Wagakki Band - 八奏絵巻 Japanese Lyrics, English Transliteration, English Translation, and an Emotional Moment
八奏絵巻 is a mash-up of the lyrics and the sound of songs on prior Wagakki Band albums re-imagined into a standalone song. All of the songs called back in this song can be seen in this YouTube video. As a long-time fan of Wagakki Band, it absolutely blew my mind when it popped up on my Spotify last autumn. I enjoyed it superficially as simply another facemelter from Wagakki Band. When I noticed that the lyrics were callbacks, I realized I never learned the lyrics of any of their songs. So today, I looked up the lyrics, and they completely ripped me apart. As I was using Google Translate to understand them, I was overwhelmed with emotion, and tears welled up in my eyes. What a profoundly beautiful song.
The bold and underlined sections are sung simultaneously by Suzuhana-sensei and Machiya-sensei.
Song Credits
Artist: Wagakki Band
Song: 八奏絵巻 (Yasō Emaki, Octet Picture Scroll)
Album: ALL TIME BEST ALBUM THANKS 〜八奏ノ音〜 (Octet Songs)
Listen: Spotify • YouTube
Buy: Play-Asia
日本語の歌詞
Source: LyricsTranslate.com
季節はずれの赤いツバキが
一人ぼっち小さく歌う
ねずみ色したビルの谷間に
こだましていくわらべ歌
たとえ壊れかけた夢さえも 冬に咲く桜のように
水面に映る天の川を漕いで空に唄えば
今日もこうして生かされることに
ありがとうございます
水に浮かぶ月あかり揺らす
そっと差し伸べた指の先こぼれる涙
堰を切って溢れる想い
いつか醒める夢の居場所で
笑いあって居られるように
重ね、紡いでゆく
祈って祈って未来で
笑って笑ってるように
幾つもの思い出を胸に寄せ歩む物語
こっそり集めた夢握り締めて
手の中にあるのは？
幻想が降る街 君だけを探して
泣いて泣いて泣き疲れ
越えて越えてまたゆくさ
ぽつりぽつり降り出すのは
あの日にまだ伝えられずに
心の奥に 潜めた全てを語ろう
泣いて泣いて泣き疲れ
越えて越えてまたゆくさ
ぽつりぽつり降り出すのは
あの日にまだ伝えられずに
心の奥に 潜めた全てを語ろう
どれほど遠い存在で
だけど壊れそうなほど脆いね
いや、でも、まだ信じていたい
せっかくならば後悔もしたい
瞬きの間に世界は回る ひとは忘れ行くけれど
いつかまた会える日まで胸に残しておこう
別れ路の先 忘れない様に
堰を切って溢れる想い
いつか醒める夢の居場所で
笑いあって居られるように
重ね、紡いでゆく
祈って祈って未来で
笑って笑ってるように
幾つもの思い出を胸に寄せ歩む物語
チャンスは１度 奇跡を起こせ ミライへ
切った張ったこの世界は思ってるより悪くない
重ね合う僕等の 夢で奮い立たせて
水に浮かぶ月あかり揺らす
そっと差し伸べた指の先こぼれる涙
English Transliteration
Created with NihongoDera’s Romaji Converter Tool.
kisetsuhazure no akai tsubaki ga hitoribotchi chiisaku utau nezumiiro shita biru no tanima ni kodama shiteiku warabe uta
tatoe kowarekaketa yume sae mo fuyu ni saku sakura no yōni
suimen ni utsuru amanogawa o koide sora ni utaeba kyō mo kōshite ikasareru koto ni arigatō gozaimasu
mizu ni ukabu tsukiakari yurasu sotto sashinobeta yubi no saki koboreru namida
seki o kitte afureru omoi itsuka sameru yume no ibasho de waraiatte orareru yōni kasane, tsumuideyuku inotte inotte mirai de waratte waratteru yōni ikutsu mo no omoide o mune ni yose ayumu monogatari
kossori atsumeta yume nigirishimete te no nakani aru no wa?
gensō ga furu machi kimi dake o sagashite
naite naite nakizukare koete koete mata yukusa potsuripotsuri furidasu no wa ano hini mada tsutaerarezu ni kokoro no oku ni hisometa subete o katarou
dorehodo tōi sonzai de dakedo kowaresō na hodo moroi ne iya, demo, mada shinjiteitai sekkaku naraba kōkai mo shitai
mabataki no ma ni sekai wa mawaru hito wa wasureyuku keredo itsuka mata aeru hi made mune ni nokoshiteokou wakareji no saki wasurenai yōni
seki o kitte afureru omoi itsuka sameru yume no ibasho de waraiatte orareru yōni kasane, tsumuideyuku inotte inotte mirai de waratte waratteru yōni ikutsu mo no omoide o mune ni yose ayumu monogatari
chansu wa ichi do kiseki o okose mi rai e kitta hatta kono sekai wa omotteru yori warukunai kasaneau bokutō no yume de furuitatasete
mizu ni ukabu tsukiakari yurasu sotto sashinobeta yubi no saki koboreru namida
English Translation
Created with Google Translate. Yes, I am aware that this tool is imprecise and often flagrantly incorrect. I don’t care.
An out-of-season red camellia sings a small song by itself; a nursery rhyme echoes through the gaps between grey-colored buildings.
Even a broken dream is like a cherry blossom blooming in winter.
If I row along the Milky Way reflected on the water's surface and sing to the sky, I'm grateful to be alive again today.
The moonlight floating on the water flickers as tears spill from the tips of my gently outstretched fingers.
Feelings bursting from the dam, so that we can laugh together in the dream we wake up to someday, we layer and weave together, praying and praying for the future, so that we can laugh and laugh, a story that walks along countless memories in our hearts.
Clutching the dreams you secretly collected, what is in your hands?
In this town of illusions, I'm searching for only you.
Cry, cry, cry until you're exhausted. Overcome, overcome, and go on again. It starts to rain lightly. I'll tell you everything that I couldn't tell you that day, that I've hidden deep in my heart.
No matter how far away you are, you're so fragile that you could break. No, but I still want to believe. I want to regret it too.
The world turns in the blink of an eye, and people forget, but I'll keep it in my heart until we meet again someday, so that I won't forget what lies beyond our parting ways.
Feelings bursting from the dam, so that we can laugh together in the dream we wake up to someday, we layer and weave together, praying and praying for the future, so that we can laugh and laugh, a story that walks along countless memories in our hearts.
You only get one chance, create a miracle for the future. This tough world isn't as bad as you think. Let's be inspired by our overlapping dreams.
The moonlight floating on the water flickers as tears spill from the tips of my gently outstretched fingers.
Emotional Moment
Maaaaan, this song really hit me hard. I recently booked a batok ceremony with Lane Wilcken. It's a traditional Filipino tattoo experience, and I'm doing it to reconnect with the Supreme Being (I call Him God), my deceased family members, and my ancestors. From what I know, Manong Lane is the only English-speaking mambabatok who tattoos in the traditional way: with a ceremony to invite the souls of all who've come before you to be present for the batok.
I've been in a bit of a spiritual funk lately, feeling listless and directionless. It felt like I was just existing, waiting for the inevitable. There was no real purpose or point to waking up, aside from the love I have for my wife, family, and our animals. I was simply going through the motions. Every day felt the same, like Groundhog Day on repeat. I know this sounds like I was d e p r e s s e d, but I wasn't. I was just... kind of... present, but not really living?
But while I was plodding along one day, doing who-knows-what, I spoke using that still, soft voice within my heart. In case you didn’t know, that voice is bidirectional. I spoke to God, to my late mother (whom I miss every day), to my late uncle (whose namesake I bear), to my late grandparents, and to all those who came before them. There wasn't a grand ceremony or anything. I simply began speaking from my soul.
I'm performatively paraphrasing here, but essentially, I asked them to, “Show me what I need to do. Speak to me. My wife and I won't be having children. Your bloodline, your gifts, the stories of your lives, they end with me. If I don't know what I'm supposed to do, all your lives, all that time, all those stories, they just... end. Wouldn't that be disappointing? Please. Tell me what you need me to do. I'll do it. Just please, tell me. Speak to me.”
In that moment, I heard Doug’s voice, my father-in-law, and a memory of a conversation we had replayed in my head. “You should write a book with all that stuff you know. You're just kind of letting it all sit in your head.”
So that's it: I'm writing a book. When it comes out, respectfully, please buy my stuff. Back to the song: why did it hit me so hard? The lyrics, man.
今日もこうして生かされることにありがとうございます
I am grateful to be alive today.
I wasn't thanking anything or anyone for being alive. I was just existing. That's bullshit. My mother, my first friend, is dead. We're separated until one day I have the opportunity to join her. Hopefully, by natural causes, like 88-year-old Wellness Will’s hemorrhagic stroke in the Scottish highlands, and not one of the Four Horsemen of Chronic Disease. Every day, I have the opportunity to do amazing things, using all the gifts Mama, Papa, and all our ancestors gave me. For that, I should give thanks. And Mama, when I get there, I'm bringing my appetite. Let's have a party again, just like our last birthday in Okinawa: just the few people we love, and who truly love us, and way too much food.
堰を切って溢れる想い / いつか醒める夢の居場所で / 笑いあって居られるように / 重ね、紡いでゆく / 祈って祈って未来で / 笑って笑ってるように / 幾つもの思い出を胸に寄せ歩む物語
Feelings bursting from the dam, so that we can laugh together in the dream we wake up to someday, we layer and weave together, praying and praying for the future, so that we can laugh and laugh, a story that walks along countless memories in our hearts.
Monica, my wife, and I believe that when we die, we return to the Source of All Things—Heaven, Nirvana, whatever you want to call it. The image in my heart is just like the afterlife portrayed in the BEYOND ending from Quantic Dream’s BEYOND: Two Souls (obvious spoiler warning). I really hope that's what Heaven is like.
My wife and I often hug each other tightly—like, really tightly—as if we were trying to merge our souls. 'LET ME GET INTO YOUR SKIN!' she playfully growls into my shoulder all the time. Out of context, it's pretty creepy. My wife can be a little creepy sometimes, like a tiny half-Filipina snack gremlin buried under a blanket. Umaru-chan comes to mind.
I love my wife.
These lyrics highlight just how much I love her and remind me that working hard to give her the life she deserves is absolutely worth the effort. We look forward to a life where we can make each other laugh endlessly with our silly inside jokes, revisiting fond memories we've made with friends over the years, living and reliving our lives together for eternity. We try to create that life every day, but sometimes it feels so distant. Feelings bursting from the dam, indeed.
チャンスは１度 奇跡を起こせ ミライへ / 切った張ったこの世界は思ってるより悪くない / 重ね合う僕等の 夢で奮い立たせて
You only get one chance, create a miracle for the future. This tough world isn't as bad as you think. Let's be inspired by our overlapping dreams.
Remember that book I'm writing? This is what I hope to accomplish: I pray that I somehow, using the time and gifts I've been given, create a miracle for someone. According to the lyrics and objective reality, I only have one life to live. Maybe reading my musings, as stupid as they might be, will reach someone who needs to hear them. Maybe they'll reach beyond my lifespan, to someone in the future, assuming the flames engulfing this world leave our children a world worth living in.
(lmao main character syndrome af)
The news and social media really make staying sane difficult. Regardless of where you stand on the Political Tesseract, you can still appreciate the little things. My Hermann’s Tortoise, Buckler “Buckley” Batu Batugan (Pampangan: lazy rock), has the cutest little squishy feet. I love poking them. They make me happy. If I focus on Buckley’s squishy little feet, whatever messed-up nonsense Elon McDicksneeze is doing doesn’t bother me nearly as much.
I have this itch I need to scratch: The Tesla Cybertruck is absolutely horrendous. Take your Nintendo 64-lookin’-ass, 1999-vintage-toaster-oven-ass, finger-slicin’-ass BULLSHIT “vehicle” and fuck out here with that trash. I'm glad his dick is messed up. Seriously, fuck him. If you, the reader, drive one of these things, I hope it explodes. Preferably not with you or anyone you care about inside or near it. Aside from wasting your lifespan that you traded for money to buy one, you did nothing to me personally. I just hate your cybErTRuCK. What was I talking about? Oh yeah, this song that made me cry.
Truthfully, I don't claim to have any truly original ideas. Everything I “know” is a product of talking with or reading the words of people I consider better, smarter, and more accomplished than me. I've done a lot, and I've learned a few things, but there are so many people who are better at those things than I am. My friends, my colleagues, my training partners, and even those random (sometimes informational) memes—they inspire me. Thank you to everyone who's helped shape me into who I am, even if you did fuck me over me in the past. For what it's worth, I'm doing pretty well despite everything that's happened.
