King Gnu – 白日 ( Hakujitsu ) English translation

In this article, I will share with you some background stories about 白日( Hakujitsu ) and my translation of the lyrics.

白日 ( Hakujitus ) and 常田大樹 ( Tsuneda daiki )

Firstly, the title of the song can be interpreted in various ways based on the meaning of each character. ‘白’(haku) often refers to the color – “white”, and sometimes refer to innocence. This is common in many culture that white and black is associated with innocence and sinfulness. Then, ‘日’(jitsu) refers to a day. Overall, 白日 (Hakujitsu) can be interpreted as a bright sunny day or an innocent day.

This song was composed by 常田大希 ( tsuneda daiki ), the guitarist of King Gnu, and his personal story is considered to have a huge impact on his lyrics. This song was released following the death of two of his close childhood friends. As a result, he had been deeply contemplating life and death. Additionally, he recounted that this song encouraged him to go visit their graves.

In the following English lyrics, I will reflect on these events in the translation. However, there are some parts where Japanese sentences have ample room for interpretation, and I may have a different view from others.

① 真っ新に生まれ変わって

In a verbatim translation, this means ‘If I were reborn and made a fresh start’. This can be interpreted as 1. Starting a new life from the beginning in this life (a person returns to be a new born), 2. Starting another life in the next life. This idea is based on the Buddhist idea of reincarnation. When a person or other living creature has passed, they will begin their new lives with another new body. In Buddhism, the soul of a person is eternal, and the body is the temporal container of the soul. I took the second view, as it made more sense to me in this song.

白日 ( Hakujitsu ) Lyrics

My personal interpretation of the lyrics is put in Italic below.

時には誰かを 知らず知らずのうちに

傷つけてしまったり 失ったりして初めて 犯した罪を知る

Occasionally, we unconsciously and innocently hurt others, and may end up losing them.

It is not until then that we begin to feel remorse for our sinful behavior.

This is a general sentence, and he does not mention who was hurt. In our daily lives, we may hurt anyone, such as our friends, partners, and families. As a result, our relationships could be broken. It is up to individual listeners to decide who they associate with this lyric. However, in the following translation, I translated on the premise that the composer, 常田大希 ( tsuneda daiki), is imagining his deceased friends.  

 

戻れないよ、昔のようには  煌めいて見えたとしても

明日へと歩き出さなきゃ  雪が降り頻ろうとも

I wish I could live with you the way we did.

Even though my memories of you are shining through rose-tinted glasses.

I have to move on tomorrow even through heavy snow

 

今の僕には

何ができるの?何になれるの?

誰かのために生きるなら  正しいことばかり 言ってらんないよな

I am asking myself

What can I do now? Who can I be now?

If I live for the sake of others, uttering fine-sounding words won’t be enough.

 

どこかの街で また出逢えたら

僕の名前を 覚えていますか?

その頃にはきっと 春風が吹くだろう

If we could meet up again in an unknown town,

Would you still remember my name?

It will be the high time that a spring breeze would blow.

His friends have already passed. Therefore, it is impossible to meet them again. Probably, he is expecting to see the next reincarnation of his deceased friends. If this is the case, the lyrics make sense, he has no idea where the next reincarnation will be born and they will have no memory of the past reincarnation. Furthermore, spring is associated with the new life, and it could be the reason he says they will meet when a spring breeze blows.

 

真っ新に生まれ変わって 人生一から始めようが

へばりついて離れない

地続きの今を歩いているんだ

Even if I were born again and started life from the beginning,

I could not part from my past

I am moving step by step on a continuous road.

I interpreted ‘moving step by step on a continuous road’ as a metaphor of reincarnation. Whatever happened in the past is carried forward, and he is lamenting that he cannot part from his past where he hurt his friends and failed to notice their signals of their distress.

 

真っ白に全てさよなら

降りしきる雪よ

全てを包み込んでくれ

今日だけは 全てを隠してくれ

I wish I could completely part from everything.

I wish downpouring snow could embrace everything

Even if it lasts for only today, please cover up everything

 

もう戻れないよ、昔のようには

羨んでしまったとしても

明日へと歩き出さなきゃ

雪が降り頻ろうとも

I cannot live the way I used to,

My jealousy wells up in vain

I have to move on tomorrow

Even through heavy snow

 

いつものように笑ってたんだ

分かり合えると思ってたんだ

曖昧なサインを見落として

途方のない間違い探し

We were laughing as usual in a fun atmosphere. La

I thought we could understand each other

Having overlooked elusive signals from you,

I am pointlessly engaged in spotting the difference.

 

季節を越えて また出逢えたら

君の名前を 呼んでもいいかな

その頃にはきっと

春風が吹くだろう

If we could see each other in the next season,

Would you allow me to call your name?

It will be the high time that a spring wind would blow

 

真っ新に生まれ変わって

人生一から始めようが

首の皮一枚繋がった

如何しようも無い今を生きていくんだ

Even if I were born again and started life from the beginning,

I would hopelessly continue to live an unchangeable day

 

真っ白に全てさよなら

降りしきる雪よ

今だけはこの心を凍らせてくれ

全てを忘れさせてくれよ

I wish I could completely part from everything.

I wish downpouring snow could freeze my mind.

Even if it lasts for only today, please let me forget everything

 

朝目覚めたら

どっかの誰かに なってやしないかな

なれやしないよな

聞き流してくれ

I wish I would wake up to find I have become someone else

I know it cannot happen so don’t take my wish seriously

 

忙しない日常の中で

歳だけを重ねた

その向こう側に 待ち受けるのは

天国か地獄か

In a bustling everyday life, I only became older.

What will be the consequence of my life, heaven or hell ?

 

いつだって人は鈍感だもの

わかりゃしないんだ肚の中

それでも愛し愛され

生きて行くのが定めと知って

We are always non-sensing

Our true feelings are indistinguishable

Nevertheless, we are aware that we are destined to love each other

 

後悔ばかりの人生だ

取り返しのつかない過ちの 一つや二つくらい

誰にでもあるよな

そんなんもんだろう

うんざりするよ

My life is filled with remorseful moments.

I believe everyone has committed a few irreparable sins,

That’s that way life is.

I am sick of it

 

(Repeat the same lyrics )

Link – official music video

You can see the official music video from the following link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ony539T074w

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