想望 – Bilingual Lyrics Japanese/English

• By: 福山雅治

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the emotional depth of Japanese culture with Fukuyama Masaharu's "想望." This powerful ballad, written for a poignant film about a time-traveling high school girl and a kamikaze pilot, beautifully encapsulates themes of love, loss, and the cherished moments of daily life. Learning the lyrics of "想望" offers not only an opportunity to practice Japanese but also to gain insight into the profound human emotions and historical reflections that inspire contemporary Japanese music.

[English]

I love you

Still loving you just as before

I have to go on that journey where I won’t return

Towards an eternal adventure

...

...

A new summer on a lily-scented hill

Last year, I didn’t know you yet

Let's go home, talk more

Let's sleep together, then morning will come

Let's eat together

Don’t cry

Wishing you happiness

The fact that we met

Is a good thing

Don’t stop

The path I’ve chosen

And I believe it’s okay

Someday, you know...

The changing times can’t be stopped

We are just a single drop in the great river

A fragile life

Simply encountering each other, ah

If only it can come true, I’d want to be your tomorrow

Your summer, over and over again

I want to make it dazzling

I love you

Still loving you just as before

I’m so foolish to take off like this

But I have to go on

...

Carrying good, evil, life, and death

On this Earth

Today, too, I hurry

Let’s go home, look at the sunset

In this small world I find beautiful

Crying and laughing

Eating and sleeping

We are right now

Alive

...

[Japanese]

好きなんだ

君をまだ好きなまま

帰らぬ旅へ征かなきゃ

永遠の旅へ

あたらしい夏 百合薫る丘

去年は君を まだ知らなかった

うちに帰ろう もっと話そう

一緒に寝よう そして朝が来て

ご飯を食べよう

泣かないで

君よ幸せであれ

ふたり出逢えたことは

よかったことと

止めないで

僕が決めたこの道

これでよかったと

いつか ねぇ思って

変わる時代止められない

僕ら大河のただ一粒

か弱き生命が

ただ出逢った ああ

叶うなら 僕が君の明日を

君の夏を何度も

まぶしくしたい

好きなんだ

君をまだ好きなまま

飛び発つ僕はバカだね

でも征かなきゃ

善と悪とを 生と死とをね

乗せてこの地球

今日も急いで

うちに帰ろう ごらん夕焼け

綺麗と思える 小さな世界で

泣いたり笑ったり

食べたり眠ったり

僕らは いま

生きてる

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
好きな /sukina/ A2	adjective - to like
旅 /tabi/ B1	noun - journey
永遠 /eien/ B2	adjective - eternal
百合 /yuri/ B1	noun - lily
薫る /kaoru/ B2	verb - to smell sweet
丘 /oka/ A2	noun - hill
幸せ /shiawase/ B1	noun - happiness
大河 /taiga/ B2	noun - great river
か弱き /kayowaki/ B2	adjective - fragile
生命 /seimei/ B1	noun - life
明日 /ashita/ A2	noun - tomorrow
夏 /natsu/ A1	noun - summer
善 /zen/ B1	noun - good
悪 /aku/ B1	noun - evil
生 /sei/ A2	noun - life
死 /shi/ B1	noun - death

Key Grammar Structures

• 好きなんだ

  ➔ Use of 『なんだ』 to explain or emphasize reason or feeling

  ➔ Indicates explanation or reason behind the feeling of liking someone

• 帰らぬ旅へ征かなきゃ

  ➔ Use of 『ぬ』 as classical negative form, combined with 『へ』 and 『かなきゃ』 for necessity or obligation

  ➔ Expresses obligation or necessity to go on an unreturnable journey

• いつか ねぇ思って

  ➔ Use of 『いつか』 with 『ねぇ』 and an informal verb 『思って』 to express longing or hope for the future

  ➔ Expresses anticipation or hope that something might happen someday in the future

• 生と死とをね

  ➔ Use of 『と』 to list multiple nouns, with 『を』 marking the object, emphasizing the connection between life and death

  ➔ Lists concepts of life and death, highlighting their fundamental connection or consideration

• 生きてる

  ➔ Use of 『生きてる』 as the colloquial form of 『生きている』 to express ongoing state of living

  ➔ Colloquial way to say 'living' or 'being alive', emphasizing the current state of life

• 止めないで

  ➔ Imperative form of 『止める』 + 『ないで』 to tell someone not to stop or do something

  ➔ Command or plea for someone not to stop or to continue doing something

• 僕らはいま

  ➔ 『僕ら』 as 'we' (inclusive), 『はい』 as a formal or emphatic affirmation, 『いま』 as 'now'

  ➔ Expresses the pronoun 'we' in an inclusive manner, emphasizing the present moment