Below, I translated the lyrics of the song Umbrella 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!
sayonara hai ni natta furi shitatte
Goodbye, even if I pretend to be in high spirits
kokoromoyou wa doshaburi da yo
The weather in my heart is pouring rain
kasa mo motazuni doko e iku no
Where are you going without an umbrella?
arekore fuan ni nattatte
Even if I get anxious about this and that
doushiyoumonai unmei desho
There's nothing I can do, "it's fate, right?"
kumori garasu goshi no anata ni wa
To you, behind the frosted glass
mou nani mo todoichainai
Nothing gets through anymore
3 kaime no araamu de
With the third alarm
youyaku okiagaresou na asa
A morning when I might finally manage to get up
nemui me o kosurinagara
Rubbing my sleepy eyes
kao o aratte koohii o nagashikome
Wash your face and gulp down your coffee
unmei nante hana kara
From the start, I could never
shinjikireyashinai yo na
Fully believe in something like fate, right?
fukayomi no shisugi bakari ja
Just reading too deep into everything
mitasareyashinakute
Never leaves me satisfied
motto hanashitainda
I want to talk more
motto chikazukitainda
I want to get closer
tooku de nagameteitakunai yo na
I don't want to just watch from far away
donna toki datte
No matter what
sayonara hai ni natta furi shitatte
Goodbye, even if I pretend to be in high spirits
kokoromoyou wa doshaburi da yo
The weather in my heart is pouring rain
kasa mo motazuni doko e iku no
Where are you going without an umbrella?
arekore fuan ni nattatte
Even if I get anxious about this and that
doushiyoumonai unmei desho
There's nothing I can do, "it's fate, right?"
kumori garasu goshi no anata ni wa
To you, behind the frosted glass
mou nani mo todoichainainda
Nothing gets through anymore
garasu hen o yokenagara
Dodging shards of glass
chokkouchokki neochiru mainichi sa
Straight to work, straight home, crashing out every day
man'indensha ni iki o hisome
Holding my breath on a packed train
narihibiita beru ga hassha no aizu sa
The bell that rang out is the signal to depart
tsunaida te tashikameta
I felt for the hand I was holding
tashikani bokura koko ni ita no sa
We really were right here
yosete wa kaesu nami no naka o
Through the waves that come and go
hisshi ni tatteitanda
We were desperately standing our ground
gooru nanka ari wa shinai yo na
There's no finish line, is there?
tada no reesu to wa chigau yo na
It's not just some race, is it?
chimata de nagareru ravu songu no you ni wa ikanai ne
It doesn't go like the love songs playing everywhere
sayonara hai ni natta furi shitatte
Goodbye, even if I pretend to be in high spirits
kokoromoyou wa doshaburi da yo
The weather in my heart is pouring rain
kasa mo motazuni doko e iku no
Where are you going without an umbrella?
arekore fuan ni nattatte
Even if I get anxious about this and that
doushiyoumonai unmei desho
There's nothing I can do, "it's fate, right?"
kumori garasu goshi no anata ni wa
To you, behind the frosted glass
mou nani mo todoichainainda
Nothing gets through anymore
kekkyoku wa ai ga dou toka wakaranai yo imada ni
In the end, I still don't get what love's about
sou iihanatta jibun no tayorinai senaka o mita
After blurting that out, I saw how feeble my own back looked
sayonara hai ni natta furi shitatte
Goodbye, even if I pretend to be in high spirits
kokoromoyou wa doshaburi da yo
The weather in my heart is pouring rain
kasa mo motazuni doko e iku no
Where are you going without an umbrella?
arekore fuan ni nattatte
Even if I get anxious about this and that
doushiyoumonai unmei desho
There's nothing I can do, "it's fate, right?"
kumori garasu goshi no anata ni wa
To you, behind the frosted glass
mou nani mo todoichainainda
Nothing gets through anymore
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土砂降り — Torrential downpour
土砂降り means a very heavy rain or torrential downpour. The word vividly combines the image of earth and sand pouring down, making it much more dramatic than simply saying “rain.”
In the song, it describes the singer’s inner emotions: even though he pretends to be high-spirited, his heart is experiencing a “torrential downpour.” This striking weather metaphor connects directly to the song’s umbrella imagery and makes the word especially memorable.
The whole song hangs on one picture: someone walking out into a downpour without an umbrella. The chorus says it straight away, "さよなら ハイになったふりしたって 心模様は 土砂降りだよ" (goodbye, even if I pretend to be high, the weather in my heart is a downpour). 心模様 literally means "the pattern of the heart", and Japanese uses it the way English uses "mood", so the singer is giving you an emotional weather report. Then comes the question he keeps asking, "傘も持たずにどこへ行くの?" (where are you going without even an umbrella?).
The verses are refreshingly ordinary. He finally gets up on the third alarm, rubs his sleepy eyes and is told to "コーヒーを流し込め" (gulp down your coffee). Later it is "直行直帰" (straight to work, straight home), a piece of office jargon, followed by falling asleep every night and holding his breath on a packed train. In the middle of that routine he admits what he wants: "もっと話したいんだ もっと近づきたいんだ" (I want to talk more, I want to get closer).
The other person is out of reach, seen through "曇りガラス越し" (through frosted glass), and nothing gets through anymore. He even mocks the idea of fate with quote marks around "運命でしょ?" (it's fate, right?). The bluntest moment comes near the end, when he says he still doesn't understand anything about love and then catches sight of "自分の頼りない背中" (my own unreliable-looking back). It is a sharp, self-deflating line, and it stops the song from feeling sorry for itself.
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