Hello, a long time ago I offered to translate Katamari Damacy’s song lyrics, but only got around to Getsu to Oji (The Moon and the Prince). Now, I’ve finally gotten around to doing the rest, so here they are for anyone who is interested. Once again, I’m not going to write out the Japanese, just translate it, except for Getsu to Oji which has a lot more English/Japanese mixing. Note, this is coming from listening to the songs and writing down the Japanese lyrics from there, so I might differ in a few small areas between whatever liner notes exist. :)
The Moon and the Prince
I sprinted, I twisted,
I tried to run about everywhere
I spun, I was spun,
I rolled into anything I could find
I was attached, I felt included,
hey! I just picked up so much stuff!
I tried to avoid it, I tried to flee,
But the power was too much, came crashing down on me
I tried to push it, I tried to pull it,
At the end of my rope, I tried to cast it away
I crashed, I snapped,
A huge thrill ran through my body(*1)
The goal was endlessly far, but I couldn’t stop pressing on
Forever rolling on, I grew a lot, as a person(*2)
I noticed many things, and everyone became as one(*3)
While smiling faces flooded the town, a petty evil lay hidden in the shadows [Note: the police]
Chorus:
Check it up, I funk it up
Everybody shut up, come and follow me, yeah
Check it up, I funk it up
Everyone follow me like your life depends on it, come on
(Check it up, I funk it up
Minna damatte, ore ni, tsuite koi, yeah （みんな黙って、俺について来い、YEAH)
Check it up, I funk it up
Minna hisshi de ore ni tsuite koi, come on (みんな必死で俺について来い COME ON) )
Repeat x 4
I pounded on(*4), but I lost heart
No energy left, I fell into despair
I tried to sulk, I was down,
With a heart full of regret, tried to make the tears tumble down
I thought about it, rolled down on the ground
Looked at the sky and it brought back my calm
I stared and stared, kept it always in my eyes
And the moon that floated there, it was so bright
Got bigger and bigger, hoisted up step by step
Till it was under the great big stars(*5)
I kept on going, got some cooperation
And put in every ounce of all that lovely strength
I felt the beginnings of an impending crisis, stood up,
blew the walls off of my heart
A free mind and an overflowing soul,
I gave my spirit a heart to live in
(Jiyuu na mind to afureru soul, spirit ni kokoro ni yadoshita (自由なMINDと溢れるSOUL、SPIRITに心に宿した）)
Combine our power, and we can do it,
everyone comes to accomplish one great thing
Now we’re equal, we understand and admire each other
more than any time before, the people around me have grown larger(*6)
I don’t wanna hear any negative talk coming from your mouths!
It may be tough, but we can’t stop now!
We’ll draw a peaceful vibration in an arc across the sky!
We’ll create an object that won’t fail to compete with this planet!
(Negative na wadai wo kuchi ni suru na （NEGATIVEな話題を口にするな）
Tsurakutemo, susumu koto wo yamerun jaanai（つらくても、進むことをやめるんじゃない）
Peace na vibration de arc wo egaki（PEACEなVIBRATIONでARCを描き）
Kono earth ni makenai object wo tsukure（このEARTHにまけないOBJECTを作れ）)"
Repeat Chorus x 4
*1 For “I snapped,” the verb used is hajiku, which is kind of violently flying around, flipping, snapping, something usually an object, however it also shares its first two characters with haji which is embarassment, which I believe makes it clear that this part of the song, in addition to be a funny double meaning of getting addicted to the game and the prince getting to like too much what he’s doing, is also a really funny masturbation reference. I swear to god I’m not changing it to meet my own interpretation, it really does read like that! Maybe you’ll believe me when you see how filled with innuendo the rest of the songs are…
*2 You’ve probably already cut the double meaning here, but the original was 人として大きく成長した, the beginning, hito toshite, can mean all sorts of things as its more of a grammar referencer, hito meanings person and in Japanese we distinguish between three casual references of a person. Ningen for the biological sense, as in one individual entity with all the biological functions, mono for the person as a part of society, not a single entity but as part of a larger group and hito is in between the two. The Prince isn’t actually a human person of course and mono would riff on how everyone is collected near him. At the same time, I’m sure you caught the reference of the ball growing and the person growing, with toshite, it can also refer to the people around the prince.
*3 Just in case you’re not familiar this a really casual religious reference to things like mono no aware, nirvana and musubi. Don’t put too much into it though, its about as deep as saying, “I was in heaven with pretty girls for angels” but its still there.
*4 The word here, uchimaketa, has four different meanings. First of all, Uchimaku is like having a secret code or privileged information, it literally means behind the curtain, here, he’s just connecting back to the “hidden shadow” line. Second, uchimakuru means to pound, punch, thrash, really get on someway or something and beat away at it. Third , uchi can mean I, and maketa is a really common saying for, “I lost.” Fourth, the author has all this time, used a lot of ma-verbs, which mean to roll, to revolve, to spin, mawaru, magaru, mawasu, etc. Thus in making sure to use uchimaketa, he’s through peculiar form of Japanese alliteration connecting back to that, basically meaning, he rolled up the police too! Razz
*5 Okay, this comes back to the whole casual religious reference made earlier, except on top of “aware” (pronounced ah-wah-ray, not ah-ware, BTW!) and musubi, its bringing in a reference to kannaggara. Again, its a lot to get into for a simple song and basically refers to the oneness of sky and earth, and the way one recognizes that, which is actually a pretty complex Shinto conceit. In any case, you should go look it up if you want more info.
The last thing about this section, is that, I’m sure you noticed its talking about the moon and the ball at the same time. This is especially true of the last sentence. The sentence reads でかくした、育んだ、大きな綺麗な星にした、 (dekaku shita, hagukunda, ookina kirei na hoshi ni shita). Shita can mean either under or as the past tense of the verb “to do”. So this can either mean that he made into a big, pretty star, in which case the last two verbs refer to the katamari, or shita also means under, in which case, the last two verbs refer to the rising of the moon. Last, but not least, hoshi can mean star or planet. There’s something additional going on with that, but its so small, I don’t think the author meant to play with that meaning. The kanji for hagukumu means to raise somebody from childhood though, so there’s also a possible double meaning there. Razz
*6 The part the means “the people around me” hitomawari can also mean being around people in society, you know out on the town.
Katamari on the Rock (the famous na-na-na song)
(One note: The chu-chu-chu-churu chorus of girls is more than just a sound, chu is onomaepoteia for “kiss” in Japanese. Lately, ru which is a common ending of verbs has been added to foreign derived words and slang to create “custom verbs.” So, churu is a cute way of saying to “kiss.” Puts Chu-Chu Rocket in another light doesn’t it?)
NAAAAAAAA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NANA-N’NA-NA-NA-NAAAAAA
Don’t worry, do your best!
In a picnic-y(*1) mood, feel so good!
What a wonderful afternoon!
Off the limits insolence until midnight Yeah!
Ball it up and roll it around, I love you, always smile for you
You’re my only Love Moon, so we’ve gotta hang in there!
Com-presssssion, com-presssSION!
With my uniformed T-shirt
Hand-knitted muffler and
And heart-warming dashing around(*2)
Playing in the sun! Say goodbye!
Everybody clump together and spurt it alllll out
On a day like this, we’ll dance, we’ll sing,
I’m the leader of the collective though
It’s my waaaaaay, It’s my waaaaaaay
NA-NAAAAAA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NAAAAA The Katamari Damacy (Repeat 4x)
Drunk with a peaceful feeling(*3)
Looking up to the shining heavens(*4)
Ah, that head is so wonderful (*5)
Ah yeah, the party’s getting all riled up now!
And as we do this, it’s as if there’s a big band staining you in color (*6)
Finding some kind of reason, I want this get this party started, so
Roll up and clump up!
NA-NAAAAAA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NAAAAA The Katamari Damacy (Repeat 4x)
NA-NAAAAAA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NAAAAA The Katamari Damacy (Repeat 4x)
*1 Like bagged lunches in the States, Japanese put their outside lunches in boxes called bento, in these compartmentalized boxes, there is often a katamari of rice with something on top of it.
*2 The word used for this in indulging in more wordplay, mejirooshi, oshi can also refer to a closet, connecting it to the verse about clothes, and mejiro oshi is awfully close to mejiro oshie, the latter being the verb to teach, making one think of teaching from an elder (mejiro), obviously referring to the King of All Cosmos.
*3 More wordplay! The word for drunk here is yoi shirete. Yoi can also mean good and shirete a form of a verb to be known, though in this case a weird usage. Together they can change the sentence to “Coming to realize the goodness of a peaceful feeling.”
*4 Akogare is to admire and want to become like, so another pun, though strangely more in English than in Japanese, but its obviously there.
*5 Don’t even think about it. This is NOT supposed to be a pun, though one wonders…
*6 The word color (iro) often connotates an erotic meaning in poetry and song and is used in many words meaning sexy or alluring. You should be getting the idea by now…
Lonely Rolling Star
Laying in the sun(*1)
Brilliantly bright
My heart will
Swell and grow sunny
Those two eyes
Right down to the pupils
Are like sunflowers
And their seeds
A lover’s chat (the stories told)
Pile up (and roll over each other) (*2)
A clumped-up bundle
An entanglement
Being
Together
Is absolutely
Necessary
Except you are drawing out your important dream
Until you’re finished, throughout it all, I’ll be here waiting for you
You’re lonely rolling star
Come on, never stop standing still!
You’re lonely rolling star
So, face forward and keeping going!
A sky of stars
Sparkling and glittering
Like confetti(*3)
Waiting to congratulate you
It invites
Sweet
Painful
Thoughts
The thoughts that I’ve embraced roil and dance in the night sky
All of a sudden I want to lend a hand, to deliver myself by your side
You’re lonely rolling star
Don’t ever give up!
You’re lonely rolling star
Don’t forget to call sometimes!
You’re lonely rolling star
I want to come to you, right now!
You’re lonely rolling star
Ahh, with that last sigh,
I’m spilled over the limit
Computer voice: Lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely…
Next month, shall we meet at that place?
You’re lonely rolling star
Come on, never stop standing still!
You’re lonely rolling star
Remember me, okay?
You’re lonely rolling star
I can’t keep on waiting!
You’re lonely rolling star
So face forward and keep going!
*1 The word used here, hidamari, is so close to katamari, there’s no doubt of a sound reference, what kind do you call this in English?
*2 The part in parentheses are not additional lyrics, rather they are the second interpretation of the word said, I add them there because both would probably be realized instantly by Japanese speakers, rather than having to draw or realize it. Also each line in this verse is a word that begins with ka and with r-i variances, the third being katamari.
*3 This is simultaneously referring to a kind of candy that will be referenced by the “it” in the next verse.
A Dark Red Flower and Gin Tonic
[Sorry, no translation of the scat, you should be able to understand when she’s speaking the lyrics pretty well I think]
When you a wish upon a star
It comes to visit you, the katamari(*2)
We’re dreaming, dreaming, baby of this dreamworld
So everybody get inside, the katamari
Until the day we all turn into stars (*1)
You should reach out to it, the katamari(*2)
I’d like to chant some magic spells
Oooh-wah-dooby-doo-wa!
Everybody’s all so happy, in the katamari
[Lots of scat]
Until the day we all turn into stars (*1)
You should reach out to it, the katamari(*2)
I’d like to chant some magic spells
Oooh-wah-dooby-doo-wa!
Everybody’s all so happy, in the katamari(*3)
*1 This and the dreamworld reference are allusions to the Buddhist truth the reality beyond illusions is reached through nirvana. The stars often stand in for lotus flowers (where in the ideal is to be as a dewdrop on a lotus flower) in many cases.
*2 Both of these lines use very similar sounding verbs, otozure and otodoke, so there’s a sound reference between the two.
*3 She doesn’t really say THE katamari or IN THE katamari of course, just katamari. However, the way its enunciated, is the same way you’d emphasize it in an English by saying, “The _____” so I translated the implication of the pronunciation.
Sakurairo no Kisetsu (Seasons Dyed in the Color of Cherry Blossoms) *1
[La la la chorus]
If the Katamari comes, shall we go out
To the back alleys and walk with it, swaying, swinging, strolling?
Hey! Look outside the window!
In the sky, where a plane is leaving clouds behind it
Remember we could feel the coming of the pleasant autumn air in the bright orange moon?
We were exploring the city as the afternoon descended
I remember being shy, blushing to the touch of your hand
Those were the days when small things made us feel content
Oooooooooh-ooooooo-ooooo-woooooh
That was a merry, peach-colored season
[La la la chorus]
Now you and I think
Because we’ve grown, if even just a little
We want that time when we feel joy from small things
Oooooooh-oooooo-oooo-woooooh
That wild and lively season colored like sakura
[La la la chorus] x 2
*1 So yeah, this song is an example of Japan’s infamous fascination with the seasons, especially when it comes to poetry and song. Obviously sakura and peach seasons are spring. In case it isn’t obvious, this song is about couple looking back at their childhood from the vantage point of middle age. In Japan, orange moons are considered comforting and warm, and exploring/catching things are considered summer-like, though they can also be spring, but mostly summer because of butterfly and beetle catching, which is still popular. Trails of airplane vapor are another summer reference, because the sky is often cloudless so its more noticeable and while you’re out enjoying the sun, your apt to hear planes flying overhead.
The song starts in spring, with the children offering to go chase the katamari in the back alleys. To come out of their home. This part is written in a very immersive, 1st person style, the tone shifts halfway through the line about the plane’s vapor trail, suggesting a shift to summer, or adulthood and the verse with the sweethearts at autumn reminiscing. So at the same time as its from the perspective of the couple at the end, its also in the perspective of the children growing up, simultaneously.
Next as they explored the city, they held hands. We go back to summer (catching reference) and the fact that they are no longer in the house or the back alleys, signifies that they have learned about the world and society (its not only the end of the morning and onto the afternoon, but the word for afternoon, hiru is very close to the word for spring, haru and sagari is the term used show its descended and over), and are onto bigger things in adulthood (exploring the cityu vs. playing in the back alleys). As he mentions blushing, and feeling happy, and then the peach-flavored season, we’re brought full circle back to spring and also the memory of it as the same time.
Whenever it addresses the second person, it uses kimi. I’m pretty season its a he addressing a she, even though kimi tends to be more feminine. This is due to a nuance in the language that while referring to others as “you” (as in “You are looking nice today”) is mostly not needed and also somewhat rude in Japanese, there are exceptions. Kimi is one of them, but especially for a guy who favors a girl and softens his language, on the flipside, in a married couple, the lady usually uses anata as a kind of “Oh honey” or “dear” term. (Anata also means “you” but its less polite and more harsh.)
Some of this might have been obvious, but I wanted to bring all together to connect the notes since they’re all very related. :)
Katamari Taino
I’ve been searching, seeking, gazing at the stars inside a miniature garden (*1)
Only the transparent moon inside the dancing darkness
Sets free the sparkling gems to stain the sky with jewels
Only the tears of the sun spill down, sparkling
As we cuddle together, I gaze at you and with just the tip of my finger (rolling box)
While we roll around, I need you to tell me…(*2)
Harden yourself (*3)
Baya-baya-ba, baya-baya-ba, ba-baya-ba-baya-baba (x 2)
Ya-ya-ya-yaaaaa ya-ya-ya-yaaaaaa-ya-ya (x4)
Baya-baya-ba, baya-baya-ba, ba-baya-ba-baya-baba (x2)
Ya-ya-ya-yaaaaa ya-ya-ya-yaaaaaa-ya-ya (x4) [singer whispers, “Envelop me! Harden yourself! (*3)” and other such things during this section]
Sitting down on the crescent moon and swing your legs around
Soaring through the clouds, inside the light is stolen away
The clocks inside a sea of sand melt and melt away(*4)
Why! We’re gathering the patchwork of our dreams
In the forest of memories, you and just the two, ah! like a freezing night in (falling star)
Before I crumble, I need you to love me…
Harden yourself(*3)
Baya-baya’s and ya-ya’s until the song ends.
(*1 The word for miniature garden is hakoniwa --the same term, BTW, Miyamoto uses for his games – which literally connotates a garden inside a box. Later on, I think you’ll see there’s further reference to this.)
(*2 The word for need is hoshii, which if it had one less i would be spelled exactly like the word for star. Nevertheless, its often pronounced pretty much the same and this is an extremely common double meaning in Japanese. However, the singer draws out the extra i sound here, which sounds like EE in Japanese. Now that extra sound can make her request sound like a plea or praise, whichever is up to you.)
(*3 Katamete is the word here and as you can see its pretty close to katamari, but different. It means to harden, stiffen, freeze or to pledge something, or a kind of defense. With the reference to katamari and the proceeding lines, you can imagine how many different meanings this can take on. Pick whatever you feel is most valid!)
(*4 So this line is “tokete yuku tokeitachi wo suna no umi no naka.” Suna means sand and tokei clock, a sunadokei is an hourglass, making the reference clear. Also, there’s a referencei n the sounds tokete and tokei. Normally, you would pronounce tokei as TOE-KAY, but here its mispronounced or drawn out as TOE-KAY-EE, which is closer to TOE-KAY-TAY. Tokete means to melt. Thus an image of hourglasses and running out and Dali’s painting of the melting clocks are combined together.)
Katamari Mambo
Raaaaa-ri, raaaaaa-ri, raaaa-ri,
Raaaaa-ri, raaaaaa-ri, raaaa-ri!
Guy: Hey I’m in a hurry, I can’t sing right now, CANNOT SING, I can’t sing I’m telling you! But hey…you know, if you really want me to sing, I guess I’ll put my heart into it and, eh? You mean Nobue?
Nobue: I hate wide places
I like the narrrrow ones
So come on, baby,
Ahhh, that sweet, painful katamari
Ooooh! Swallow it up!
Aaaah! Sticky STICK IT TO ME!
Ah ya ya, we’ll spend the night in
That kind of behavior where two stars lay bound up together
In the Ka-ta-ma-ri mam-bo
Let’s do the nice makikomi(*1)
With the moonliquer and the glittering stars
In the Ka-ta-ma-ri mam-bo
Let’s do the nice makikomi(*1)
In the Ka-ta-ma-ri mam-bo!
La la la let’s get the prince all drunk!
Guy: Hi! This time, now I’ll sing well enough to singe off your ears! Get ready! Clean your eyes and faces about 30% and listen! [Reference to funny, popular Japanese “personality” Shingo Mama] Hey, what, Nobue again?
Nobue: You could at least
Gather up the pieces of love from the darrrkness
Go on! Now you-you-you’ve got a chance
To dance on this secret map
Well now as we r-r-roll around
Oh! Its growing BIGGER
Miiiillky way love
And as we stare at sweet, sweet moon
The two of us will burn for each other
In the Ka-ta-ma-ri mam-bo
La la la let’s get the prince all drunk!
[random scat and repetitions of chorus and some truly random ramblings by the guy till the end of the song]
(*1 As in the other songs, I’m leaving katamari untranslated when it can’t translate well, since many people know what it conveys now. I’m also doing this for makikomi here because of the difficulty of finding a good, catchy word to sum up the way its sung there. Makikomi means a folding, an enfolding, slurping, swallowing, rolling into, embracing, sucking in…I think you get the picture. Also I pray to god you don’t need me to point out the subtext in this song…)
Ai no Katamari is the only one left, it’ll take me a while, 'cause its the only song I really don’t like so I can’t stand listening to it. :( If anyone can find Japanese transposed lyrics that would really help.
-Kitsune