Title: slushy poetry
Circle: 俺++ (Includeore)
Vocal: たま(tama), 妖狐 (youko)
Lyrics: 俺++
Arrangement: Coro
Release Date: Dec 29, 2012
One of the first songs I ever translated two years ago, I was stricken by how beautiful and sad it sounded. I initially thought it was a sad breakup story, but now I think I completely misinterpreted it! Songs in Japanese rarely use pronouns so it’s up to you to figure out the context of who’s talking to who. Now that I have a better grasp of the language, I just had to redo the translation. The song is actually about a boy and a girl who have been friends for a long time, but keep waiting for the other to confess. Eventually, the girl has to move away and the final standoff (this song) occurs. This has risen to become my favorite lyrical Touhou pieces of all time.
tashikameru you ni mado kara soto wo miteru
mou sugu kono atari wa yuki no kisetsu
hashaida boku wo karakatte hi kesu
kimi wa kyoumi ga nai furi wo shiteru
- 確かめるように窓から外を見てる
- もうすぐこの辺りは雪の季節
- はしゃいだ僕をからかって火消す
- 君は興味がないふりをしてる
- I’m looking outside from the window to check
- The snowy season will be here very soon
- You poke fun at my high spirits[1]The boy is excited for winter as he later reveals in the next verse that the two have good memories of winter. The girl is strangely unexcited for this winter, which kills his mood too., then extinguish them
- by pretending that you’re uninterested
ureshigena koe to natsukashii neiro
michi wa oshiroi de kao ni keshou
mou keshiyou mo nai hodo ni tsumotta
omoide wo kazaru yuki no kesshou
- 嬉しげな声と懐かしい音色
- 街は白粉で顔に化粧
- もう消しようもない程に積もった
- 思い出を飾る雪の結晶
- A pleasant voice with a nostalgic timbre
- White powder on the streets like makeup
- Flakes of snow piled so high upon my memories
- there was no way to wipe them all away
kimi no te wa totemo tsumetakute
nigiru to tama ni fuan ni naru
tokete shimai sou to boku ga kuchi ni suru to
dou shita no to kimi ga warau
- 君の手はとても冷たくて
- 握るとたまに不安になる
- 「溶けてしまいそう」と僕が口にすると
- 「どうしたの」と君が笑う
- Your hand is so cold that
- I often worry when I hold it
- When I say “I’m afraid it will melt away”[2]The boy notices something is wrong with how the girl is acting.
- You laugh, “What’s wrong?”
nee moshi sekai ni ondo ga nakute
kimi mo sonzai shinai to shite
hitori dake tori nosaretara nante
imi mo naku omottari mo shite
- ねぇ､もし世界に温度がなくて
- 君も存在しないとして
- 一人だけ取り残されたら なんて
- 意味もなく思ったりもして
- Hey, assuming there was no temperature in the world
- and you didn’t exist either
- and I was the only one left behind…
- Well, I think about meaningless stuff like that sometimes[3]Foreshadowing??
furueru koe wa nani hitotsu kotoba wo shiranai
moshimo koe ga todoku nara kimi no tonari de
togireru koe wa nani hitotsu kotae wo shiranai
moshimo yume ga sameru nara kimi to futari de
- 震える声は何一つ言葉を知らない
- もしも声が届くなら 君の隣で
- 途切れる声は何一つ答えを知らない
- もしも夢が醒めるなら 君と２人で
- Your trembling voice won’t say a single word
- If you ever find your voice, (I’ll stay) by your side[4]The girl actually only says “By your side”, but it is implied that if the guy spoke up and confessed, she would “stay by his side”.
- The voice you cut short[5]Meaning to start to say something, but then stopping before saying anything. doesn’t have a single reply
- If you ever wake up from your dream, (I’ll stay) together with you
tashikametakunakute ashi ga furueteru
omotteta yori mo kizu ga fukakute
tashikameru made wa zutto fukakutei
tebanashitakunakute tsukanderu
- 確かめたくなくて足が震えてる
- 思ってたよりも傷が深くて
- 確かめるまではずっと不確定
- 手放したくなくて掴んでる
- Not wanting to check, my legs are shaking[6]The girl has broken the news that she is moving.
- It hurts more than I had thought
- It’s always unconfirmed until I confirm it
- So I’m holding on, not wanting to let go
gomen ne
ki ni shitenai yo daijoubu
hontou ni muri shite nai no
kitto kimi wa mou sude ni kidzuiteru
dakedo boku wa mitometakunai
- （ごめんね。）
- 気にしてないよ。大丈夫。
- （本当に無理してないの？）
- きっと君はもう既に気付いてる
- だけど僕は認めたくない
- “Sorry.”
- I don’t mind, it’s alright.
- “Don’t push yourself too hard, okay?”
- I’m sure you’ve noticed already
- but I don’t want to accept it
itsumo egao de buzakete chakasu
norikonda toki dake kaitou rashikunai nante
shoujiki itte kimi wa zurui
wakari aezu ni toki ga chikadzuku
- いつも笑顔でふざけて茶化す
- 乗り込んだ時だけ回答 らしくないなんて
- 正直言って君はズルい
- 分かり合えずに時が近付く
- You always fool around and poke fun with a smile
- I only got different response when it was time to board[7]The train.
- It’s unfair, to be honest
- The time draws near when we can’t understand each other
tobira wo hasande senaka awase nara
betsu no michi ga futari no shiawase
moshimo kono sekai ga ima dake nara
bokura wa kotae wo shiranai dake
- 扉を挟んで背中合わせなら
- 別の道が２人の幸せ
- もしもこの世界が今だけなら
- 僕らは答えを知らないだけ
- If you stand with your back to the door[8]The girl has boarded the train and has turned her back to the door, not even looking at the boy.
- our happiness goes on a different path
- If this world is only as it is now
- we just don’t know what the answer is
furueru koe wa nani hitotsu
oshiete kurenai ka ima wa kiku shika nai
sore igai sube wo shiranai
moshimo hanashitakunai nara
mada kikanai kara dakara ima wa semete
kimi no tonari de
togireru koe wa nani hitotsu
oshiete kurenai ka ima wa matsu shika nai
sore igai sube wo shiranai
moshimo yume ga sameru nara kimi to futari de
- 震える声は何一つ
- 教えてくれないか 今は聞くしかない
- それ以外術を知らない
- もしも話したくないなら
- まだ聞かないから だから今はせめて…
- 君の隣で
- 途切れる声は何一つ
- 教えてくれないか 今は待つしかない
- それ以外術を知らない
- もしも夢が醒めるなら 君と２人で
- Your trembling voice says nothing
- Won’t you tell me? I have to ask now
- I don’t know what else to do
- Maybe you don’t want to tell me
- But I haven’t heard it yet, so at least tell me now…
- (I’ll stay) beside you[9]This cut is pretty awesome because it makes it sound like the boy wants to hear the girl say that she “will stay beside” him.
- The voice you cut short says nothing
- Won’t you tell me? I can only wait now
- I don’t know what else to do
- If you ever wake up from your dream, (I’ll stay) together with you
tashikameru you ni mado kara soto wo miteru
mou sugu atari wa yukidoke no kitsetsu
hitori ja hada samui asa wa okirezu
mata yoko ni natte nido ne wo shiteru
- 確かめるように窓から外を見てる
- もうすぐ辺りは雪溶けの季節
- １人じゃ肌寒い朝は起きれず
- また横になって二度寝をしてる
- I’m looking outside from the window to check[10]A refrain from the very first line of the song. At this point, the girl has already left.
- The season where the snow thaws will be here very soon[11]The title of the song, slushy poetry, is a poem about the transition of winter to spring. The boy referred to the snow earlier as good memories, which are now melting in the form of a slush.
- Unable to wake up on a chilly morning alone
- I stay down and get back into bed
kurou shite oki ageru to
yume no tsudzuki suru kiesou de mata kuruoshii
soredemo kawarazu itsumo no you ni
kotoshi mo haru wa yatte kuru rashi
- 苦労して起き上がると
- 夢の続きすら消えそうでまた狂おしい
- それでも変わらずいつものように
- 今年も春はやってくるらしい
- When I push myself to get up
- just the thought of my dream ending drives me mad
- Nevertheless, unchanging as always,
- it looks like spring will come again this year[12]Spring is the season of new beginnings, but the boy doesn’t wish to begin anew.
omoide wa fuji no kouishou
narande mita koukei no houimou
dakara boku wa kurikaesu you ni sou
yume no naka hitori kiri touhikou
- 思い出は不治の後遺症
- 並んで見た光景の包囲網
- だから僕は繰り返すように そう
- 夢の中 １人きり逃避行
- Memories are symptoms with no cure
- An enclosure lined by scenes of the past
- Yes, that’s why in order to repeat them
- I escape into a dream alone[13]The boy keeps escaping into his dreams, not having known the girl liked him in reality.
moshi sekai ni haru ga konakute
zutto fuyu no mama da to shite
kimi ga sono sekai ni itara nante
ima demo omottari mo shite
- もし 世界に春が来なくて
- ずっと冬のままだとして
- 君がその世界にいたら なんて
- 今でも思ったりもして
- Maybe if spring doesn’t come to the world
- and it stays winter forever
- and you’re still there in that world…[14]The boy is so nostalgic for her that he wishes for eternal winter, the harshest and coldest of seasons.
- Even now, I still think about stuff like that
furueru koe wa nani hitotsu kotoba wo shiranai
moshimo koe ga todoku nara kimi no tonari de
togireru koe wa nani hitotsu kotae wo shiranai
moshimo yume ga sameru nara kimi to futari de
- 震える声は何一つ言葉を知らない
- もしも声が届くなら 君の隣で
- 途切れる声は何一つ答えを知らない
- もしも夢が醒めるなら 君と２人で
- Your trembling voice won’t say a single word
- If you ever find your voice, (I’ll stay) by your side
- The voice you cut short doesn’t have a single reply
- If you ever wake up from your dream, (I’ll stay) together with you
furueru koe wa nani hitotsu
oshiete kurenai ka ima wa kiku shika nai
sore igai sube wo shiranai
moshimo hanashitakunai nara
mada kikanai kara dakara ima wa semete
kimi no tonari de
togireru koe wa nani hitotsu
oshiete kurenai ka ima wa matsu shika nai
sore igai sube wo shiranai
moshimo yume ga sameru nara kimi to futari de
- 震える声は何一つ
- 教えてくれないか 今は聞くしかない
- それ以外術を知らない
- もしも話したくないなら
- まだ聞かないから だから今はせめて…
- 君の隣で
- 途切れる声は何一つ
- 教えてくれないか 今は待つしかない
- それ以外術を知らない
- もしも夢が醒めるなら 君と２人で
- Your trembling voice says nothing
- Won’t you tell me? I have to ask now
- I don’t know what else to do
- Maybe you don’t want to tell me
- But I haven’t heard it yet, so at least tell me now…
- (I’ll stay) beside you
- The voice you cut short says nothing
- Won’t you tell me? I can only wait now
- I don’t know what else to do
- If you ever wake up from your dream, (I’ll stay) together with you
Notes
| ↑1 | The boy is excited for winter as he later reveals in the next verse that the two have good memories of winter. The girl is strangely unexcited for this winter, which kills his mood too. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | The boy notices something is wrong with how the girl is acting. |
| ↑3 | Foreshadowing?? |
| ↑4 | The girl actually only says “By your side”, but it is implied that if the guy spoke up and confessed, she would “stay by his side”. |
| ↑5 | Meaning to start to say something, but then stopping before saying anything. |
| ↑6 | The girl has broken the news that she is moving. |
| ↑7 | The train. |
| ↑8 | The girl has boarded the train and has turned her back to the door, not even looking at the boy. |
| ↑9 | This cut is pretty awesome because it makes it sound like the boy wants to hear the girl say that she “will stay beside” him. |
| ↑10 | A refrain from the very first line of the song. At this point, the girl has already left. |
| ↑11 | The title of the song, slushy poetry, is a poem about the transition of winter to spring. The boy referred to the snow earlier as good memories, which are now melting in the form of a slush. |
| ↑12 | Spring is the season of new beginnings, but the boy doesn’t wish to begin anew. |
| ↑13 | The boy keeps escaping into his dreams, not having known the girl liked him in reality. |
| ↑14 | The boy is so nostalgic for her that he wishes for eternal winter, the harshest and coldest of seasons. |
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