2013/07/27

IJIME, DAME, ZETTAI

Released on 2013 Jan. 9th. [MV]
Lyric: NAKAMETAL, TSUBOMETAL / Music: KxBxMETAL, TSUBOMETAL, TAKEMETAL / Arr.: Kyôtô

In short: Hey, bystanders! Sometimes you get hurt, sometimes you hurt someone, and we all get badly hurt. Say "Never" to bullying! Don't be bystanders!

IJIME, DAME, ZETTAI (Bullying, No, Absolutely)

  [Rururu...]

  [Ah.]

Dreaming, I couldn't have even it.
Between the light and the darkness, I stayed alone.

Those who got hurt were not only I myself,
but also those who kept on watching me. It was you.

Confidence,   [Have it!]
I couldn't have.   [Don't be beaten!]
I kept on hiding   [I dislike to be found!]
until yesterday.   [Yesterday is gone!]
But good-bye to yesterdays' myself.   [Bye-bye!]

Bullying.   [No!]   Bullying.   [No!]
It's disgraceful.   [No! No! No! No!]
Sometimes you get hurt, sometimes you hurt someone,
and we all get badly hurt.

Fox,   [Fly!]   Fox,   [Fly!]
I'm sure you can fly.   [Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly!]
Let your pain and sadness all go outside!
It's OK because I'll protect you.

I didn't show my tears, and in the night I was about to cry,
in a room deep inside my heart, I stayed alone.

Those who hurt me were not only someone else,
but also those who pretended not to notice. It was my friend.

Nothing   [Nothing!]
could I say.   [Say nothing!?]
I was about to give up   [No easy throwing out!]
until yesterday.   [Yesterday is gone!]
But good-bye to yesterdays' myself.   [Bye-bye!]

Bullying.   [No!]   Bullying.   [No!]
It's disgraceful.   [No! No! No! No!]
Sometimes you get hurt, sometimes you hurt someone,
and we all get badly hurt.

Fox,   [Fly!]   Fox,   [Fly!]
I'm sure you can fly.   [Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly!]
Let your pain and sadness all go outside!
It's OK because I'll protect you.

Pain...
Aching...
All the while...
Alone...
Your heart...
Pretending not to notice...
Anymore...
I'll never get away.
Bullying, No, Absolutely.

Full of dearest-ness, it's pressuring but also encouraging.
Anymore, anymore your...
I don't want to see anymore your tearful face.

Bullying.   [No!]   Bullying.   [No!]
It's disgraceful.   [No! No! No! No!]
Sometimes you get hurt, sometimes you hurt someone,
and we all get badly hurt.

Fox,   [Fly!]   Fox,   [Fly!]
I'm sure you can fly.
Let your pain and sadness all go outside!
It's OK because I'll protect you.

Bullying, No, absolutely.   [No! No! No! No!]
Bullying, No, forever.
Bullying, No, absolutely.   [No! No! No! No!]
Bullying, No, never.



  ROMAJI LYRIC AND NOTES ARE BELOW.


[i] Who Are "I" and "You" of This Song?

In the original lyric there are only one "anata" and four "kimi" (these for single "you") and none for "I", "we" and plural "you". There are also three "jibun" but this word is for "one" of "saying one's opinion", "seeing oneself", etc. So, for a proper translation, I should decide who say and to whom it is to say. I've tried but I may have mistaken.

If you feel nothing strange about my uses of "I", "you", etc. in the translation, or if you already know what the bullying is like, these analyses are redundant.

In so-called verses (in Japanese, A mero; ="Dreaming..." and "I didn't show..."), "I" is the bullied (= someone that is being bullied). "You" at the end of the first verse is the friend of the bullied, and probably "my friend" of the second refers to the same person.

In so-called bridges (in Japanese, B mero; ="Confidence..." and "Nothing..."), "I" is the bullied (or possibly the friend). Anyway, the determination "good-bye to yesterdays' myself" is expressed. Or, this section may be the imperative sentence from the lyric writer to both the bullied and the friend (= Say good-bye to yesterdays' yourselves). As said above, literally it's not "myself" but "oneself", and there is none for "I".

Each of so-called choruses (in Japanese, sabi) is divided in two. In the first halves (= "Bullying..."), "I" is anyone that stands against the bullying. "You" are those who hurt someone: the bullier, the bystander (maybe including the friend), and possibly the bullied oneself (because the bullied may be a bystander, or even a bullier, for the others that are bullied). I use the inclusive "we", thinking of, say, the whole (school) class including the bulliers, the bullieds, and the bystanders. And I want to say "We hurt each other."

In the second halves of choruses (= "Fox..."), "I" is those against the bullying and "you" is those who are hurt.

In so-called middle eight or release (in Japanese, C mero; ="Pain... get away") and farther until "... crying face", "I" is the friend and "you" is the bullied.



IJIME, DAME, ZETTAI (Bullying, No, Absolutely *1)

Romaji LyricEnglish TranslationNotes
 
  [Rururu...]   [Rururu...](s)
 
  [Aa.]   [Ah.](s)
 
Yume o miru koto Dreaming,2
sore sae mo mote-nakute I couldn't have even it.
hikari to yami no hazama Between the light and the darkness,
hitori. I stayed alone.
 
Kizutsuita no wa Those who got hurt were
jibun jishin dake ja naku not only I myself,
mitsume-tsuzukete kureta but also those who kept on watching me.
anata. It was you.
 
Jishin Confidence,3
  [Motte!]   [Have it!]
mote-zu ni I couldn't have.
  [Make-naide!]   [Don't be beaten!]
kakure tsuzuketa I kept on hiding
  [Mitsuke-cha iya!]   [I dislike to be found!]4
kinoo until yesterday.
  [Iesutadee!]   [Yesterday is gone!]5
made no jibun sayonara. But good-bye to yesterdays' myself.
  [Bai-bai!]   [Bye-bye!]
 
Ijime   [Dame!] Bullying.   [No!]6
ijime   [Dame!] Bullying.   [No!]
kakko-warui yo. It's disgraceful.
  [Dame! Dame! Dame! Dame!]   [No! No! No! No!]
Kizutsuite Sometimes you get hurt,[i]
kizutsukete sometimes you hurt someone,
kizudarake ni naru no sa. and we all get badly hurt.
 
Kitsune   [Tobe!] Fox,   [Fly!]7,8
Kitsune   [Tobe!] Fox,   [Fly!]
kitto toberu yo. I'm sure you can fly.
  [Tobe! Tobe! Tobe! Tobe!]   [Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly!]
Kurushimi mo kanashimi mo Let your pain and sadness9
subete tokihanate! all go outside!
Kimi o mamoru kara. It's OK because I'll protect you.10
 
Namida mise-zu ni, I didn't show my tears,11
nakidashi-soona yoru wa and in the night I was about to cry,
kokoro no oku no heya ni in a room deep inside my heart,
hitori. I stayed alone.
 
Kizutsuketa no wa Those who hurt me were
hoka no dareka dake ja naku not only someone else,12
kizuka-nai furi shiteta but also those who pretended not to notice.
nakama. It was my friend.
 
Nani mo Nothing13
  [NOTHING!]   [Nothing!]
ie-zu ni could I say.14
  [SAY NOTHING!?]   [Say nothing!?]
akirame kaketa I was about to give up
  [Poi-sute kinshi!]   [No easy throwing out!]15
kinoo until yesterday.
  [Iestadee!]   [Yesterday is gone!]
made no jibun sayonara. But good-bye to yesterdays' myself.
  [Bai-bai!]   [Bye-bye!]
 
Ijime   [Dame!] Bullying.   [No!]
ijime   [Dame!] Bullying.   [No!]
kakko-warui yo. It's disgraceful.
  [Dame! Dame! Dame! Dame!]   [No! No! No! No!]
Kizutsuite Sometimes you get hurt,
kizutsukete sometimes you hurt someone,
kizudarake ni naru no sa. and we all get badly hurt.
 
Kitsune   [Tobe!] Fox,   [Fly!]
Kitsune   [Tobe!] Fox,   [Fly!]
kitto toberu yo. I'm sure you can fly.
  [Tobe! Tobe! Tobe! Tobe!]   [Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly!]
Kurushimi mo kanashimi mo Let your pain and sadness
subete tokihanate! all go outside!
Kimi o mamoru kara. It's OK because I'll protect you.
 
ItamiPain...16,M
KanjiteAching...Y
ZuttoAll the while...S
HitoriAlone...M
KokoroYour heart...Y
Kizuka-nai furiPretending not to notice...S
MooAnymore...M
Nige-nai.I'll never get away.Y
Ijime Dame Zettai. Bullying, No, Absolutely.A
 
Itoshikute Full of dearest-ness,17
setsunakute it's pressuring
kokoro-zuyokute but also encouraging.
kore ijooAnymore...
moo kimi noanymore your...
nakigao wa mitaku-nai. I don't want to see anymore your tearful face.18
 
Ijime   [Dame!] Bullying.   [No!]
ijime   [Dame!] Bullying.   [No!]
kakko-warui yo. It's disgraceful.
  [Dame! Dame! Dame! Dame!]   [No! No! No! No!]
Kizutsuite Sometimes you get hurt,
kizutsukete sometimes you hurt someone,
kizudarake ni naru no sa. and we all get badly hurt.
 
Kitsune   [Tobe!] Fox,   [Fly!]
Kitsune   [Tobe!] Fox,   [Fly!]
kitto toberu yo. I'm sure you can fly.
Kurushimi mo kanashimi mo Let your pain and sadness
subete tokihanate! all go outside!
Kimi o mamoru kara. It's OK because I'll protect you.
 
Ijime dame zettai. Bullying, No, absolutely.
  [Dame! Dame! Dame! Dame!]   [No! No! No! No!]
Ijime dame FOREVER. Bullying, No, forever.
Ijime dame zettai. Bullying, No, absolutely.
  [Dame! Dame! Dame! Dame!]   [No! No! No! No!]
Ijime dame dame. Bullying, No, never.
 

Notes

  1. The lines marked with "M" are spoken by MOAMETAL, with "Y" by YUIMETAL, with "S" by SU-METAL, with "A" by all three members. The enclosed phrases [---] marked with "(s)" are sung by SU-METAL. (Added on 2017 Mar. 17.)
  2. BABYMETAL official YouTube channel used "No more bullying" as English title until 2015, and I thought "Zettai" (= absolutely) is indispensable. Since the summer of 2014, this song has been introduced as "No More Bullying, Forever" in the English prologue (revised on 2017 Mar. 17th).
  3. Simply "I couldn't even dream". But the original line is also redundant and I feel there might hide something, so I translate very literally for the moment.
  4. This is "I say good-bye to yesterdays' myself who couldn't have confidence and kept on hiding.", ignoring the word order and the inserted Yui&Moa's words.
  5. Literally "I dislike that (someone) finds (someone).", and usually translated to "I dislike you to find me." or "Don't find me!". But in this sentence, who is "you" is ambiguous.
  6. You can hear "is gone!" in the tone of Yui&Moa's voice. Or, just see YUIMETAL and MOAMETAL stretching out their arms on PV
  7. "Dame" has two meanings: "useless" (hopeless) and forbiddance "must not". These ones are latter.
  8. For me, "Kitsune" sounds like the vocative case and I translate so. I think it might be possibly a nickname of "you" or something. See note [i].
  9. "Tobe" (= tobu) has two meanings: to fly and to jump, and the Japanese are told to use different kanji ("飛ぶ" & "跳ぶ") to distinguish these meanings (there are many cases like this in Japanese). Foxes can't fly, but all "tobe" are written as "飛べ" (fly) in the official lyric.
  10. I want to say "Express your pain and sadness, ( (and I'll receive your words,) then they will disappear)". "Tokihanate" = "tokihanatsu" = "toku"+"hanatsu" = to untie and to let go. "Hanatsu" is sometimes used for speaking (= letting words go outside), etc. At first I simply thought "let them go" as "throw them away", but it's easier said than done.
  11. The original line has none for "It's OK", but, being afraid of the readers thinking "because" as strange, I complement.
  12. Literally "not showing tears," and, hearing this line on the melody, it seems like saying "in the night that I was about to cry without tears". But I think my translation more natural, that is, "Because I didn't want someone to see my tears, I stayed alone in the night when I ...". Only putting one comma into the Japanese lyrics is enough for my interpretation, and the melody afford enough space to do that.
  13. "Someone else" is someone who hurt me physically ("else" = other than my friend).
  14. This is "I say good-bye to yesterdays' myself who couldn't say anything and was about to give up.", ignoring the word order and the inserted Yui&Moa's words.
  15. At first I missed "ni" in Japanese lyric, and I forgot negative inversion in English, translating "(Nothing,) I couldn't say".
  16. It is usually translated to "No littering!" as a notice and so did I. But I change it, thinking "poi-" (= lightly) is important.
  17. As a whole, this sequence of words says like "(You were) feeling pain. (You were) alone all the while. (I) pretended not to notice (your) heart (aching). (But I will) never get away anymore".
  18. More detailed "I feel my heart filled up with the dearest-ness (to you), and I feel my heart being pressured by this emotion, meanwhile, I feel being encouraged by this emotion". This "itoshikute" (= itoshii) means the dearest-ness of "my dear friend". "Setsunakute" (= setsunai) always means the pressure of some emotion (affection, sadness, etc) and there being no help for it. Why is it encouraging? It's open to the listeners.
      I found these three lines borrowed from the title of hit song "Itoshisa to Setsunasa to Kokorozuyosa to" sung by Ryoko SHINOHARA with Tetusya KOMURO in 1994. But I can't find the explanation for why encouraging.
  19. This line alone is literally "I don't want to see tearful face." and the rest is in the preceding line.

Please see [About English Lyrics for Singing] for the details of notation.
'lone = alone, 'way = away, 'cause = because, 'bout = about, 'twas = it was です。 (But), (I), (who) は歌いません。表記の詳細は [英語の歌詞について] を見てください。

Bullying, No, Absolutely (English Lyric for Singing)

Romaji LyricEnglish Lyric
 
  [Rururu...]   [Rururu...]
 
  [Aa.]   [Ah.]
 
Yume o miru koto Though I wanted peace of mind,
sore sae mo mote-nakute I couldn't even have a chance to dream.
hikari to yami no hazama In between the darkness and the twilight,
hitori. I stayed 'lone.
 
Kizutsuita no wa Really those who got hurt were
jibun jishin dake ja naku not only I myself who got actually,
mitsume tsuzukete kureta (but) also those who kept on watching me_.
anata. It was you.
 
Jishin Confidence,
  [Motte!]   [Have it!]
mote-zu ni I couldn't have.
  [Make-naide!]   [Don't be beaten!]
kakure tsuzuketa I kept on hiding myself.
  [Mitsuke-cha iya!]   [I dislike to be found!]
kinoo Yesterdays,
  [Iesutadee!]   [Yesterdays!]
made no jibun sayonara. go 'way! And good-bye to my timidness.
  [Bai-bai!]   [Bye-bye!]
 
Ijime   [Dame!] Bullying is,   [No good!]
ijime   [Dame!] bullying is   [No good!]
kakko-warui yo. nothing to boast about.
  [Dame! Dame! Dame! Dame!]   [No! No! No! No!]
Kizutsuite Sometimes you get hurt.*1
kizutsukete Sometimes you do hurt.*1
kizudarake ni naru no sa. We'll_ all get badly hurt in the end.
 
Kitsune   [Tobe!] KITSUNE,   [Let's fly!]
Kitsune   [Tobe!] dear my friend,   [Let's fly!]
kitto toberu yo. I'm sure that you can fly.
  [Tobe! Tobe! Tobe! Tobe!]   [Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly!]
Kurushimi mo kanashimi mo Let your pain come out. Let your sadness out.
subete tokihanate! Express all that's kept in your heart!
Kimi o mamoru kara. It's alright (be)cause I will guard you.
 
Namida mise-zu ni, No. I didn't show my tears.
nakidashi-soona yoru wa And in the night when I was 'bout to cry,
kokoro no oku no heya ni (I) shut myself up deep inside my heart, and
hitori. I stayed 'lone.
 
Kizutsuketa no wa Really those who hurt me were
hoka no dareka dake ja naku not only someone else who did actually,
kizuka-nai furi shiteta (but) also those (who) pretended not to notice.
nakama. 'Twas my friend.
 
Nani mo Not a word
  [NOTHING!]   [Nothing!]
ie-zu ni could I_ say.*2
  [SAY NOTHING!?]   [Say nothing!?]
akirame kaketa I was about to give up.
  [Poi-sute kinshi!]   [No_ easy throwing out!]
kinoo Yesterdays,
  [Iestadee!]   [Yesterdays!]
made no jibun sayonara. go 'way! And good-bye to my weak-willed-ness.
  [Bai-bai!]   [Bye-bye!]
 
Ijime   [Dame!] Bullying is,   [No good!]
ijime   [Dame!] bullying is   [No good!]
kakko-warui yo. nothing to boast about.
  [Dame! Dame! Dame! Dame!]   [No! No! No! No!]
Kizutsuite Sometimes you get hurt.
kizutsukete Sometimes you do hurt.
kizudarake ni naru no sa. We'll_ all get badly hurt in the end.
 
Kitsune   [Tobe!] KITSUNE,   [Let's fly!]
Kitsune   [Tobe!] dear my friend,   [Let's fly!]
kitto toberu yo. I'm sure that you can fly.
  [Tobe! Tobe! Tobe! Tobe!]   [Fly! Fly! Fly! Fly!]
Kurushimi mo kanashimi mo Let your pain come out. Let your sadness out.
subete tokihanate! Express all that's kept in your heart!
Kimi o mamoru kara. It's alright 'cause I will guard you.
 
ItamiPain...
KanjiteAching...
ZuttoAll the while...
HitoriAlone...
KokoroYour heart...
Kizuka-nai furiPretending not to notice...
MooAnymore...
Nige-nai.I'll never get away.
Ijime Dame Zettai. Bullying, No, Absolutely.
 
Itoshikute Full of dearest-ness,
setsunakute it's so pressuring.
kokoro-zuyokute Also it's encouraging.
kore ijoo No_ anymore...
moo kimi no no_ anymore...
nakigao wa mitaku-nai. (I) don't_ want to see your tears anymore.
 
Ijime   [Dame!] Bullying is,   [No good!]
ijime   [Dame!] bullying is   [No good!]
kakko-warui yo. nothing to boast about.
  [Dame! Dame! Dame! Dame!]   [No! No! No! No!]
Kizutsuite Sometimes you get hurt.
kizutsukete Sometimes you do hurt.
kizudarake ni naru no sa. We'll_ all get badly hurt in the end.
 
Kitsune   [Tobe!] KITSUNE,   [Let's fly!]
Kitsune   [Tobe!] dear my friend,   [Let's fly!]
kitto toberu yo. I'm sure that you can fly.
Kurushimi mo kanashimi mo Let your pain come out. Let your sadness out.
subete tokihanate! Express all that's kept in your heart!
Kimi o mamoru kara. It's alright 'cause I will guard you.
 
Ijime dame zettai. Bullying should never be allowed.
  [Dame! Dame! Dame! Dame!]   [Never! Never! Never! Never!]
Ijime dame FOREVER. Bullying is no good forever.
Ijime dame zettai. Bullying should never be allowed.
  [Dame! Dame! Dame! Dame!]   [Never! Never! Never! Never!]
Ijime dame dame. Bullying is no good, no good.
 
  1. I think the notes for "kizu" are not long enough for "sometimes". Lengthen them double moving ahead.
    ____ kizu
    sometimes
    "きず" の長さで "sometimes" は無理でしょうから、その前から二倍の長さで歌ってください。
  2. I'm sorry. I missed "ni" in Japanese lyric, nor negative inversion in English.
    ごめんなさい。日本語の歌詞の "に" が抜けていました。英語の否定文の倒置も。

43 comments:

  1. Thanks for the translation. Looks like you spent quite some time judging from all those notes that you made. Much appreciated :). I really like the message and the feeling ijime dame zettai gives, I do find it quite touching actually, it's quite appropriate for the girls to perform this kind of song, given that they are high school students themselves. Thanks again.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I'm glad if it help you. The lyrics of Japanese songs are often misunderstood even by some of the Japanese. That is one of the reasons why I put many notes.

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  2. Thanks for sharing :) BABYMETAL ROCKS

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ty for the translation. This band is amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you for the translation. This band is freakin awesome!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes. BABYMETAL's cuteness will conquer the world. I work for it.

      Delete
  5. Great work, thank you :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you very much for all of your work, especially the detailed notes. It is greatly appreciated.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Amazing work! Helped a lot thank you :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad that more people understand BABYMETAL's songs.

      Delete
  8. Hi.
    Great work !! thank you so much for all the translations and wonderful notes, really appreciated.
    in romaji lyrics some "Hitori" misspelled "Hiroti" ,it's not important but I think you should correct them :)

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    Replies
    1. Thank you very much for your correction. I fixed it. It is hard to find romaji typos by myself.

      Delete
  9. Thank you so much for this, my little cousin loves this band and wants to learn japanese so I'm glad that their messages are as awesome as they are :-D

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    1. I am glad for working for children, very glad if...

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  10. Thank you for creating this blog. It really helps non-Japanese fans understand the songs. Bless you.

    I would like to comment on a few of your Ijimae, Dame, Zettai notes.

    First, the song seems to be sung from 2 points of view. The main verse is sung by the person who has been bullied.The chorus and the last part of the song seems to be sung by someone older and wiser who is helping the bullied person cope with the pain. Maybe a caring adult or older friend.

    7-9.

    I think 7-9 are telling the bullied person to be free of the bullying. They are calling the person Kitsune the same way an english speaker might call them "champ". It is meant to empower them and cheer them on to overcome an obstacle. Like, "You can do it, champ/kitsune.

    Kitsune was probably used also because of BABYMETAL fox lore. It makes it extra cute.

    "Fly" is not meant literally. More like "to fly free and leave behind the pain and the suffering."


    12.

    I think this does refer to 'her' friend. She is saying that is is not just the bullies that hurt her. Her friend stood by and did not help her. (Maybe her friend was afraid to be bullied too.) Her friend pretended it was not happening. Her friend looked the other way. And this hurt as much as the bullying did.

    15.

    This might be something like "Don't throw your life away".

    I do not speak Japanese, so this is sort of my English translation of your translation. I hope it helps.

    Thanks again.


    ReplyDelete
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    1. Thank you for your interesting comments.
      I have never thought the older generation appearing to advice in the lyrics. For most Japanese songwriters, going back to their youth, write the lyrics from the same view as the listeners'.
      You may be right on note #15 though the lyrics are too flippant for that.
      In Japanese school trend, being serious is often regarded as giving oneself airs and often bantered with "hyuu". Perhaps to escape this, the producer made YUI&MOA's chants too playful, but this light air of the song is often blamed by those who were/are really bullied.

      Delete
  11. I've written this comment on this page, because this is the last song on the album. But I want to say thank you so very much for your extremely detailed and informative romaji transliterations, English translations and explanations of all the Babymetal songs. You must have worked very hard in preparing these, and I want you to know how valuable I have found them.

    I do not exaggerate when I say that your translations and explanations have transformed my enjoyment of Babymetal’s album – an album I was already enjoying very much. As a lover of Heavy Metal music and someone with an interest in Japan, I found Babymetal’s blending of J-Pop and metal initially intriguing and amusing, and then genuinely impressive. But now that I understand the lyrical subject matter of the songs, I am able to appreciate the songs at a whole new level.

    Some of them are not serious in their content (e.g. “… Chocolate”), but I now find that some of the songs have serious and emotional meaning far greater than it first appears when listening to them purely as sound. Songs like “Akatsuki” and “Nightmare Rondo” of course fall into that category, but so does a song like “Megitsune”. That song turns out to be quite a profound reflection on the nature and role of girls and women in Japanese culture, and it is really quite moving to hear the 15 or 16 year old Su-Metal sing it with such feeling.

    Even the songs without serious meaning (e.g. “Doki Doki Morning”) are still fascinating to me as a native English speaker from a linguistic/cultural point of view – e.g. use of “version up” as a verb, the idea that a “gal” should have dreams that are “super-chaotic”, the casual reference to experiencing four- or five-dimensional worlds as being something desirable alongside using lip-gloss or going to parties, and all of the different dual-meanings associated with the number 4.

    As for the “Beg Dad For It Operation”, as a parent myself I am naturally horrified – perhaps I am lucky in not having daughters. But, having seen Moa-Metal and Yui-Metal interviewed, I like to think that they are far too nice and well brought up girls to indulge in this sort of activity in real life!

    Your work contributes to an understanding that I hope is growing worldwide - that Babymetal is much more than simply a musical gimmick. There is real merit in these songs, and I hope your work helps bring a wider appreciation of that, and thereby contributes to the group's success.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thank you for all your translations! I read them all, including your notes.. I really love babymetal and thanks to your work I love them even more!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thank you for the translation, as well as all the others! The notes really help me understand BABYMETAL's songs and I really appreciate the effort you put in - I think it takes time to translate. Although I do have a question... I read somewhere (I can't remember where) that an alternative translation of "dame" is "never". Is it true? Because if it is, I think that the word "never" instead of "no" would really intensify the meaning of the song.
    Thank you again for the translation!

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    1. When "dame" is used alone, the degree of forbidding or refusing ranges widely, usually depending on the tone of pronunciation. And dull men often misunderstand the strong refusal of sugar-voiced girls as superficial. About this song, some of those who were bullied complain YUIMETAL's & MOAMETAL's sweet "dame" sound like kidding them.

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    2. I see. Thank you for the information, and thank you again for all your work!

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    3. Thank you for your hearty comment.

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  14. Im a 38 year old metal fan and Babymetal have climbed to the top of my list along side Iron maiden they are just fantastic..thanks for your insight

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  15. I really appreciate all your hard work. Just discovered Babymetal and have become a big fan. Your translations have really brought me closer to their music. Thanks!

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    1. I'm glad if it helps oversea BABYMETAL's fans.

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  16. 最初のシャウトは、「ハー」ではなく、「アー」だと思うのですが。

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    1. Thank you for correcting.
      In live takes, I hear more clearly "Aa". I've fixed it.
      ご指摘ありがとうございます。
      ライブテイクだとより明瞭に「アー」と聞こえますね。訂正しました。

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  17. https://twitter.com/kamideshi/status/728918048137084928/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

    It’s a Japanese textbook that are used in a public high school in US.
    Maybe it is reprinted from this site.
    Although the moral issues aside, I think it is quite keen insight that they have choose this song as the subject.
    Because this song is not only including the familiar theme "bullying", can be good training to grasp the meaning in the context, while comparing with ambiguous subject-less Japanese and rigorous English.
    上記はアメリカのある公立高校で使われているという日本語の教科書です。たぶんこのサイトからの転載だと思われます。その道義上の問題は置いといて、この歌を題材に選んでいるのは、なかなかの慧眼だと思います。なぜならこの歌は身近なテーマ"いじめ"を含むだけでなく、主語の曖昧な和文と厳密な英文と対比させながら、文脈で意味を掴む訓練になるからです。

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    1. Thank you for information.
      I must be more careful not to make an error. (^_^;

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  18. Thanks for all your hard work, especially knowing that Japanese is so hard to translate into English. From all of us English speaking BABYMETAL-heads out there, A huge giant thanks.

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    1. I hope more people know about BABYMETAL more.

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  19. I'm sure I don't have all the context and I get that someone from the group translated this to bullying but I feel like that was originally done by a non English speaking person just looking it up in the dictionary and guessing which translation to pick .


    Listening to the song it sounds far more like "don't you dare tease me" as in "don't play with my heart". My Japanese is not perfect but I've lived here 10 years. I see nothing in the Japanese lyrics that suggest this song is about bullying in the English sense. Saying "ijime shinaide" as in "don't tease me" is a very common phrase lovers say. Changing it to "iijime dame zettai" really makes it feels she's singing about some guy she's in love with who lead her on

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    1. Thank you for comment.
      The lyrics say that the bystanders (mitsume-tsuzukete kureta) got hurt and the bystanders (kizuka-nai furi shiteta) also hurt (me), so this song is not about love affairs but about some bullying in classroom. Many of those who were really bullied criticize that this song is too sweet as a song against bullying.

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  20. Hi again,

    I have a doubt about the line "I'll never get away" (Nige-nai) just after Moa's "Moo" ("Anymore"). To get away means basically 'to escape', so I wonder if this "I'll never get away" is a momentarily pessimistic "...from being bullied" or a positive "...from fighting/facing the bullying". My guess is that the second one is the good one (after all the song is a (non-violent) call to arms and the FoxGod said "wall of death", haha. In that case, Moa's "anymore" would modify this sentence ("I'll never get away [from facing bullying] anymore"). I'd just like to be sure though.

    Thanks in advance,

    Fernando :)

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    1. Yes. These two lines mean "I'll never get away [from facing bullying] anymore".

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  21. Shouldn't the lines say "kizudarake", not "kizudareke"?

    It says so in the lyrics.

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    1. Thank you for correcting. I've fixed them.

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  22. Du Enki-san, can it be that 仲間 means just "classmate", not "a friend"(友達)?

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    1. She was hurt because those whom she had expected to help her did not help her but pretended not to notice bullying. For this reason, I think "friend" is better than mere "classmate" for "nakama" here. In other words, she was hurt because she realized that those whom she had thought to be her friend was not her true friend.

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