This wasn’t the video I had intended to subtitle next, but I needed the translation for something, and I figured that as long as I had it, I’d share.
As a sidenote, I was particularly impressed with Gackt’s eyes in this video.
| “Kimi no Tameni Dekiru Koto” by Gackt ["What I Can Do For You"] |
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LYRICS
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“Kimi no Tameni Dekiru Koto”
(What I Can Do For You)
いつまでも君だけは変わらないで側にいて
僕の腕で抱きしめた時から
この予感に気付いたから
Itsumademo kimi dake ha kawaranai de soba ni ite
boku no ude de dakishimeta toki kara
kono yokan ni kizuita kara
Forever unchanging, I’ll be by your side and yours alone.
Ever since I held you in my arms,
I’ve known this would be true.
あどけない笑顔に見せた君に
涙の理由を聞けなくて
僕のつかんだ手を振りほどいて…
そっと背中越しに声をかけた
adokenai egao ni miseta kimi ni
namida no wake wo kikenakute
boku no tsukanda te wo furihodoite…
sotto senaka-goshi ni koe wo kaketa
You showed me that innocent smile,
And I couldn’t ask what caused your tears.
You shook off my hand when I caught yours,
Hid behind my back and I softly called out.
「もう大丈夫だよ」と、何度も繰り返して
小さくふるえてる君に
そんな言葉しか言えないけれど
“mou daijoubu da yo” to, nando mo kurikaeshite
chiisaku furueteru kimi ni
sonna kotoba shika ienai keredo
“It’s all right now,” I said, over and over again.
You were tiny and trembling,
And that was all I could say.
いつだって君だけは変わらないで側にいて
僕の腕で抱きしめた時から
この予感に気付いたから
Itsudatte kimi dake ha kawaranai de soba ni ite
boku no ude de dakishimeta toki kara
kono yokan ni kizuita kara
But any time at all, unchanging, I’ll be by your side.
Ever since I held you in my arms,
I’ve known this would be true.
なにげない話の中で
君の見せた笑顔が嬉しくて
僕は少し恥ずかしそうに微笑う君を
離さないまま呟いた
nanigenai hanashi no naka de
kimi no miseta egao ga ureshikute
boku ha sukoshi hazukashisou ni warau kimi wo
hanasanai mama tsubuyaita
While we talked without a care,
The smiling face you showed me was so glad.
And, though your grin was flustered,
I kept you in my arms and whispered.
「もう大丈夫…」なんてことしか言えないけど
その涙がもう消えるなら
僕が君のピエロになるから
“mou daijoubu…” nante koto shika ienai kedo
sono namida ga mou kieru nara
boku ga kimi no PIERO ni naru kara
Perhaps “It’s all right now,” is all that I can say,
But if it would stop your tears,
I would play the fool for you.
いつだって君だけは変わらないで側にいて
僕の腕で抱きしめた時から
この予感に気付いたから
itsudatte kimi dake ha kawaranai de soba ni ite
boku no ude de dakishimeta toki kara
kono yokan ni kizuita kara
Any time at all, unchanging, I’ll be by your side.
Ever since I held you in my arms,
I’ve known this would be true.
手にした笑顔の数より
涙は多いかもしれないけど
～そばにいる～
それが僕の、君のためにできること
te ni shita egao no kazu yori
namida ha ooi kamoshirenai kedo
~soba ni iru~
sore ga boku no kimi no tame ni dekiru koto
The smiles that we take in hand
May be outnumbered by the tears, but…
I am by your side
Because that’s what I can do for you
いつだって君だけは変わらないで側にいて
僕の腕で抱きしめた時から
この予感に気付いたから
itsudatte kimi dake ha kawaranai de soba ni ite
boku no ude de dakishimeta toki kara
kono yokan ni kizuita kara
Any time at all, unchanging, I’ll be by your side.
Ever since I held you in my arms,
I’ve known this would be true.
いつだって僕だけは君を離したりはしないから
僕が君を守ってみせるから…
itsudatte boku dake ha kimi wo hanashitari ha shinai kara
boku ga kimi wo mamotte miseru kara
No matter when, I and I alone will never let you go
I’ll see you safe and sound.
この予感に気付いたから
kono yokan ni kizuita kara
I know it will be true.
[Original Japanese lyrics, music, and performance by Gackt (Crown Records). English translation and Japanese romanization made for educational purposes without authorization or approval by Skinner in association with Impetuosity Productions.]
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TRANSLATION NOTE
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Japanese 101 Particle of the Day: “kara”
から (prt) (1) from (e.g. time, place, numerical quantity); since; (2) from (originator); (3) because; (4) out of (constituent, part); (5) through (e.g. window, vestibule); (6) after; since (following te-form verb); (P)
I generally understand the usage of “kara” by identifying the word it follows as a kind of starting point, whether locational, temporal, material, causal or what have you.
We’ll address the rest of the refrain in a bit, as I took rather a bit of poetic license with that one, but you’ll notice that he ends it with “kara”. That particular construction was how I derived the mood of the translation, almost in its entirety. The lyrics depict a man who is giving a reason. He is not, I think, making a confession so much as he is defending a position. That’s not to say he’s particularly using logic. His statement seems to be, “I will stay by your side because that’s what I’m going to do.”
This should not be confused with the usage in the line “boku no ude de dakishimeta toki kara”. That’s marking a starting point in terms of time, not a cause of action. The “reasons” for the singer’s behavior are noted in the lines:
kono yokan ni kizuita kara
(loosely translated, “I knew it would be true” or “I know it will be true” depending on context. Literally, “I noticed a premonition of this”.)boku ga kimi no PIERO ni naru kara
(“I would play the fool for you”. Literally, “I will become your clown/pierrot”.)itsudatte boku dake ha kimi wo hanashitari ha shinai kara
(“No matter when, I and I alone will never let you go”. I feel that’s literal enough.)boku ga kimi wo mamotte miseru kara
(“I’ll see you safe and sound”. Literally, “I will show you that I will protect you.”)
Each one of these stands at the end of a refrain or verse, which one could read as either justifying a statement that it follows or stating a cause for a fact that is implied. The only statement of intended action we get is simply, “I will be by your side”. This sentiment is remarkably without expectation. One strongly gets the feeling, especially in combination with the video, that the object of his affections has either told him to leave or doubts that he’s someone she wants to commit to. The resulting statement comes across (to me) as, “I can tell that I’m going to be there for you for the rest of our lives, so that’s just how it’s going to be.” Depending on my mood, I sometimes hear a silent, “Deal with it,” appended.
That expression above is where I base the very loose translation of “kono yokan ni kizuita kara”. In that refrain, he identifies a “sense” or “feeling” (yokan, generally translated as “premonition”, but I rarely find that it’s a suitable word to use in the English rendering). This seems to refer to the first statement, that the speaker would always be by the addressee’s side. Since this is a general statement that he makes, covering everything he is able to do for her, I take this to refer to his entire understanding of his intentions, emotions, and courses of action. The “kizuita” links back to the second line of the refrain, where he identifies a time: “beginning with the time when I held you in my arms”. One assumes this is the scene he describes in the verses throughout the song. From that point on, he “had the sense” of how he would feel and behave. The formulation “I know it will be true” is based on how I’m used to hearing this sentiment expressed in colloquial English. IE, “No, I will — I know it. I’ve known it since that day…” etc.
My worst habit both as a writer and as a translator is “overwriting” things that are better left as simpler statements. Oh, how often my beta checker has told me to just cut some artistically rendered phrase because it’s confusing and only makes sense in my head… At any rate, this song would have been killed by overwriting. The feeling is so straightforward, bare and unadorned that it seemed only right to render it as directly as possible, with as little concern as I could manage for stylized language, rhythm matching, or other such bits of polish. If you read the presentation as a bit awkward, I’ve done this on purpose. That’s its own kind of poetry.
Thank you for watching!!
