Flow – Bilingual Lyrics Japanese/English

• By: Perfume

Lyrics & Translation

Learning Japanese with Perfume's "Flow" offers a beautiful way to connect with nuanced emotional expression. The song's gentle pace and clear vocals make it accessible for learners, while its core message about self-acceptance, using the word 'wagamama' (selfish) in a positive light, provides a fascinating cultural and linguistic insight. It's a special song that encourages introspection and celebrates the quiet strength in being yourself.

[English]

I just wanted to keep believing

Pretending I'm not afraid of anything

Since that day, my heart hasn't changed

I just want to stay the way I am and be selfish

The passing era

The changing era

The future of that day

Like a dream

Remaining asleep

Lost in wandering

That's right, we become drifting clouds

Flow

Waves that sway, days of fighting

That day we fell in love, like bubbles

Under the sun's glow, we are

Able to float in the sky someday

I just wanted to keep believing

Pretending I'm not afraid of anything

Since that day, nothing has really changed

We are always just the wind, after all

The next era comes

The changing era

The future of that day

Like rain, falling endlessly

Never stopping

Never clearing up

Remaining cloudy

That's right, we become drifting clouds

Flow, flow, flowing clouds

Flow, flow, flowing clouds

Since that day, my heart hasn't changed

I just want to stay the way I am and be selfish

The passing era

The changing era

The future of that day

Like a dream

Remaining asleep

Lost in wandering

That's right, we become drifting clouds

Next era (flow, flow, flowing clouds)

Change in the era (flow, flow, flowing clouds)

The future of that day (flow, flow, flowing clouds)

Like rain (flow, flow, flowing clouds)

Never stopping

Remaining cloudy (flow, flow, flowing clouds)

That's right, we become drifting clouds

...

[Japanese]

僕はただ信じていたくて

何もこわくないふりをしていた

あの日から心は変わらない

そのままでわがままでいたいだけさ

過ぎる時代が

変わる時代が

あの日の未来が

夢のように

覚めないままで

彷徨うままで

そうさ 僕らは流れ雲になる

Flow

揺れる波 戦う日々

恋をした あの日も泡に

太陽に照らされて僕らは

いつか空に浮かべるの

僕はただ信じていたくて

何もこわくないふりをしていた

あの日から結局変わらない

僕らはいつだって風のままさ

次の時代が

変わる時代が

あの日の未来が

雨のように

止まないままで

晴れないままで

そうさ 僕らは流れ雲になる

Flow, flow, flowing clouds

Flow, flow, flowing clouds

あの日から心は変わらない

そのままでわがままでいたいだけさ

過ぎる時代が

変わる時代が

あの日の未来が

夢のように

覚めないままで

彷徨うままで

そうさ 僕らは流れ雲になる

次の時代が (flow, flow, flowing clouds)

変わる時代が (flow, flow, flowing clouds)

あの日の未来が (flow, flow, flowing clouds)

雨のように (flow, flow, flowing clouds)

止まないままで

晴れないままで (flow flowing clouds)

そうさ 僕らは流れ雲になる

Flow

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
信じる /ɕiɲd͡ʑiɾɯ/ B1	verb - to believe
変わる /kawaɾɯ/ B1	verb - to change
未来 /miɾai/ B2	noun - future
夢 /jume/ A2	noun - dream
流れる /nagaɾɯ/ B1	verb - to flow
雲 /kumo/ A2	noun - cloud
波 /nami/ A2	noun - wave
戦う /tatakau/ B2	verb - to fight
太陽 /taiyou/ A2	noun - sun
空 /sora/ A1	noun - sky
止まる /tomaru/ B1	verb - to stop
晴れる /hareru/ B1	verb - to clear up (weather)
流れ /nagare/ B2	noun - flow
日々 /hibi/ A2	noun - days
わがまま /wagamama/ B2	adjective - selfish

Key Grammar Structures

• 僕はただ信じていたくて

  ➔ The te-form of a verb + いたい to express desire or want to do something in the ongoing or habitual sense.

  ➔ The singer uses "信じていたくて" to express a desire to keep believing continuously.

• あの日から信じていたくて

  ➔ Using 'から' to indicate the starting point in time; here, 'from that day'.

  ➔ The phrase emphasizes the starting point of the singer's belief, rooted in or beginning on that specific day.

• 心は変わらない

  ➔ Use of 'は' as a topic marker; the predicate is '変わらない' (does not change).

  ➔ Indicates that 'my heart' remains unchanged; 'は' marks the topic of the sentence.

• 流れ雲になる

  ➔ Noun + になる to express becoming or turning into something.

  ➔ This phrase illustrates the idea of transforming into a 'flowing cloud'—metaphorically, becoming free or drifting.

• 戦う日々

  ➔ Noun + だ to nominalize the phrase; '戦う' is a verb meaning 'to fight', and '日々' means 'days' or 'every day'.

  ➔ The phrase '戦う日々' metaphorically describes days filled with struggle or effort.

• 夢のように

  ➔ Noun + のように indicates 'like' or 'as if'; here, comparing something to a dream.

  ➔ '夢のように' is used to describe something that feels surreal or as if it exists within a dream.