リボン – Bilingual Lyrics Japanese/English

• By: BUMP OF CHICKEN

Lyrics & Translation

Learning a language can be a journey of connection, much like the one celebrated in BUMP OF CHICKEN's 'Ribbon.' This song, with its clear and emotive Japanese vocals, offers a wonderful opportunity to learn a language through music that speaks of lasting friendship and shared history. The lyrics are filled with imagery and metaphors that are both beautiful and accessible, making it a special song for learners to explore the nuances of the Japanese language and culture.

[English]

We came this far through the storm

Chasing the light born from our encounter

Courage in our pockets, like a glass marble each

Placed side by side, the same number since that day, since the beginning

A patched-up umbrella, a dirty lantern

A handmade map, cherished, used together

I wonder where this is, I wonder where we're headed

Even though no one understands

Choosing to stay by your side, I am here now, so we're not lost

Laughing a lot, and even more often, crying and getting angry, all of that

Became musical notes, connected, binding us together

Fears in our pockets, as vast as the universe, each of us carrying our own

Shaking at the same time, we grew stronger, or weaker

The UFO I pointed at, the stray cat we brushed past

Yawn in unison, what else happened, tell me

Don't let stubborn pride or shyness win, face everything head-on with your heart

The ribbon that ties us together isn't about undoing, we've been tying it

Your courage, when I see it, becomes stars; I want to be on the same level

Ah, I wonder where this is, I wonder where we're going, we're not lost

We came this far through the storm

Timing our breaths from counting together, crying, angry, laughing, everything

We came this far through the storm, chasing the light born from our encounter

Going endlessly through the storm, lining up red stars and heading wherever it leads

[Japanese]

嵐の中をここまで来たんだ　嵐の中をここまで来たんだ

出会って生まれた光　追いかけて

ポケットに勇気がガラス玉ひとつ分　それぞれ持っている　ガラス玉ひとつ分

並べても同じ数　あの日から　始まりから

つぎはぎの傘　汚れたカンテラ

手作りの地図　大事に一緒に　使った

ここはどこなんだろうね　どこに行くんだろうね

誰一人　わかっていないけど

側にいる事を選んで　今側にいるから　迷子じゃないんだ

たくさん笑ったり　それよりはるかに少ない　泣いたり怒ったりした事の全部が

音符になって繋がって　僕らを結んだ

ポケットに恐怖が宇宙と同じくらい　それぞれ持っている　宇宙と同じくらい

同じ時に震えたら　強くなれた　弱くなれた

指差したUFO　すれ違った野良猫

あくびのユニゾン　あと何があった　教えて

意地や恥ずかしさに負けないで　心で正面から向き合えるよ

僕らを結ぶリボンは　解けないわけじゃない　結んできたんだ

君の勇気を　僕が見れば星だ　並べても同じでありたい

あぁ　ここはどこなんだろうね　どこに行くんだろうね　迷子じゃないんだ

嵐の中をここまで来たんだ　嵐の中をここまで来たんだ

カウントからせーので息を読み合って　泣いたり怒ったり笑ったりの全部で

嵐の中をここまで来たんだ　出会って生まれた光　追いかけて

嵐の中をどこまでも行くんだ　赤い星並べてどこまでも行くんだ

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
嵐 /aɾaɕi/ B1	noun - storm
光 /hikari/ A2	noun - light
勇気 /yūki/ B1	noun - courage
泣く /naku/ A2	verb - to cry
怒る /okoru/ B1	verb - to get angry
結ぶ /musubu/ B2	verb - to tie, to connect
星 /hoshi/ A2	noun - star
道 /michi/ B1	noun - road, path
側 /gawa/ B2	noun - side
迷子 /maiko/ A2	noun - lost child
音符 /onpu/ B2	noun - musical note
宇宙 /uchū/ B1	noun - universe
強い /tsuyoi/ A2	adjective - strong
弱い /yowai/ A2	adjective - weak
カンテラ /kantera/ B2	noun - lantern
地図 /chizu/ A2	noun - map

Key Grammar Structures

• 嵐の中をここまで来たんだ

  ➔ Past tense + んだ (nda) combined with 'desu' to explain or emphasize a reason or situation

  ➔ The んだ (nda) form here emphasizes a personal statement about having come through the storm.

• 出会って生まれた光

  ➔ Te-form + て and past participle to express cause and effect or sequence

  ➔ The phrase combines the te-form of 出会う (to meet) with the noun 生まれた (born) to express the resulting 'light' born from meeting.

• 側にいる事を選んで

  ➔ たら form to indicate the conditional 'if' or 'when', combined with noun + を + verb to select/choose

  ➔ This pattern expresses a conditional choice—'choosing to be by your side'—based on the verb form linked with the noun.

• 僕らを結ぶリボンは　解けないわけじゃない

  ➔ いや + じゃない to negate an implied statement, and は as topic marker; also, the noun + は + verb structure

  ➔ The phrase negates the idea that the ribbon connecting 'us' is unbreakable, emphasizing it can be tied and untied.

• 星だ　並べても同じでありたい

  ➔ ても form expresses 'even if' or 'even when', combined with a verb to express aspiration or wish

  ➔ This pattern shows a desire or aspiration to be equal or the same, even when arranging stars—symbolic for unity or similarity.