|
Well, I decided to continue with the masochism and attempt another Miyavi song. I had been tinkering with this one for a while already, and finally decided to go ahead and post what I have. This time it's Aho Matsuri, from his most recent album Miyavizm. I think the main reason I like this song so much is that it really captures that whole Japanese festival feel, utilizing some instruments and sound effects commonly heard in traditional festivals and Noh plays and the like... but in an inventive, rock-styled way. Totally characteristic of Miyavi. One thing I've been debating for a while is whether to translate the title as the nice realistic sounding "Festival of Fools" or a less... formal-sounding "Festival of Idiots." Finally decided the latter was more Miyavi-like, so I went with that. Also, a more accurate romanization of "aho" is actually "ahou," and the kanji reflects the more correct version, but "aho" is what he actually sings (and is essentially the same anyway, just more colloquial), so I'll be using that in my romaji. And yes, Miyavi likes to use actual punctuation in his lyrics, so I kept that for effect. >> Anyway, enjoy... MIYAVI - AHO MATSURI (FESTIVAL OF IDIOTS) Odoru aho ni sawagu aho, onaji aho nara kowarenya sonson Kireru aho mo guchiru "do" aho mo, douse aho nara warawanya sonson Soko ni aho, koko ni aho, asoko ni aho, doko ni demo aho. "Wataru seken wa aho bakari!!" Hajiketai no nara kocchi e koi yo, kara yaburitai no nara oide yo lady. Yo ga akeru made odoriakasou ze, soshite kyou mo mata omatsuri sawagi. Warau aho, okoru aho, kanashimu aho, yorokobu aho. "Baka tte iu yatsu ga baka nan da!!" Utau aho ni sakebu aho, onaji aho doushi tomo ni yume minya sonson. Sochira no aho mo dochira no aho mo, aho wa aho rashiku ikiranya sonson. Hazukashigattenaide kocchi muite yo, tamerattenaide kao agena yo lady. Yo ga akeru mae ni hashiridasanakya, hora kyou mo mata aho no matsuri. In English: Dancing idiots and rowdy idiots, if you're an idiot either way, you might as well break down. [1] Raging mad idiots and the dumbest of grumbling idiots, if you're an idiot anyway, you might as well laugh. [2] Idiots there, idiots here, idiots over there, idiots everywhere. "The whole world is nothing but idiots!!" If you wanna burst out just come this way, if you wanna break your shell then get over here, lady. Let's dance till the break of dawn, and today again we'll go crazy at the festival. Laughing idiots, angry idiots, sad idiots, happy idiots. "Whoever calls us idiots is an idiot!!" Singing idiots and shouting idiots, if we're all idiots, we might as well dream together. Idiots there and idiots everywhere, idiots might as well live like idiots. Don't be shy, look this way - don't hesitate, lift your face, lady. Gotta start running before the sun comes up - look, today again it's the Festival of Idiots. Some footnotes... [1] This line (and a few similar lines later in the song) seems to be a take-off on a similar quote that's apparently fairly common in respect to Japanese festivals, particularly the Awa-Odori in Koshigaya: "Odoru ahou ni miru ahou, onaji ahou nara, odoranya sonson," which translates roughly to "Fools dancing and fools watching, if you are a fool either way, you might as well dance." [2] Thanks Cyclo for explaining the bracketed "do" thing for me! As it turns out, "do" as a prefix sort of stresses the word it precedes, so a "do"-aho is not just an idiot, but a REALLY BIG idiot. Well, this one was a lot more fun than the last Miyavi song I did. Came out a lot better too. *pleased* And you know, as I listen more closely to Miyavi's songs in recent days/weeks, I notice that a lot of them have some pretty serious lyrics. Some of them are even full of social/political commentary. You'd just never expect it since they're all so fun and catchy and upbeat. Even this one, despite the catchy and creative overall sound, has that whole "I'm surrounded by idiots, pleeeease get me out of here before they strike again today" feeling. Haven't we all felt that way on occasion? (disclaimer: this song belongs to Miyavi, not me. I only take credit for the romaji and translation. I'm just a fangirl trying to make J-music a little more accessible to Americans. No copyright infringement is intended. Please don't sue me - I have 4 years' worth of college to pay off. T_T) posted by Becky at 11:51 PM
Comments:
In terms of the bracketed "do," in front of a word (especially something like aho), it's actually a slang type thing.
(I've grown up speaking Japanese.) Aho is a plain idiot, but "do-aho" is like..a MAJOR idiot. Beyond idiocy. It just stresses his point. So if I wanted to say "really really uptight," I'd say "do-gitsui" instead of "kitsui." Hope that clarifies. ^_^ # posted by
 : 4:44 PM
Ahh, cool! Thanks a lot for clarifying that! Sugoi benkyou ni narimashita ^o^
Post a Comment
And if you find any other mistakes or whatnot elsewhere in this blog, feel free to point them out. I live to learn. ^_^ *goes to make edits* |
|
about me__++
name// Becky Cottrill birthdate// 6.23.1982 location// Ohio, USA interests// J-music, J-drama, Japanese language, visual kei, fluffy things... upcoming// refer to Taiji Project! | |
|
I'm always finding Japanese songs that I adore, but can't find English translations for. So I've made a hobby of translating such songs, and this is where I put them. Can't find the song you want? Send me the lyrics (kanji if possible, but romaji will do) and I'll see what I can do. But no promises, as I'm not exactly the most fluent Japanese speaker around. Also, PLEASE don't display any of these lyrics elsewhere unless you credit me. Just my name and a link back here would be great. Thanks!
| |
