Below, I translated the lyrics of the song Ichizu 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!
saigo ni mou ichido tsuyoku dakishimete
Hold me tight one more time, at the very end
sono ato wa mou nani mo iranai yo
After that, I won't need anything at all
boku no mirai mo kako mo nanimokamo
My future, my past, everything I am
anata de michireba koukai wa nai yo
If it's filled with you, I'll have no regrets
ikiteru akashi kizamu no kajikamu kokoro furuwashite
Carving proof I'm alive, making my numb heart tremble
tenbin nante hitsuyou nai no mujun ni nou o madowashite
There's no need for scales, I let contradictions confuse my mind
seigi to aku nado yuraideshimau hodo
So much that right and wrong start to waver
ikiisoideita endorooru wa
The end credits of a life lived in a hurry
kitto kamisama no migattena itazura
Are surely just God's selfish prank
yogoreyaku darou to itowanai yo
Even if I have to play the villain, I don't mind
mujun darake otagaisama ne
We're both full of contradictions, we're even
fukoubanashi no seikurabe
Comparing whose sad story is worse
kubi no kawa ichimai setogiwa ni
Hanging on by a thread, right at the brink
agaitecha shirajirashii ne
If I keep struggling, it'd look so fake
hitohira no omoi yo todoke todoke to chi o megurasete
My single petal of feeling, I send my blood racing, praying it reaches you, reaches you
ichizu ni mitsumemasu riyuu nante hitsuyou wa nai no
I'll gaze only at you, I don't need any reason
namida no wake mo shirazuni ai ga karada o kuichigitta
Not even knowing why I cry, love tore my body apart
tadashisa o furikazasanaide jijitsu ga riyuu o kuichigitta
Don't brandish what's right at me, the facts tore the reasons apart
kodou ga yamanu you ni kensou ni maki o kubenda
So my heartbeat never stops, I keep feeding firewood to the clamor
tobari o haru koto sura busuina ki ga shitenda
Even drawing the curtain feels tasteless to me
saa raise ni kitai ne hikare hirameke mousupiido de
Come on, let's hope for the next life, shine, flash at full speed
ichizu ni mukaimasu yoryoku o nokosu ki wa nai no
I'm heading straight on, I've no intention of holding anything back
todoke todoke to chi o megurasete
I send my blood racing, praying it reaches you, reaches you
ichizu ni aishimasu
I'll love you with all my heart
eien nante hitsuyou wa nai no
There's no need for forever
saigo ni mou ichido tsuyoku dakishimete
Hold me tight one more time, at the very end
sono ato wa mou nani mo iranai yo
After that, I won't need anything at all
mienai mirai mo kesenu kako sae mo
The future I can't see, even the past I can't erase
anata de michireba koukai wa nai yo
If they're filled with you, I'll have no regrets
saigo ni mou ichido chikara o kashite
One last time, lend me your strength
sono ato wa mou nani mo iranai yo
After that, I won't need anything at all
boku no mirai mo kokoro mo karada mo
My future, my heart and my body too
anata ni ageru yo zenbu zenbu
I'll give them to you, all of it, all of it
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Did you like this lyrics translation?
"Ichizu" is King Gnu going all in. The title, 一途 (ichizu), means single-minded devotion, the kind of love that looks at one person and nothing else, and the whole song runs on that energy. It opens with a dying wish: "最期にもう一度 強く抱きしめて" (hold me tight one more time, at the very end), followed by "その後はもう 何も要らないよ" (after that, I don't need anything else). That is the deal the narrator keeps offering: give me this person, and I will give up everything.
The verses get messy in a good way. Love here is not gentle. "愛が体を喰いちぎった" (love tore my body apart) is a pretty violent image, and the narrator happily admits the two of them are "矛盾だらけ お互い様ね" (full of contradictions, and we're both the same). There's even a shrug at fate: the ending was "きっと神様の 身勝手な悪戯" (surely God's selfish prank). Learner tip: お互い様 (otagaisama) is a really useful everyday phrase meaning "we're in the same boat" or "it goes both ways".
My favourite part is how the chorus refuses to hold anything back. "余力を残す気は無いの" (I have no intention of saving any strength) and "永遠なんて必要は無いの" (I don't need anything like forever). Then it ends by handing everything over: "あなたにあげるよ 全部全部" (I'll give it to you, all of it, all of it). It is intense, a little much, and that is exactly the point.
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