KAN – Iezu no I LOVE YOU (English Lyrics)

言えずのI LOVE YOU
The Unspoken “I Love You”

I can’t sleep and I can’t eat
I’m so busy thinking about you
I think about you so much
I can’t make progress with anything
So today I came here to finally tell you how I feel
But honesty doesn’t suit me; I can’t find the timing

I want to start going out with you
If only I could play an introduction to my words
How easy that would make it
I must tell you today

Uhh, so, listen…
How do I put this…
So, umm…
Well, you know… right?

So, uhh…
Just how long will it take me
For me to say the words “I love you“?

I don’t mean to make you laugh
Yet you still laugh anyway
So I keep making jokes, never getting to the point
To you, I’m “someone understanding”
You see me as your friend; a confidante
But that’s not good enough

“Hey, I love you!”
I should just blurt it out like it’s nothing special
I must tell you today, no matter what

So, umm…
Just how long will it take me?
I can’t say the words, but I do love you

So, uhh…
I’m so close now
I can’t put it into words, but I do love you

So, umm… I was born in Kyushu…
And, uhh… My hobbies include walking…
So, umm… My point is…
That, uhh… Next week I’ll be free, so…
So, umm… What I’m trying to say is…
That, uhh… I love… skiing… not so much…?
So, umm…

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KAN – Kimi ga Suki Mune ga Itai (English Lyrics)

君が好き胸が痛い
Love You So Much It Hurts

Even after spotting you in a crowd of people
I still pretend like I don’t see you
I just want to see your smile first
For no reason in particular

So many things I want to talk to you about
I don’t even know where to start
I’m just glad I got to see you
When you must be so busy

Ah, I love you so much it hurts
I want to be closer to you
I might be joking around
But you do not know
The crushing loneliness I feel

Walking with you in the evening
It feels awkward somehow
I have almost everything I want
The only thing missing is you

Ah, I love you so much it hurts
I want to see you closer
I might be acting cool
But you do not know
I’m so lonely I could cry

Time in this city will undoubtedly keep passing
Everyone around us will keep getting older
But the one thing that won’t change
Is the fact that I’ll still love you
As I alone remain in place
Just marking time

Ah, I love you so much it hurts
In the end it’s you I want to be with
I might be acting cool
But you do not know
You still do not know
I’m so lonely I could cry

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KAN – Curry Rice (English Lyrics)

カレーライス
Curry Rice

Once again, I made you angry
And before long you started to cry
Escaping into the coldness of the evening

Guess there’s no helping it
Tonight I’ll heat up the leftover curry
And wait for you, in silence

I’m looking for a good way of putting it
Something trivial yet somehow meaningful…

Right, it’s like having leftover curry in the morning
It cooled down once but you just warm it up again, and that’s fine
It cooled down once but you just warm it up again, and that’s fine

Guess I’ll head out to look for you soon — it’s getting dark
And there you were, waiting for me at the usual river bed

If you were truly to go away forever
I wonder what I would do then?
Let’s just go home for now, holding hands

No matter what happens
We’ll keep living in this house together
For decades and decades to come

Heating up the curry, realizing there was less of it than we thought
Pretending like we’re sharing it equally
Yet hoarding it for ourselves — that’s fine, too

So, around next week
Please make more curry rice
For me, for me

It’s like eating leftover curry in the morning
It cooled down once but you just warm it up again, and that’s fine
It cooled down once but you just warm it up again, and that’s fine

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KAN – Propose (English Lyrics)

プロポーズ
Proposal

Near my place there’s a big park
With green grass, a baseball field, even a water fountain
Let’s ride our bicycles there on a sunny day
I’m a little bit faster than you
But it’s not like I’d leave you behind
I like cycling beside you
Watching your hair blowing in the wind
We don’t even have to talk, it’ll be fun anyway
So come over to my part of town

Even if something sad were to happen that day
Let’s go to the park anyway, holding hands
We’ll find some bench in the shade
Here, I’ll play my alto saxophone for you
I’m no good at it, never was
So the people, even the dogs, can’t stand being around us
And then it’ll be just you and me
I’ll listen to everything you have to say
Even if it’s all out of order
You can take your time
See, don’t you feel a little better already?
Let’s sing your favorite song together
It’s fine — no one’s around, remember?
I’m the better singer, but your voice is nicer
I really do think so

You don’t have to answer me right away
But give it some real thought
And then come to me

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mouse on the keys “irreversible” interview (2011)

Here’s a great interview with the amazing mouse on the keys, originally published at CONTRAST some time ago around the time their live DVD was released. If you’re a fan of mouse on the keys, and you’re the type of fan that’s interested in interviews and that sort of thing, then I’m sure you know just how scarcely mouse on the keys has those available (not to mention ones in English!). For those fans among you this should be a treat.

Original interview & text: Shota Kato
Photography: WYPAX
English translation: Henkka

img_motk_main

The subject of mouse on the keys’ DVD “irreversible” is their third European tour in March of 2011 that took them to the UK, Germany and Poland. It’s a lively tour movie that showcases their journey through seven performances in three countries. Captivating are not only the live performances filmed from a close distance, but also the clips of Europe in between with its impressive scenery and townscape. Depending on the person watching, there are various things to be taken away from it. That is one of the strong points of the work.

The tour took place from March 4th through the 12th. As you can see from this schedule, mouse on the keys came to know of the reality of Japan being shook by an unprecedented earthquake while they were in the middle of their tour. In other words, while “irreversible” is a pure record of their tour, it also captures how they experienced 3/11 while in Europe. Realizing that, it feels to me like a documentary that depicts not only the growth of this band on tour, but also the change of an era.

The director for this work was independent film director MINORxU. Though it is talked about in this interview, please do take note of how deeply involved he was in the making as well. You’ll come to know what kind of environments mouse on the keys and MINORxU worked in, what kind of musicians they spent time with, and you’ll get context as to how they lived during that time. I got to talk to mouse on the keys and look back on episodes that happened during the tour, the history that’s documented on “irreversible” and what can now be said about the things that aren’t documented.

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