Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!

Released on 2012 Jul. 4th. [MV]
Lyric: EDOMETAL, NAKAMETAL / Music: NARASAKI / Arr.: NARAMETAL

In short: A 15 y.o. girl goes to a rock concert. It's a special night of the special age.

Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!! (Headbanger!)

With the legendary black long hair disordered around and gorgeously,
blooming crazy, this flower will soon disappear fruitlessly.

  [Headbang, headbang, headbang, headbang, headbang, headbang!
   Bang, bang, ba, bang!]

Now the time has come. I no longer hesitate.
I hold tightly the discount railway tickets.
To the east, to the west, to the south, to the north,
today too I rush to the very front of the stage center.

On the left side, [Come on!] on the right side, [Come on!]
standing up still, leaning back,
jumping toward the stage, [And then!] leaning over the fence, [And then!]
rolling over the mob, [And then!] and then all deeply headbanging.

This special night of my fifteen, I'll never forget.
All the crybabies, get out of here!

With the legendary black long hair disordered around and gorgeously,
blooming crazy, this flower will soon disappear fruitlessly.

It'll never come back again and it's so short period.
I etch in my heart this special night of my fifteen.

I jump lightly and dance in the air.

Headbanger!

  [[Headbang, headbang, headbang, headbang, headbang, headbang!]]

  [Head, head, head, head]

This special night of my fifteen, I'll never forget.
All the crybabies, from here dis-ap-pear!

This special night of my fifteen, I'll never forget.
All that disturb us, right now get out of here!

With the legendary black long hair disordered around and gorgeously,
blooming crazy, this flower will soon disappear fruitlessly.

It'll never come back again and it's so short period.
I etch in my heart this special night of my fifteen.

With the legendary black long hair disordered around and gorgeously,
blooming crazy, this flower will soon disappear fruitlessly.

I can never come back to it again and it's so short period.
I etch in my memory this special night of my fifteen.

I jump lightly and dance in the air.

  [Headbang, headbang, headbang, headbang, headbang, headbang!
   Bang, bang, ba, bang!]

Headbanger!

  [???Head panic, head panic???]

---

  ROMAJI LYRIC AND NOTES ARE BELOW.

[i] About the Word "Ichigo"(15)

In Japanese, "15" is usually pronounced as "jûgo" ("jû"+"go" = (1x)10+5 = 15). It is rare to read "15" as "ichigo" ("ichi"+"go" = 1(x10)+5 = 15).

A more used "ichigo" is "一期" (= lifetime / once-in-a-lifetime). It comes from "一期一会" (ichi-go ichi-e) which represents a teaching of a great tea master SEN no Rikyû. He said that you should give respect to your host (or guest) as if the meeting was the once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet each other.

The most used "ichigo" is "strawberry". A dreaming girl has faced the reality and she can no longer dream like before. Such an experience is said to be "horo-nigai" (= bittersweet) or "ama-zuppai" (literally "sweet&sour"). The latter is associated with strawberry and used for less bitter experiences than the former. There is an old-fashioned word "ichigo sedai" (= strawberry/15 generation) which refers to the girls (& boys?) around age 15 associated with such experiences. (There is yet another meaning of the Strawberry Generation in Taiwan.)

It is clear that the lyric writers were thinking of "ichi-go ichi-e" when they read "15" as "ichigo", so I translate "ichigo" to "special". Strawberry is not for sure, but the sweet&sour-ness is characteristic of age 15. (I revised note [i] on 2017 May 20th.)

[i+] About Another "15 no Yoru"

There is a famous song titled "15の夜" (Jûgo no Yoru) sung by Yutaka OZAKI. It says like this:

I start running the motorbike I've stolen, not knowing where to go, just into the dark pall of night.
Disliking to be bound by anyone, I escaped into this night, and I felt I became free.
It was the night in my fifteenth year.

This is his debut single in 1983 when he was 18 y.o. After age 20, he had been struggling to write new songs and died in his 26th year by drug overdose. He has been regarded as a rebelling teenagers' hero, but he also wrote many love songs. His fans admire his lyrics for explaining why they do/did what they do/did, expressing what they can't/couldn't notice by themselves (e.g. "I escaped" above).

Archy san on 2014 Nov. 13th & not a few people think the lyric writers of "Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!" referred to Ozaki's "15 no Yoru". But I don't think the lyric writers are Ozaki's fans because the lyric doesn't express what Ozaki's fans would want to express.

[ii] About the Words "Gyaku-dai", etc. and "Hedobangyaa"

"Gyaku-dai", etc. are used among the fans of "visual-kei" rock bands (they are so called because they all dress up). I didn't know these words and have researched them on the internet, so I'm not so sure. The girl fans of visual-kei are called "bangya" (= band gals), and this is why the title is written as "ヘドバンギャー", i.e. "hedobangyaa" = "headbang" + "band gal".

"Gyaku-dai" (= diving oppositely, contrasted with the diving of the singer into the audience) is the (scheduled) rushing of the audience toward the stage. Typically fans jump up & forward raising one fist up, or instead of jumping, some bend their upper body and pull down the raised fist (thanks to Anonymous san on 2015 Feb. 10th). The fans in the front row lean over the low fence that keeps the audience away from the stage (= saku-dai). Some fans actually jump above the mob. Some fans far from the stage are thrown up and roll forward over the mob (= koro-dai; crowd surfing).

To prevent severe accidents, there are some manners of gyaku-dai. Those who go to the visual-kei concerts should learn them in advance, from their friends, searching on the internet, or from other audience just before the concert.

Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!! (Headbanger! *1)

Romaji Lyric	English Translation	Notes
Densetsu no kuro-kami o	With the legendary black long hair	2
karei ni midashi	disordered around and gorgeously,	3
kurui-zaku kono hana wa	blooming crazy, this flower	4
hakanaku kieru.	will soon disappear fruitlessly.
[Hedoban hedoban	[Headbang, headbang,
hedoban hedoban	headbang, headbang,
hedoban hedoban.	headbang, headbang!
Ban ban ba ban!]	Bang, bang, ba, bang!]	5
Saa toki wa kita.	Now the time has come.
Moo mayowa-nai.	I no longer hesitate.	6
Nigiri-shimeta no	I hold tightly
juuhachi-kippu.	the discount railway tickets.	7
Higashi e nishi e	To the east, to the west,
minami e kita e	to the south, to the north,
kyoo mo do-sen ni totsugeki.	today too I rush to the very front of the stage center.	8
Kamite   [Koi ya!]	On the left side,   [Come on!]	9
shimote   [Koi ya!]	on the right side,   [Come on!]
chokuritsu-fudoo nokezori	standing up still, leaning back,
gyaku-dai   [Kara no!]	jumping toward the stage,   [And then!]	[ii]
saku-dai   [Kara no!]	leaning over the fence,   [And then!]	10
koro-dai   [Kara no!]	rolling over the mob,   [And then!]
oritatami.	and then all deeply headbanging.	11
Ichigo no yoru o	This special night of my fifteen,	[i]
wasure wa shi-nai.	I'll never forget.
Naki-mushi na yatsu wa	All the crybabies,
koko kara kie-usero!	get out of here!
Densetsu no kuro-kami o	With the legendary black long hair
karei ni midashi	disordered around and gorgeously,
kurui-zaku kono hana wa	blooming crazy, this flower
hakanaku kieru.	will soon disappear fruitlessly.
Moo nidoto modora-nai	It'll never come back again	12
wazukana toki o	and it's so short period.
kono mune ni kizamunda	I etch in my heart
ichigo no yoru o.	this special night of my fifteen.
Hirari chuu ni mau.	I jump lightly and dance in the air.	13
Hedobangyaa!	Headbanger!
[[Hedoban hedoban ...]]	[[Headbang, headbang, ...]]
[Atama atama atama atama]	[Head, head, head, head]	14
Ichigo no yoru o	This special night of my fifteen,
wasure wa shi-nai.	I'll never forget.
Naki-mushi na yatsu wa	All the crybabies,
koko kara ki-e-ro!	from here, dis-ap-pear!
Ichigo no yoru o	This special night of my fifteen,
wasure wa shi-nai.	I'll never forget.
Jama o suru yatsu wa	All that disturb us,
sokuzani kie-usero!	right now get out of here!
Densetsu no kuro-kami o	With the legendary black long hair
karei ni midashi	disordered around and gorgeously,
kurui-zaku kono hana wa	blooming crazy, this flower
hakanaku kieru.	will soon disappear fruitlessly.
Moo nidoto modora-nai	It'll never come back again
wazukana toki o	and it's so short period.
kono mune ni kizamunda	I etch in my heart
ichigo no yoru o.	this special night of my fifteen.
Densetsu no kuro-kami o	With the legendary black long hair
karei ni midashi	disordered around and gorgeously,
kurui-zaku kono hana wa	blooming crazy, this flower
hakanaku kieru.	will soon disappear fruitlessly.
Moo nidoto modore-nai	I can never come back again to it	12
wazukana toki o	and it's so short period.
omoide ni kizamunda	I etch in my memory
ichigo no yoru o.	this special night of my fifteen.
Hirari chuu ni mau.	I jump lightly and dance in the air.
[Hedoban hedoban	[Headbang, headbang,
hedoban hedoban	headbang, headbang,
hedoban hedoban.	headbang, headbang!
Ban ban ba ban!]	Bang, bang, ba, bang!]
Hedobangyaa!	Headbanger!
[???Hedopani hedopani ...???]	[???Headpanic, headpanic, ...???]	15

Notes

1. At first BABYMETAL official YouTube channel used the notation "Headbangeeeeerrrrr!!!!!" and changed it to "Head Bangya!!" soon after the release of the first album, but it was changed back to the original in the autumn of 2015 (thanks to Anonymous san on 2016 Apr. 19).
2. The original line has none for "long", but "kuro-kami" (= black hair) is the Japanese traditionally ideal hair and typically long.
3. "Midashi" (= midasu) means "to disorder". It represents the state of long hair in headbanging. At first I took "scattering gorgeously" but discard it, being afraid that the readers would take the hair fallen out from the head.
4. There is a word "kurui-zaki" which means "(for a flower) blooming out of season", but 15 y.o. is the season for a girl to bloom.
5. At first I thought this line is "Kon kon ko kon" (= fox barking) because, at this part of the music video, the long-haired person made the fox signs, but Anonymous san on 2014 May 26 pointed out this line is "Ban ban ba ban", and MOAMETAL clearly said so in the audio commentary on this video, so I've revised the lyrics.
6. "I've made up my mind." may be better, but there is another expression "kakugo o kimeta" which corresponds exactly to it.
7. "Juuhachi-kippu" (= 18-ticket) is the ticket for one-day unlimited ride, available in school holidays and not available for the trains requiring the express surcharges. Young Japanese travel with it, changing trains, over 500km a day for Tokyo or elsewhere.
8. "Dosen" = "do"+"sentâ" = the very center. Using "do-" sounds somewhat vulgar.
9. "Kamite" & "shimote" (literally "upper" & "lower") mean the "stage left" side & the "stage right" side in this song, but these words are addressed to the audience.
10. Grammatically "X kara no Y" is "Y after X", so, if "after" is used, the phrase order is reversed: "rolling... after leaning... after jumping...".
11. "Oritatami" (literally "folding") is a jargon of "visual-kei" fans and means something like "bowing deeply" but not a salutation.
12. If ignoring the word order and translating literally, this is "I etch in my heart this very short period that shall never come back again, this special night of my fifteen".
        This phrase is repeated three times, and "modora-nai" was slightly changed to "modore-nai" on the third time. "Modore-nai" is the negation of "modoreru" which represents the ability (to come) or something. There is no grammatical subject, but I think "I can't come back to this moment" is better than "this moment can't come back to me". (Appended on 2017 Mar. 17th.)
13. "Hirari" is an adverb used for a light movement. "Mau" is a verb used for slow dancing and also for flying of butterflies, etc.
14. Anonymous san on 2014 Mar. 13th pointed out this line is "Atama atama...", MOAMETAL said the same in some video message, and it was so pronounced in some live takes, so I've revised the lyrics and translation though I can't hear it so in the studio take.
15. I think I hear something other than "hedoban", but I'm not sure if it is "hedopani" (added on 2017 Mar. 17).