Category Archives: Lyrics

Minuano “Love Logic” Reissue With Translated English Lyrics

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I’m very excited to announce the CD reissue of Minuano‘s first album, Love Logic, on August 22, featuring English lyrics of all songs on the album.

This special reissue is available on Shopify and Bandcamp.

The lyrics were translated by yours truly, and I had the pleasure of spending hours upon hours thoroughly discussing them with Minuano’s main architect and songwriter Ogata Takero, painstakingly going through each and every line to make sure the English lyrics would accurately portray the original vision of the beautiful Japanese lyrics.

Now, just in case you weren’t previously familiar with Love Logic…

Minuano’s debut album, first released in 2009, features influences from MPB, soft rock, jazz, and city pop, reshaping them into a unique soundscape blending romance and ennui, with the whispered vocals of Sakakibara Kaori (Lamp) as the icing on this cake of aural tapestry.

“Lemon Elegy,” a fleeting fusion of the vibrancy of Brazilian jazz and the sentimentality of Japanese lyricism. “Soleil,” with its MPB-esque key changes and a sense of melancholy towards a summer nearing its end. The bossa nova of “A Mischievous Wind,” also featuring vocalist Nagai Yusuke (Lamp). The scaled-down soft rock piece “Rain-Colored Diary” which truly makes one see the raindrops…

A total of 10 songs, capturing in vivid detail these fragments of a world in motion.

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Kaede – Sepiairo no Kugatsu (English Lyrics)

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セピア色の九月
Sepia September

Summer ends as though nothing had happened
Opening the window, watching the clear skies

It passed, never once looking back
Leaving only the swimsuit lines on my suntanned skin

My tears blur into sepia
Sweet, slightly languid September

Surely I’ll get to see the blue coastline again
Thinking that, I feel better

Autumn begins as though nothing had happened
As a trench coat envelops my dress

So now within this ambiguous season
I wish to be alone, as if on a journey by myself

My tears are sepia-colored syrup
Sweet, slightly bitter memories

Blue coastline so far away; summer forever gone
Thinking that, I feel lonely

I cried — In September
I cried — Sepia tears

Lamp – Tsumetai Yoru no Hikari (English Lyrics)

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冷たい夜の光
Cold Night Light

Conversationless passenger car headed nowhere
Memories of days past hang in the air like wings
It’s just as always, this enveloping world
Stealing up on me without a word or sound

Suspended neon signs; lies by the window
Holding my breath at the bottom of the universe

I have heard the sound of unending sorrow
The gentle embrace of this cold night light is all I need
Who would think of this town as it floats past unnoticed
Illuminated only by the cold night light?

Coffee stains remain on the letter
With words left unsaid, simply abandoned
Is it the same as always, the life you’re living?
A gentle kiss before drifting off to sleep

Winter illusion of a distant spring
Now-forgotten songs of days gone by

An endless silence fills the sky
My heart shaken by the cold night light
Quietly take with you these rusted feelings
Oh, cold night light, just like this…

Alone, humming an unending song of youth
Singing it to the cold night light for all eternity
Smells in the wind of this unknown land
Reminding me of times past

Shin Rizumu – Houninshugi (English Lyrics)

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放人主義
Leave-Them-Be-Ism

Rainy day, establishment full of people
Every one of them only thinking about themselves

Look at those people fighting over a chair
And they call themselves adults?

People who know no shame — leave them be
Play it cool, keep it calm

Irritating day, table’s all wobbly
Stomach feels like it’s going to explode

Look at those children not behaving themselves
Should I shout at them?

People ignorant to the ways of the world — tell them off
Be stern, without reserve

Everyone around staring
Their cold gazes piercing me

People who know no shame — leave them be
Play it cool, keep calm

Every member of society — leave them be
Be free, never mind them

Minamino Yoko – Harugeshiki (English Lyrics)

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春景色
Scenes of Spring

Waiting for you on the platform, I see the distant ocean
On the Kobe Line, enticed by a tranquil spring breeze
You look a little shy in your navy blue collared jacket
It’s making me nervous — usually you’re so brazen

Sounds of the train; hurried confusion
“Guess we got a bit carried away”
Me not answering, you worriedly glance at me

After the graduation ceremony, once spring break ends
I will be a year above you in April
It’s not that I’m angry, me falling silent like this…
I was only thinking about the passing of the seasons

Going up the hill and looking down, see the reflections of those ships?
This town, always enveloping me in its kind embrace
Even as we eat our gelatos you still seem down
You’re thinking, “she just doesn’t like me”
Being the fool that you are

“Island Cafe”
That starry highway
The party we had together
It’s not like the memories will just disappear

Having said goodbye to my school uniform, getting off at a different station
I will be a year above you in April
One of these days it might not be like this anymore…
But for now, I just want to be spoiled by this gentle sunlight

It’s not that I’m angry, me falling silent like this…
I was only thinking about the passing of the seasons

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