Japanese songs

いつも何度でも～木村弓

いつもなんどでも・いつもなんどでも is the ending song of Spirited Away. It is sung by 木村弓・きむらゆみ Kimura Yumi. It is certainly one of the most beautiful songs that appear in Ghibli films. The melody as much as the lyrics embody the melancholy that lingers at the end of Spirited Away, the feeling that you left the magic behind.

https://youtu.be/9O4SMw_8Om0

Lyrics:

呼んでいる 胸のどこか奥で
いつも心踊る 夢を見たい

  • 呼ぶ・よぶ to call, here in the form ～て いる, meaning “calling”
  • 胸・むね chest
  • どこか means “somewhere”
  • 奥・おく inside
  • 心躍る・こころおどる which literally means “the heart dances” means “to be excited”.
  • 夢を見る・ゆめをみる means “to dream”, literally “to see a dream”. Here it is used in the form “masu-たい” which means “to want to”.

悲しみは 数えきれないけれど
その向こうできっと あなたに会える

  • 悲しみ・かなしみ sadness, sorrow
  • 数える・かぞえる to count, to enumerate. It is used with the grammar “masu- きれない” which means “being too much or too many to finish or complete”.
  • 向こう・むこう opposite side, other side, over there, far away
  • きっと almost certainly
  • 会う・あう means “to meet” and 会える is the potential form meaning “being able to meet”.

繰り返すあやまちの そのたびひとは
ただ青い空の 青さを知る
果てしなく 道は続いて見えるけれど
この両手は 光を抱ける

  • 繰り返す・くりかえす to repeat, to do something over again
  • あやまち fault, error, faux pas
  • そのたび each time
  • ただ only, merely, just, simply
  • 青さ・あおさ the -さ ending is used to nominalize the adjective 青い.
  • 果てしなく・はてしなく eternally, interminably
  • 続いて・つずいて comes from the verb 続く・つずく to continue. I think it means that the road looks like it continues eternally.
  • 両手・りょうて both hands
  • 抱ける・だける is the potential form of 抱く・だく to embrace, to hold in the arms.

さよならのときの 静かな胸
ゼロになるからだが 耳をすませる

  • 静かな・しずかな quiet, calm
  • からだ means “body” but I wonder if it could not be understood as “soul” here.
  • 耳をすます・みみをすます to listen carefully. Here again, we have the potential form “すませる” of the verb “すます”

生きている不思議 死んでいく不思議
花も風も街も みんなおなじ

  • 生きている・いきている is the form “ている” which means “to be doing something” or describes a state.
  • 死んでいく・しんでいく uses the grammar “ていく” which is hard to explain but includes some kind of movement away from the speaker. Like “dying away”?
  • 不思議・ふしぎ can mean “wonder”, “miracle”, “mystery”.
  • 街・まち can mean “town” and “street”
  • おなじ means “same”, “identical” and is usually written 同じ・おなじ

ラララララララララ・・・・・・・・・
ホホホホルルルル・・・・・・・・

呼んでいる 胸のどこか奥で
いつも何度でも 夢を描こう

  • 何度でも・なんどでも means “several times”, “again and again”
  • 描く・かく to draw. The ending おう means “let’s…”

悲しみの数を 言い尽くすより
同じくちびるで そっとうたおう

  • 数・かず number, amount
  • 言い尽くす・いいつくす to tell all, to give a full account
  • より here it means “instead of”
  • くちびる lips, the kanji is 唇
  • そっと softly, gently, quietly
  • うたおう here again, the おう ending of the verb 歌う・うたう to sing, express the will to do something, the act of willing, and can be translated as “let’s…”

閉じていく思い出の そのなかにいつも
忘れたくない ささやきを聞く
こなごなに砕かれた 鏡の上にも
新しい景色が 映される

  • 閉じる・とじる to close. Here again, we find the grammar ていく. I must admit that the meaning is hard to grasp, at least to me. Maybe, if memories (想い出・おもいで) are closed, they get away from me, they tend to fly away?
  • 想い出・おもいで memories
  • 忘れる・わすれる to forget. It is here in the form 忘れたい which means “to want to” (masu- たい) but in the negative form. The negative form of this grammar is the same as an i- adjective. Just drop the “i” and add くない for casual form. 忘れたいくない means “don’t want to forget”.
  • ささやき means “whisper”, “murmur”.

It confirms, I think, the idea that the memories are “closing away”, fading away because they are closed, meaning that they are past memories that nothing reactivate, that don’t come to life anymore. But inside those fading away memories, there is this whisper the singer hears and don’t want to forget.

Maybe I am giving too much meaning to the grammar ていく, maybe it does convey the idea of moving away from the narrator…

  • こなごな砕く・こなこなにくだく “to smash to pieces”. “こなごな means “in very small pieces” and 砕く・くだく “to break”, “to smash”. Here, the verb 砕く・くだく is in the passive form: 砕かれる・くだかれる: to be smashed (to pieces), in the past tense.
  • 鏡・かがみ mirror
  • 景色・けしき scenery
  • 映す・うつす to project, to reflect. Here again, it is the passive form 映される・うつされる that we have: to be reflected.

はじまりの朝の 静かな窓
ゼロになるからだ 充たされてゆけ

  • はじまり beginning, origin
  • 朝・あさ morning
  • 窓・まど window
  • 充たす・みたす means “to fill”. Here again, the passive form: 充たされる・みたされる “to be filled”. As for the ending “てゆけ”, I am not sure, but my guess is that we have the grammar “ていく” once again, but the “い” is pronounced “ゆ”. The ending in “え” is certainly the imperative form. So, we would have something like “be filled (again) and go away”, meaning that her empty body (that became “zero”) will be filled again and go on living, go on with life. (?)

海の彼方には もう探さない
輝くものは いつもここに
わたしのなかに 見つけられたから

  • 彼方・かなた beyond, across, the other side
  • もう used with a negative verb means “not anymore”
  • 探す・さがす to search, to look for. In the negative form.
  • 輝く・かがやくto shine, to glitter, to sparkle
  • 見付ける・みつける to discover, to find. Here in the passive form 見つけられる・みつけられる “to be discovered”.

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I’m learning Japanese, Korean and Chinese to read detective novels in these languages. I post about my reading progress and language study here. Best way to get in touch is on Mastodon 🙂

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