どうしてもどうしても Lyrics in English by back number

Below, I translated the lyrics of the song どうしてもどうしても by back number from Japanese to English.
These lyrics have verified word for word translations. Click any lyric word to see the translation and hear the pronunciation!
Verse 1
hajimari wa mou omoidasenai
I can't remember how it started anymore
sore wa totemo doramachikku de
It was so dramatic
dakedo namae o tsuketeshimaeba
But once you give it a name
nariyuki datta you na
It feels like it just happened that way
dekiru kamo nante omoeta no wa
The reason I thought maybe I could do it
nani mo shiranai ano hi dakara de
was only because it was back then, when I didn't know a thing
ima ja dore mo totemo mabushiku
Now every bit of it feels so dazzling
tooku toutoku omou
So distant and so precious
nakushitari mitsuketari moraetarishita
The things I lost, the things I found, the things I was given
boku dake no riyuu o moyashite tomoshita sono ato de
After I burned my very own reasons to light a flame
Chorus 1
doushitemo aa doushitemo
No matter what, ah, no matter what
nokotta no wa sore dake
That's all I had left
gohoubi wa daijoubu da yo
I don't need a reward
koko ni tsukami ni kitanda
I came here to seize it
Verse 2
ame no hi mo tsuyoi kaze no hi de mo
On rainy days and on days of strong wind
guuzen to futsuu o tsumikasanete
Stacking up chance and the ordinary
kore ga itsuka doko ni mo nai
So that someday this will turn
kiseki ni kawaru you ni
Into a miracle found nowhere else
tsuranuitari maneshitari unuboretarishita
I held my ground, I copied others, I got full of myself
boku dake no seikai o moyashite tomoshita sono ato de mo
Even after I burned my own right answer to light the way
Chorus 2
doushitemo aa doushitemo
No matter what, ah, no matter what
hoshii mono wa onaji de
What I want is still the same
kawaki o mejirushi ni shite
Letting my thirst be my guide
koko ni tsukami ni kitanda
I came here to seize it
doryoku to ketsumatsu ga
Even if effort and its outcome
kurikaesareru monogatari no
Are just a small part
honno ichibu da to shitatte
Of a story that keeps repeating
kono shunkan wa boku no ban da
In this moment, it's my turn
Bridge
deai yo wakare yo
Every meeting, every goodbye
ano hi mita mirai yo
The future I saw that day
boku wa koko da
I'm right here
nige mo kakure mo shinai ah
I won't run and I won't hide ah
dakishimete kowashitari naoshitarishita
I held it close, broke it and fixed it again
hitotsu dake no jinsei o moyashite tomoshita sono ato de
After burning my one and only life to light it up
Chorus 3
doushitemo aa doushitemo
No matter what, ah, no matter what
nokotta no wa sore dake
That's all I had left
gohoubi wa daijoubu da yo
I don't need a reward
koko ni mukae ni kitanda
I came here to meet it
doryoku to ketsumatsu ga
Even if effort and its outcome
kurikaesareru monogatari no
Are just a small part
honno ichibu da to shitatte
Of a story that keeps repeating
kono shunkan wa boku no ban da
In this moment, it's my turn
hikari yo subete atsumare
All you lights, come together
kono shunkan wa boku no ban da ah whoa
In this moment, it's my turn ah whoa
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Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Did you like this lyrics translation?

back number usually sing about love that went wrong, but this one is about chasing something you have worked for, and it feels like a pep talk the singer gives himself right before the moment that counts. He starts by admitting he can't even remember how it began. Back then, believing 「出来るかも」 (maybe I can do it) was easy only because he knew nothing yet. Now everything he lost, found and was given is fuel: he has "burned it and lit it" into a flame, and after all that, 「どうしても あぁ どうしても」 (no matter what, ah, no matter what) one thing is left. The title phrase どうしても is a great one to learn. It means "no matter what" or "I just can't help it", and here it carries the stubborn want that survives everything else.

My favourite part is how unglamorous he makes it. Success is built from 「偶然と普通を積み重ねて」 (piling up chance and ordinary days), on rainy days and windy days, hoping it turns into a miracle nobody else has. He even uses 「渇きを目印にして」 (using my thirst as a landmark), which is a lovely way to say hunger is the compass. He knows effort and endings repeat in a much bigger story, and he is only a small part of it, but 「この瞬間は僕の番だ」 (this moment is my turn). By the end he is calling out to every meeting and goodbye, saying 「僕はここだ」 (I'm right here) and that he won't run or hide. The last line, 「光よすべて集まれ」 (light, gather here, all of you), is a bit dramatic, and that is exactly why it works as the big finish.

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