JEWEL

hai-iro no shikakui sora no shita o kyou mo
arayuru yokubou ga ume tsukusu
sono naka de hikari o miushinawazu mae o
muite arukeru no wa itsumo kimi ga
kono machi no katasumi ni mo kegare no nai
mono ga nokotte iru koto oshiete kureru kara

tsukare hateta karada de nemuri ni tsuita kimi o
boku wa iki o hisomete mite ita
sekai-chuu de tada hitori boku dake ga shitte iru
muboubi de itoshii yokogao

atarimae no you ni hizashi ga furisosogi
yasashii kaze yureta aru hi no koto
boku no naka de nanika ga sotto tsuyoku
tashika ni kawatte iku no o hitori kanjite ita

kanashiku nanka nai no ni namida ga koboreta no wa
kimi no omoi ga itai kurai ni
boku no mune no oku no kizuato ni shimikonde
yasashisa ni kaete kureta kara

moshi mo kimi ga fukai kanashimi ni deattara
boku ni mo wakete kureru to ii na
sono egao no tame nara nan datte dekiru darou
boku no taisetsu na takaramono
boku no taisetsu na takaramono...

---

Today, beneath the grey, square sky,
All my ambitions are used up and buried.
Before I could no longer see the light,
As I walked, when I turned to look,
Even in the corners of this city, you always
Showed me something pure that was left behind.

I held my breath as I watched you,
In a tired and dying body, fall into sleep.
In all the world, I am the only one who knows
Your vulnerable, dearest face.

Like always, the sunlight has begun to pour
And there are days where the gentle wind flows.
Within me, even by myself, I felt
Something softly, strongly, surely changed...

The reason my tears spilled, though I wasn't sad,
Was because the thoughts of you hurt and
In the back of my heart, you stained the scars,
Turning them into gentleness.

Should you ever be confronted with a deep sadness,
It’s okay for you to share it with me
I’ll do all I can, for your smile.
You’re my precious treasure,
My precious treasure...


Translation notes:

In verse one, the word for "ambition" appears to have a rather negative connotation, as the kanji comes from the word for "greed", so you know it's kind of an overly ambitious desire. (Being that this sounds like a song written for a loved one who died, perhaps she's referring here to her hope that they would survive whatever they were dying of.)

In the first chorus, please note that the "tired and dying body" does not refer to Ayumi but the person she is singing to. Also, the word I chose "vulnerable" for was more accurately translated "defenseless," but since vulnerable sounded more poetic I chose that instead.

In the second verse, the words used as "to pour" are most often used when speaking about rain or snow... I think it's creative that she used it in reference to sunlight.

In the second chorus, she actually says that her heart was "intricately stained," not just "stained." But it didn't sound quite right in English so I omitted it.


All lyrics belong to Ayumi Hamasaki and Avex Trax.