October 20, 2024

Translation: Rendezvous (Sons of Sun)

Rendezvous (Yanagida/Matsumoto) opens Side B with shimmering folk-rock (which is such a cliche, but how else would you describe this arrangement?) that makes way for a bizarre and wonderful psychedelic bridge, the one moment on the album that hearkens back to Hiro Yanagida's psych rock past.

Before I investigated the lyrics, I thought the long breaks between the lines in the verses were strange, but after I did the translation, the same pauses came to feel beautiful and natural.

Suburban Train is my favorite song on Kaizoku Kid no Bouken, but I think this one comes in second.



:::



For a long time now,
and all too late,
the only thing I've been able to think about
is coffee.
Even as they roll the rays of the sun like dough,
my fingertips are stiff with cold.

See how slowly
the coffee I spilled
glides over the frozen summer,
and how pleasantly.

For a long time now,
and all too late,
the only thing I've been able to think about
is you.
The only thing my eyes reflect
is the silhouette
of a city made of paper.

See how slowly
the shards of the love you mislaid
glide over the frozen pavement,
and how pleasantly.

For a long time now,
and all too late,
the only thing I've been able to think about
is love.
My lips cling to love
but emit nothing but smoke.

See how slowly
the love song I'd forgotten about
glides over the frozen pavement,
and how quietly.


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