歌詞：「おもちゃのチャチャチャ」 ("The Toys' Cha-cha"!)

「元気」の教科書の第１８課の練習問題の中に、
「おもちゃ」の単語を使うのがある—

（女の子が）おもちゃを壊す。
（それから）おもちゃが壊れる。

でも、よく僕はその単語（言葉？）が思い出せない。その時、思い出させるために、先生は「おもちゃのチャチャチャ！」って歌う。子供の歌の歌詞だって。僕は知らない歌なので、調べ訳してみよう。。。。　何分が分かるだろうかなぁ。子供のなので、よく分かるといいよね。

OK, ビデオを見つけて見た:



そらに　きらきら　おほしさま　（チャチャチャ）
　　みんな　すやすや　ねむる　ころ
sora ni kirakira ohoshisama
　　minna suyasuya nemuru koro
when the Stars are twinkling in the sky
　　and everyone is sleeping soundly

おもちゃは　はこを　とびだして　（チャチャチャ）
　　おどる　おもちゃの　チャチャチャ
omocha ha hako o tobidashite
　　odoru omocha no chachacha
the toys jump out of the box
　　and dance the toy cha-cha
(飛び出すは僕の一番好きな動詞に成ってるよ。今日会社でこの動詞の草書をデスクトップの背景にした。おもちゃのように会社員の箱を飛び出そう！）

（繰り返し）

なまりの　へいたい　トテチテタ
　　らっぱ　ならして　こんばんは
namari no heitai to-te-chi-te-ta
　　rappa narashite konban ha
with a "to-te-chi-te-ta", the lead soldier
　　plays "good evening" on his trumpet

フランスにんぎょう　すてきでしょ
　　はなの　ドレスで　チャチャチャ
furansu ningyou suteki desho
　　hana no doresu de cha-cha-cha
the pretty French doll
　　dances in her flowery dress

（繰り返し）

きょうは　おもちゃの　まつりだ
　　みんな　たのしく　うたいましょ
kyou ha omocha no matsuri da
　　minna tanoshiku utaimasho
today is the toys' holiday/festival
　　everyone's having fun singing
(どうして「-ましょ」を使うかなぁ。僕も楽しく歌うはずなんだろう？)

こひつじ　メエメエ　こねこは　ニヤー
　　こぶた　ブースカ　チャチャチャ
kohitsuji meemee koneko ha nyaa
　　kobuta buusuka cha-cha-cha
the lamb goes, "baa!" the kitten goes, "Meow!"
　　the piglets in boots (?!) (dance the) cha-cha
(「ブースカ」って何だろう？ イメージ検索からも分からない）

（繰り返し）

そらに　さよなら　おほしさま　（チャチャチャ）
　　まどに　おひさま　こんにちは
sora ni sayonara ohoshisama
　　mado ni ohisama konnichi ha
goodbye, Stars in the sky!
　　hello, Sun through the window!

おもちゃは　かえる　おもちゃばこ
　　そして　ねむるよ　チャチャチャ
omocha ha kaeru omochabako
　　soshite nemuru yo cha-cha-cha
the toys return to the toybox
　　and go to sleep.

（繰り返し）

ちょっと安すぎるだろうが、役に立つ単語があり、いい練習だね。僕は今「源氏物語」のテキストも勉強しテレので、こんな子供の歌を訳すのが優しい。

I love that they're dancing to a gramophone (グラモフォーン？). And 鉛の兵隊 dances like this kid from Charlie Brown:



Of course, as Cさん says, it's no トマトちゃん.

Whatever ブースカ may be, この可愛い犬はブースカが欲しいと思う:

歌詞： 「人生が二度あれば」 (lyrics: "Jinsei ga Nido Areba")

Not sure how to go at the title, jinsei ga nido areba. "If There Were Second Chances"? "If You Had It to Do Over Again"? The topic could be Inoue, his parents, the listener.... 二度 is a two times, "if life had two times", or probably even "if life has two times", since there's nothing particularly past about that conditional　と思うけど.

作詞：井上陽水 作曲：井上陽水
music and lyrics by INOUE Yousui

父は今年二月で六十五
chichi ha konnen nigatsu de rokujuugo
Dad turned 65 this February
[in this video, Inoue sounds like he's saying し at the end of the line instead of 五. Does he mean 六十四? did he update these lyrics as birthdays passed?]

顔のシワはふえてゆくばかり
kao no shiwa ha fueteyuku bakari
face going all wrinkled
[what's the deal with しわ in katakana? emphasis?]

仕事に追われ
shigoto ni oware
looking for work

このごろやっと　ゆとりができた
konogoro yatto yutori ga dekita
now he finally has a little breathing room

父の湯呑み茶碗は欠けている
chichi no yunomi chawan ha kaketeiru
Dad's teacup is chipped

それにお茶を入れて飲んでいる
soreni ocha o irete nondeiru
but he still drinks tea from it

湯飲みに写る自分の顔をじっと見ている
yunomi ni utsuru jibun no kao o jitto miteiru
gazing at his own face in his teacup
[this に is confusing me. 写真の写だね。]

人生が二度あれば　この人生が二度あれば
jinsei ga nido areba kono jinsei ga nido areba
if life came twice

母は今年九月で六十四
haha ha kotoshi kuugatsu de roku juu shi
this September Mom will turn 64

子供だけの為に年とった
kodomo dake no tame ni toshi totta
grown old just for her kids' sake

母の細い手つけもの石を持ち上げている
haha no hosoi te tsukemono ishi wo mochiageteiru
her thin hand holding up tsukemono ishi (a pickled-vegetable stone?)
[インタネットさんによると、漬物石 tsukemonoishi are stones of various weights that you put on top of vegetables that you are pickling.　例　例　例]

そんな母を見てると人生が
誰の為にあるのかわからない
sonna haha o mite(i)ru to jinsei ga
dare no tame ni aru no ka wakaranai
looking at that mother, I don't know what life's for.
[whom life's for? だれのたみに、but that doesn't seem to work.]

子供を育て家族の為に年老いた母
kodomo o sodate kazoku no tame ni toshioita haha
a mother grown old for her family, raising kids

人生が二度あれば　この人生が二度あれば
jinsei ga nido areba kono jinsei ga nido areba
if life came twice

父と母がこたつでお茶を飲み 若い頃の事を話し合う
chichi to haha ga kotatsu de ocha o nomi
wakai goro no koto o hanashiau
Dad and Mom sit at the table, drinking tea,
chatting about their younger days

想い出してる夢見るように　夢見るように
omoidashite(i)ru yume miru you ni yume miru you ni
remembering, as if in a dream

人生が二度あれば　この人生が二度あれば
jinsei ga nido areba kono jinsei ga nido areba
if this life came twice....

歌詞： 「傘が無い」 (lyrics: "Kasa ga nai")

井上陽水の歌です。 / Song by Yousui INOUE.

都会では自殺する若者が増えている
toukai de ha jisatsu suru wakamono ga fueteiru
in the city, more and more young people are killing themselves

今朝来た新聞の片隅に書いていた
kesa kita shinbun no katasumi ni kaiteita
it was written in a corner of today's paper

だけども問題は今日の雨　傘がない
dakedo mo mondai ha kyou no ame kasa ga nai
still, for that problem, for today's rain, i have no umbrella
[I missed the contrast here. "But the problem is today's rain" would be better.]

行かなくちゃ　君に逢いに行かなくちゃ
ikanakucha, kimi ni ai ni ikanakucha
i have to see you

君の町に行かなくちゃ　雨にぬれ
kimi no machi ni ikanakucha ame ni nure
i have to go to where you live, even if i'm soaked in the rain

冷たい雨が　僕の目の中に降る 今日は心にしみる
tsumetai ame ga kyou ha kokoro ni shimiru
today the cold rain soaks straight through to my heart

君の事以外は　何も見えなくなる 考えられなくなる
kimi no koto igai ha kangaerarenakunaru
i can no longer think of anything but you

それはいい事だろ？
sore ha ii koto darou
and that's probably a good thing /
（ironically） awesome.
[with no punctuation, that だろう is hard to parse.]

テレビでは我が国の将来の問題を 誰かが深刻な顔をしてしゃべってる
terebi de wagakuni no shourai no mondai o
dareka ga shinkoku na kao o shite shabette(i)ru
on TV, someone is talking with a serious face
about our country's future

だけども問題は今日の雨　傘がない
dakedomo mondai ha kyou no ame kasa ga nai
but, still, the problem is this rain. i have no umbrella.

行かなくちゃ　君に逢いに行かなくちゃ
ikanakucha kimi ni ai ni ikanakucha
i have to, have to see you

君の家に行かなくちゃ　雨にぬれ
kimi no uchi ni ikanakucha ame ni nure
i have to go to your house, soaked in the rain,

冷たい雨が僕の目の中に降る
tsumetai ame ga boku no me no naka ni furu
the cold rain falling in my eyes

君の事以外は何も見えなくなる
kimi no koto igai ha nanimo mienakunaru
i can no longer see see anything but you.

行かなくちゃ。。。など

The excellent blog Foreign Language Music has some really helpful grammatical notes. Among: turns out 心に染みる carries a connotation of stinging, not just soaking.

歌詞：Miyuki Nakajima: "Chijou no Hoshi"

A thing that's great about living now is that you can discover a Nakajima song on your phone, listen to it, and look up all the words you don't know by the time you get home. This one, "Chijou no Hoshi", is much more dramatic than the others I've heard. The title is lit. "Stars Above the Ground", but—because where else would they be?—it may be a colloquial expression. Apparently it's translated as "Unsung Heroes"; the video certainly supports that, essentially a string of images of ordinary folk, with Nakajima先生 interspersed in bubble-world. Wikipedia says it was composed for a TV program, was released in July 2000, hit #1 in Japan, and became the longest-running Oricon Japanese single (since 1968).



中島みゆき：地上の星
nakajima miyuki: chijou no hoshi
Miyuki NAKAJIMA: ?"Unsung Heroes"

風の中のすばる
kaze no naka no subaru
Pleiades among the winds
[Funny that the Subaru corporate logo has six stars rather than seven.]

砂の中の銀河
suna no naka no ginga
Milky Way amid the dust
[All these の constructions are bothering me because I'm seeing them translated as, eg, "In the dust of the Milky Way"—but I don't see why "suna の naka の ginga", sand's center's Milky Way, should read as "ginga の naka の suna", Milky Way's center's sand. I see that I'll probably have to switch them all around, but right now I don't get why.]

みんな何処へ行った　見送られることもなく
minna doko e itta miokurareru koto mo naku
where have they all gone, with no one saying goodbye?
[見送る is "to see someone off", or to say farewell. I'm not getting the られる construction with 送る.]

草原のペガサス
sougen no pegasasu
Pegasus of the grassland/plain

街角のヴィーナス
machikado no vi-nasu
Venus of the street corner

みんな何処へ行った　見守られることもなく
minna doko e itta mimamorareru koto mo naku
where has everyone gone, with no one to look out for them?

地上にある星を誰も覚えていない
chijou ni aru hoshi o daremo oboeteinai
the stars that are above the ground, no one remembers them.

人は空ばかり見てる
hito ha sora bakari mite(i)ru
people see only the sky.

つばめよ高い空から教えてよ　地上の星を
tsubame yo takai sora kara oshiete yo chijou no hoshi o
sparrow, high in the sky, tell me where they are.

つばめよ地上の星は今　何処にあるのだろう
tsubame yo chijou no hoshi ha ima doko ni aru no darou
sparrow, those stars, where can they be?

崖の上のジュピター
gake no ue no jupita-
Jupiter above the cliffs

水底のシリウス
unasoko no shiriusu
Sirius on the sea-floor

みんな何処へ行った　見守られることもなく
minna doko e itta mimamorareru koto mo naku
where have they all gone, with no one to look after them?

名立たるものを追って　輝くものを追って
nadataru mono o otte kagayaku mono o otte
chasing famous things, chasing glittery things,

人は氷ばかり掴む
hito ha koori bakari tsukamu
people catch only ice.

つばめよ高い空から教えてよ　地上の星を
tsubame yo takai sora kara oshiete yo chijou no hoshi o
swallow, high in the sky, show me those stars

つばめよ地上の星は今　何処にあるのだろう
tsubame yo, chijou no hoshi ha ima doko ni aru no darou
swallow, where can those stars be now?

名立たるものを追って　輝くものを追って
nadataru mono o otte kagayaku mono o otte
chasing famous things, chasing glittery things,

人は氷ばかり掴む
hito ha koori bakari tsukamu
people catch only ice.

風の中のすばる
kaze no naka no subaru
Pleiades in the winds,

砂の中の銀河
suna no naka no ginga
Milky Way in the sand—

みんな何処へ行った　見送られることもなく
minna doko e itta miokurareru koto mo naku
where have they all gone, with no goodbyes?

つばめよ高い空から教えてよ　地上の星を
tsubame yo takai sora kara oshiete yo chijou no hoshi o
swallow, high in the sky, point me to them

つばめよ地上の星は今　何処にあるのだろう
tsubame yo chijou no hoshi ha ima doko ni aru no darou
swallow, where can these stars have gone?

It is a real kick to be able to watch this video and understand her. I'm loving this song.

Note that Nakajima seems to actually sing を as wo. Is this a common idiosyncrasy of pronunciation in singing, like singing ん as ng?

BONUS: The word for "refrain" seems to be 繰り返し kurikaeshi, the same word Nakajima uses in "Jidai" to say that time is cyclical. 「喜び悲しみ繰り返し」

Particles in song lyrics.

I'm liking working with songs, because as I gain understanding of the lyrics I can run around singing them and get a sense of flow and usage. What's baffling me, though, is the use of particles at the ends of lines—I can't yet see the rationale for some of it.  例えば：

凸凹道や、曲がりくねった道
dekoboko michi ya, magarikunetta michi
[it's] an uneven road, winding road

Ya や used that way reminds me of the setting-particle や in poetry, a particle that tends to end the first line of a 俳句 haiku and establishes the setting: 木の陰や ki no kage ya, "[in] a tree's shade". Maybe it's the same idea. The Akiyama grammar book is usually good about laying things out succinctly but includes only the nonspecific-list function of や.

Or this:

そんな時代もあったねと
いつか話せる日が来るわ。
sonna jidai mo atta ne to
itsuka hanaseru hi ga kuru wa
the day will come when you'll be able to say,
"that's happened to me, too."

At first I misread the quotation-marking function of と to, probably because I'm not used to seeing it with 話す hanasu, to speak [with].  I might have been more aware with an 言う or a 伝う, which are more about saying and therefore call a specific quotation.

Or this:

旅を続ける人々は
いつか故郷に出会う日を
たとえ今夜は倒れても
きっと信じてドアを出る
たとえ今日は果てしもなく
冷たい雨が降っていても
tabi o tsuzukeru hitobito ha
itsuka furosato ni deau hi o
tatoe konya ha taorete mo
kitto, shinjite doa o deru.
tatoe kyou ha hateshi mo naku
tsumetai ame ga futteite mo
folks who keep on the journey
someday will see home again
even if tonight [you're] struck down,
if you believe, sure enough you'll find a way out.
even if today you can't see the end of it,
even if cold rain is falling....

Some of the particles make sense there; it's possible that たとえ tatoe, "even if", requires a も mo, which generally means "even [that much, or to such a degree]".  And all the も do work if you think of them as leading up to the next verbs, めぐる　めぐる meguru meguru, "it [time] turns and turns".  So the も give a sense of...despite all trials, a better day will come.

What gets me is that を that ends the second line.  It wants a verb.  But now I'm thinking it may just precede the たとえ。。。も structures, and that the verb it's calling may be めぐる—the day when they see home again will return, even if...even if....  But now I'm thinking that's not possible, because that 出る seems to complete thought, not to lead to anything further.  難しいねー。

Kanji: 振 (fu・ru/SHIN).

A thing I really like about studying Japanese is that kanji, though maddening, are endlessly intriguing. I'm constantly encountering new kanji that suddenly fit into three or four other spaces and create a kind of resonance, and though it underscores my ignorance it's also exciting and satisfying.

例えば—not to belabor the Meiko Kaji song, but—振り向いたの振の漢字。Turns out it's the same ふり as in 振袖, furisode, the dressy young-woman's kimono with "swinging sleeves" (pictured at right; click to enlarge). To me, swinging and turning/facing are pretty different, but しょがないだろうね.

Similarly, 振り向いたの向の漢字。。。。"muku" is the same "mu" as mukou (向こう), meaning opposite, as on the other side of the street, or meaning beyond, as in right down there past the brick building. Or mukau (向かう), to face (toward) something, and muki (向き), orientation. I hypothesized that 向 might also appear in mukashi, as in a long time ago (like beyond remembering), but not so; that's a single kanji without okurigana, 昔 (むかし). 「言葉」の携帯アップリによると, 「昔」の漢字はたくさん熟語が使う。All have something to do with the distant past. Maybe it's a case of inconsistent assignment of kanji to existing words; maybe "mukashi" and "mukou" are related etymologically in Japanese spoken language but now are expressed in unrelated kanji. Or maybe not. かも知れないね。

会社の自分の「ヘンシャー」が要ると思う。

ADDENDUM: Kotoba says that 振る also carries several other meanings, including that of changing heading or direction. So I guess 振り向いた makes sense as a double-kanji item emphasizing the turning around (to see、川に, the 旅の灯 go off into the distance). If I can assume the subject is inverted again (as in 行く女).（命の道を行っている女は）振り向いた。川に、旅の灯が遠ざかる（のを見た). Not so sure about the tenses there. Hmm.

Grammar: base 2 ending and continuity.

Thinking of 「修羅の花」 again and trying to figure out 身を委ね. The verb is 委ねる, to entrust to or give up to.

恨みの川に身を委ね（て）
女はとうに捨てました
Casting herself into a river of vengeance/enmity/resentment,
the woman is already left behind / abandoned / forgotten.

This makes sense to me as a -て form, because then the verbs 委ねる and 捨てる would sequence:

恨みの川に 身を委ねて、
女は
とうに 捨てました。

I'm thinking the position of 女は can't be just poetic (as is 行く女 earlier in the song); it feels like we're already talking about someone, the someone with the parasol and the geta, and now we're emphasizing the trait of womanliness. She has given herself up to a river of vengeance, and her woman-ness is already / long ago forgotten.

I guess 委ね would correspond to ichidan base 2, no? -- like 食べ. Lampkin先生 discusses bases.... Aha! It must be what Lampkin calls a continuation form, maybe less discrete in sequence than a -て form would be. So, she casts herself into the river of vengeance, and her womanliness is already left behind. The sequence still feels a little weird with とうに, but it's starting to make more sense. I didn't know about that use of base 2.

"Shura no Hana" (修羅の花).

Intended to kick off Japanese-language blog with an explication of the lyrics to Meiko Kaji's "Shura no Hana" -- but immediately found a much better attempt than I could produce! There are still some points I'd like to ask about, but props to CATOさん.

Took me forever to figure out 逸れ犬の遠吠え, the far-away barking of a stray dog. Things I'm still not clear on include (but are not limited to) these:

• 因果な重さ見つめて歩く: walks with eyes fixed on a karmic weight? I want it to be that the speaker is weighed down with this desire for vengeance, but—assuming I can assume an omitted を between 重さ and 見つめる and that the な is adjectival—it's hard to think of weight as something one can fix one's eyes on while walking.
• 委ね: どうして「委ねて」じゃないか分からない。 A -て form would make more sense to me, right now.
• 泣いた雨と風: I want a subject for 泣く. I assume this 泣く somehow connects with the wind and the rain, but how かも分からない.
• 水もに vs 水面に: minamo ni (in the surface of the water) seems to make more sense, but mizu mo ni (even in the water) seems like it might also work, and in the Meiko Kaji recording I have, she pretty clearly says みずもに.