μοναξιά

Whoa. Nomico coming in and writing her own Haruka-esque lyrics. I like this a lot. The arrangement itself also sounds reminiscent of really old Alst songs (around the time of The Last Judgement or Dolls). I’m a fan of the song’s title too, meaning “loneliness.” If my Greek education via physics has taught me anything it’s read “monaxia.”

Notes: My only translation regret here are the “it was me” lines. I’d rather translate it as “The one who let go of sweet warm hands was me” but that sounds bad. Ideally it would be translated like “The one who left what was precious to them was me” but that’s difficult to do with hands and keeping it vague and natural sounding. At first I tried for “The one who let go of your sweet, warm hands was me” but this might be a bit better.

☆ Title: μοναξιά
★ Album: μοναξιά
☆ Album Artist: Alstroemeria Records
★ Vocals and lyrics: nomico
☆ Arrangement: Masayoshi Minoshima
☆ Website: http://alst.net/



深い深い闇の中
ひとりきりで立ち尽くす

fukai fukai yami no naka
hitorikiri de tachi tsukusu

Deep, deep, in darkness
I stand still all alone

会いたくて
会いたくて
でもあなたはここにいない

aitakute
aitakute
demo anata wa koko ni inai

I want to see you
I want to see you
but you’re not here

あたたかな優しい手を
探している どこにいるの?

atataka na yasashii te o
sagashiteiru doko ni iru no

I’m searching for sweet, warm hands
Where are they?

深い深い闇の中
赤い花が揺れている

fukai fukai yami no naka
akai hana ga yureteiru

Deep, deep, in darkness
crimson flowers are swaying

会いたくて
会いたくて
もうあなたはここにいない

aitakute
aitakute
mou anata wa koko ni inai

I want to see you
I want to see you
but you’re not here anymore

あたたかな優しい手を
離したのは私だった?

atataka na yasashii te o
hanashita no wa watashi datta?

Your hands were warm and sweet
Was I the one who let go?

約束は違われた
許せないの 許さないわ

yakusoku wa tagawareta
yurusenai no yurusanai wa

This wasn’t what we promised
I can’t forgive it, I won’t forgive it

あたたかな愛しい手を
離したのは私だった

atataka na itoshii te o
hanashita no wa watashi datta

Your hands were warm and precious
I was the one who let go

Chase

This arrangement and these lyrics remind me a bit of old Alst songs, back when Haruka was the lyricist and Minoshima did things different, which I really like.

Notes: I’ve made the difficult choice to translate this song as speaking about/to someone. I was assuming the topic throughout was an implicit “I” until the “gathering wishes” stanza, which explicitly says “you.” I think it makes more sense this way.

☆ Title: Chase
★ Album: POP | CULTURE 6
☆ Album Artist: Alstroemeria Records
★ Vocals: nomico
☆ Lyrics: Mei Ayakura (綾倉盟)
★ Arrangement: Masayoshi Minoshima
☆ Original Title: The Traditional Old Man and the Stylish Girl (時代親父とハイカラ少女)
★ Website: http://alst.net/


眩しい光が突き刺す
全てが 見透かされそうで
素直になれない心が
粉々 脆く崩れてく

mabushii hikari ga tsuki sasu
subete ga mi sukasaresou de
sunao ni narenai kokoro ga
konagona moroku kuzurete ku

Everything appears to be transparent
A bright light pierces through
Your fragile heart, unable to be true to itself,
crumbles away into pieces

今まで 日陰にいた
いつから 隠れていた?
いつまで 逃げているの?
声にならないまま

ima made hikage ni ita
itsu kara kakureteita?
itsu made nigete iru no?
koe ni naranai mama

Until now you’ve been in the shadows
Since when have you been hiding?
How long will you keep running away?
As it is, you have no voice

追いかけて 追いかけて
行き着く先まで
探しても 探しても
答えは胸の奥
強い風 吹き抜けて
雲は流れてく
追い風を受け止めて

oi kakete oi kakete
iki tsuku saki made
sagashitemo sagashitemo
kotae wa mune no oku
tsuyoi kaze fuki nukete
kumo wa nagarete ku
oikaze o uke tomete

You chase and chase
until you reach your destination
You search, and you search,
but the answer lies in your heart
A strong gust blows
and the clouds stream on by
as they accept the tailwind

乾いた喉を締め付ける
言葉は いつも空を舞う
弱さを言い訳にしてた
昨日に さよならを告げて

kawaita nodo o shime tsukeru
kotoba wa itsu mo kuu o mau
yowasa o iiwake ni shiteta
kinou ni sayonara o tsugete

You tighten your dry throat
Your words always dance in emptiness
You’ve been using your weakness as an excuse
It’s time to goodbye to yesterday

数多の 想い集め
彼方へ 届けられず
貴方は 立ち尽くすの?
取り戻せないまま

amata no omoi atsume
kanata e todokerarezu
anata wa tachi tsukusu no?
tori modosenai mama

Will you just stand still
after gathering so many wishes,
unable to send them off into the distance?
As it is, they can’t be taken back

叫んでも 叫んでも
過去は変わらない
いつまでも いつまでも
立ち止まったままの
繰り返す 意味のない
時間はいらない
秒針は動き出す

sakendemo sakendemo
kako wa kawaranai
itsu made mo itsu made mo
tachi domatta mama no
kuri kaesu imi no nai
jikan wa iranai
byoushin wa ugoki dasu

You shout and shout,
but the past will never change
You’ve always and always
been stuck in place
You don’t need a time
that’s pointless to repeat
The second hand begins to turn

追いかけて 追いかけて
行き着く先まで
探しても 探しても
答えは胸の奥
強い風 吹き抜けて
雲は流れてく
追い風を受け止めて

oi kakete oi kakete
iki tsuku saki made
sagashitemo sagashitemo
kotae wa mune no oku
tsuyoi kaze fuki nukete
kumo wa nagarete ku
oikaze o uke tomete

You chase and chase
until you reach your destination
You search, and you search,
but the answer lies in your heart
A strong gust blows
and the clouds stream on by
as they accept the tailwind

Pleasant Place

Very good. While I liked Don’t Lose from Ignition Dancehall because it was a change in style from Ice Break and Unchain Pendulum, I didn’t like the lyrics. These lyrics are a lot better, I think, bringing her back to her rightful place as QUEEN OF ALST.

☆ Title: Pleasant Place
★ Album: STRUCTURED DANCEHALL
☆ Album Artist: Alstroemeria Records
★ Vocals: nomico
☆ Lyrics: Mei Ayakura (綾倉盟)
★ Arrangement: Masayoshi Minoshima
☆ Original Title: Soul’s Resting Place (魂の安らむ所)
★ Website: http://alst.net/

息を止めて 鼓動だけ感じてた
まぶた閉じて 温度だけ感じてた
縛られてた 動けない そんな日々
進めない もどかしさだけ

iki o tomete kodou dake kanjiteta
mabuta tojite ondo dake kanjiteta
shibarareteta ugokenai sonna hibi
susumenai modokashisa dake

I held my breath and just felt my pulse
I closed my eyes and just felt the heat
I was bound and couldn’t move, such were those days
Filled with frustration, unable to move forward

変われない 言い訳で
変わりたい 本心は
愛せない 意気地なし
愛したい 誰よりも

kawarenai iiwake de
kawaritai honshin wa
aisenai ikujinashi
aishitai dare yori mo

My excuses stop me from changing
but I do want to change deep inside
I’m too much of a coward to love
but I want to love more than anyone else

陽だまりから 届けたい
点と点が今 結ばれていくよ 優しさで
弾む 踊る 妖精のように
温もりから 繋げたい
線と線が今 行く先を示す 道しるべ
ここが 君の 笑顔が生まれる場所

hidamari kara todoketai
ten to ten ga ima musubarete yuku yo yasashisa de
hazumu odoru yousei no you ni
nukumori kara tsunagetai
sen to sen ga ima yukusaki o shimesu michishirube
koko ga kimi no egao ga umareru basho

Everywhere I want to reach out from this sunny spot to
is now getting connected, dot to dot, out of kindness
Bouncing and dancing like a fairy
Each line I want to connect from this warmth
now acts as a guide to show the way forward
This is the place where your smile will born

時間だけが 過ぎるのを感じてた
だけどなぜか 確かさを感じてた

jikan dake ga sugiru no o kanjiteta
dakedo naze ka tashikasa o kanjiteta

I only felt the time pass by
But for some reason I felt some kind of certainty

掴めない 君の手を
掴みたい その視線
伝えない この言葉
伝えたい 安らぎを

tsukamenai kimi no te o
tsukamitai sono shisen
tsutaenai kono kotoba
tsutaetai yasuragi o

I can’t hold your hand
but I want to grab your gaze
I can’t convey what I want to say
but I want to convey how pleasant this is

陽だまりから 届けたい
点と点が今 結ばれていくよ 優しさで
弾む 踊る 妖精のように
温もりから 繋げたい
線と線が今 行く先を示す 道しるべ
ここが 君の 笑顔が生まれる場所

hidamari kara todoketai
ten to ten ga ima musubarete yuku yo yasashisa de
hazumu odoru yousei no you ni
nukumori kara tsunagetai
sen to sen ga ima yukusaki o shimesu michishirube
koko ga kimi no egao ga umareru basho

Everywhere I want to reach out to from this sunny spot
is now getting connected, dot to dot, out of kindness
Bouncing and dancing like a fairy
Each line I want to connect from this warmth
now acts as a guide to show the way forward
This is the place where your smile will born

Unchain Pendulum

I miss nomico’s Pop Culture songs already. These two to four stanza types of songs are Minoshima’s worst, in my opinion.

Note: The order of lines is really messed up compared to the Japanese in the second stanza.

☆ Title: UNCHAIN PENDULUM
★ Album: ENGAGED DANCEHALL
☆ Album Artist: Alstroemeria Records
★ Vocals: nomico
☆ Lyrics: Mei Ayakura (綾倉盟)
★ Arrangement: Masayoshi Minoshima
☆ Original Title: Heian Alien (平安のエイリアン)
★ Website: http://alst.net/


視えているもの
それが真実だと
言い切れるかしら
振り子のように連なる心
寄せて返して
波に溺れて
揺れて

mieteiru mono
sore ga shinjitsu da to
ii kireru kashira
furiko no you ni tsuranaru kokoro
yosete kaeshite
nami ni oborete
yurete

I wonder if you could declare
with certainty that what you see
is what it really is?
Hearts string out like a pendulum
drawing near and retreating
drowning in the waves
swaying

がんじがらめの
鎖を引きずって
悟られないように
花束の中に隠しましょう
幻の裏
本音の間
揺れて

ganjigarame no
kusari o hikizutte
satorarenai you ni
hanataba no naka ni kakushimashou
maboroshi no ura
honne no aida
yurete

Dragging the chains
tied all around my body,
I shall hide inside a bouquet
swaying in the rift of true intentions
behind an illusion
so I won’t be
discerned