カルチャー – Bilingual Lyrics Japanese/English

• By: キタニタツヤ

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into Tatsuya Kitani's "Culture" to experience a fast-paced and thought-provoking song that's perfect for advanced Japanese language learners. The lyrics offer a fantastic opportunity to engage with contemporary societal critique in Japan, exploring complex ideas like democracy, populism, and online discourse. What makes this song special is its direct and intellectual approach to these themes, wrapped in an incredibly catchy and energetic musical package, making it a unique and rewarding way to deepen your understanding of both the Japanese language and modern Japanese culture.

[English]

We'll advance at our own pace, slowly cultivating our reason.

You won't find "awareness" or "awakening" on YouTube.

We'll learn slowly, one step at a time, correcting ourselves every time we make a mistake.

It's really tedious and painful, but democracy grows day by day.

Right, isn't it, baby?

People just chatting in front of their screens.

It seems okay to expose the faces of those annoying "jerks."

I want to be frank here, but...

My own second-generation relative also has [a certain] phobia, you know? (Huh?)

It seems hard to stop this relay of pain within one's own circle.

"I just don't like it," "I just feel scared."

I want to uninstall such phobias.

I'll quietly and steadily think.

That's how I'll grow old.

We'll advance at our own pace, slowly cultivating our reason.

"Awareness" and "awakening" are too heavy a burden for Twitter.

We'll learn slowly, one step at a time, correcting ourselves every time we make a mistake.

It's really tedious and painful, but democracy grows day by day.

"The declining birthrate is the fault of young people."

"The deterioration of public safety is the fault of [certain people]."

"War is a farce, staged by the Deep State."

Unstoppable internet memes.

Gratefully listening to a story someone else wrote, and just swallowing it whole.

If "truth" took the form we wished for, that might be a bit dangerous, you know.

"They are bad," "They are cunning."

It's not a story that can be settled with such binary thinking.

That's why we keep thinking.

Auntie Hannah says so too (^-^)v.

We'll advance at our own pace, slowly cultivating our reason.

Even without "awareness" or "awakening," you're amazing.

We'll learn slowly, one step at a time, correcting ourselves every time we make a mistake.

It's really tedious and painful, but democracy grows day by day.

Right, isn't it, baby?

Populists and handguns,

Overly catchy frenzies don't last long, you know.

We have culture.

So that it reaches even our great-grandchildren.

So that we can face the reality we can't escape anyway with enjoyment.

We have culture.

[Japanese]

ぼくらはﾏﾀｰﾘ進んでいく、少しずつ理性を耕していく

「気づき」も「目覚め」も、ユーチューブじゃもらえないよ

一歩ずつﾕｸｰﾘ学んでいく、間違えるたんび直していく

マジでかったるくて苦しい、でも日々育っていくデモクラシー

ね、そうだろべいべー

モ**の前でおしゃべりしてるだけの人たち

ムカつく「****」は顔出し晒してもいいらしい

ここでぶっちゃけたいが

在*****2世のおれの***もまた**フォビアでさ（えー？）

自分とこで痛みのリレー止めんのはムズいらしい

「なんとなく嫌」「なんとなく怖い」

そんなフォビアをアンインストールしたい

粛々と考える

そうやって歳をとる

ぼくらはﾏﾀｰﾘ進んでいく、少しずつ理性を耕していく

「気づき」も「目覚め」も、ツイッターにゃ荷が重いよ

一歩ずつﾕｸｰﾘ学んでいく、間違えるたんび直していく

マジでかったるくて苦しい、でも日々育っていくデモクラシー

「少子化は若い**たちのせい」

「治安の悪化は****のせい」

「戦争は茶番、DSのやらせ」

歯止めのないネットミーム

誰かの描いた物語をありがたく聴いてそれだけをただ丸呑む

「真実」がぼくらの望む形をしてくれていたら、ちょっと危険かもね

「あいつらが悪い」「あいつらはずるい」

って二元論で片付くストーリーじゃない

から考え続ける

ハンナおばちゃんもゆってる(^-^)v

ぼくらはﾏﾀｰﾘ進んでいく、少しずつ理性を耕していく

「気づき」も「目覚め」も、無くたって君はすごいよ

一歩ずつﾕｸｰﾘ学んでいく、間違えるたんび直していく

マジでかったるくて苦しい、でも日々育っていくデモクラシー

ね、そうだろべいべー

ポピュリストも拳銃も

キャッチーすぎる熱狂は長続きしないもんよ

ぼくらにはカルチャー

ひ孫にさえ届くように

どうせ逃げれぬ現実を楽しく見つめれるように

ぼくらにはカルチャー

Key Grammar Structures

• ぼくらはﾏﾀｰﾘ進んでいく、少しずつ理性を耕していく

  ➔ Verb‑ていく expresses a continuing action toward the future.

  ➔ The phrase "進んでいく" uses the ていく form to show ongoing progress.

• 「気づき」も「目覚め」も、ユーチューブじゃもらえないよ

  ➔ Potential negative (verb‑られる) shows inability to receive/do something.

  ➔ The verb "もらえない" is the potential negative form of もらう, meaning “cannot receive”.

• 一歩ずつﾕｸｰリ学んでいく、間違えるたんび直していく

  ➔ たんび means “each time (something) happens”.

  ➔ In "間違えるたんび", the phrase "たんび" indicates “every time you make a mistake”.

• モ**の前でおしゃべりしてるだけの人たち

  ➔ Noun + の前で indicates “in front of (something)”.

  ➔ The phrase "モ**の前で" means “in front of the **”.

• ムカつく「****」は顔出し晒してもいいらしい

  ➔ てもいい expresses permission; らしい indicates hearsay or apparent information.

  ➔ In "晒してもいい", the てもいい construction means “it’s okay to expose”.

• 自分とこで痛みのリレー止めんのはムズいらしい

  ➔ んのは nominalizes a clause; らしい shows hearsay or perceived difficulty.

  ➔ The segment "止めんのは" uses "んのは" to nominalize the action of stopping.

• そんなフォビアをアンインストールしたい

  ➔ たい expresses the speaker's desire to do something.

  ➔ The verb "したい" in "アンインストールしたい" shows the speaker wants to uninstall.

• 「少子化は若い**たちのせい」

  ➔ のせい attributes blame or cause to a noun.

  ➔ In "**たちのせい", "のせい" means “because of the youth”.

• キャッチーすぎる熱狂は長続きしないもんよ

  ➔ すぎる expresses excessiveness; しない is the negative form of する.

  ➔ The adjective "キャッチーすぎる" uses すぎる to mean “too catchy”.

• ひ孫にさえ届くように

  ➔ ように expresses purpose or a desired outcome (“so that …”).

  ➔ The phrase "届くように" means “so that it reaches (the great‑grandchildren)”.