Translation: I Passed through Your Town (Hiro Yanagida)

The bittersweet vibe continues in I Passed through Your Town. I love Hiro's bright arrangement, all ska horns and infectious group vocals. [Edit, a couple months later: "bright" is an understatement. This song is joy incarnate!!] At "but I heard," the backing vocals disappear and it's just beautiful, frail Hiro singing alone.

Hiro lops off the last two lines of Takashi's lyrics, which I've restored in this translation. I'm not sure the grammar makes sense with the lines gone; if it does, I think it turns the narrator (instead of the town, which goes unmentioned) into the one "smothered in autumn light."

:::



The twilight 

goes passing by.
There's a town 

the color of dead leaves
reflected in the window 

of the train.

The wind that blows in 

through the window
smells of memories.
I close my eyes 

and hear your voice.

Come to think of it,

I heard someone say
you don't live here

in this town anymore.
Even if that's true, 

it doesn't matter.
I can see you regardless, you know.

On each and every street corner,
I could find the shadows
you left behind.
And holding 

that thought in my mind,
I turn

and look in the other direction.

The town flying by
is smothered in autumn light.

And nighttime 

comes stealing

up on my eyes.

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