Sayonara COLOR

I picked up a lot of awesome tracks while I was bumming around Japan, and I'd like to apply my amateur translation skills to some of them. A bit of practise, and a bit of sharing with people what's so great about these songs without the barrier of language.

"Sayonara Color" by Super Butter Dog (a band) / Hanaregumi (a solo artist), is a really simple but sweet song. It was one of the first I heard and totally (or 90%) understood, so it had an impact on me. I'm not sure how much mainstream success Hanaregumi has had (at least a bit), but his sound is very Jack Johnson. He makes relaxed, thought-out tunes to warm and mellow the cockles of your heart.

So this is my approximate translation of that song, which you can hear here.

 ---------------------
Soko kara tabidatsu koto wa
Totemo chikara ga iru yo
Namikaze taterareru koto
Kirau hito bakari de

You'd need a lot of strength, you know,
to take off from where you are now
With so many people out there
who hate to see things stirred up

--

Demo kimi wa sore de ii no?
Raku ga shita katta dake na no?
Boku o damashite mo ii kedo
Jibun wa mou damasanai de

But... is that really ok for you?
Did you just want to make things easier for yourself?
You can lie to me all you like, but
Don't fool yourself anymore

Sayonara kara hajimaru koto ga
Takusan arunda yo
Hontou no koto ga mieteru nara
Sono omoi o boku ni misete

 There are so many things
that begin with a goodbye
If you've found the answer, then
tell me what you're thinking

--
Jibun o tsuranuku koto wa
Totemo yuuki ga iru yo
Dare mo hitoribocchi ni wa
Naritaku wa nai kara

It takes a lot of courage, you know,
to overcome yourself.
Because nobody wants to
end up all alone

--
Demo kimi wa sore de ii no?
Yume no tsuzuki wa doushita no?
Boku o wasurete mo ii kedo
Jibun wa mou hanasanai de

But... are you really alright with this?
What happened to those dreams you had?
You can forget me if you like but,
Don't let go of yourself again

Sayonara kara hajimaru koto ga
Takusan arunda yo
Hontou no koto ga mieteru nara
Sono omoi o sutenai de

There are many things, you know
that start from a goodbye
If you've found the truth,
don't throw those thoughts away

Sayonara kara hajimaru koto ga
Takusan arunda yo
Hontou no koto wa mieterun daro
Sono omoi o kienai de

There are so many things
that start from a goodbye
I know you've found your answer, so
don't let those thoughts fade

Sono omoi o boku ni misete

Tell me what you're thinking

 ----------------------


Sayonara Colour while being simple has this implication, that this guy is giving advice to his girl at a point where she's deciding where her feelings lie. When I first heard it, I read it as each verse telling her, "there's a lot of scary and hard things out there", but each chorus saying "but is where you're at now really okay?", like he was convincing her what she was trying not to see was that she needed to leave. It was really poignant, because here he is saying saying "you can lie to me all you like" to make his point, saying that she has to figure herself out and listen to that truth rather than going with the easy/safe thing.

Except, with a closer look, he could be asking, "but is leaving really okay?" Which makes the "tell me the truth" lines a bit more poignant, like he's asking her each chorus, which way are you going? And his position seems more undecided. In english it's the difference between "But is THIS really okay?" and "but is THAT really okay?". I just kinda left it awkward so you can make up your own mind.

The clip (J-clips are always weird, low-budget and not necessarily tied to the song) has old people, and thinking about it it could be a parent's advice to a child, too.

Anyway, a lovely song.