BOW AND ARROW – Bilingual Lyrics Japanese/English

• By: 米津玄師
• Album: Plazma

Lyrics & Translation

[Japanese]

[English]

気づけば靴は汚れ　錆びついた諸刃を伝う雨

Realized my shoes are dirty, rain tracing the rusted double-edged blade

憧れはそのままで　夢から目醒めた先には夢

As dreams remain the same, beyond waking up, there are more dreams

聞こえたその泣き声　消えいる手前の咽ぶソワレ

Heard that crying voice, the strained sob before it vanishes

憧れのその先へ　蹲る君を見つける為

Beyond that longing, to find you crouched down

行け　行け　追いつけない速度で

Go, go, at a speed I can't catch up to

飛べ　インパルス加速して

Fly, with impulse accelerating

行け　きっとこの時を感じる為に生まれてきたんだ

Go, surely I was born to feel this moment

未来を掴んで　期待値を超えて　額に吹き刺す風

Grab the future, surpass expectations, the wind blows against my forehead

今に見なよ　きっと君の眩しさに誰もが気づくだろう

Just watch, surely everyone will notice how dazzling you are

相応しい声で　視線追い越して　虚空を超えて行け

With a fitting voice, surpassing the gaze, go beyond the emptiness

見違えていく君の指から今

From your changing fingers, now

手を放す

Let go of your hand

気づけば謎は解かれ　木目ごと見慣れた板の上

Realized the mystery is solved, on the familiar wooden board with grain

あの頃焦がれたような大人になれたかな

Have I become the adult I longed for back then?

そう君の苦悩は君が自分で選んだ痛みだ

Your suffering is the pain you chose yourself

そして掴んだあの煌めきも全て君のものだ

And that shimmering light you grasped, it’s all yours

僕は弓になって　君の白んだ掌をとって強く引いた

I became a bow, took your pale palm, and pulled firmly

今君は決して風に流れない矢になって　

Now, you become an arrow that never drifts with the wind

行け　決して振り向かないで　もう届かない場所へ

Go, never look back, to a place you can’t reach anymore

行け　行け　君はいつだって輝いていた！

Go, go, you've always been shining!

未来を掴んで　期待値を超えて　額に吹き刺す風

Grab the future, surpass expectations, the wind blows against my forehead

今に見なよ　きっと君の眩しさに誰もが気づくだろう

Just watch, surely everyone will notice how dazzling you are

相応しい声で　視線追い越して　虚空を超えて行け

With a fitting voice, surpassing the gaze, go beyond the emptiness

見違えていく君の指から今

From your changing fingers, now

手を放す

Let go of your hand

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
汚れ(yogore) /joˈɡoɾe/ B1	noun - dirt, pollution, stain
錆び(sabi) /ˈsabi/ B2	noun - rust
雨(ame) /ˈame/ A1	noun - rain
夢(yume) /ˈjɯme/ A2	noun - dream
泣き声(nakigoe) /na̠kʲiɡo̞e̞/ B1	noun - cry, weeping voice
速度(sokudo) /so̞kɯ̟do̞/ B1	noun - speed, velocity
時(toki) /to̞kʲi/ A1	noun - time, hour
未来(mirai) /miɾa̠i/ A2	noun - future
風(kaze) /ka̠ze̞/ A1	noun - wind
眩しさ(mabushisa) /ma̠bɯɕiꜜsa/ B2	noun - brightness, dazzling
声(koe) /ko̞e̞/ A1	noun - voice
指(yubi) /jɯꜜbi/ A2	noun - finger
謎(nazo) /na̠zo̞/ B1	noun - riddle, puzzle, mystery
大人(otona) /o̞to̞na̠/ A2	noun - adult
苦悩(kunou) /kɯno̞ː/ B2	noun - suffering, distress, anguish
痛み(itami) /itami/ A2	noun - pain, ache
弓(yumi) /jɯmi/ B1	noun - bow (archery)
矢(ya) /ja/ B1	noun - arrow
輝い(kagayai) /ka̠ɡa̠ja̠i/ B1	verb - to shine, to glitter

Key Grammar Structures

• 気づけば靴は汚れ　錆びついた諸刃を伝う雨

  ➔ Conditional form implied

  ➔ The grammar "気づけば" (kizukeba) implies a conditional "when I noticed", but acts as more of an expression of realization. It could be translated as "Upon noticing".

• 聞こえたその泣き声　消えいる手前の咽ぶソワレ

  ➔ Te-mae (手前) meaning "just before" or "on the verge of"

  ➔ "消えいる手前の咽ぶソワレ" (kieiru temae no musebu soware) means "a sobbing soiree just before disappearing". The "手前" indicates a point close to an action or state.

• 行け　きっとこの時を感じる為に生まれてきたんだ

  ➔ Past Tense + "nda" (んだ): explanation or conviction

  ➔ "生まれてきたんだ" (umarete kita nda) - The "nda" adds a sense of explanation/conviction. It's not just "I was born", but more like "I was born (for this reason!)".

• 今に見なよ　きっと君の眩しさに誰もが気づくだろう

  ➔ 見る (miru) + な (na) + よ (yo) imperative + emphasis

  ➔ "今に見なよ" (ima ni mina yo). "見る" in this form means "see", but adding "なよ" turns it into an imperative form (a softer command) with extra emphasis.

• そう君の苦悩は君が自分で選んだ痛みだ

  ➔ Noun + だ (da): declarative

  ➔ "痛みだ" (itami da) indicates a declaration or definition. The speaker is stating definitively that the suffering *is* a chosen pain.

• そして掴んだあの煌めきも全て君のものだ

  ➔ Noun + のもの (no mono) + だ (da): possessive

  ➔ "君のものだ" (kimi no mono da) signifies possession. It states that the glimmer is *yours*.

• 僕は弓になって　君の白んだ掌をとって強く引いた

  ➔ になって (ni natte): becoming (a state or condition)

  ➔ "弓になって" (yumi ni natte) means "becoming a bow". This indicates a transformation or change in state.

• 今君は決して風に流れない矢になって

  ➔ ～になる (ni naru): to become

  ➔ 矢になって (ya ni natte) means becoming an arrow, showing process

• 行け　決して振り向かないで　もう届かない場所へ

  ➔ 〜ないで (naide): without doing

  ➔ 振り向かないで (furimukanaide) means without looking back