I use to do a lot of visual kei lyric translations when I ran a small wordpress blog long ago. Unfortunately that blog has become lost due to a weird database issue along with all the translations I once did. A couple did make their way over to JpopAsia, so I'm copying what I can salvage from there to this new place to live with a refresh to the wording due to some more experience & learning on my part.
Doing small translations like this was a fun exercise, especially since I feel lyric translations are frequently done poorly or translated far too literally. When speaking poetically in another language, the ideas and thoughts don't always fit well with direct translation. So, as a heads up, I do take liberties to re-word things getting the point or idea across in a way that makes more sense in English. I make no claims of being fluent in Japanese or a professional translator. It's simply been a personal focus of study for a number of years. So all my translations come with an MIT license of sorts, use/share at your own risk. Either way, enjoy!
Plastic Tree - Ink
まだまだ文字を書く 多分多分意味はない
ならなら絵を描く でもでも残らない
名もない夢を見て 叫べばびしょ濡れで
それでも辿るなら ひとりで成れの果て
赤い 青い 憂い 混ぜ合わせたら
こんな色になってしまうの
甘い 願い 溢れ出したら
そっと零れるだけ
鮮やかな悲しみで 胸の中に落ちたインク
透明でいられたら 何も失くさずいれたかな?
まやかしに微睡めば 揺らぐ いらないこゝろだらけ
瞬きほどの闇で ほら ほら こんなにも綺麗
夜 思い出すたびに 影 居場所なくして
嘘 見てみないふり 声 いよいよ堕落
不協和音 流れてく体中
騒ぐような 妙なる調べ
行方不明 静けさはどこ
そっと連れ戻して
濁ってく哀しみは 胸の奥で滲むインク
透明になれたなら 何も知らずにいれたかな?
混ざり合う幻は 見たくもない夢ばかりだ
一秒ごとの闇で ねぇ ねぇ 広がってくだけ
アン・ドゥ・トロワ
爪先で何回だって回る
伴奏だけは止めないで
ドラム ベース ギター
(‥‥沈黙)
鮮やかな悲しみで 胸の中に落ちたインク
透明でいられたら 何も失くさずいれたかな?
まやかしに微睡めば 揺らぐ いらないこゝろだらけ
瞬きほどの闇で ほら ほら こんなにも綺麗
こんなにも綺麗 こんなにも綺麗
Still, still I am writing letters.[1]
Perhaps, perhaps they have no meaning at all.
If so, in that case I draw a picture.
But still, but still nothing stays. [2]
Looking at these insignificant dreams, I cry soaking wet.
Any yet, if I follow this path, I alone will ruin all that I once was.
Blending together red, blue and sadness.
I become a color like this.
When I'm flooded with overly optimistic hopes, they just spill over.[3]
Drops of ink fall into my heart with vivid sadness.
If the ink could become transparent, would I move on without losing anything?[4]
I pretend to fall asleep, shaken, full of unwanted feelings.
Then in darkness of closing my eyes look, look at it, so much beauty.
Night, I remember each time.
Shadows, without a source.
Lies, I pretend not to see them.
A voice, sounding more and more corrupt.
An inharmonious flow throughout my body.
This sound of music, more like a noise.
I am missing silence, where is it?
Softly, it is coming back.
A cloud of sadness is ink running through the depths of my heart.
If I could get use to being clear, would I move on like nothing happened?
These blended illusions are merely dreams I don’t want to see.
Every second I spend in darkness, hey, hey, it only continues to spread.
One, two, Three
Turning around on tip toe.
Only the back up music continues.
Drums, bass, guitar.
(. . . .silence)
Drops of ink fall into my heart with vivid sadness.
If the ink could become transparent, would I move on without losing anything?
I pretend to fall asleep, shaken, full of unwanted feelings.
Then in darkness of closing my eyes look, look at it, so much beauty.
So much beauty, so clear.[5]
1. Letters being like alphabet or characters.
2. I think here he is referring to the characters and pictures he's written like using invisible ink. It disappears shortly after writing.
3. 甘い 願い literally means "sweet wishes", but could also be like overly optimistic, or indicating like naive hopes.
4. Referring to the previous reference to invisible ink, would indicate more like if the drops of ink that stain within him could become clear like the invisible ink.
5.The word for "beauty" is also used to describe "clear" or "clean", so I chose to express that in one of the repetitions.
