RIVER – Bilingual Lyrics Japanese/English

• By: AKB48

Lyrics & Translation

[Japanese]

[English]

AKB~!

AKB~!

48!

48!

前へ進め!(Got it!)

Keep moving forward! (Got it!)

立ち止まるな!(Got it!)

Don’t stop! (Got it!)

目指すは陽が昇る場所

Aim for the place where the sun rises

希望の道を歩け！

Walk down the road of hope!

行く手 阻(はば)む River! River! River!

Obstacles ahead, River! River! River!

横たわるRiver!

The lying River!

運命のRiver! River! River!

The destiny River! River! River!

試される River!

Tested by the River!

迷いは捨てるんだ！

Throw away your doubts!

根性を見せろよ！

Show some guts!

ためらうな！

Don’t hesitate!

今すぐ

Right now

一歩 踏み出せよ! Believe yourself!

Take that first step! Believe in yourself!

前へ 前へ!

Forward, forward!

まっすぐ進め！

Keep straight ahead!

川を渡れ!! Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho!

Cross the river!! Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho!

いつだって夢は

Dreams are always

遠くに見える

Visible in the distance

届かないくらい距離感じる

Feel like they’re just out of reach

足下(あしもと)の石を

Pick up a stone at your feet

ひとつ拾って

Throw yourself into it recklessly

がむしゃらになって

And see what happens!

投げてみろ!

The river flows before you

君の目の前に

It’s a wide, big river

川が流れる

Even if it’s dark and deep

広く 大きな川だ

Even if the currents are fast

暗く深くても

You don’t have to be afraid

流れ速くても

Even if you’re far away

怯えなくていい

Yes, there’s a bank on the other side

離れていても

Believe in yourself more

そうだ 向こう岸はある

Swim through the darkness!

もっと 自分を信じろよ

Don’t look back! Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho!

闇の中を

闇の中を

ひたすら泳げ！

ひたすら泳げ！

振り返るな! Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho!

振り返るな! Ho! Ho! Ho! Ho!

手 伸ばせば そこに

Reach out your hand, and

未来はあるよ

There’s a future waiting

届かないものとあきらめないで!

Don’t give up on what’s out of reach!

放り投げた石は

The stones you throw

夢を叶えて

Make your dreams come true

落ちる音なんか聞こえない

You won’t hear the sound of falling

君の心にも

The river flows through

川が流れる

Your heart too

つらい試練の川だ

It’s a river of painful trials

上手くいかなくても

Even if things don’t go well

時に溺れても

Even if you drown sometimes

繰り返せばいい

Just keep trying again

あきらめるなよ

Don’t give up

そこに 岸はあるんだ

The shore is out there

いつか 辿り着けるだろう

Eventually, you’ll reach it

Get over it!

Get over it!

River!

River!

AH- AH- AH- AH-

Ah—Ah—Ah—Ah—

自分に言い訳するんじゃねえ!

Don’t make excuses anymore!

AH- AH- AH- AH-

Ah—Ah—Ah—Ah—

やってみなけりゃわかんねえ!

You won’t know until you try!

AH- AH- AH- AH-

Ah—Ah—Ah—Ah—

まっすぐ進むしかねえ!

There’s only one way—forward!

ずっと ずっと ずっと

Keep walking, keep walking, keep walking

歩き続けろ

Along the path you choose!

決めた道を!

The river flows before you

君の目の前に

It’s a wide, big river

川が流れる

Even if it’s dark and deep

広く 大きな川だ

Even if the currents are fast

暗く深くても

You don’t have to be afraid

流れ速くても

Even if you’re far away

怯えなくていい

Yes, there’s a bank on the other side

離れていても

Believe in yourself more

そうだ 向こう岸はある

The river flows in your heart too

もっと 自分を信じろよ

It’s a river of sweat and tears!

君の心にも

Even if you fail

川が流れる

Even if you are swept away

汗と涙の川だ!

Just start again

失敗してしまっても

Don’t be weak and whiny

流されてしまっても

Hold on to your dreams

やり直せばいい

Until the day your wishes come true

弱音吐くなよ

Cross the river!

夢にしがみつくんだ

You can do it!

願い 叶う日が来るまで

願い 叶う日が来るまで

川を渡れ！

川を渡れ！

You can do it!

You can do it!

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
進め /susume/ A2	verb - to move forward, to proceed
止まる /tomaru/ A2	verb - to stop, to come to a halt
希望 /kibō/ B1	noun - hope, wish for something good
道 /michi/ A2	noun - way, path
川 /kawa/ A1	noun - river
流れる /nagareru/ B1	verb - to flow, to stream
夢 /yume/ A2	noun - dream, aspiration
傷つく /kizutsu/ B2	verb - to get hurt, to be wounded
試す /tamesu/ B1	verb - to try, to test
迷う /mayou/ B2	verb - to get lost, to hesitate
信じる /shinjiru/ B1	verb - to believe, to trust
離れる /hanareru/ B2	verb - to separate, to be apart
未来 /mirai/ B1	noun - future

Key Grammar Structures

• 今すぐ一歩踏み出せよ！

  ➔ Imperative form with 〜よ for emphasis or command

  ➔ Use the imperative form with 〜よ to give a strong command or encouragement.

• 迷いは捨てるんだ！

  ➔ Imperative form with んだ (nda) for explanation or emphasis

  ➔ Use the imperative form with んだ to give a command with an explanatory tone or emphasis.

• Try to believe in yourself!

  ➔ Verb phrase with infinitive+to for expressing effort or intention

  ➔ Use an infinitive phrase with 'to' to indicate effort, intention, or purpose.

• 試されるRiver!

  ➔ Passive form of a verb with the suffix -られる (rarely used directly in English)

  ➔ Use the passive form of a verb with 〜られる to express that something is being tested or experienced.

• 勇気を持て！

  ➔ Imperative form with object particle を for encouragement

  ➔ Use the imperative form with the object particle を to give encouragement or commands.

• 離れていても そうだ 向こう岸はある

  ➔ Conditional clause using ても to express 'even if'

  ➔ Use 〜ても to form a conditional clause meaning 'even if' or 'although'.

• 自分を信じろよ！

  ➔ Imperative form of 信じる (to believe) with 〜よ for emphasis

  ➔ Use the imperative form of a verb with 〜よ to give a strong command or encouragement.