Mystery Line, a B-side with no video from AKB48’s 6th album, has special meaning for me. Well it’s not that exciting a story, but when I spent a month living in Saitama, commuting an hour and 45 minutes each way to Tokyo every day, I got lost a lot.
Maybe you’d think commuting the same route every day you’d get used to it, but invariably I found ways to catch the wrong train, miss my stop, end up at the wrong platform, take the wrong exit, take an unfamiliar entrance, etc. Then I’d decide to go somewhere new, or worst of all, try to find a detour when there was a closure of a segment of a line I needed (Tip: follow the crowd, and you’ll probably end up somewhere…).
Well it so happens that early in my trip, while lost and upset on a train somewhere beneath Tokyo, this song came up on my playlist. I didn’t even remember putting it on there, but suddenly it became my anthem for being lost. Whenever I was walking back across miles of station, or waiting for the train to go back the way I’d come and undo another error, I’d just pop Mystery Line on and feel a little better.
Without looking anything up, I had assumed Okada Nana was the lead vocal for this. When I found out it was actually Jurina that also totally made sense (Naachan’s singing please accept my apologies).
AKB48 Mystery Line Translation by SaitoWinterStar 階段 登りきったら kaidan nobori kittara When I'd climbed the stairs 何かが変わると信じてた nani ka ga kawaru to shinjite ta I believed that something would change 太陽を探しながら taiyou wo sagashinagara While looking for the sun 地上へと向かったんだ chijou e to mukatta nda I went out above ground 光は何を隠すのか? hikari wa nani wo kakusu no ka? What is the light hiding? 出会うべき人はどこにいる? deaubeki hito wa doko ni iru? Where is the person I should be meeting? 愛のアドレスを ai no ADORESU wo The address for love 教えてくれ oshiete kure Tell it to me Mystery line 乗ったこともない地下鉄に乗って notta koto mo nai chikatetsu ni notte Riding a subway I'd never been on 目隠しされたガラス窓に mekakushi sareta GARASU mado ni From the tinted windows 真っ暗闇と人工の灯り makkurayami to jinkou no akari Total darkness and artificial lights 知らない駅をいくつ過ぎても… shiranai eki wo ikutsu sugite mo... No matter how many strange stations I pass... 手がかりは古い夢 tegakari wa furui yume The clues are in an old dream 憂鬱な世界 yuuutsu na sekai A melancholy world 地上なんか出なくても chijou nanka denakute mo Even if I don't make it above ground いいんじゃないか? ii n jani ka? Isn't that ok? 終点 辿り着く頃 shuten tadori tsuku koro Around when I finally make it to the end of the line なぜだか ふいに思い出した naze da ka fui ni omoidashita Somehow I suddenly remember 前にここまで来たような mae ni koko made kita you na Seems I've been here before 既視感は誰のせいだ? kishikan wa dare no sei da? This deja vu, who's fault is it? 寝たふりしてる乗客たちは neta furi shite ru joukyakutachi wa The passengers pretending to be asleep 愛されたことなど忘れてる aisareta koto nado wasurete ru Forgetting what it is to be loved 真の恋人は shin no koibito wa Their true love 待っているよ matte iru yo Is waiting Mystery line 乗ったこともない地下鉄に乗って notta koto mo nai chikatetsu ni notte Riding a subway I'd never been on 目隠しされたガラス窓に mekakushi sareta GARASU mado ni From the tinted windows 真っ暗闇と人工の灯り makkurayami to jinkou no akari Total darkness and artificial lights 知らない駅をいくつ過ぎても… shiranai eki wo ikutsu sugite mo... No matter how many strange stations I pass... 人間は期待している hito wa kitai shite iru People are expecting 次の駅で tsugi no eki de At the next station いつも降りる準備をしてるんだ itsumo oriru junbi wo shite ru nda Planning to get off as usual 路線図を rozenzu wo Never looking 見たりしない mitari shinai At the route map Mystery line 言葉にできない感情に揺られ kotoba ni dekinai kanjyou ni yurare I'm shaken by feelings I can't put to words 鈍く光ったレールの先に nibiku hikatta REIRU no saki ni Beyond the dully shining rails あの耳障りな車輪の軋み ano mimizawari na sharin no kishimi That harsh squealing of the car's wheels どこで降りるか気にも留めずに doko de oriru ka ki ni mo todomezu ni Without worrying about where I'll get off 懐かしいこの痛み natsukashii kono itami I'll miss this pain 選んだ駅が eranda eki ga The station I chose 出口じゃなくたって deguchi janaku ta tte If there's not an exit いいんじゃないか? ii n janai ka? Isn't that ok?
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