STU48 — 青い檸檬

One of the cruel, and initially bewildering, things about Japanese pop music is the proliferation of slightly different versions of the same release. Regular and Limited, Type-A through Type-F, Anime Edition, Theater Edition, first-press pack-ins with various items….

The tragic thing for overseas fans is that the “Theater Edition” of 48 Group releases are only officially sold for handshake tickets, meaning they can’t be easily ordered to overseas addresses and normally don’t show up on the retail sites like CDJapan or Amazon. And since the theater edition song doesn’t get a music video, often you’ll never hear it, outside of a special TV performance. But in Japan these CDs are practically available for free, since people order dozens or hundreds for the tickets and then immediately throw them away.

Well, here’s another theater edition gem, off of STU48’s newest single 大好きな人 (dasuki na hito / The Person I Love). This wonderful song, 青い檸檬 (aoi remon / Green Lemons), is sung by the STU Vocal Senbatsu of Okada Nana, Kadowaki Miyuna, and Yano Honoka. I admit I’m mostly here for Naachan’s beautiful voice, but the whole song is really nice. STU’s home region of Setouchi is known for its lemons, so as an idol song the lyrics hit a lot of nice points.

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I made this as I really like having the lyrics to follow along with as I listen, plus I hope this helps the song reach more people. Without a video, I went with a maybe boring “spectrum analyzer” graphic treatment, but I like those slideshow videos even less.

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As a first attempt at a lyric video, I ended up doing exactly what I wanted to avoid, which was assembly by brute force. I screen captured the media player graphical equalizer, then encoded that along with the static graphics and the sound file, having to re-align them as I went. Then did the actual timing, then re-encode again, pulling in the original sound file again to prevent too much weirdness. Hopefully for the next one I can figure out a better workflow….

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STU48
青い檸檬 (aoi remon / Green Lemons)

Translation by SaitoWinterStar



「熟していない青い檸檬が僕は好きだ
"juku shite inai aoi remon ga boku wa suki da
"I like those unripe green lemons

生まれてから僕はもう何個　齧っただろう？」
umarete kara boku wa mou nan ko    kajitta darou?"
Just how many have I chewed on since I was born?"



青い檸檬　水道の水で
aoi remon    suidou no mizu de
Green lemons   In the aqueduct water

じゃぶじゃぶと洗って　そっと齧った
jabujabu to aratte    sotto kajitta
Splashing as I washed it   And quietly chewed 

ああ　酸っぱくて
aa    suppakute
Ah    So sour

苦くて　顔をしかめた
nigakute    kao wo shikameta
So bitter    I grimaced



突然　走り出したくなった
totsuzen    hashiridashitaku natta
All of the sudden    I wanted to take off running

青春とは　理由のない行動
seishun to wa    riyuu no nai koudou
Youth    It's about action without reason



まだまだ　答えは見つからないけど
mada mada    koetae wa mitsukaranai kedo
And yet    Though the answer can't be found

僕はあの空　問いかけ続けるだろう
boku wa ano sora    toikake tsudzukeru darou
I guess I'll keep on asking the sky 

自分はどうして生まれて来たのか？
jibun wa dou shite umarete kita no ka?
Why is it I was born?

何のために生きていると言うのか？
nan no tame ni ikite iru to iu no ka?
What would you say I'm living for?



「思い切り青い檸檬にかぶりついた時の迸る果汁が若さだ
"omoikiri aoi remon ni kaburi tsuita toki no hotobashiru kajuu ga wakasa da
"Youth is that time I bit into a green lemon with all my strength and the juice came gushing out

少しくらい制服や辺りを汚したって構うものか！」
sukoshi kurai seifuku ya atari wo yogoshitatte kamau mono ka!"
What do I care if a little gets on the ground and stains my uniform!"






君が僕に投げて寄越したね
kimi ga boku ni nagete yokoshita ne
You threw it at me, right?

もぎたての香りの青い檸檬を…
mogitate no kaori no aoi remon wo...
The smell of a freshly-picked green lemon...

ああ　友情は
aa    yuujou wa
Ah    Friendship

いつしか　実ってるもの
itsushika    minotte ru mono
Before you know    It's ripening



夜明け　来るまで語り合った
yoake    kuru made katariatta
We talked until the dawn came

卒業まで時間がある気がした
sotsugyou made jikan ga aru ki ga shita
It felt like there was time before we graduated



まだまだ　未来を考えられずに
mada mada    mirai wo kangaerarezu ni
And yet    Unable to think about the future

僕は理想ばかり追い求めてた
boku wa risou bakari oimotomete ta
I was just chasing a dream

近くの現実　目を背けながら
chikaku no genjistsu    me wo somukenagara
While looking away from the reality that was right there

誰のために夢を見ると言うのか？
dare no tame ni yume wo miru to iu no ka?
Who would you say I dream for?






そこに　檸檬の木があったんだ
soko ni    remon no ki ga atta nda
Right there    There was a lemon tree

白い花を今でも覚えてるよ
shiroi hana wo ima made mo oboete ru yo
Even now I remember its white flowers



まだまだ　答えは見つからないけど
mada mada    koetae wa mitsukaranai kedo
And yet    The answer can't be found,

僕はあの空　問いかけ続けるだろう
boku wa ano sora    toikake tsudzukeru darou
But I guess I'll keep on asking that sky 

自分はどうして生まれて来たのか？
jibun wa dou shite umarete kita no ka?
Why is it I was born?

何のために生きていると言うのか？
nan no tame ni ikite iru to iu no ka?
What would you say I'm living for?



「青い檸檬を丸ごと一個　食べ終えて
"aoi remon wo marugoto ikko    tabeoete
"I finish eating a whole green lemon

僕は幸福感に満たされる
boku wa koufukukan ni mitasareru
And I'm filled with happiness

酸っぱさも苦さも人生なんだ」
suppasa mo nigasa mo jinsei nanda"
Life is both the bitter and the sour"