夜鷹 – Bilingual Lyrics Japanese/English

• By: 米津玄師

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the mysterious world of Kenshi Yonezu's 'Yotaka'. This song is a perfect gateway for learners to explore poetic Japanese vocabulary related to solitude and the night, all while experiencing the cutting-edge production of one of Japan's most influential modern artists.

[English]

Swallowed by rage, we stood frozen

A crescent moon upon our backs

An abandoned, desolate dwelling

The bonfire was so beautiful, I was spellbound

Everyone will eventually notice your darkness

We are the night hawks

Storms drifting through an empty sky

If you say so

If you only wish for it

Then everything shall come true

To take pride in

The meager scraps we possessed, we had no choice but to open our eyes wide

A worn-out, fraying song wells up inside

A sharp pain pierces deep behind the eyes

Mocked, laughed at, and utterly despised

A beast that learned nothing but how to strike

Failing to die, we met the break of dawn

Light shines through the cracks from deep within

Even if we rot away, even if we are torn apart

Even so, spring comes, relentless and inevitable

If you lose your way

If you fall to your knees

Then I will be the one to end it all

We are the night hawks

Storms drifting through an empty sky

If you say so

If you only wish for it

Then everything shall come true

[Japanese]

怒りに飲まれて僕らは佇んだ

背中に三日月

荒れ払った住処

あまりに綺麗で見惚れた篝火

誰もがお前の闇に気づくだろう

僕らは夜鷹

伽藍堂の空を棚引く嵐

お前が言うなら

ただ願うなら

全ては叶うだろう

なけなしのボロ切れを

誇るには見開くしかなかった

込み上げる擦れっ枯らしの歌

目玉の奥が痛み冴え渡る

嘲り笑われ蔑み尽くされ

突き刺すことだけ覚えた獣

くたばり損ねて迎えた朝ぼらけ

亀裂の奥から光が射し込む

腐れ散ろうとも　千切れようとも

それでも堪らず春は来る

お前が眩んだら

膝をつくなら

そのときは終わらせてやるよ

僕らは夜鷹

伽藍堂の空を棚引く嵐

お前が言うなら

ただ願うなら

全ては叶うだろう

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
怒り ikari N3	noun - anger, rage
佇む tatazumu N1	verb - to stand still, to loiter
三日月 mikazuki N2	noun - crescent moon
住処 sumika N2	noun - dwelling, habitat
見惚れる mihoreru N2	verb - to be fascinated by, to gaze in admiration
篝火 kagaribi N1	noun - bonfire, watchfire
夜鷹 yotaka N1	noun - nightjar (bird)
伽藍堂 garandou N1	noun - empty, hollow
棚引く tanabiku N2	verb - to drift (of clouds/smoke)
嵐 arashi N3	noun - storm
擦れっ枯らし surekkarashi N1	adjective - cynical, street-hardened
嘲り azakeri N1	noun - ridicule, mockery
蔑み sagesumi N1	noun - scorn, disdain
朝ぼらけ asaborake N1	noun - dawn
亀裂 kiretsu N1	noun - crack, fissure