So here’s one I’ve been turning over for a while. My favorite song, J-pop or not, is Little Glee Monster’s cover of ファイト! (Fight!). I do have to be in the mood for an 8-minute long rock ballad-turned-soul ballad sort of tune, but it’s good enough to earn that playtime. It’s sad but optimistic, and though I could guess where it wanted to go just from listening to the chorus, I always wanted to know the story in between.
I’ve gone back to the listen to the original 1983 song by Nakajima Miyuki, and interestingly it doesn’t do anything for me. Somehow this cover transforms it, and puts the power of LGM to full use, highlighting everything I love about the group. The swells and troughs give each member the opportunity to exercise their incredible vocal prowess, though the chorus is just made for Serina.
I believe this cover has only been released once, in 2016 on one of the three versions of their 2nd album Colorful Monster.
Presumably because it’s so long, I’ve never found a live performance of the full song. The best so far is NHK’s The Covers broadcast from November 11, 2018, where they gave an abbreviated but powerful rendition boosted by a live orchestra. It’s great not just to see their passion, but to clearly identify who’s covering each part. I’d never have thought Asahi could match hand-offs from Serina and Manaka so well.
I’m not sure why it should be, but it’s hard for me to admit that this one is beyond my abilities. I mean, I know my Japanese has a long way to go, so I should be happy to return to this in a year or two. But at the same time, I feel like with all the resources of the internet at my disposal, surely I can crack the meaning of a dozen lines of lyrics?
Well, from a bit of searching it seems perhaps even native speakers find some of the passages here hard to comprehend, so maybe I shouldn’t be too worried at my interpretation. Though there’s a difference between interpretation and just being wrong.
So I was holding onto this, coming back and giving it another pass every week or so. And I think it has definitely improved, both in terms of literal correctness and poetical niceties. I like to think this site could become a resource for those foreigners who, like me, enjoy Japanese music, but find it hard to get at the meanings behind the words, even if it’s not 100% correct. So what the heck, I’ll post my work-in-progress translation.
I guess it’s a race between me and the Google Translates of the world to see who can crack this nut first. I may be bad, but I think I’m still better than the machines — for now. I expect I’ll revisit this from time to time, and maybe one day I’ll actually be happy with the translation. Or maybe I’ll break down and pay someone to do it for me! Also, I’m looking into how to do one of those fancy visualizer subs, so there’s that to look forward to at least.
(Updated 1/5/2020)
ファイト! (FAITO! / Fight!) Little Glee Monster (2016) Original Lyrics and Music by 中島みゆき (Nakajima Miyuki) (1983) Translation by SaitoWinterStar あたし中卒やからね 仕事をもらわれへんのやと書いた atashi chuusotsu ya kara ne shigoto wo morawarehen no ya to kaita Since I'm just a middle school grad I can't find a job, she wrote 女の子の手紙の文字は とがりながらふるえている on'na no ko no tegami no moji wa togarinagara furuete iru The writing in her letter trembles with bitterness ガキのくせにと頬を打たれ 少年たちの眼が年をとる GAKI no kuse ni to hoho wo utare shounen tachi no me ga toshi wo toru Slapped in the face with, "you're just a kid" A child's eyes will grow older 悔しさを握りしめすぎた こぶしの中 爪が突き刺さる kyuyashisa wo nigirishimesugita kobushi no naka tsume ga tsukisasaru I held too tightly to my regrets and into my fist my nails pierce 私 本当は目撃したんです 昨日電車の駅 階段で atashi hontou wa mokugeki shitan desu kinou densha no eki kaidan de The truth is I witnessed it yesterday on the stairs of the train station ころがり落ちた子供と つきとばした女のうす笑い korogariochita kodomo to tsukitobashita on'na no usuwarai A child tumbling down pushed by a woman with a thin smile 私 驚いてしまって 助けもせず叫びもしなかった atashi odoroite shimatte tasuke mo sezu sakebi mo shinakatta I was so shocked I didn't help or cry out ただ恐くて逃げました 私の敵は 私です tada kowakute nigemashita atashi no teki wa atashi desu I just ran away in fright My enemy is myself ファイト! FAITO! Fight! 闘う君の唄を tatakau kimi no uta wo To this song of your struggle 闘わない奴等が笑うだろう tatakawanai yatsura ga warau darou Seems those who can't fight will just laugh ファイト! FAITO! Fight! 冷たい水の中を tsumetai mizu no naka wo Through the cold water ふるえながらのぼってゆけ furuenagara nobotte yuke Through your trembling, keep climbing on 暗い水の流れに打たれながら 魚たちのぼってゆく kurai mizu no nagare ni utarenagara sakanatachi nobotte yuku Struck by the flow of dark waters The fish keep climbing on 光ってるのは傷ついてはがれかけた鱗が揺れるから hikatte ru no wa kizutsuite hagare kaketa uroko ga yureru kara Wounded, damaged scales broken off, glittering as they are spun away いっそ水の流れに身を任せ 流れ落ちてしまえば楽なのにね isso mizu no nagare ni mi wo makase nagareochite shimaeba raku nanoni ne Maybe they should surrender to the rush After all, wouldn't it be easier if they just floated away やせこけて そんなにやせこけて魚たちのぼってゆく yasekokete son'na ni yasekokete sakanatachi nobotte yuku Getting thinner and thinner, the fish keep climbing on 勝つか負けるかそれはわからない それでもとにかく闘いの katsu ka makeru ka sore wa wakaranai soredemo tonikaku tatakai no I don't know if it's something she'll win or lose And yet, one way or another, she fights 出場通知を抱きしめて あいつは海になりました shutsujou tsuuchi wo dakishimete aitsu wa umi ni narimashita Holding tight to the admission notice She's become one with the waters ファイト! FAITO! Fight! 闘う君の唄を tatakau kimi no uta wo To this song of your struggle 闘わない奴等が笑うだろう tatakawanai yatsura ga warau darou Seems those who can't fight will just laugh ファイト! FAITO! Fight! 冷たい水の中を tsumetai mizu no naka wo Through the cold water ふるえながらのぼってゆけ furuenagara nobotte yuke Through your trembling, keep climbing on 薄情もんが田舎の町にあと足で砂ばかけるって言われてさ hakujou mon ga inaka no machi ni ato ashi de suna ba kakeru tte iwarete sa They say it'd be cruel to abandon my hometown 出てくならおまえの身内も住めんようにしちゃるって言われてさ dete ku nara omae no miuchi mo sumen you ni shicharu tte iwarete sa They say if I leave then I'd have to provide for my relatives, too うっかり燃やしたことにしてやっぱり燃やせんかったこの切符 ukkari moyashita koto ni shite yappari moyasen katta kono kippu Though I pretended I burnt it without a care, I couldn't destroy it あんたに送るけん持っとってよ 滲んだ文字 東京ゆき anta ni okuru ken mottotte yo nijinda moji toukyou yuki Hold on to this ticket I'm sending you the letters blurred To Tokyo ファイト! FAITO! Fight! 闘う君の唄を tatakau kimi no uta wo To this song of your struggle 闘わない奴等が笑うだろう tatakawanai yatsura ga warau darou Seems those who can't fight will just laugh ファイト! FAITO! Fight! 冷たい水の中を tsumetai mizu no naka wo Through the cold water ふるえながらのぼってゆけ furuenagara nobotte yuke Through your trembling, keep climbing on あたし男だったらよかったわ 力ずくで男の思うままに atashi otoko dattara yokatta wa chikarazuku de otoko no omou mama ni It'd be ok if I was a guy A man can use as much force as he wants ならずにすんだかもしれないだけ あたし男に生まれればよかったわ narazu ni sunda ka mo shirenai dake atashi otoko ni umarereba yokatta wa Maybe if I'd just never been born It would have been better if I was born a man ああ 小魚たちの群れきらきらと 海の中の国境を越えてゆく aa kozakana tachi no mure kirakira to umi no naka no kokkyou wo koete yuku Ah, those glittering schools of little fish they cross through the borders in the ocean 諦めという名の鎖を 身をよじってほどいてゆく akirame to iu na no kusari wo mi wo yojitte hodoite yuku From that chain called resignation they twist and turn to break free ファイト! FAITO! Fight! 闘う君の唄を tatakau kimi no uta wo To this song of your struggle 闘わない奴等が笑うだろう tatakawanai yatsura ga warau darou Seems those who can't fight will just laugh ファイト! FAITO! Fight! 冷たい水の中を tsumetai mizu no naka wo Through the cold water ふるえながらのぼってゆけ furuenagara nobotte yuke Through your trembling, keep climbing on ファイト! FAITO! Fight! 闘う君の唄を (君の唄を) tatakau kimi no uta wo (kimi no uta wo) To this song of your struggle (To your song) 闘わない奴等が笑うだろう tatakawanai yatsura ga warau darou Seems those who can't fight will just laugh ファイト! FAITO! Fight! 冷たい水の中を tsumetai mizu no naka wo Through the cold water ふるえながらのぼってゆけ furuenagara nobotte yuke Through your trembling, keep climbing on ファイト! FAITO! Fight!
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Little Glee Monster — ファイト! (The Covers’ Fes ’18) – SaitoWinterStar · January 6, 2020 at 1:04 am
[…] one I’ve been meaning to come back to for quite a while. I mentioned in my first go at it that Little Glee Monster’s version of ファイト! (FAITO! / Fight!) was my favorite song, […]