LOVE TRIP – Bilingual Lyrics Japanese/English

• By: AKB48

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the world of Japanese pop music with AKB48's hit song "LOVE TRIP"! This vibrant track offers a fantastic opportunity to learn Japanese through its accessible J-pop style and relatable lyrics about love and regret. Discover how the song's narrative, tied to a unique fan-voted election, makes it a special and culturally significant piece in the AKB48 discography.

[English]

The town we know has

Where has it gone?

The vacant lots and hills have disappeared

A scenery I've never seen spreads out

While correcting my memories

Before I knew it, I became an adult

Is it the past or the future?

I wanna go

LOVE TRIP

To the other side of time

LOVE TRIP

Let's go back

To those days I kept deep in my heart

I was there

LOVE TRIP

Where are you?

LOVE TRIP

I want to see you

There’s something I’ve always forgotten to say

Love is something that gets overwritten over time

But I remember the first bittersweet feeling

When I met you

Under the summer sky

...

In the graduation photo

You always smile gently

Every time my heart breaks

I gazed at the continuation of my dreams many times

Back then, we were hopeful

What kind of future did we imagine?

I can't remember

I wanna do

LOVE TRIP

To search for you...

LOVE TRIP

Once more

In our youth, we only talked about ideals

You were there

LOVE TRIP

What are you doing?

LOVE TRIP

I want to see you

There’s something I’ve never been able to say

I’ve been regretting until today

That I hid my feelings...

If I can't say I like you

Summer won't end

...

What can I say if I see you?

In the same corner of the school as that day

The adult me has finally

Become able to be honest?

I wanna go

LOVE TRIP

To the other side of time

LOVE TRIP

Let's go back

To those days I kept deep in my heart

I was there

LOVE TRIP

Where are you?

LOVE TRIP

I want to see you

There’s something I’ve always forgotten to say

Love doesn't disappear; the heart just covers it up

So sometimes, I want to open it up

I thought of you

Under the blue summer sky

...

[Japanese]

僕らの知ってる街は

どこへ行ってしまったのだろう？

空き地も丘も消えてた

見たことない景色が広がる

記憶を修正しながら

いつしか大人になってしまった

過去か未来か？

I wanna go

LOVE TRIP

時間(とき)の彼方へ

LOVE TRIP

帰ろう

胸の奥にしまっていたあの頃

I was there

LOVE TRIP

君はどこにいる？

LOVE TRIP

会いたい

ずっと言い忘れたことがあるんだ

恋はいつしか上書きされて行くもの

だけど最初の切なさ覚えてる

君と出会った

夏の空の下

卒業写真の中で

君はずっとやさしく微笑む

心が折れる度に

夢の続き 何度も眺めた

あの時 僕らは期待して

どういう未来を想像してたか？

思い出せない

I wanna do

LOVE TRIP

君を探しに...

LOVE TRIP

もう一度

理想だけを語り合った青春

You were there

LOVE TRIP

君は何してる？

LOVE TRIP

会いたい

ずっと言えなかったことがあるんだ

僕は今日まで後悔し続けている

自分の気持ちを隠していたことを...

好きと言えなきゃ

夏は終わらない

君に会えたら何を言えるのだろう？

あの日と同じ 校舎の片隅で

大人になった僕はようやく

正直になれるのだろうか？

I wanna go

LOVE TRIP

時間(とき)の彼方へ

LOVE TRIP

帰ろう

胸の奥にしまっていたあの頃

I was there

LOVE TRIP

君はどこにいる？

LOVE TRIP

会いたい

ずっと言い忘れたことがあるんだ

恋は消えずに 心が蓋をするもの

だから時々 開いてみたくなる

君を想った

夏の青い空

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
街 /machi/ A2	noun - town, city
景色 /keseki/ B1	noun - scenery, landscape
記憶 /kioku/ B1	noun - memory
大人 /otona/ A2	noun - adult
未来 /mirai/ B1	noun - future
夢 /yume/ A2	noun - dream
青春 /seishun/ B2	noun - youth
気持ち /kimochi/ B1	noun - feeling, emotion
会う /au/ A1	verb - to meet
探す /sagasu/ B1	verb - to search, to look for
言う /iu/ A1	verb - to say, to tell
切なさ /setsunasa/ B2	noun - bittersweet feeling, sadness
思い出 /omoide/ B1	noun - memory, recollection
帰る /kaeru/ A2	verb - to return, to go back
消える /kieru/ B1	verb - to disappear

Key Grammar Structures

• 君と出会った夏の空の下

  ➔ The use of the past tense in the verb "出会った" to indicate a specific past event.

  ➔ The verb "出会った" (deatta) is the past tense of "出会う" (deau), meaning "to meet". Its use here indicates a specific meeting that happened in the past.

• 怖くて一人ぼっちだった

  ➔ The use of the conjunction "て" to connect cause and effect in "怖くて".

  ➔ The "て" form connects "怖い" (scared) with "一人ぼっちだった" (was alone) to show cause and effect.

• 恋はいつしか上書きされて行くもの

  ➔ Use of "て行く" to indicate an ongoing or progressive action or change over time.

  ➔ "て行く" (te iku) combines the verb with "行く" (iku, to go) to mean "to go on to do something" or "to continue" over time.

• 心が折れる度に

  ➔ The use of "度に" to indicate the frequency or timing of an action happening repeatedly.

  ➔ "度に" (tani) indicates that the action occurs each time the specified event happens; in this case, each time "heart breaks".

• 好きと言えなきゃ 夏は終わらない

  ➔ The conditional "と言えなきゃ" (if I can't say) using the negative potential form to express necessity or obligation.

  ➔ The form "と言えなきゃ" is a colloquial contraction of "と言えなければ", meaning "if I cannot say". It expresses that without being able to say "I love you", summer won't end.