Rusty Nail – English Lyrics

• By: X Japan

Lyrics & Translation

Learning Japanese through X Japan's "Rusty Nail" offers a unique window into the nation's culture of expressing deep emotions through powerful music and poetic lyrics. The song's themes of memory, pain, and love are universal, but the way they are articulated in Japanese provides a rich learning experience. The dynamic shifts between fast-paced rock and melodic interludes make it a captivating song to learn, allowing you to practice a range of vocabulary and emotional expression in the language.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
memories /ˈmɛm.ər.iːz/ B2	noun - things remembered from the past
dream /driːm/ B1	noun - series of thoughts or images during sleep verb - to imagine or desire something
night /naɪt/ A2	noun - period of darkness in each twenty-four hours
free /friː/ B1	adjective - not under control or not occupied verb - to set someone or oneself at liberty
tear /tɪər/ B2	noun - a drop of liquid from the eye verb - to pull apart or rip by force
hope /hoʊp/ B2	noun - a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen verb - to want something to happen or be true
pain /peɪn/ B2	noun - physical suffering or discomfort
cry /kraɪ/ B1	verb - to produce tears as an expression of emotion noun - an act of crying
loss /lɒs/ B2	noun - the fact or process of losing someone or something
scar /skɑːr/ C1	noun - a mark left on the skin after a wound has healed
destiny /ˈdɛstɪni/ C2	noun - the intended or inevitable course of events
fragile /ˈfrædʒ.aɪl/ C1	adjective - easily broken or damaged
hope /hoʊp/ B2	noun - a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen

Key Grammar Structures

• どれだけ涙を流せば

  ➔ Expressing the degree of an action using どれだけ + verb + ば (conditional form).

  ➔ The phrase "どれだけ涙を流せば" means "How much tears must I shed" or "To what extent must I cry".

• 何処まで歩いてみても

  ➔ Use of ても to express 'even if' or 'regardless of' following a verb in its te-form.

  ➔ The phrase "何処まで歩いてみても" means "Even if I try walking as far as I can" or "No matter how far I walk".

• 涙で明日が見えない

  ➔ Using で to indicate the means or cause (tears) that results in unable to see (未来).

  ➔ The phrase "涙で明日が見えない" means "Because of tears, I cannot see tomorrow."

• I can die, I can live

  ➔ Use of modal verbs "can" to express ability or possibility in present and future.

  ➔ 'I can die, I can live' expresses the speaker's capacity or choice related to life and death, emphasizing possibility.

• 夜を終わらせて

  ➔ Imperative form of 終わらせる (to make/end), requesting to end the night.

  ➔ The phrase "夜を終わらせて" is a command meaning "End the night" or "Bring the night to an end."

• 記憶の扉を閉ざしたままで

  ➔ Participle phrase indicating 'keeping the door of memory closed' while the state remains unchanged.

  ➔ The phrase "記憶の扉を閉ざしたままで" means "While keeping the door of memory closed."