mimosa – Bilingual Lyrics Japanese/English

• By: 浜崎あゆみ

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the heartfelt reflections of Ayumi Hamasaki in her anniversary single "mimosa." This J-pop ballad offers a poignant look at life's journey, encouraging listeners with its message of resilience and perseverance, and serves as a beautiful way to connect with the emotional depth of the Japanese language.

[English]

If you could say just one thing

to your past self, what would it be?"

You hear questions like that often, don't you?

It might sound like a cliché line, but

I'd say, "Your efforts will pay off, so it'll be alright."

Because I'm sure I won't forget the bitterness of those tears,

and because I've learned that just because you become an adult

doesn't mean everything goes smoothly, I guess I keep walking.

Wounds don't heal with time;

it's about how many smiles you can overlay them with, isn't it?

And for that, I guess I'm living today without giving up.

Counting from the end is too dramatic,

and the days I used to say "I can't really grasp it"

so nonchalantly have become distant, and now I feel a pang

of surrealism.

Trusting someone from the bottom of your heart,

or genuinely betting your life on something,

those things just don't fit in with today's world, you know?

I know that, but still,

I'll keep doing it.

Because this is the world where you are.

...

The less people know you, the more they say,

"That must be tough," or "I understand."

Those words formed a ring of emptiness and shattered.

And because I've learned that just because you become an adult

doesn't mean everything goes smoothly, I guess I keep walking.

Wounds don't heal with time;

it's about how many smiles you can overlay them with, isn't it?

And for that, I guess I'm living today without giving up.

Trusting someone from the bottom of your heart,

or genuinely betting your life on something,

those things just don't fit in with today's world, you know?

I know that, but still,

I'll keep doing it.

Because this is the world where you are.

...

[Japanese]

「ひとつだけ昔の自分にかけてあげられる

としたならどんな言葉にしますか？」

そんな質問よくあるよね

お決まりの台詞に聴こえるかも知れないけど

「努力は報われるから大丈夫だよ」って

きっとあの涙の苦さを忘れずにいるから

大人になったからって全てがうまく

いく訳じゃないと知れたから歩いてるんだろう

傷は時間と共に癒えるんじゃなくて

笑顔をどれだけ上書き出来るかじゃないかな

その為に今日も諦めずに生きてんじゃないかな

最後から数えることなんて大袈裟すぎるし

実感が湧かないしってあっけらかんと

言っていた日々は遠くなってシュールさに

ぎゅっとなる

人を心の底から信じるだなんて

何かに本気で人生賭けるだなんて

今の時代にまるで合ってないことはさぁ

わかってんだけどそれでもねぇ

やっていくんだよ

だって 此処が君の居る世界なんだから

知らない人ほど言う

「大変ですね」って「わかりますよ」って

言葉が虚無感の輪になって割れた

大人になったからって全てがうまく

いく訳じゃないと知れたから歩いてるんだろう

傷は時間と共に癒えるんじゃなくて

笑顔をどれだけ上書き出来るかじゃないかな

その為に今日も諦めずに生きてんじゃないかな

人を心の底から信じるだなんて

何かに本気で人生賭けるだなんて

今の時代にまるで合ってないことはさぁ

わかってんだけどそれでもねぇ

やっていくんだよ

だって此処が君の居る世界なんだから

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
努力 /doʊ.ɾjoʊ.kɯ/ B1	noun - effort, exertion, striving
報われる /mɯ.kɯ.wa.ɾe.ɾɯ/ B2	verb - to be rewarded, to be recompensed, to pay off
涙 /na.mi.da/ A2	noun - tear (from eye)
苦さ /ni.ɡa.sa/ B1	noun - bitterness, tartness (taste); harshness, pain (emotion)
大人 /o.to.na/ A2	noun - adult, grown-up
傷 /ki.zɯ/ B1	noun - wound, injury, scratch; emotional hurt, damage
癒える /i.e.ɾɯ/ B2	verb - to heal (of a wound, illness); to be cured; to be comforted (of a heart)
笑顔 /e.ɡa.o/ A2	noun - smile, smiling face
上書き /ɯ.wa.ɡa.ki/ B2	noun - overwrite (esp. data), writing over verb - to overwrite, to write over
諦める /a.ki.ɾa.me.ɾɯ/ B1	verb - to give up, to abandon, to resign oneself
実感 /d͡ʑik.kaɴ/ B2	noun - real feeling, actual sensation, concrete understanding
遠い /to.o.i/ A1	adjective - far, distant, remote (in space or time)
信じる /ɕin.d͡ʑi.ɾɯ/ A2	verb - to believe, to trust
人生 /d͡ʑin.se.e/ B1	noun - (human) life, human existence
賭ける /ka.ke.ɾɯ/ B1	verb - to bet, to gamble, to stake (one's life, reputation, etc.)
時代 /d͡ʑi.da.i/ B1	noun - era, period, age, times
虚無感 /kjo.mɯ.kaɴ/ C1	noun - sense of emptiness, nihilistic feeling, futility
割れる /wa.ɾe.ɾɯ/ A2	verb - to break, to crack, to split (intransitive); to be divided
歩く /a.ɾɯ.kɯ/ A1	verb - to walk
心 /ko.ko.ɾo/ A1	noun - heart, mind, spirit, inner being; feelings, emotion

Key Grammar Structures

• 「ひとつだけ昔の自分にかけてあげられるとしたならどんな言葉にしますか？」

  ➔ Hypothetical Conditional (~としたら / ~としたなら)

  ➔ Used to express a **hypothetical situation or assumption**. It often appears with `~とするなら` or `~とすれば`. Here, 「**としたなら**」 means "If I were to...".

• お決まりの台詞に聴こえるかも知れないけど

  ➔ Expressing Possibility (~かも知れない)

  ➔ Indicates that something **might be** the case, or there is a possibility. 「**かも知れない**」 means "it might be" or "it's possible that".

• きっとあの涙の苦さを忘れずにいるから

  ➔ Continuing Not to Do (~ずにいる)

  ➔ `~ずに` is the negative form of `~ないで` (without doing), combined with `いる` to express a **continuous state of not doing something**. 「**忘れずにいる**」 means "continuing to not forget".

• 大人になったからって全てがうまくいく訳じゃないと知れたから歩いてるんだろう

  ➔ Denying Expectation / It's Not That (~訳じゃない)

  ➔ Used to deny a general assumption, expectation, or common belief. It literally means "it's not the case that..." or "it doesn't mean that...". Here, 「**うまくいく訳じゃない**」 means "it's not that everything goes well".

• 傷は時間と共に癒えるんじゃなくて

  ➔ Not X, but rather Y (~んじゃなくて)

  ➔ A colloquial form of `~のではないで` or `~わけではなくて`, used to **correct a misunderstanding or state what is not the case, introducing what is actually the case**. 「**癒えるんじゃなくて**」 means "it's not that they heal, but rather...".

• 笑顔をどれだけ上書き出来るかじゃないかな

  ➔ Seeking Agreement / Mild Assertion (~じゃないかな)

  ➔ A common sentence ending, equivalent to "Isn't it?" or "I think it is..." in English. It's used to **seek agreement or express a mild assertion/opinion** while inviting confirmation. 「**じゃないかな**」 means "Isn't it that...?" or "I wonder if it's not...".

• その為に今日も諦めずに生きてんじゃないかな

  ➔ For the Purpose of / In Order To (~為に)

  ➔ Expresses the **purpose or goal** of an action. It can be used with nouns (`Nの+為に`) or verbs (`Vる+為に`). Here, 「**その為に**」 means "for that purpose" or "in order to do that".

• 人を心の底から信じるだなんて

  ➔ Expressing Surprise/Disbelief (~だなんて)

  ➔ Used to express surprise, disbelief, or sometimes a negative or ironic feeling towards something. It conveys a sense of "I can't believe that..." or "How could it be that...!" Here, 「**信じるだなんて**」 means "to believe in people from the bottom of one's heart, can you believe it?".

• わかってんだけどそれでもねぇ

  ➔ Explanatory / Connecting Conjunction (~んだけど)

  ➔ A casual conversational particle often used to **introduce a topic, give background information, or express a preliminary thought** before the main point. It can imply "although" or "but" if there's a contrast. Here, 「**わかってんだけど**」 means "I know, but...".

• やっていくんだよ

  ➔ Continuing Action / Doing into the Future (~ていく)

  ➔ `~ていく` indicates that an action **will continue from now on** or **will be carried out into the future**. It suggests progress or movement away from the speaker. 「**やっていく**」 means "will continue doing" or "will carry on".