Sons of Loki

“Yell”, by ballad-y group Ikimono-gakari (a name Wikipedia explains as “[the] group of children who are responsible for looking after plants and animals in a Japanese elementary school”) came out last September and went to #2 in the charts. It’s shamelessly sentimental (the video is all about kids in high school, and I hear it’s a popular choice at graduation) and I’d hate it if it was a cheesy English ballad but shucks, there’s something about the brave eyes of naive schoolchildren staring into the camera combined with Kiyoe Yoshioka’s soaring vocals that tears me up inside.

「”わたし”は今どこに在るの」と
“So what of “I”, now?”
(This is a doozy. “わたし” (‘I’) comes in quotes, and the verb 在る (meaning “to exist” for inanimate objects) is used where you’d usually use 居る (meaning “to exist” for animate things like people). Literally it’s “Where am I now?” but if I had to guess, I’d say the gist of the line is “What now for (the concept of) ‘I’?”, or “What’s to become of me?” or “Where am I now?” in a spiritual rather than material sense.)
踏みしめた足跡を何度も見つめ返す
I go back to stare at trodden footprints again and again
枯葉を抱き 秋めく窓辺に
I embrace dead leaves, and by the autumnal window
かじかんだ指先で夢を描いた
I traced dreams with numb fingertips

翼はあるのに飛べずにいるんだ
Though I have wings, I can’t fly
ひとりになるのが恐くてつらくて
At being alone, I’m scared, heartbroken
優しいひだまりに 肩寄せる日々を
The days of sweet sunshine with your arm around me
越えて僕ら孤独な夢へと歩く
We pass through, we walk towards lonely dreams

Chorus
サヨナラは悲しい言葉じゃない
“Sayonara” is not a sad word
それぞれの夢へと僕らを繋ぐＹＥＬＬ
When we head towards our many dreams, a “yell” will connect us
ともに過ごした日々を胸に抱いて
I hold those days we spent together close to my chest
(“胸”, literally “chest” but more figuratively “heart” just as in English, is probably one of the most used words in J-pop)
飛び立つよ独りで未来（つぎ）の空へ
Fly, alone, into your future sky
(The kanji read みらい (future) but are sung as つぎ (next). I mean, if you just listened to the song without reading the lyrics you’d have no idea, but I guess this is a songwriting trick)

僕らはなぜ答えを焦って
We’re impatient for answers to “Why?”
宛ての無い裏切りに自己（じぶん）を探すのだろう
I guess it betrays no one to search for ourselves
誰かをただ思う涙も
Both tears just when I think of someone
真っ直ぐな笑顔もここに在るのに
And smiling, straight-ahead, there’s both here

本当の自分を誰かの言葉で
Our real selves, through someone else’s words,
繕うに逃れて迷って
We run from fixing, we go astray
ありのままの弱さと向き合う強さを
The truth is, the power to face our weaknesses –
掴み僕ら始めて明日へと掻ける
Only when we grasp that can we succeed tomorrow

Chorus
サヨナラを誰かに告げる度に
Every time we say goodbye to someone
僕らまた変われる強くなれるかな
Can we change, can we get used to it?
たとえ違う空へ飛び立とうとも
Even if we take off into different skies
途絶えはしない思いよ今も胸に
We’ll never stop, I hold that in my heart even now

Bridge
永遠など無いと (気づいたときから)
When there was no such thing as eternity (From the time we realised that)
笑い合ったあの日も (唄い合ったあの日も)
That day we laughed together (That day we sang together)
強く (深く) 胸に刻まれていく
Strongly (deeply) those days dig into my heart
だからこそあなたは (だからこそ僕らは)
Because of this, you … (because of this, we …)
他の誰でもない(誰にも負けない)
Without anyone else (no one will fail)
声を(挙げて)”わたし”を生きていくよと
Our voice (as one), “I” will go on
約束したんだひとり(ひとり)ひとつ(ひとつ)道を選んだ
I promised. Alone, I chose a single path

Chorus
サヨナラは悲しい言葉じゃない
“Sayonara” is not a sad word
それぞれの夢へと僕らを繋ぐＹＥＬＬ
When we head towards our many dreams, a “yell” will connect us
いつかまためぐり逢うそのときまで
Until the time comes for us to meet again
This sentence, more literally, is “Until someday, some day, again, again, when we meet again.” Japanese can be wonderfully redundant.
忘れはしない誇りよ友よ空へ
Say you won’t forget – into the sky, my friend

僕らが分かち合う言葉がある
There’s a word we all share
こころからこころへ声を繋ぐＹＥＬＬ
From my heart to yours, a “yell” connects our voices
ともに過ごした日々を胸に抱いて
I hold those days we spent together close to my chest
飛び立つよ独りで未来（つぎ）の空へ
Fly, alone, into your future sky