouquet bloomed

Shooting stars cover the night sky
With both hands I brush away the tears that begin to overflow
For all the flowers that bloomed


Notes: Translated July 3, 2014.
(1) Literally the Japanese would translate as, "But when I feel like nothing in the world will change" or "But when I feel like nothing I do will change the world". However, given how the rest of the song comes from a very human place of loss and grief, I went with something that to me reflected that despair in a less lofty manner.
(2) I had to invert the lines for the English translation.

ONCE UPON A TIME
Lyrics by Imai Hisashi
Translation by Lola


Once upon a time there was a place high in the heavens
Dominated by a tower of defiance (1)

The Sphinx was steam powered with the BODY of a Venus (2)
A streamline, aerodynamic shape

Bearing his sorrow, Icarus flies
Beyond his limits

The entire world loves one another as if they promised to
The myth of the future has begun to transcend the passage of time (3)

Once upon a time, time machine tail lights
Flew past each other beneath a steel sky (4,5)

The submarine on Abbey Road dives into the Milky Way
An underwater yellow type (6)

I wonder what we'll find?
By going beyond the limits

The entire world loves one another as if they promised to
The myth of the future has begun to transcend the passage of time

One day both the flowers
And the wind will be yours
Bearing his sorrow, Icarus flies
I wonder what we'll find?
By going beyond the limits

The entire world loves one another as if they promised to
The myth of the future has begun to transcend the passage of time
The entire world loves one another as if they promised to
The myth of the future has begun to transcend the passage of time


Notes: Translated July 2, 2014.
(1) This refers to the Tower of Babel, which was constructed as an act of defiance against God. The hubristic act is a classical interpretation of the tale. Hubris is a theme in this song as you will see with the rest of Imai's references, namely Icarus, who is one of the most easily identifiable with his tragedy of failed ambition.
(2) This Sphinx is likely a reference to H.G. Wells' science fiction novella, "The Time Machine". His work not only coined the term "time machine" but was one of earliest instances of a story in the Dying Earth subgenre. Wells wrote a number of utopian and dystopian novels though his book, "The Time Machine" focused on the theme of social class, reflecting his political views as a socialist.
(3) The utopian ideal in this stanza paired with the second line is essentially a sum of science fiction. Science fiction is known as the mythology of the future, for it reflects both contemporary and futuristic thinking while also sharing the various elements which comprise a myth.
(4) I had to invert the lines for the English translation.
(5) I am uncertain as to whether this is again a nod to Wells' "Time Machine" or perhaps a reference to the sci-fi cyberpunk game, "Beneath a Steel Sky". The game is a cult classic and is set in a dystopian future so it would fit with the rest of the theme in the lyrics.
(6) Perhaps unnecessary to mention but, this stanza of course refers to The Beatles song "Yellow Submarine". An interesting note about the movie of the same name is that during one of the musical sequences, where they play "When I'm Sixty-Four", they pass through what is called the "Sea of Time", a place where time flows both forwards and backwards. At which point the yellow submarine actually passes itself as it loops through time.

無題

Untitled

Lyrics by Sakurai Atsushi
Translation by Lola


"A refrain occurs to me from a melody of love of the womb (1)
I put my heart and soul into it. It seems crazy. And I dream...

Of the dazzle of the STAGE "

Mama, can I have a kiss? I don't know why, but I'm sad
Mama, expose your breast for me, Mama please...

"I sink into a refrain of the imagined womb
I am omnipotent. A part of all creation. And I dream...

Of that last STAGE"

Papa, please forgive me but why are you so hard on me?
C'mon Papa, please don't cry anymore, Papa I'm begging you...

I'm a fool
The fool that goes into the depths of darkness
I'm a fool
A fool that remains ever sensitive
I'm a fool
The fool that goes on with being bloody
I'm a fool
A fool that will go on to the very end of the darkness


Notes: Translated June 26, 2014.
(1) The desire to return to the womb springs up again and again in Buck-Tick's lyrics, specifically Sakurai's, and while I've never put a note on it before, at this point it seems like I should since it comes up again and again. I'll begin with Freud's theory about it, but please keep in mind that simply because I am explaining his views here, that does not mean I support them. According to Freud, we have two pleasure drives in life: Eros and thanatos. These lead us in opposite directions. Eros, into life, love, the future, and hope. While the thanatos drive directs us back towards the womb, the only place we knew where there was no suffering or pain. Freud also postulated that this drive led to a resentment of life and of our mothers for bringing us into this world of pain. For more on the thanatos drive you can read my notes on "Thanatos" here.
This desire also stems from unrequited love. In Freud's essay, "The Uncanny", he writes that one of the most "uncanny" experiences of a man's existence is to try to understand the womb as it is something he can never fully comprehend. He then goes on to claim that the desire to be in love, is in fact tied to a longing to return home, to return to the womb. Furthermore, the only way in which men then can fulfill this wish is through sexual intercourse with a woman. What makes the experience so "uncanny" then, is that while for a fleeting instant the man feels he is "home", soon enough with the release of his pleasure he diminishes and no longer feels he will be loved forever and stay "home".
Moving on from Freud, in feminist psychology there is the concept of "womb envy". According to Karen Horney's work "Feminine Psychology", these refer to men's unexpressed anxiety in relation to women's ability to give birth, and breast feed which then results in their need to make women subordinate and to perpetuate legacies through material means.
The historian, Robert S. McElvaine, built on this idea further by explaining that womb envy plays a major role in the psychological insecurity many men suffer from. This results in men's need to dominate women as a means of compensation for the reproductive power they lack.
For more on this topic, I suggest reading the following: "The Uncanny" by Sigmund Freud, "Feminine Psychology" by Karen Horney, "Eve's Seed: Biology, the Sexes, and the Course of History" by Robert S. McElvaine, "Psychoanalysis and Male Sexuality" by Hendrik Ruitenbeek, and "Womb Envy: Loss and Grief of the Maternal Body" by Catherine B. Silver.

形而上   流星  -metaform-

Metaphysical Shooting Star -metaform-

Lyrics by Sakurai Atsushi
Translation by Lola


You're lost, aren't you? It's ok, come with me, you have nothing to fear
We'll play at stepping on the shadows until they fade away

Give me your hand, see?
Reach out, and our fingertips will lightly touch

I had a dream, I had a dream...
So beautiful, I felt my heart would burst apart, and I thought I must be dead (1)

We'll play at blindfolding each other from behind, then ask who is it~? (2)

But if spoken, it sounds unbelievable
Still please, let me hear it, just one last time

I had a dream, I had a dream...
So beautiful, I felt my heart would burst apart, and I thought I must be dead
As I broke apart and dissipated, I hugged you harder and harder
It was so beautiful, I felt my heart would burst apart, and I thought I must be dead

Give me your hand, see?
Reach out, and our fingertips will lightly...
It sounds unbelievable if spoken
Still please, let me hear it again, one last time

I had a dream, I had a dream...
So beautiful, I felt my heart would burst apart, and I thought I must be dead
As I broke apart and dissipated, I hugged you harder and harder
It was so beautiful, I felt my heart would burst apart, and I thought I must be dead

La la la la la la la la la...


Notes: Translated June 1, 2014.
(1) In the third, sixth, and eighth stanza, I had to invert the order for the English translation.
(2) I debated simply translating the line as 'We'll play 'Guess Who?' blindfolded' but then opted with what you see here because it cut less of the original line and I think kept more of the tone.

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