Lyrics Translation: LOVE & TRUTH ~ YUI

Hi there! Thanks for the points, but allow me to explain. As I have previously mentioned, my translations are not literal but contextual. There are plenty of very literal translations available on the internet but, in English, I feel that they detract from the message and lyrics when done in this fashion.

As a language, Japanese, unlike English, relies on contextual framing which is also why trained translators normally translate the "message", instead of the "words". I like that philosophy and so do the same in translating lyrics, constantly trying to retain the meanings behind the lyrics in English - including some of the wordplay that the Japanese may sometimes use.

I would also like to point out that I would never dare claim to be good at Japanese, and most of the translation issues you pointed out were decisions undertaken in English, not in Japanese. To be clear, my translation strategy is to first directly translate from Japanese to English, then I go through it again to make it flow properly in English. Finally, I go through the revised translation again to attempt to make the English retain the original emotional content in the lyrics.

It is this last part that calls for the tuning of lines to take away, modify or add words in order to retain as much of the meaning as well as emotional content. I will walkthrough each point to show you how I arrive at the final translation.

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1. As noted, 聴かせてよ literally means "let me hear it", and in my first run, I did translate it to "Let me hear this 'song of love', I gazed at that profile" - but the meaning seems a little confused because of the time inconsistency in English... of course, it's fine in Japanese since the final verb defines the time at which the action takes place.

So, to correct it, I bring everything up to present tense - because we have to note that she returns to this phrase again, but in that one, instead of using the past, she speaks in the present tense about her thoughts going forward. So, in the second phase, the verse is rewritten to "Let me hear this 'song of love' as I gaze at that profile"

Finally, going through this song, there is a very constant theme of continuation, progression and, most importantly, process. Noting how important the chorus is as a focal point for the central message of the song, I implemented the continuous tense to place it in line with that theme, hence, "Listening to this 'love song', I gaze upon that profile"

This arrangement of words allows for the English to express the sense of continuity as well as progression. The final version may have lost the open expression of desire that the words "let me" convey, but that desire is still expressed in the final version through the continuous tense expressing two concurrent actions. It is in the undertaking of these concurrent actions that show how they are intrinsically linked and that sense of longing, found in the earlier translation, was implied.

2. 会える is simply "can meet", but the full sentence goes どんなに寂しくても　また会える気がしているから which would literally translate to "Even if I am lonely, I have this feeling of meeting you again".

This actually already makes enough sense in English, so there was no need to adjust it. But just skip forward and you will realise that the expression of this statement in that original form does little to justify the message. Looking at the words that immediately follow it, 理由なんていらない, you realise the intensity of the emotions that the words are supposed to convey, but literally translating it to,

"Even if I am lonely, I have this feeling of meeting you again. I don't need a reason for this."

Makes it sound terribly bland and also fails to capture how swelled up these emotions are. Remember, she is waiting to simply meet him despite the loneliness she feels and declares that she does not require any reason for this. Then, looking at the full stanza, she also acknowledges that there is actually no real possibility of that happening - so, in one stanza, she conveys both the intense desire as well as the desperation of her situation. A literal line like the one proposed above does nothing to reflect that.

Hence, I used words like "regardless" and "still" to indicate this emotional charge as well as did what I could to shorten the sentence to make it appear more like English imperative form. This is also where the word "want" is added in order to accentuate the sense of raw, meaningless desire.

"Regardless of how lonely it gets, I still want to see you... I have no need for reasons to feel this way" - That was my attempt at conveying the desire and desperation of waiting for nothing.

3. As for the line, "アタシの感情は 涙の奥 輝いた", it should be literally translated "My feelings glimmered in the depths of my tears". But think carefully about that statement as it has been translated - the implication is that the feelings are locked into the tears as they are glimmering within it. The problem with my final version was not so much in the concept of "trapped", but rather in the fact that I said "shone out from" because that line actually does not say that.

But look closely and you may also note that this line is, in fact, a turning point where the song changes direction from one of wallowing in the past to one that attempts to accept the present for what it is.

The addition of the words "shone out" therefore marks this turning point as it implies that these things have become visible and she now sees that she has to move on. Hence, "My trapped feelings shone out a glimmer of light from the depths of my tears," hinting at the process of change, despite some hesitance, and the fact that these things have now come to light so that she can begin to accept the way that things are. That was the main reason behind choosing the action "to shine out" as a demarcation as a point of change, well, that and the fact that it is related to the word, "glimmer".

4. You could certainly argue that もう出逢ってしまったの translates to "we have already met" but that doesn't seem to make much sense to me. Instead, I read it as "we have yet met". もう, as you clearly know, hints the sense of completion or near completion and thus could imply either "already" or "yet" when translated in English, depending on context.

I understood the line as "yet" because earlier in the lyrics, you will notice that YUI uses the exact same words in the line where she expresses wanting to know him. The line at the end clearly recalls that earlier line (again emphasising the theme of continuation and progress as these same words are now framed differently with the earlier being one of regret and the latter being one of hesitant acceptance as the words that follow it show).

So, in that final line and also in the earlier line, to translate it with the concept of "already" as もう seemed a little too comedic for me to think that she really meant it that way. A direct translation of the earlier line in that vein would have been: "I want to know you, we have already met," where the problem comes with the rebuttal: "But you do know me, we have already met!"

Which is why it made a lot more sense to understand that line as "I want to know you, we have yet met." Following the train of thought that is in this song, what I believe she really meant was "we have yet to have truly met", which validates the line: "I want to know you". This is all good, but I didn't think that it reflected the somewhat literal writing that is so inherent of YUI.

Thus, in attempting to maintain the literal feeling of the line, I turned to another common English translation of もう, which is "more". So, I could have technically said "if we met more", but because that sounds a little too crude, I opted for the line, "if only we had more time together." This maintains the meaning of "we have yet truly met" because the yearning for more time together allows for more time to understand each other and thus for them to "truly meet".

So, with those very words, the idea of "had already met" and "had yet met" are both covered thus, since wanting to meet more presumes that you had already met anyway.

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Thanks again for pointing these points out, perhaps I was a little complacent on this post by not placing up the notes... but that was actually because I have no idea where that file went. Nonetheless, in discussing the grievances you have, I hope I have demonstrated the reasons for my choice of words, even if you may disagree with them.

My aim is not a direct translation since they are readily available in other places in the worldwide web. Instead, my translations aim at capturing the meaning, intensity, rhythm (I try, but often not very successfully), and so on of the song. I am trying to share the feelings that I believe the song conveys in its native language, thus that necessarily involves a different strategy from direct translation (in business lingo, they apparently call it "localisation".)

To achieve this aim though, I analyse the PVs if there are any available and put the song on loop as I translate - making sure to hear how the artists vocalise and instrumentalise each part. I also go back to look at the lyrics as a whole as well as in parts to ensure that the message fits. I do try to reference the media that the song may be tied to as well, but that is not always achievable.

Other times, especially for my favourite artists, I read as well as watch their interviews around the time of the song's release as they may sometimes talk about what they are trying to express as well as other tidbits about the song. Finally, when I am totally stumped, I consult my friends.

All of this forms the general context under which I translate and modify the words according to my knowledge of Japanese expression as well as English expression. For example, just as I won't translate, "learn the ropes" into "ロープを学ぶ" (as you know, in Japanese "秘訣を学ぶ" would be more sensible), so too will I not translate, "朝飯前だ" to "it's before breakfast" (as you know, "it's a piece of cake" would suffice in English).

Every song and every artist goes through the same treatment which is why my translations aren't always the speediest of things. Nonetheless, if you are looking for literal translations then you will notice that none of my posts are completely literal as you will surely see parts when the lyrics and translation will not exactly match up. In fact, a good number of my translation posts don't match up with the English in the original lyrics either since I prioritise context over Engrish as well.

YUI herself also makes things a little difficult because, at times, her lyrics don't really make much sense in Japanese either. Take a look at Jam and you'll easily find a line that got even her Japanese fans scratching their heads as to what she was singing about - this may be because she has a habit of heavily omitting the subject in the lines she writes, sometimes to the point when it really is more muddled than it needs to be.

Anyhow, thanks for the comment, I've so enjoyed talking about why I write the things I write - something which I don't often get to do since it would be long-winded and would also detract from the focus of the post.

Nonetheless, I did detect an odd sense of hostility throughout your comment, perhaps "hostility" is not the right word... but it wasn't a very good feeling. I hope I haven't crossed you as that is not my intention, but I have to admit, those last few words don't necessarily seem all that nice... Then again, maybe I'm just taking things out of context... LOL (^___^")