"Embrace" by Bump of Chicken

So in the last two posts I put up some vocabulary lists that were intended to be preparation for learning a song in Japanese. I was going to go to karaoke shortly afterwards and wow my girlfriend with a surprise rendition of her favorite Bump of Chicken number. But then the karaoke evening got cancelled and two months went by... However, I finally got a chance to serenade her the other night and ...it was a triumphant success! Back in the day when I first came to Japan I used to study J-pop quite a bit. It's a good way to impress your Japanese friends/colleagues and an excellent way to build up your vocabulary, and improve your grammar, pronunciation and reading skills too! Here, finally, for your benefit are the lyrics in both kana and romaji and then of course the song itself. Bit of a tearjerker this one:

隠れてないで　出てこいよ　この部屋は大丈夫
Kakuretenaide detekoiyo kono heya ha daijoubu
鼓動の音は　ふたつ　ふたつ以上も以下もない
Kodou no oto wa futatsu futatsu ijou mo ika mo nai

逃げ道の途中　飛び込んだ　この部屋の中で
Nigemichi no tochuu tobikonda kono heya no naka de
君は僕に見つかった　首輪の無い姿で
Kimi wa boku ni mitsu katta kubi wa no nai sugata de

震えてるのはきっと　寒さのせいだけじゃないな
Furueteru no wa kitto samusa no sei dake ja nai na
どんな台詞もきっと　役に立たないな
Donna serifu mo kitto yaku ni tata nai na

腕の中へおいで　抱えた孤独の
Ude no naka he oide kakaeta kodoku no
その輪郭を　撫でてやるよ
Sono rinkaku wo nadete yaru yo
明かりの無い部屋で　言葉もくたびれて
Akari no nai heya de kotoba mokutabirete
確かなものは　温もりだけ
Tashika na mono wa nukumori dake

君が　そこに居ないと気付いたら　とにかく探すだろう
Kimi ga soko ni inai to kiduitara tonikaku sagasu darou
「そこに居る」のに「居ない」と　気付く時もあるだろう
“Soko ni iru” no ni “inai” to kiduku toki mo aru darou

この眼が視力を失くしても　僕は君を見るだろう
Kono me ga shiryoku wo naku shitemo boku wa kimi wo miru darou
体中の細胞　フル動員で　君を見るだろう
Karadajuu no saibou furu douin de kimi wo miru darou

呼吸の音がする　柔かい匂いもある
Kokyuu no oto ga suru yawarakakai nioi mo aru
全てこの手のひらに　集めて閉じ込めるよ
Subete kono te no hira ni atsumete tojikomeru yo

腕の中へおいで　隠した痛みの
Ude no naka he oide kakushita itami no
その傷口に　触れてみるよ
Sono kizuguchi ni furete miru yo
時間の無い部屋で　理由も忘れて
Jikan no nai heya de riyuu mo wasurete
確かなものを　探しただけ　見つけただけ
Tashika na mono wo sagashita dake mitsuketa dake

腕の中へおいで　醜い本音を
Ude no naka he oide minikui honne wo
紡いだ場所に　キスをするよ
Tsumuida basho ni kisu wo suru yo
命の無い世界で　僕と同じ様に
Inochi no nai sekai de boku to onaji you ni
生きてるものを　探しただけ
Ikiteru mono wo sagashita dake

腕の中へおいで　怖がらないでおいで
Ude no naka he oide kowagara nai de oide
生きてるものを　見つけただけ
Ikiteru mono wo mitsuketa dake
確かなものは　温もりだけ
Tashika na mono wa nukumori dake

Secret Project Part 2

Did you learn the words and kanji, in the last post? Here are twelve more...

触れる fureru = to touch, to feel
本音 honne = real intention, motive　
抱える kakaeru = to hold or carry in the arms, to have (a problem)
傷口 kizuguchi = wound　
孤独 kodoku = loneliness, solitude
草臥れる kutabireru = to get tired, to be fatigued
温もり nukumori = warmth
醜い minikui = ugly, unsightly　
撫でる naderu = to stroke, to caress
輪郭 rinkaku = outlines, features
紡ぐ tsumugu = to spin (yarn)
腕 ude = arm

Learn these and in the next post I'll tell you how you can use them.

Secret Project Part 1

Familiarize yourself with these words and their kanji now:

動員 douin = mobilization
震える furueru = to shiver, to tremble
隠れる kakureru = to hide (oneself)　　
鼓動 kodou = beat, pulse, throb
呼吸 kokyuu = breath, (respiration)
首輪 kubiwa = necklace
眼 me = eye
失くす nakusu = to lose something
匂い nioi = odour, scent, smell
細胞 saibou = (biological) cell
台詞 serifu = words, lines
視力 shiryoku = eyesight
柔らかい yawarakai = soft, tender

Trust me. They'll come in handy later...

The Moon & a Turtle

I was wondering if there was a Japanese expression equivalent to the English "like chalk and cheese" to describe two things that are completely unalike. It turns out there is: 月とすっぽん (the moon and a turtle). Superficially, the moon and a turtle are alike in that they are round in shape. However, the beautiful moon riding the night sky and the turtle scrabbling around in the mud below couldn't be more dissimilar. I wonder how this expression originated. Here's an example sentence from my copy of 2001 Japanese and English Idioms:

彼らは兄弟ですが、性格も趣味も月とすっぽんです。
Karera ha kyoudai desu ga, seikaku mo shumi mo tsuki to suppon desu.
Though they are brothers, their characters and tastes are as different as chalk and cheese.

Many thanks to Ueno-san of Tsurugi for teaching me this expression. And for those who are interested in the origins of the wonderfully alliterative "chalk and cheese", you can find some information here.

あなたがお酒を飲んだら・・・？

Looking for something else, I came across this video of 慣用句 (kanyouku = idioms) related to booze. There were a few things here I wasn't familiar with so I've put some notes at the bottom of the post. First though let's watch it!



上戸　jougo = a drinker
泣き上戸 nakijougo = a crying drunk
笑い上戸 waraijougo = a laughing drunk
呂律 roretsu = articulation
呂律が回らない roretsu ga mawaranai = to be inarticulate, to have slurred speech