姑息 — underhanded / sneaky

姑息 (こそく) describes someone who relies on petty, sneaky, or expedient methods rather than facing things directly. It is a relatively uncommon and nuanced word, making it especially memorable for Japanese learners.

In the song, the singer calls the person "姑息で孤独な" while admitting she both hates and loves them. The word captures the complicated bitterness of being drawn to someone whose behavior feels dishonest or cowardly.

This is a breakup song sung from inside the breakup, at the exact moment the narrator knows it's over and begs anyway. It opens with a line that hits hard: "傷つかないための気付かないふりばかりだ" (all I do is pretend not to notice, so I won't get hurt). Then comes the thesis of the whole thing: "信じることは悲しいこと" (believing is a sad thing).

The time stamp is my favourite detail. "さよなら25時" (goodbye, 25 o'clock) uses the Japanese habit of counting past midnight, so 25時 means 1 a.m. still belonging to the night before. The relationship lives in that fake hour. She's brutally honest about it too: "姑息で孤独なあなたが嫌いで でも好きで" (I hated you for being sneaky and lonely, but I loved you), and then the practical bit, "合鍵は返してね" (give me back the spare key). The chorus is pure pleading: "ねぇ行かないで 棄てないで" (hey, don't go, don't throw me away). And the title? "運命の誰か あたしを掬って食べて" (someone who's my destiny, scoop me up and eat me) turns her into the blueberry, a nod to the film My Blueberry Nights. Later it gets darker and more physical with "誰でもいいよ" (anyone is fine). Learner tip: 〜ないで is how you say "please don't", and this song gives you a dozen examples.

Macaroni Empitsu (マカロニえんぴつ) is a Japanese rock band that came together in 2012 at Senzoku Gakuen College of Music, built around singer and guitarist Hattori. The current line-up is Hattori, Kenya Takano on bass, Yoshiaki Tanabe on guitar and Daiki Hasegawa on keyboards. Fans call them Makaen for short.

They spent years playing live houses around Tokyo and Yokohama and releasing mini albums on indie labels before making their major-label debut with Toy's Factory in 2020. In 2021 they won Best New Artist at the 63rd Japan Record Awards, and their song なんでもないよ、 (Nothing's wrong) later became their first track to pass 600 million streams on Oricon's streaming chart.

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