Translation: A Chance Encounter (Yellow Magic Orchestra)

In September of last year, thanks to some great pieces of writing by Nic from Critter Jams, I finally set out on the Haruomi Hosono expedition I've been promising myself ever since Devendra Banhart got me interested. This deep dive became one of the most beautiful things to happen to me in an already great year. My list of all-time favorite albums has been growing at a ridiculous rate. It's as if everything Hosono touches turns to sustaining water.

Hosono founded the band Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978 and treated it as his primary musical outlet until the band's dissolution in 1983. His bandmates, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Yukihiro Takahashi, were geniuses in their own right. The music they made together (and separately) is insane — lovely — hilarious — dark — as likely to make me want to bounce around the room as it is to inspire prayerful listening in rapt attention, or to make me cry (in short, see this clip).

For most of their run, the band collaborated with poet Chris Mosdell and translator Peter Barakan and recorded songs in English. But for 1983's Naughty Boys, they reverted to Japanese. I haven't found satisfactory English translations online and thought I might try to fill that gap.

A Chance Encounter (Kai-Koh) is a Sakamoto song. It's absolutely huge. It picks you up and throws you against the wall. The words, though, are:



:::



I can't sing
any more beautiful love songs.
I've been walking alone, on foot.
And I'm saying goodbye to the person I've been until now.

I've run too far away.
There is nothing left at all now.
I can't stay here.
And I'm saying goodbye to the person I've been until now.



:::



Then the first verse is repeated.

The whole album (Naughty Boys) seems to be like this, its sonically sublime and unguardedly, sky-sweepingly joyous music rubbing up against sadness, hesitation, longing, regret. It's either the happiest sad album ever made or the saddest happy one.

(Back to: List of Translations)