Translation of Japanese Lyrics from "Love Letter to Japan" by the Bird and the Bee
Translation and Pronunciation Key for the Japanese Verse
About two thirds of the way through the song (in the video for "Love Letter to Japan", this corresponds to the dream sequence of the boy dancing in front of the Buddha statue), the following verse is heard:
Nishi kara higashi heto
Anata no tokoro nitondekitano
Touimishinori o anata no soba ni itakute
Kono omoi o subete
Anata ni sasagemasu
To sing along, here is the pronunciation for the Japanese:
NEE-shee KAH-rah HEE-gah-shee heh-TOH
AH-nah-tah noh TOH-koh-roh nee-TON-deh-kee-TAN-oh
TOH-oh-ee-MEE-shee-noh-ree OH
AH-nah-tah noh SOH-bah nee EE-tah-koo-TEH
KOH-noh OH-moh-ee OH soo-beh-TEH
Ah-nah-TAH nee sah-sah-GEH-mah-soo
(NOTE: This is not exactly how the words would be pronounced in an actual Japanese conversation, as the syllables in this verse are stressed in order to fit the beat of the song. The pronunciation for the individual syllables is correct, but I have followed the accents of the words the way they are heard in the song)
Now for the translation. The literal meaning of the words is as follows:
From the West to the East
I have flown to your place
I have come a long way to be near you
I will give you all my feeling
For anyone who is a fan of the song, this is obviously the translation of the first (and oft-repeated) verse:
From the West to the East
I have flown to be near you
I have come all this way to be close, to be here with you
And now, all my heart I will lay down precisely at your feet
So, mystery solved, kids. Enjoy singing along!
Published by Ali Canary
Trying to inform, but not trying to be too formal. View profile
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18 Comments
Post a CommentVery interesting, Ali. Love the variety in your work. My Dad loved Japanese culture, after visiting Japan while he was in the Navy. He enjoyed the geisha girls, but it was all very innocent, I'm sure...
You are very clever in writing this..:) I always enjoy your articles!
What a great idea!
Lol, Tom's comment. Hey I don't think I got a notice for this one! Very novel!
Oh, OK, sort of like "sing along with Mitch-ubishi," right?
What beautiful lyrics. Truly a love song if I've ever heard one, and it can apply to any long distance relationship.
Cool! Thanks, Ali and unidentified Japanese source. ;)
You really worked on this, Ali! Lucky you happened to have a real live Japanese person handy... I never heard anything about any part of this stuff you're talking abt (except Japanese people), but it's quite fascinating. Thank you for the link. Watched it twice, and it was fun to know more from your translation. Cool! Or as my Japanese daughter-in-law once exclaimed, "Coorah!" ; )
Great work!
Very lovely, thanks, who was the translator?