ピカレスク – Bilingual Lyrics Japanese/English

• By: 中島健人
• Album: N / bias

Lyrics & Translation

Explore the depths of Japanese language and emotion with 中島健人's “ピカレスク”. This song offers a unique opportunity to learn about expressing complex feelings and understanding cultural references to the picaresque genre, all while enjoying a modern and captivating musical style. Discover the nuances of dark and rebellious themes in Japanese music.

[English]

A list of battered words

Hate biting teeth

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth

Just don't use poison on poison

But why? A dragon's head with a snake's tail

A misunderstood other's PARTY

Some clicking of the tongue, even if lonely is fine

Making them understand real life — am I bad?

Chasing shadows to the sound of sirens

If you run, you can't stop on this path anymore

Rampage, imagination, structure, delusion — can't be stopped

Broadcast, struggle, go ahead

Decent, proactive, confident, verbal, meaningless

Response, fine, go ahead

Even if love decays, I want to be an equal

Even on nights when the gun is aimed and labeled evil

From the eyes of the joker, falling tears and smiles are black

You can tell if it's a lie, right?

Fallen apart, all alone

Buried deep in the darkness

The feelings from that day, the tragic scene on the board

A naked king built up

Realize, it's the fault of the crowd, a fake

Easily justified with words—justice?

Looking up at the light, hope blurs

My courtesy to the red moon

It can't end, God, please don't say so

This is just the prelude, even to the devil

Rampage, imagination, structure, delusion — endless

Broadcast, struggle, go ahead

Decent, proactive, confident, verbal, meaningless

Response, fine, go ahead

Even if love decays, I want to be an equal

Even on nights when the gun is aimed and labeled evil

From the eyes of the joker, falling tears and smiles are black

You can tell if it's a lie, right?

Even if love decays, I want to be an equal

Even on nights when the gun is aimed and labeled evil

From the eyes of the joker, falling tears and smiles are black

You can tell if it's a lie, right?

I knew I couldn't achieve it

Struggling and writhing all my life

Illuminating the loneliness

Who's laughing in the future?

You know who that is, right?

Understand the lies

[Japanese]

錆びついた言葉の列挙

噛みつかれた牙のヘイト

目には目を　歯には歯を

ただ毒には毒は使わない

それもWhy?　竜頭蛇尾

勘違いした他者のPARTY

チッと舌打ち　孤独でもいい

リアルをわからせてく I'm Bad?

影を追い続けてくるサイレンに

走ればこの道はもう止まれない

暴走　想像　構造　妄想　キリがない

放送　闘争　どうぞ

相当　能動　堂々　口頭　意味のない

応答　上等　どうぞ

愛が朽ち果てても相でありたい

銃口向け悪と言われる夜さえも

ジョーカーの眼から堕ちる 黒い涙と笑みは

嘘かわかるでしょ

ボロボロになった　ただ1人

闇の中埋められていく

あの日の感情 盤上に並ぶ惨状

作り上げられた裸の王と

気づけ大衆の所為・偽

言葉で軽々　正義？

光見上げ滲む望み

赤い月に捧ぐ僕の礼儀

終われない　神様どうかなんて言わない

これは　アクマでも序章

暴走　想像　構造　妄想　キリがない

放送　闘争　どうぞ

相当　能動　堂々　口頭　意味のない

応答　上等　どうぞ

愛が朽ち果てても相でありたい

銃口向け悪と言われる夜さえも

ジョーカーの眼から堕ちる 黒い涙と笑みは

嘘かわかるでしょ

愛が朽ち果てても相でありたい

銃口向け悪と言われる夜さえも

ジョーカーの眼から堕ちる 黒い涙と笑みは

嘘かわかるでしょ

叶わないことはわかっていた

一生足掻いて　踠いて

孤独を照らすの

未来で笑っているのは

それが誰かわかるでしょ

嘘をわかってよ

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
言葉 /kotoba/ A1	noun - word; language
牙 /kiba/ A2	noun - fang; tusk
目 /me/ A1	noun - eye
毒 /doku/ B1	noun - poison; venom
他者 /tasha/ B2	noun - others; other people
影 /kage/ A2	noun - shadow
道 /michi/ A1	noun - road; path; way
愛 /ai/ A2	noun - love
夜 /yoru/ A1	noun - night
嘘 /uso/ A2	noun - lie; falsehood
闇 /yami/ B1	noun - darkness
感情 /kanjou/ B1	noun - emotion, feeling
王 /ou/ A2	noun - king; ruler
光 /hikari/ A2	noun - light
月 /tsuki/ A1	noun - moon; month
神様 /kamisama/ A2	noun - God
未来 /mirai/ A2	noun - future
孤独 /kodoku/ B1	noun - loneliness adjective - lonely

Key Grammar Structures

• ただ毒には毒は使わない

  ➔ Use of the particle 'には' indicating target or specific context.

  ➔ 'には' is a grammatical particle that marks the target of the action or the context in which something happens.

• 影を追い続けてくるサイレンに

  ➔ Use of the particle 'に' indicating the direction or target of an action.

  ➔ 'に' is a particle that marks the direction or the target of the verb, indicating where or toward whom the action is directed.

• 愛が朽ち果てても相でありたい

  ➔ Use of the conditional 'ても' meaning 'even if' or 'despite' something happening.

  ➔ 'ても' is a conditional form that means 'even if' or 'despite', used to express concession or contrast.

• 終われない　神様どうかなんて言わない

  ➔ Use of the potential form '終われない' indicating inability to end.

  ➔ '終われない' is the potential form of verb '終わる' meaning 'cannot end' or 'unable to finish'.

• 未来で笑っているのは

  ➔ Use of 'で' indicating the time/place where an action occurs.

  ➔ 'で' is a particle that marks the location or time where the action of the verb takes place.

• 嘘かわかるでしょ

  ➔ Use of 'でしょ' as a sentence-ending particle expressing assumption or expectation.

  ➔ 'でしょ' is a sentence-ending particle that seeks confirmation or expresses assumption, similar to 'right?' in English.

• 作り上げられた裸の王と

  ➔ Use of passive form '作り上げられた' indicating that something was built or created by someone.

  ➔ '作り上げられた' is a passive form of the verb meaning 'was built' or 'was created' by someone.