火種 (HIDANE) – Bilingual Lyrics Japanese/English

• By: キタニタツヤ (Tatsuya Kitani)

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the rhythmic world of Tatsuya Kitani with 'HIDANE'! This song is a fantastic way to learn emotive Japanese vocabulary related to passion, light, and willpower. Its fast-paced energy makes it perfect for practicing listening comprehension and picking up natural, modern Japanese expressions used in high-intensity contexts.

[English]

Burning brightly, a flickering light

Constantly, endlessly, a raging storm in the dead of night

Set within the hearth of my chest

Like a bellows fattening iron

Everyone eventually forgets the first spark

Now look towards the radiant, blazing sun above!

Rising into view!

Bonfire, illuminating the blossoms

Though the future is dark and hazy, no matter what

I just keep staring

Flickering, dancing embers, burn, burn!

Until the final act of this life

Amidst the gritty, clinging friction

I strongly sensed a headwind coming

Smoldering within blackened, charred emotions

Breathe life into this heat

Until it burns out in the distant, distant future

Dancing embers, burn!

Those eyes shining brilliantly

Yet, yet again, dreams remain distant and blurred

Demons and spirits swarm and gather

On this thin ice, where tomorrow is unknown

Every choice, will it bend or break?

Only God knows the answer

Whether it blooms or not, the end is still far off

Continuing until the very end

A flickering light, swaying in the wind

About to be extinguished, swaying now

The first stake for the tower I’m building from here

The foundation where tomorrows will pile up

Flickering, dancing embers, burn, burn!

Until the final act of this life

Amidst the gritty, clinging friction

I strongly sensed a headwind coming

Smoldering within blackened, charred emotions

Breathe life into this heat

Until it burns out in the distant, distant future

Dancing embers, burn!

[Japanese]

赤々と燃ゆ灯火に

絶えず絶えず、夜半の嵐荒ぶ

胸の火床に設えた

鉄を肥やす鞴の如く

猫も杓子もはじめの火をいつしか忘れてしまう

今や頭上の、赫灼たる日の輪の

昇り来たる方を見よ！

花篝、咲きを照らし

行く末はさてもさても暗く朧なれど

ひたに見つめるだけ

ゆらゆら踊る火種、燃やせ、燃やせ！

この生の千秋楽まで

ざらざら粘る摩擦の只中で

向かい風が吹くのを強く予感していた

黒く炭化した感情の内側で燻っている

この熱に息を吹きこんでくれ

遠い先の先のその先で燃え尽きるまで

踊る火種、燃やせ！

青々と輝るその瞳

されどされど夢は遠く霞む

魑魅魍魎が犇めきたち

明日も知れぬ薄ら氷の上

どの選択も伸るか反るか

答えは神のみぞ知る

咲くも咲かずも、終わりは程遠い

果てるまで続く

ちらちら揺らめく風前の灯火

今に果てそうにふらふらり

ここから建てる塔のはじめの杭

明日が重なっていく基

ゆらゆら踊る火種、燃やせ、燃やせ！

この生の千秋楽まで

ざらざら粘る摩擦の只中で

向かい風が吹くのを強く予感していた

黒く炭化した感情の内側で燻っている

この熱に息を吹きこんでくれ

遠い先の先のその先で燃え尽きるまで

踊る火種、燃やせ！

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
火種 hitane N2	noun - spark; seed of fire
燃える moeru N4	verb - to burn; to blaze
燃やす moyasu N3	verb - to set fire to; to burn (something)
鉄 tetsu N5	noun - iron (metal)
鞴 fui N1	noun - bellows (for a forge)
猫 neko N5	noun - cat
杓子 shakushi N2	noun - ladle, scoop
夜半 yahan N2	noun - midnight; middle of the night
嵐 arashi N4	noun - storm; tempest
朧 oboro N2	noun - haze; dimness
瞳 hitomi N4	noun - pupil of the eye
夢 yume N5	noun - dream
魑魅魍魎 chimimouryou N1	noun - myths spirits; goblins and demons
炭化 tanka N2	noun - carbonization; charring
感情 kanjou N4	noun - feeling; emotion
燃え尽きる moetsukiru N2	verb - to burn out; to be exhausted
輝く kagayaku N4	verb - to shine; to glitter
選択 sentaku N3	noun - choice; selection

Key Grammar Structures

• 赤々と燃ゆ灯火に

  ➔ Relative clause with nominalization

  ➔ The phrase uses the relative particle 'に' to connect the verb '燃ゆ' (burn) in its continuative form to the noun '灯火' (light). The entire phrase functions as a noun phrase modifying the implied subject. The '赤々と' intensifies the burning.

• 猫も杓子もはじめの火をいつしか忘れてしまう

  ➔ Idiomatic expression + Te-form +しまう

  ➔ "猫も杓子も" is an idiom meaning 'everyone'. The 'いつしか' indicates 'before one knows it'. The 'しまう' attached to the te-form '忘れてしまう' expresses regret or a completed negative action – 'end up forgetting'.

• ゆらゆら踊る火種、燃やせ、燃やせ！

  ➔ Onomatopoeia + Imperative

  ➔ "ゆらゆら" is an onomatopoeia describing flickering or swaying. '燃やせ' is the imperative form of '燃やす' (to burn), repeated for emphasis.

• どの選択も伸るか反るか

  ➔ Ka-question + or/either-or structure

  ➔ The 'か' particle creates a question, but here it's used rhetorically. '伸るか反るか' is a set phrase meaning 'succeed or fail', 'rise or fall'.