Undergirls - "Nusumareta kuchibiru"

"Nusumareta kuchibiru" (Stolen lips)
(from "Ponytail to shushu" single)
AKB48 Undergirls senbatsu members (A: Iwasa Misaki, Katayama Haruka, Kuramochi Asuka, Maeda Ami, Ota Aika, Sashihara Rino / K: Akimoto Sayaka, Fujie Reina, Kikuchi Ayaka, Nito Moeno / B: Komori Mika, Oku Manami, Sato Amina, Sato Sumire / SKE48: Matsui Rena, Yagami Kumi)

words: Akimoto Yasushi
music: Inoue Yoshimasa
point of view: female
theme: love song
original lyrics


listen to Nusumareta kuchibiru on youtube

Spangles embroidered
In the midsummer's night sky
I pointed at the constellations
And asked you their names

The two of us were lying on a beach
The world up above us was so beautiful...
I thought I was the happiest person in the world
Just by being able to be at your side

Stolen lips
In the blink of an eye
Just as if wind had passed
You were in front of me
And for a second you were above me
My heart beat so fast
I was shaking

Words are always fumbling around
It's so hard to catch the real feelings...

Whenever the lighthouse on the cape shone
Your face appears in the darkness
Your embarassed eyes are so dear to me
I thought I loved you the most in the whole universe

Kiss me again
Let me prepare for it
So that I can feel your love
I want to gaze at you
Until we close our eyes
If it was just a kiss out of the excitement of the moment
Stop it...

Stolen lips
In the blink of an eye
Just as if wind had passed
You were in front of me
And for a second you were above me
My heart beat so fast
I was shaking

Kiss me again
Let me prepare for it
So that I can feel your love
I want to gaze at you
Until we close our eyes
If it was just a kiss out of the excitement of the moment
Stop it...

Stolen lips

Comment
This translation is a request from a S48 user, and I'm happy to help him out :D
It's a pretty simple song. "Stolen kiss" songs are a staple of idol repertory since the 70's, by the way :)

Team A, "Kurumi to dialogue"

I've only posted one Team A song so far, and that's definitely wrong, cause Team A is my second favourite team by a very small margin (Team K just wins, but A is just awesome), and generally has a lot of songs I can safely call my favourites.
So, to celebrate Team A and also as an attempt of being up to date, let me bring you Team A's latest song, "Chance no junban"'s B-side, the amazing "Kurumi to dialogue".

"Kurumi to dialogue" (A dialogue with a walnut)
(from "Chance no junban" single)
Team A (full team)

words: Akimoto Yasushi
music: PJ
point of view: female
theme: sexy song
original lyrics


listen to Kurumi to dialogue on youtube

What do you wanna do?

Once you've cracked the walnut open
Its hard shell
What's there inside?
If I open my heart
I should understand
What's coming next, shouldn't I?

Do! Do!…Do!Do!

When our eyes met I felt something
I can't put my finger on
Even if you were erasing those signals
I felt your heartbeat
You were in a place
A little distant from me
And you didn't show it at all
cool

What should I do?

Once you've cracked the walnut open
I could hear
That voice I'd locked away...
Once you've learnt the truth
You can't go back anymore, can you?

Non!Non!…Non!Non!

Held by your hands,
Played with slowly,
I raise a cry
As if love was swaying
If you use a little force
Nonchalantly,
I can't really resist

Yes!Yes!…Yes!Yes!

What do you wanna do?

It's a secret to dad and mum
I was told this is wrong
It'd be ok if it was only a dream,
But can I crush it?

Do!Do!…Do!Do!

What should I do?

Once you've cracked the walnut open
It all starts
A crushed moral
More foolish than Adam and Eve
But somehow I want to do it

Once you've cracked the walnut open
Its hard shell
What's there inside?
If I open my heart
That forbidden thing is delicious

Do!Do!…Do!Do!
Do!Do!…Do!Do!

Comment
I already liked this song since its early leek but I never paid attention to the lyrics. So when I read them I was honestly astonished.
The metaphore is rather easy to see: "cracking the walnut" clearly refers to losing one's virginity. It's not the first time that AKB sing a song about this theme, in more or less explicit ways (songs that come to mind: "Virgin love", "Dear my teacher", "Dokugumo"...), but this is probably one of the most nicely worded and designed ones. We follow the girl meeting a boy, flirting with him and finally losing in to temptation, knowing that what she's doing might be wrong and that there's no way back but eventually conceding. Interestingly, the PV is all about losing to temptation, too, albeit sexual temptation is barely hinted at.

Team K - "Kiseki wa ma ni awanai"

Finally, here it comes. "Kiseki~" is a song that is most precious for me, the song I voted for for this year's Request Hour, it HAD to come around asap. :D

"Kiseki wa ma ni awanai" (Miracles don't make it on time)
(from Team K 6th stage "RESET")
Team K (Miyazawa Sae [centre], Yonezawa Rumi, Nonaka Misato)

words: Akimoto Yasushi
music: Miyajima Ritsuko
point of view: male
theme: love song
original lyrics


listen to Kiseki wa ma ni awanai

A windy bus stop
Even if I wait for you
You definitely won't come
I knew that much

Over a not so high hill
There's a bench that looks like someone has forgotten it there
My hat flew away...
I kept looking for you since then

But miracles never make it on time, do they?
Love is always such a hasty thing
How many buses will have to stop and leave
Until destiny catches up?
My future lover

The reason why my heart's beating fast
Suddenly sped up
And got closer
To my heart's curve

It feels like
the green trees are staring at me
And I can't calm down
The probability that the two of us will fall in love

But miracles never make it on time, do they?
Pure love is never something that goes smoothly
Even if you weren't on the last bus either
I will forever wait here
I am the only lover

But miracles never make it on time, do they?
Love is always such a hasty thing
How many buses will have to stop and leave
Until destiny catches up?
My future lover

Comment
I LOVE THIS SONG. (wow, a scholarly comment. XD) It's the first unit song that Sae got to lead and it was written exactly for her: it's fun, happy, boyish and cool and cute at the same time, just like she is.
This song has no hidden meaning or cultural references in particular. It talks of a boy/young man who was sitting on a bench next to a bus stop, when suddenly the wind made his hat fly away. When he goes to pick it up, he sees a girl on the bus passing by and falls in love at first sight; so he ends up waiting everyday all day at the bus stop to see her again, hoping for a miracle.
It's as simple as this. Yet, I find it so charming. I find that this songs suits who performs them so perfectly I just can't help but love it as if it were a part of Sae-chan. Rumi and Micha are great in this song too, and the voices of the three of them blend really nicely.
In short: there's nothing about this song that's not to like. XD I might not have a deep lyrics analysis this time, but this song gives me energy and positivity every morning when I have to face a hard day, so it deserves its place here. ♥

AKB48, "Ponytail to shushu"

As I promised, a single!
This time I wanted to go for something lighter, but still meaningful, so let me introduce to you...

"Ponytail to shushu" (Ponytail and scrunchie)
(from "Ponytail to shushu" single)
AKB48 senbatsu members (A: Kojima Haruna, Maeda Atsuko, Shinoda Mariko, Takahashi Minami, Takajo Aki / K: Itano Tomomi, Minegishi Minami, Miyazawa Sae, Ono Erena, Oshima Yuko / B: Kasai Tomomi, Kashiwagi Yuki, Kitahara Rie, Miyazaki Miho, Watanabe Mayu / SKE48: Matsui Jurina)

words: Akimoto Yasushi
music: Ota Shinya
point of view: male
theme: love song
original lyrics


listen to Ponytail to shushu on youtube

Before the set date on the calendar
I roll up my shirt's sleeves
It's the sign that the sun is getting closer
I'm changing to summer uniform starting from my arms¹

Blue sea
On the shore
I want to see you
Splashing water with naked feet

(Shaking) your ponytail
Into the wind
You run (I run)
on the sand
(Shaking) your ponytail
You turned my way
Your smile
My summer begins

Sunrays lighten the classroom
The temperature of my dreams got higher
When I look at you, sitting some rows ahead of me
My heart aches

I'll never be able to say I like you
I whisper my feelings to your back

Your ponytail (makes me feel sad)
Inside my dreams
I have all of you (all of me)
For myself
Your ponytail (makes me feel sad)
One-sided love
When our eyes meet
Now, we're just friends

Your long hair in a ponytail
In a polka dot scrunchie
I can't catch the tail of love
It's an illusion that will disappear if I touch it

(Don't take out) your ponytail
Without ever changing
Just keep running
As you are (as I am)
(Don't take out) your ponytail
Please be forever
The happy young girl you are

La la la...

Note
¹ The whole first verse refers to the Japanese school tradition of changing from long-sleeved winter uniform to short-sleeved summer uniform on a set date (usually at the start of June).

Comment
This song is cheerful only in appearance. It is actually a melancholy song, sung from a schoolboy's point of view, about his unrequited love for his classmate. The literal story is as follows: he sees her frolicking on the beach, her hair in a ponytail, and in their sunlit classroom at the beginning of Summer, and thinks that he will never be able to confess to her, he'll just keep loving her from a distance.
But the ponytailed girl is also a symbol of idealized youth. Her ponytail (tied with a colourful scrunchie), her school uniform, taking off her shoes and socks to play with the sea in the first Summer days... The schoolgirl symbolizes youth as it is often idealized in the Japanese adult world: innocence, simple beauty, cheerfulness. Youth is beautiful and fleeting, the only carefree time in a lifetime before being lining up in the "shakaijin" (productive worker) ranks; therefore it is an object of longing - this is the real reason why idol industry is so florid in Japan. They don't sell an image of sex as many Westerners think: idols are the image of perfect youth.
Back to the song, of course the literal unrequited love story is the prevailing part of the song, but the "symbolized youth" metaphor is a pivotal element of Japanese, and especially idol, culture, so I thought I'd point it out since it would be easy to overlook it for someone who is not very knowledgeable with Japan's idealization of youth.