アンマー – Bilingual Lyrics Japanese/English

• By: かりゆし58

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the beautiful Okinawan dialect (Uchinaaguchi) with this moving ballad. By listening to 'Anmaa', you can learn how local terms express profound emotions, making it a perfect song to discover the unique linguistic warmth of Okinawa.

[English]

I heard that I was born on a sunny early summer afternoon

I heard that my mother's joy was overwhelming

With the prayer that "I would walk a straight path of faith"

I heard that after much agonizing, she gave me this name

Our family, even back then, wasn't exactly wealthy

And I did nothing but envy my friends' toys and bicycles

Beside my mother, who kept saying "I'm sorry" with a troubled look

I remember crying and crying for the longest time

Oh, Mother, you forgave my every mistake

You believed in everything and embraced it all

Without ever holding anything back

Even though you kept pouring everything you had into me

Oh, Mother, and yet I never realized

I just lived my life exactly as I pleased

Misunderstanding the meaning of "strength," I kept fighting and acting out

Running around selfishly and recklessly, I was truly a hopeless child

Even when I crept home in the middle of the night

A bowl was already waiting for me on the small dining table

Turning a blind eye to my own weaknesses, making endless excuses

Doing nothing, just drifting through each day aimlessly

As I, having drunk far too much, finally fell asleep at dawn

Mother would head out into the dim morning streets

Oh, Mother, there are things I should never say to you

Words that I should never let cross my lips

Yet I threw them at you without mercy, trampling on your heart

Oh, Mother, even so, you loved me just the same

With a warmth like sunlight filtering through trees, and a kindness like the deep sea

You embraced everything—all of me

The sunset over Mt. Yaese that I saw while riding on your back

Is dyeing the town madder red again today, just as always

My excessive stubbornness, my selfishness, and my cowardly lies—all of it

There was a love there that embraced every single bit

Being born to you has made me so incredibly happy

I've only just realized it now, because I've been such a fool

A new life was born on a calm early spring morning

A precious little girl who smiles just as brightly as you do

Praying that she would become "someone with dignity hidden within her kindness"

I gave her your favorite flower's name

[Japanese]

初夏の晴れた昼下がり　私は生まれたと聞きました

母親の喜び様は大変だったと聞きました

「ただまっすぐ信じる道を歩んでほしい」と願い込めて

悩み抜いたすえに　この名を私に付けたと聞きました

我が家はあの頃からやはり　裕福な方ではなく

友達のオモチャや自転車を羨ましがってばかり

少し困った様な顔で「ごめんね」と繰り返す母のとなりで

いつまでもいつまでも泣いたのを覚えてます

アンマーよ　アナタは私の全てを許し

全てを信じ全てを包み込んで

惜しみもせずに

何もかもを私の上に注ぎ続けてきたのに

アンマーよ　私はそれでも気付かずに

思いのままに過ごしてきたのでした

「強さ」の意味をはき違えて　ケンカや悪さばかりをくり返し

勝手気ままに遊びまわる　本当にロクでもない私が

真夜中の静けさの中　忍び足で家に帰ったときも

狭い食卓の上には　茶碗が並べられていました

自分の弱さに目を背け　言い訳やゴタクを並べ

何もせずにただ毎日をだらだらと過ごし続け

浴びる程に飲んだ私が　明け方眠りに落ちる頃

まだ薄暗い朝の街へ　母は出て行くのでした

アンマーよ　私はアナタに言ってはいけない

決して口にしてはいけない言葉を

加減もせずに投げつけてはアナタの心を踏みにじったのに

アンマーよ　アナタはそれでも変わることなく　私を愛してくれました

木漏れ日のようなぬくもりで　深い海の様な優しさで

全部　私の全てを包み込んだ

アナタの背中に負われながら　眺めた八重瀬岳の夕陽は

今日も　変わらず　茜色に街を染める

度が過ぎるほどの　頑固さも　わがままも卑怯な嘘もすべて

すべてを包み込むような愛がそこにはありました

アナタのもとに生まれ落ちたことは　こんなにも幸せだった

今頃ようやく気付きました　こんな馬鹿な私だから

春先の穏やかな朝に新しい命が生まれました

アナタの様に良く笑う宝石みたいな女の子

「優しさの中に凛々しさを秘めた人」になるようにと願い

アナタの一番好きな　花の名前を付けました

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
初夏 shoka N2	noun - early summer
喜び yorokobi N4	noun - joy, delight
裕福 yuufuku N2	adjective - wealthy, affluent
羨ましい urayamashii N3	adjective - envious
許す yurusu N3	verb - to forgive, allow
包み込む tsutsumikomu N2	verb - to wrap up, envelop
気付く kidzuku N4	verb - to notice
静けさ shizukesa N3	noun - silence, stillness
忍び足 shinobiashi N2	noun - stealthy footsteps
食卓 shokutaku N3	noun - dining table
言い訳 iiwake N3	noun - excuse
薄暗い usugurai N3	adjective - dim, gloomy
踏みにじる fuminijiru N2	verb - to trample on
ぬくもり nukumori N3	noun - warmth
茜色 akaneiro N1	noun - madder red, sunset color
頑固 ganko N2	adjective - stubborn
卑怯 hikyou N2	adjective - cowardly, unfair
穏やか odayaka N2	adjective - calm, gentle
宝石 houseki N3	noun - gem, jewel
凛々しい ririshii N1	adjective - dashing, brave

Key Grammar Structures

• 私は生まれたと聞きました

  ➔ Quotation marker (～と聞く)

  ➔ Used to relay information heard from others. Here, "～と" connects the clause to the verb "heard".

• ただまっすぐ信じる道を歩んでほしい

  ➔ Desire for another's action (～てほしい)

  ➔ Indicates the speaker's wish for someone else (the subject of the sentence) to perform an action.

• 羨ましがってばかり

  ➔ Keep doing / Only doing (～てばかり)

  ➔ Indicates that an action is repeated excessively or exclusively.

• 思いのままに過ごしてきた

  ➔ As one wishes (～のままに)

  ➔ Describes acting according to one's own desires or impulses.

• 言ってはいけない言葉

  ➔ Prohibition / Should not (～てはいけない)

  ➔ Used to express that an action is prohibited or morally wrong.

• アナタの背中に負われながら

  ➔ Passive construction (～られる)

  ➔ Indicates being the recipient of an action (being carried on the back).

• 今頃ようやく気付きました

  ➔ At last / Finally (ようやく)

  ➔ Adverb used when something is achieved or realized after a long time or much effort.

• 凛々しさを秘めた人になるように

  ➔ Purpose / So that (～ように)

  ➔ Expresses a wish, hope, or purpose for a future outcome.