中島みゆき　寒水魚

Nakajima Miyuki - Kansuigyo

(Nakajima Miyuki - Cold water fish)

A translation of the lyrics of Nakajima Miyuki

http://www.oocities.org/gregsharp.geo

Version 1.3: June 2, 2006

English translations by Greg Sharp <gregsharp@oocities.com>

Editing by KATAGIRI Junya <junya.katagiri@gmail.com>

Some translations are a bit rough, so please give me your suggestions!

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悪女

Akujo

(Wicked woman)

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マリコの部屋へ　電話をかけて

男と遊んでる芝居　続けてきたけれど

あのこもわりと　忙しいようで

そうそうつきあわせても　いられない

I called Mariko’s place

To tell her the about the guy I’m playing around with (1)

But she’s pretty busy these days

I guess I don’t need to hang out with her

土曜でなけりゃ　映画も早い

ホテルのロビーも　いつまで居られるわけもない

帰れるあての　あなたの部屋も

受話器をはずしたままね　話し中

It’s not Saturday, so the movies let out early (2)

And I can’t hang out in this hotel lobby forever

I’d hoped to go back to your place

But your phone’s off the hook too

[Chorus]

悪女になるなら　月夜はおよしよ

素直になりすぎる

隠しておいた言葉が　ほろり

こぼれてしまう　「行かないで」

悪女になるなら

裸足で　夜明けの電車で泣いてから

涙ぽろぽろ　ぽろぽろ

流れて　涸れてから

If I must be a wicked woman

Don’t let it be on a moonlit night

I’ll be too meek

The words that I hide will bring tears to my eyes

And come spilling out: “Please don’t go”

If I must be a wicked woman

Let me first cry, barefoot on the train at dawn

Let the tears fall in large, large drops

And flow until they are dry

女のつけぬ　コロンを買って

深夜のサ店の鏡で　うなじにつけたなら

夜明けを待って　一番電車

凍えて帰れば　わざと捨てゼリフ

I’ll buy some men’s cologne

Dab it on my neck at a coffee shop mirror

Wait until dawn and take the first train

Come back frozen and force an angry good-bye

涙も捨てて　情も捨てて

あなたが早く私に　愛想を尽かすまで

あなたの隠す　あの娘のもとへ

あなたを早く　渡してしまうまで

I must throw away my tears and my tenderness

Fast, so you give up on my love

Fast, so I can hand you over

Into the arms of the girl you’ve been hiding

[Repeat Chorus]

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傾斜

Keisha

(The incline)

======

傾斜１０度の坂道を
腰の曲がった老婆が　少しずつのぼってゆく
紫色の風呂敷包みは
また少しまた少し　重くなったようだ
彼女の自慢だった足は
うすい草履の上で　横すべり横すべり
のぼれども　のぼれども
どこへも着きはしない　そんな気がしてくるようだ

The road has a 10-degree incline

An old woman, bent at the hips, walks up little by little

Her purple-hued bundle

Getting heavier, little by little

Her certain feet

In simple sandals, slipping sideways

These poor people going up

Never make it anywhere, so it seems

[Chorus A]
冬から春へと坂を降り

夏から夜へと坂を降り
愛から冬へと人づたい
のぼりの傾斜は　けわしくなるばかり

We go downhill from winter into spring

We go downhill from summer into night

But people say that to go from love into winter

The upward incline is impassable

[Chorus B]
としをとるのはステキなことです　そうじゃないですか
忘れっぽいのはステキなことです　そうじゃないですか
悲しい記憶の数ばかり
飽和の量より増えたなら
忘れるよりほかないじゃありませんか

Growing old is a wonderful thing, don’t you think?

Forgetfulness is a wonderful thing, don’t you think?

When the number of sad memories

Escalates beyond saturation

Is there no choice but to forget?

息が苦しいのは　きっと彼女が
出がけにしめた帯がきつすぎたのだろう
息子が彼女に邪険にするのは
きっと彼女が女房に似ているからだろう
あの子にどれだけやさしくしたかと
思い出すほど　あの子は他人でもない
みせつけがましいと言われて
抜きすぎた白髪の残りはあと少し
Her breathing is heavy, it’s surely because

She tied her belt too tight when she went out

Her son is cruel to her, it’s surely because

She’s just like his wife

However kind she was to him

He’s not a stranger, no matter what she thinks

He says that she’s showing off

There are a few overplucked gray hairs left

誰かの娘が坂を降り

誰かの女が坂を降り
愛から夜へと人づたい
のぼりの傾斜は　けわしくなるばかり
Someone’s daughter goes downhill

Someone’s woman goes downhill

But people say that to go from love into winter

The upward incline is impassable

[Repeat Chorus B]

[Repeat Chorus A]

[Repeat Chorus B]

======

鳥になって

Tori ni natte

(Become a bird)

======

愛した人の数だけ　愛される人はいない
落ち葉の積もる窓辺はいつも
同じ場所と限るもの
あなたがとうに昔を忘れたと思っていた
窓にうつった私の影は
とても　だれかに似ていた
However many I have loved, there is no one who loved me

The fallen leaves always collect by the window

Always in the same place

I thought you forgot the long lost past

My shadow was reflected in the window

It closely resembled someone else

眠り薬をください　私にも
子供の国へ帰れるくらい
あなたのことも　私のことも
思い出せなくなりたい
Give me sleeping pills

So I can return to a land of childhood

Thoughts of you and thoughts of me

I want to forget

流れる心まかせて　波にオールを離せば
悲しいだけの答が見える
すれ違う舟が見える
誰も　眠りの中まで　嘘を持ってはゆけない
眠る額に　頬寄せたとき
あなたは彼女を呼んだ
If you trust a flowing heart, and release your oars to the waves

I see only sad conclusions

I see the ships passing by

No one can bring a lie with him into his dreams

So when I brought my cheek close to your sleeping forehead

You called her name

[Chorus]
眠り薬をください　私にも
子供の国へ帰れるくらい
私は早くここを去りたい
できるなら　鳥になって
Give me sleeping pills

So I can return to a land of childhood

I want to leave here quickly

Become a bird, if I can

[Repeat Chorus x1.5]

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捨てるほどの愛でいいから

Suteru hodo no ai de ii kara

(I’ll take the scraps of your love)

======

[Chorus]

夢でもいいから　嘘でもいいから
どうぞふりむいて　どうぞ気がついて
あの人におくる愛に比べたら
ほんの捨てるほどの愛でいいから
I’ll take a dream, I’ll take a lie

Please look back, please notice me

Compared to the love you give to her

I’ll take the scraps of your love

はじめから　どうせこんなことじゃないかと
思っていたわ
別に涙流すほどのことじゃない
そうよ　たぶん
愛を交わす人の一人もいない人には
見えなかった　わたしの予感があたりね
でも　気のつくのが遅いわ
それがわたしの悪いところよ　くり返し
一人の浜辺に打ちあげられるだけ
わすれられて
わすれられて　さまよい揺れるだけ
From the start, it would probably end up like this

So I thought

It’s not something to shed tears over

Yes, probably

You didn’t look like someone who couldn’t exchange love with another

My predictions were correct

But I realized too late

That was my mistake, once again

Washed up on a beach for one

Forgotten

Forgotten and stumbling and swaying

[Repeat Chorus]

誰にでもやさしくし過ぎるのは
あなたの軽い癖でも
わたしみたいな者には心にしみる
はじめから　いっそ冷たくされれば
こんな夢も見ないわ
いいえ　それでも愛をまちわびるかしら
でも　あなたの胸の中は
あの人のために　よせる愛で満たされて
わたしの姿は　波間に消えるだけ
わすれられて
わすれられて　さまよい揺れるだけ
You are too nice to everyone

That is your habit

But for someone like me, it pierces my heart

It would have been better if you were cold to me from the start

Then I wouldn’t have seen these dreams

No, even then I was tired of waiting for love

But your heart

Is filled with love you collected for her

And my form simply disappears behind the waves

Forgotten

Forgotten and stumbling and swaying

[Repeat Chorus x2.5]

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Ｂ．Ｇ．Ｍ．

B. G. M.

(Background music)

======

あなたが留守と　わかっていたから
嘘でつきとめた電話をかける
だれかが出たら　それであきらめる
まちがい電話のふりをして　切るわ
I know you’re not home

So I call to make sure

If someone answers, I’ll give up

And hang up, as if it were a wrong number

カナリアみたいな声が受話器をひろう
あの人の名前　呼び捨てに
この賭けも　負けね
A voice like a canary picks up the phone

Says her name

I lost this bet too

淋しい歌を　歌ってたあなた
だから　ひとりだと思ってた私
電話の中で聞こえていたのは
あの日に覚えた　なつかしいメロディー
You sang a sad song

So I thought you were alone

But I heard through the telephone

A familiar melody I learned long ago

[Chorus]
Ｂ．Ｇ．Ｍ．は　二人だけのとっておきのメロディー
知らずにいたのは私だけ
いじわるね　みんな
Background music is a melody reserved for two

I was the only one who didn’t know

You’re all laughing at me

[Repeat Chorus]

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家出

Iede

(Leaving home)

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家を出てきてくれないかと
あなたはいうけれど
私　できればあなたのことを
誰かに褒めて欲しかった
何も持たず出て行こうと
あなたは駅で待つ
あなたの他はいらないけれど
すこし　さみしかった
You ask me to leave home

But I wanted, if I could, to tell someone how good you are

You say don’t bring anything and you’ll wait at the station

I don’t need anything but you, but it’s a little sad

夜は浅く
逃げる者には
足跡だらけの　月あかり
比べることが悲しいものも
この世にあるよと　月あかり
The night is young for those who running away

The moonlight is trampled with footprints

It’s sad to ponder certain things in this world, like the moonlight

親を捨てて君をとると
あなたは誓うのね
できれば私　あなたを産んだ人と
ケンカしたかった
風は走る　風は走る
いま来た道を抱き寄せる
あなたがいれば　すべてだけれど
それでも　私ふりかえる
Leave your parents and take me with

That’s what you swear to do

But I’d have liked to have

Fought with the ones who gave you birth

The wind is running, the wind is running

We embrace the road before us

It means everything that you are near

But even so, I look back

ねえ　もう一度
言葉にしてよ
汽笛に消えぬように
ねえ　もう一度耳を貸してよ
あなたを　愛してる
Please, one more time say those words

So they won’t disappear in the train whistle

Please one more time, “Come here, I love you”

夜は浅く
逃げる者には
足跡だらけの　月あかり
ねえ　もう一度耳を貸してよ
あなたを　愛してる

The night is young for those who running away

The moonlight is trampled with footprints

Please one more time, “Come here, I love you”

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時刻表

Jikokuhyou

(The train schedule)

======

街頭インタヴューに答えて　私やさしい人が好きよと
やさしくなれない女たちは答える
話しかけた若い司会者は　またかとどこかで思いながら
ぞんざいに次の歩行者をつかまえる
街角にたたずむ　ポルノショーの看板持ちは爪をみる
“I like people who are nice” is the answer to the man-on-the-street interview

From the girls who can never be nice

The young interviewer thinks “oh no, not again”

And rudely catches the next passerby

A man loiters at the corner, holds a sign for a porno show, and looks at his nails

きのう午後９時３０分に　そこの交差点を渡ってた
男のアリバイを証明できるかい
あんなに目立ってた酔っぱらい　誰も顔は思い浮かばない
ただ　そいつが迷惑だったことだけしか
たずね人の写真のポスターが　雨に打たれてゆれている
Can I confirm the alibi

Of a man who crossed this intersection, yesterday at 9:30 pm?

No one recalls his face, though he was very drunk

And they say he was a real pain in the ass

Rain pounds on a poster of a missing person

海を見たといっても　テレビの中でだけ
今夜じゅうに行ってこれる海はどこだろう
人の流れの中でそっと　時刻表を見上げる
Though I saw the ocean, it was only on TV (3)

Where is an ocean I could have seen tonight?

With people flowing around me, I look up softly at the train schedule

満員電車で汗をかいて　肩をぶつけてるサラリーマン
ため息をつくなら　ほかでついてくれ
君の落としたため息なのか　僕がついたため息だったか
誰も電車の中　わからなくなるから
ほんの短い停電のように　淋しさが伝染する
I sweat in the crowded train, bumping the commuters’ shoulders

When I breathe a sigh, please sigh with me

Was it your sigh? Was it mine?

No one in the train will know

Like when the lights go out briefly, the loneliness is contagious

だれが悪いのかを言いあてて　どうすればいいかを書きたてて
評論家やカウンセラーは米を買う
迷える子羊は彼らほど　賢い者はいないと思う
あとをついてさえ行けば　なんとかなると思う
見えることとそれができることは　別ものだよと米を買う
You can guess who is wrong, and write up what to do

It will keep critics and counselors well fed

None are as wise as little lost lambs

They can simply follow and it will be ok

“What you see is not what you get,” and they’re well fed

田舎からの手紙は　文字がまた細くなった
今夜じゅうに行ってこれる海はどこだろう
人の流れの中でそっと　時刻表を見上げる
人の流れの中でそっと　時刻表を見上げる

In your letters from the countryside, the writing has become faint (4)

Where is an ocean I could have seen tonight?

With people flowing around me, I look up softly at the train schedule

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砂の船

Suna no fune

(Ship of sand)

======

誰か　僕を呼ぶ声がする
深い夜の　海の底から
目を開ければ窓の外には
のぞくように　傾いた月
Someone is calling me

Late at night, from the bottom of the ocean

I open my eyes and look out the window

The moon sinks like it’s looking in

僕はどこへゆくの　夢を泳ぎ出て
夢を見ない国をたずねて
いま　誰もいない夜の海を
砂の船がゆく
Where will I go? To swim away from this dream

To visit a country without dreams

Now, on the empty night sea

Sails a ship of sand

望むものは何ひとつない
さがす人も　誰ひとりない
望むほどに　消える夢です
さがすほどに　逃げる愛です
There is nothing I desire

No one whom I seek

In dreams, what you desire disappears

In love, what you seek runs away

[Chorus]
月は波に揺れて　幾百　幾千
古い熱い夢の数だけ
いま　誰もいない夜の海を
砂の船がゆく
The moon sways with the waves, how many hundreds and thousands of times?

As often as these old feverish dreams

Now, on the empty night sea

Sails a ship of sand

[Repeat Chorus]

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歌姫

Utahime

(Siren)

======

淋しいなんて　口に出したら
誰もみんなうとましくて　逃げ出してゆく
淋しくなんかないと笑えば
淋しい荷物　肩の上でなお重くなる
せめておまえの歌を　安酒で飲みほせば
遠ざかる船のデッキに立つ自分が見える

If you say you are lonely

People become unpleasant and avoid you

If you laugh and say you’re not lonely

The baggage of sadness becomes heavy on your shoulders

But at least when you sing, and I drink my fill of cheap sake

I see myself standing on the deck of a faraway ship (5)

[Chorus]
歌姫　スカートの裾を
歌姫　潮風になげて
夢も哀しみも欲望も　歌い流してくれ
Siren, take your skirt hem

Siren, throw it into the salty breeze

Sing away my desires, my sadness, and my dreams

南へ帰る船に遅れた
やせた水夫　ハーモニカを吹き鳴らしてる
砂にまみれた錆びた玩具に
やせた蝶々　蜜をさがし舞いおりている
握りこぶしの中にあるように見せた夢を
遠ざかる誰のために　ふりかざせばいい
Delayed, on a ship returning south

A thin sailor plays the harmonica

On the sand-smeared and rusty toy

A thin butterfly lands, and dances looking for nectar

I have seen this dream, like it is closed within my fist

For whom, far away, should I hold my arms high?

[Repeat Chorus]

男はいつも　嘘がうまいね
女よりも子供よりも　嘘がうまいね
女はいつも　嘘が好きだね
昨日よりも明日よりも　嘘が好きだね
せめておまえの歌を　安酒で飲みほせば
遠ざかる船のデッキにたたずむ気がする
Men are always good at telling lies

They are better than women, and better than children

Women always like to hear lies

They like it better than yesterday, and better than tomorrow

But at least when you sing, if I drink up this cheap sake

I see myself standing on the deck of a faraway ship

[Repeat Chorus]

握りこぶしの中にあるように見せた夢を
もう二年　もう十年　忘れすてるまで
I will see this dream, like it is closed within my fist

For two years, for ten years, until I can forget

[Repeat Chorus]

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Notes

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(1) Some question about this line. One interpretation is that the reason

that Mariko is on the phone with her boyfriend. That is, Mariko is the

girl for whom she will give him up.

(2) In the 1980’s, it was common to work all day on Saturday in Japan.
Movie theatres were open late (often all night long) on Saturdays because
Sunday was a holiday.

(3) Is he or she going to the ocean?

(4) Is he or she writing the letter?

(5) She sees herself standing on the same ship as the

man in the dream (who lied to her two or ten years ago).