Below, I translated the lyrics of the song Ame Sansan by King Gnu from Japanese to English.
These lyrics have verified word for word translations. Click any lyric word to see the translation and hear the pronunciation!
erabe yo kawariyuku jidai o warikirenaku tomo
Choose your way through this ever-changing era, even if you can't make sense of it all
kono shunkan kono butai o ikinuku kara
'Cause I'll live through this moment, this stage
tegotae no nai kyou de sae mo
Even on a day that gives me nothing back
tsumugu yo dekobokona ko no michi ni furisosogu ame sansan to
I'll keep weaving on this bumpy road, where the rain pours down brilliantly
nayamashiku ikimadou bokura no
Troubled and lost as we live
kanashimi sae mo mizu ni nagashiteyuku
Even our sorrow gets washed away
sabitsuita jitensha o hashirasete
Riding my rusty bike
kimi e to mukau no sa ame ni nurenagara kaerou
I'm heading toward you, let's go home soaked in the rain
rinji nyuusu no shirase de wa
According to the breaking news
douyara kore kara doshaburi no ame ga furu rashii
Looks like a downpour is on its way
kasa o wasureta tameiki wa
The sigh of someone who forgot their umbrella
yuudachi ga tsuretekita natsu no nioi ni toketeyuku
Melts into the summer scent the evening shower brought
kako o utau kanashimi tachi ga kumo to nari ame o uchitsukeru
The sorrows that sing of the past turn into clouds and beat down as rain
sakebe yo ki no hareru made koe wa ame ni kakikesare
Scream until you feel better, your voice gets drowned out by the rain
ima ja doko no dare ni mo todokanakutemo
Even if now it can't reach anybody, anywhere
teokure ni natteshimatta mirai e sae mo
Even toward a future that's already too late
tsunagu yo sono baton o
I'll pass on that baton
shizuka ni matteru hito ga iru ame sansan to nayamashiku
Someone is quietly waiting; the rain pours down brilliantly on us, troubled
ikimadou bokura no kanashimi sae mo mizu ni nagashiteyuku
And lost as we live, even our sorrow gets washed away
senro zoi kaze o kiri itchokusen ni kimi e to mukau no sa
Cutting through the wind along the tracks, I'm heading straight for you
ame ni nurenagara kaerou
Let's go home getting soaked in the rain
ame sansan to furisosogi natsu o hajiite hanshashita bokura o utsushidasu
The rain pours down brilliantly, reflecting us as we bounce the summer back
ame sansan to furisosogi natsu o oyoide zubunure no bokura o utsushidasu
The rain pours down brilliantly, reflecting us, soaked from swimming through summer
hageshiku teritsukeru taiyou yo bokura o michibiiteokure yo
O fiercely blazing sun, please guide us
mirai o utau kotoba dake ga kaze to nari mori o fukinukeru
Only words that sing of the future become wind and blow through the forest
erabe yo kawariyuku jidai o warikirenaku tomo
Choose your way through this ever-changing era, even if you can't make sense of it all
kono shunkan kono butai o ikinuku kara
'Cause I'll live through this moment, this stage
aoki haru no mabataki kara nando sameyou tomo
No matter how many times I wake from the brief flash of youth
tsumugu yo dekobokona ko no michi ni furisosogu ame sansan to
I'll keep weaving on this bumpy road, where the rain pours down brilliantly
nayamashiku ikimadou bokura no
Troubled and lost as we live
kanashimi sae mo mizu ni nagashiteyuku
Even our sorrow gets washed away
sabitsuita jitensha o hashirasete kimi e to mukau no sa
I ride my rusty bike and head toward you
ame ni nurenagara kaerou
Let's go home getting soaked in the rain
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生き惑う — to wander through life in confusion
生き惑う combines 生きる (to live) with 惑う (to be bewildered or lost), creating the poetic sense of struggling to find one's way through life. In the song, it describes people who are unsure how to live as they carry their sadness, making this uncommon expression especially memorable.
King Gnu's "Ame Sansan" is a summer-rain song, and it starts with a weather report. A news bulletin warns that a downpour is coming, "傘を忘れた溜め息は" (the sigh of someone who forgot their umbrella), and that sigh melts into "夏の匂い" (the smell of summer) the evening shower brings in. Then the chorus turns the rain into something useful: it pours down on "でこぼこな此の道" (this bumpy road) and carries off "悲しみさえも 水に流してゆく" (washing away even our sadness). That last phrase is worth learning. 水に流す literally means "to let it flow away in water", and it is the everyday Japanese idiom for forgiving and forgetting. The title word 燦々 usually describes sunshine blazing down, so "雨燦々" (rain pouring down brilliantly) is a deliberate twist: rain that shines like sun.
What I love is how physical the hope is. Nobody gives a speech; the singer just gets on "錆びついた自転車" (a rusty bicycle) and rides "線路沿い風を切り" (along the train tracks, cutting through the wind) straight towards you, deciding "雨に濡れながら帰ろう" (let's go home getting soaked). The verses are bolder, almost bossy: "選べよ 変わりゆく時代を" (choose this changing era) even if it doesn't add up neatly, and "叫べよ" (shout) until you feel better, even though the rain drowns your voice. There is a relay-race image too, "繋ぐよ そのバトンを" (I'll pass on that baton) to a future that already feels too late. And "青き春" (blue spring) spells out the characters of 青春, the Japanese word for youth, so waking from "青き春の瞬き" (the blink of youth) is about growing up. It is a big, slightly over-the-top anthem, and the soaking-wet bike ride is what makes it work.
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