Lyrics Translation: Beautiful World ~ Utada Hikaru (宇多田ヒカル)

nobody@vox.com(crystalise) — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 12:40:27 +0800

Let me start off by congratulating Hikki on being crowned queen of the digital music world! Selling 7.7 million tracks online of her single Flavor of Life has effectively led to Hikki towering above all other artists worldwide - yes, the list does take into account American, British and other great artists from other nations as well in case you are still wondering what I meant by "worldwide". With the recent release of her full discography into the UK iTunes store, we are likely to only see that number grow.

It's ironic though - her misadventures into the English-speaking market earned her a phrase all to herself in the Japanese entertainment industry - "to pull an Utada", which means to seriously screw up in entering the English-speaking market even when you are at your peak. Indeed, I've always wondered why the lyrics for her English songs were not as good as they could be because it is clear that she could write excellent songs in Japanese (Hikki is solidly bilingual - heck, she speaks English with a New York accent and has written some of her most successful songs in English first before translating and releasing them in Japanese)... Ah, those were indeed trying times for Hikki...

But it seems I am digressing too far, time to get back on point! So, after translating one painful song comes yet another translation of a sad song, but this time it's from Hikki. Although the tempo of the song seems quite in contrast to the lyrics, when they are put together they do give off a unique feeling of pain. Beautiful World seems reminiscent of her most recent album ULTRA BLUE (when I first heard it, the songs from the album - Making Love and BLUE - came to my mind at the same time although I can't explain why).

The song was written as the theme to the ultimately depressing anime series, Neon Genesis Evangelion (they are "rebooting" the series in four movies) - the English title of this remake is known as Rebuild of Evangelion. Hopefully with this retelling they will also make it a lot easier for normal people to understand what they were going on about... Sure, I understood that there was plenty of religion, philosophy and psychology in there but it seemed too hard to grasp what was going on sometimes. Regardless, from what I do know of it, it's not for the faint of heart nor is it a "feel-good" anime - thus, perhaps this song hints at some of the more despairing themes from the movie (but I will never know, LOL).

As a note, the physical single is not actually on sale yet - that will take another three more weeks as August 29th is the release date of the physical single. The lyrics and the song itself has already been released to the public, though besides radio and chaku-uta (early release of full-length songs downloaded via mobile phones), there is no way of securing the song at the moment. Nonetheless, three weeks is not that long to wait... still, I can't wait to get my hands on the single!

Thus, in anticipation of the great successes that lie ahead for Hikki - and Beautiful World - here is an attempted translation of a beautiful song from a beautiful singer.

Song information:

Listen to a sample of Beautiful World (~2:20 mins)

Beautiful World (Sample, ~2:20 mins)

Utada Hikaru (宇多田ヒカル)

First appearance:
Track 1 from Hikki's single, Beautiful World/Kiss&Cry (Released 2007/08/29).

PV availability:
A PV was released for the song. If you are looking for more Hikki though, the PV doesn't deliver because it's made up entirely of Evangelion scenes... Oh Hikki, where art thou?

Theme song:
This is the theme song to the tetralogy of movies: ヱヴァンゲリヲン新劇場版 ("wevangeriwon shin gekijouban"; trans: "Evangelion - New Theatrical Edition"; English title: "Rebuild of Evangelion")

Alternative versions:
There are no alternative versions of this song at this time.

Comments:
Beautiful world is a heartbreaking song that is filled with contradiction in the lyrics - the entire song is, in itself, a contradiction to itself. Despite the obvious sadness that the world has brought upon the protagonist, it's still a beautiful world nonetheless and it seems that the only real thing that is beautiful is the boy - which really represents an unattainable object of desire. It is the boy, in this regard, that makes the world beautiful but at the same time, the boy does not recognise this effect nor does he realise his own beauty. The English echo "It's only love" seems to hint that she is trying to justify her intense feelings for him (notice how this line only comes in parts where she speaks of the boy not knowing his own beauty).

There is a lot of hidden meaning to parts of the songs and I especially like the observation where newspapers have nothing relevant to the individual lives of most people - we are always worrying more about other things that are more personal to us. The background music also hints a sense of urgency (the haunting refrain of the piano does this quite well) and this feeling is reinforced near the end of the lyrics. As with some of her other songs, there are also hidden lyrics in this song - they grow louder with each refraining chorus probably to hint something of a realisation that becomes increasingly clear. If you listen, you can hear them coming after "Beautiful world" and "Beautiful boy"... They can be heard at their clearest at the end of the song.

[My problem is this... I can't really make out what is being said... Sometimes I am sure I hear: "Beautiful Life" and other times "Beautiful Lie" and then sometimes I also here "Beautiful prayer" but other times "Beautiful prey"... They all make for some really interesting perspectives to view the song with. Personally, I think it's really "Beautiful lie" followed by "Beautiful prayer" but I can't be certain.]*

In the end, Beautiful world is a great song which not only works to give off the feeling of sorrow but also a sense of urgency or at least a feeling of emotions swelling up in the melody. The addition of hidden messages only make the song even more intriguing. Alright, time to cut to the chase and get the lyrics going for this piece of musical magic.

*[UPDATE] It took me quite some time to edit this but a while back I actually slid the CD single into my home stereo to listen to the songs in their full glory. From it, there is no mistaking that Hikki was actually singing "Beautiful lie" followed by "Beautiful prayer". Really, if you ever want to find out how much quality is lost by converting music into MP3 format - look no further for proof, LOL. (^___^") Yea, MP3 has spoilt me so much that I rarely slide in all the singles I bought to listen to them... it's a lot nicer to have an entire digital library playing than to slide CDs in and out all the time, no?

Lyrics:
Japanese lyrics retrieved from www.uta-net.com, with additions to make it easier to sing along from myself.

--------------------------------------
日本語:
Beautiful World
--------------------------------------
歌手: 宇多田ヒカル
作詞: Utada Hikaru
作曲: Utada Hikaru
--------------------------------------
It's only love
It's only love

もしも願い一つだけ叶うなら
君の側で眠らせて　どんな場所でもいいよ
Beautiful world
迷わず君だけを見つめている
Beautiful boy
自分の美しさ　まだ知らないの

It's only love

寝ても覚めても少年マンガ
夢見てばっか　自分が好きじゃないの

何が欲しいか分からなくて
ただ欲しがって　ぬるい涙が頬を伝う

言いたいことなんか無い
ただもう一度会いたい
言いたいこと言えない
根性無しかもしれない
それでいいけど

It's only love

どんなことでもやってみて
損をしたって　少し経験値上がる

新聞なんかいらない
肝心なことが載ってない
最近調子どうだい？
元気にしてるなら
別にいいけど

僕の世界消えるまで会えぬなら
君の側で眠らせて　どんな場所でも結構
Beautiful world
儚く過ぎて行く日々の中で
Beautiful boy
気分のムラは仕方ないね

もしも願い一つだけ叶うなら
君の側で眠らせて

Beautiful world... Beautiful boy...
Beautiful world... Beautiful boy...
Beautiful world... Beautiful boy...

-------------------------------------------------------
romaji:
Beautiful World
-------------------------------------------------------
kashyu: utada hikaru
sakushi: Utada Hikaru
sakkyoku: Utada Hikaru
romaji: crystalise
-------------------------------------------------------
It’s only love
It’s only love

moshimo negai hitotsu dake kanau nara
kimi no soba de nemurasete donna basho de mo ii yo
Beautiful world
mayowazu kimi dake wo mitsumeteiru
Beautiful boy
jibun no utsukushisa mada shiranai no

It’s only love

nete mo samete mo shounen manga
yume mite bakka jibun ga suki janai no

nani ga hoshiika wakaranakute
tada hoshigatte nurui namida ga hou wo tsutau

iitai koto nanka nai
tada mou ichido aitai
iitai koto ienai
konjou nashi ka mo shirenai
sore de ii kedo

moshimo negai hitotsu dake kanau nara
kimi no soba de nemurasete donna basho de mo ii yo
Beautiful world
mayowazu kimi dake wo mitsumeteiru
Beautiful boy
jibun no utsukushisa mada shiranai no

It’s only love

donna koto de mo yatte mite
son wo shitatte sukoshi keiken chiagaru

shinbun nanka iranai
kanjin na koto ga nottenai
saikin choushi doudai?
genki ni shiteru nara
betsu ni ii kedo

boku no sekai kieru made aenu nara
kimi no soba de nemurasete donna basho de mo kekkou
Beautiful world
hakanaku sugite yuku hibi no naka de
Beautiful boy
kibun no mura wa shitakanai ne

moshimo negai hitotsu dake kanau nara
kimi no soba de nemurasete

Beautiful world… Beautiful boy…
Beautiful world… Beautiful boy…
Beautiful world… Beautiful boy…

-------------------------------------------------------
English:
Beautiful World
-------------------------------------------------------
Performed by: Utada Hikaru
Lyricist: Utada Hikaru
Composer: Utada Hikaru
Translated by: crystalise
-------------------------------------------------------
It’s only love…
It’s only love…

If I could only have one desire fulfilled,
I would wish to be sleeping by your side, wherever that may be
In this beautiful world.
I gaze at your determined figure -
What a beautiful boy.
Yet, you are unable to see your own beauty.

It’s only love...

Eating, sleeping and breathing comics,*
I hated myself in that passing dream filled with those images.

I know that I don’t know what I want,
Nonetheless, I want it... As tepid tears stream down my cheeks.

I really have nothing I want to say to you,
But I still want to see you one more time.
The things that I want to say – I cannot say.
Perhaps I am a coward,
But it’s alright.

If I were to have only one wish fulfilled,
It would be to lie sleeping by your side, it doesn’t matter where that is
In this beautiful world.
I keep gazing at your determined figure -
What a beautiful boy.
Yet, you still can’t see the beauty within you.

It’s only love...

Trying my hand at almost anything,
It all seems at a loss... Perhaps besides gaining some experience.

I don’t see the need for newspapers,
The things that are most important to people are not even in there.
Have you been taking care of yourself recently?
So long as you are well,
I’ll be fine.

If I don’t get to see you even when my world disappears,
As long as I am resting beside you, any place is bearable
In this beautiful world.
In the midst of these fleeting days
There stands a beautiful boy.
My ever-shifting moods, nothing can be done to help them.

If I could only have one wish fulfilled,
It would be to be there lying by your side.

Beautiful world... Beautiful boy...
Beautiful world... Beautiful boy...
Beautiful world... Beautiful boy...

Notes:
*Note 1: Literally, “sleeping and waking to comics”

Links:
Utada Hikaru Official Website (maintained by EMI Music Japan)
Purchase Beautiful World/Kiss&Cry online (via YesAsia Global)

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ちいさな 愛 ~i~

Lyrics Translation: Beautiful World ~ Utada Hikaru (宇多田ヒカル)

ちいさな愛 ~i~