An Inspection of Morning Musume Lyrics (through the years)- Final Part
This is the final part- Part Three!
As always, translations are from projecthello.com, unless stated otherwise. Images from Google.
Next up is "Ai Araba IT'S ALL RIGHT"
This single focuses on just love, and how wonderful it is. It doesn't matter who loves you- a boyfriend, a friend, or a family member. Just looking at the title it means, "As long as there's love, it's all right".
As long as there's love, it's all right
The sun looks looks over everything
If you fuss over it, it's all right
The future is all right
Step forward, it's all right
It seems this girl is thinking that it's okay if she doesn't have love from a boyfriend. She has love from plenty of other places, and that's alright. She's looking at her previous relationships with a nicer light.
When I first fell in love
Without knowing what I should do
I stood on tiptoe and kissed you
That was the most I've trembled
in my entire life
My worries wouldn't vanish
And I shed tears
I said the wrong thing
And I caused misunderstandings
But
If you live honestly
You'll run into excitement
Because today is new because it's today
I've been able to
meet up with genuine kindness
Roman ~MY DEAR BOY~
In this song, our girl gives her experiences to others.
Don't cry, because it's okay
if fleeting first loves don't come true
Don't cry, that's where it all begins
Ride on! Ride on! Ride on!
Don't cry, the girl who doesn't cry
will live on strongly
Don't cry, love will never lose
Ride on! Ride on! Ride on!
It's as if she's teaching a younger sister or friend what she's discovered during "Ai Araba IT'S ALL RIGHT". "Love will never lose". Don't cry, things won't always feel this bad.
Next is "Joshi Kashimashi Monogatari". But this song is so scattered. It really doesn't fit with a theme fully, it's just about each girl.
Namida ga Tomaranai Houkagi
This song just feels like a different person is singing it. When I listen to it, it doesn't feel like a whole Morning Musume. Maybe the other songs were the group as a whole. This one is just two people- Michishige Sayumi and Konno Asami. With this song we're reminded that there are different parts that make up Morning Musume. This song is sung by the two who portray the part of our girl who still wants to fall in love dispite the past.
My tears won't stop
Because you're too kind
My tears won't stop
Because I'm so happy
If you heard my heart
I'd be so embarrassed
They're still a bit shy and surprised at being in love so much. So with this, maybe each member of Morning Musume represents a different part of a relationship and the feelings that go along with it. But as a whole, each of the very different girls together, we have one girl- Morning Musume. I'm making this up as I go, honestly! So take everything I say with that in mind. Nothing here is really thought out that much, it's just my initial thoughts. ;p
I don't have much to say about the next single, "THE Manpower!" There's not much in the way of lyrics, most of it is the "Manpower!" chants.
Now we have "Osaka Koi no Uta", "Osaka Love Song"
Just as "Namida ga Tomaranai Houkagi" was a Sayumi/Konno song, this is a Takahashi Ai song. This girl is similar to the one who sings Namida.
I love you, I mean it, I love you
But the distance is too much
That's right
I love you, but now it's all over
Osaka love song
She doesn't totally hate love, but she realizes that it's over. She's able to let it go, while the Namida girl might have tried to make it work.
Iroppoi Jirettai!
This song feels like a point where they want to get back on that old path and fall in love, though not the innocent holding hands kind of love that's talked about in "Namida ga Tomaranai Houkagi".
It's nice
to be treated well, but
I'm gonna keep on asking for more
Sexy cupid
I'm impatient for more of your kisses
The hot beat
of this sexy island
The sea highlights my jealousy
I mumble to myself all weekend
I'd be happy if I was with you
It's a strange fragrance sweetie
They miss the "fun" that comes with a boyfriend. The love that you can't share with a friend or family member (Ai Araba IT'S ALL RIGHT). But by that last section, we can tell that this is all just wanting. Our girl doesn't really have a boyfriend again, this is all just sort of a day dream. "I'd be happy if I was with you."
I'll say it again
"I love you"
Hold me tight and never let go
To me, it feels like this girl is just saying "I love you" so she can be held and loved the way she needs. Even the title portrays the feeling of just wanting that love any way she can get it "Sexy Impatience"
Chokkan 2
~Nogashita Sakana wa Ookiizo!~
This song is hard to tell what it's trying to say. Tsunku's crazy writing at it's best! But there might be some things to pick out.
After you've "been dumped"
you start your next love
Even if you feel the chagrin
you can't get even
If you didn't know (as I didn't), chagrin means "a feeling of vexation, marked by disappointment or humiliation". So there is a bit of a lesson in here! Hidden in all the craziness of fish is a point of love. It feels like our girl is trying to get away from talking of love, but ends up putting it in there anyways. The other theme was not letting things pass you by.
Something I should talk about is the b-side, "Koi wa Hassou Do The Hustle!". This song was supposed to be the a-side, but was switched at the last moment.
No matter what age,
because women are girls,
we want you to notice
the small changes
The changes in our girl has been realizing the different things about love. She wants everybody to know that she's changed. She's been though a hard love, but got through it with more knowledge then she started. Maybe she hopes that people (guys?) will realize this.
SEXY BOY ~Soyokaze ni Yorisotte~ (translations from Kiwi Musume)
If you want
I'll give you everything
But will you
Steal my heart, too?
Wow! This is just like I said before. She started dating a boy, but fell in love and gave him something- her heart. She's worrying that this new boy, the "sexy boy" will take her heart too.
I've long ago
Let my guard down
It's not like me, is it?
This is right, it was a long time ago that she had fallen in love. Since then, she's realized that you don't need a boyfriend's love and such (Ai Araba). Even in Roman ~MY DEAR BOY~ she was telling others of this- something she's experienced. But with this new boy... it's not like her, after all that discovery, to start to fall in love again.
The sea and the wind, the shower of sunlight
You sparkled freshly, sexy boy
The season will come again
But I can't go back, fall in love
And yet she can't go back. This line is at the end of the song, and thus he final decision on this sexy boy- it's not worth it. She can't go back and fall in love again.
Ambitious! Yashinteki de Ii jan
This feels like a great follow up to Sexy Boy.
When I'm with my lover,
I'm really happy
If I count the final trains
my dreams awaken
Hold me
Just those times when I'm sad
Hold me
I'm fine now
She sort of regrets not falling in love with that sexy boy. And like in Iroppoi Jirettai, she wants a boyfriend's love. But this time she try to ignore it and go towards the future.
Hey! Hey! Happy everydays
Isn't being ambitious good?
Tomorrow will clear up
just the same
Jump! Jump! Let's take off!
If I spread my angel wings
It's the kissing ritual
Boys & Girls! Be Ambitious
Fitting along with the theme of Ambitious!, Aruiteru also talks of the future.
Walking
towards that sky ahead,
towards the future we can't see yet,
holding love to our chests
This girl will just let the past be past. Not every guy can be bad, right?
Egao YES Nude
This is the first love song we've had in a long time. We haven't had one like this since before As For One Day.
Smile Yes Nude
I'm yours alone, so
be strong without holding back
I'll follow you any night
We just kissed
Our 2nd February
No one will lose to this Melody
Yet there's a difference in this song and those older ones. You can just feel an undertone of cautiousness.
Smile Yes Nude
But, but, it's so amazing
It's supposed to be like a far, far away dream, but
for some reason I fall asleep
on your chest with a smile
Smile Yes Nude
So, so, I'm a little scared
This love is supposed to be so, so close
But, but, exhausted, I'll sleep
on your chest
"It's supposed to be like a far, far away dream". When she was singing Roman, even thoughts of falling in love like this was a far far away dream. She's a little scared, but throws caution to the wind and loves him.
Kanashimi Twilight
Something happened with this boy from Egao YES Nude. The tone of this song is angrier then most past songs.
I don't trust men
Because they're full of lies
Just try making an excuse!
I convinced myself at twilight
that other guys are
surely different
With Aruiteru, she had convinced herself that not all boys can be bad. That she was going to go to the future with open arms. And it was with Egao that she fell in love.
I fell in love
before I realized it was love
My heart is shaking; this is a premonition that I'm going to cry
Even though I purposefully said selfish things
you came to pick me up
I guess I had no choice but to fall in love with you
Do what you please with me
Don't leave in a hurry
I refused to kiss you for a long time
"You're always taking care, and nice"
I'm grasping the phone, and
by the time I realize it I've quickly forgiven you
Just like what she's been swearing off of doing since As For One Day, she's fallen in love.
I had dreams
They came up
Even if you could apologize, there's no point
I knew that someday, it would
surely turn out like this
The twilight of a sad love
And we don't know how, but it ended quite badly. Who knows if Morning Musume will ever recover from this?
Onna ni Sachi Are
I think this is MM's most angry song to date.
"I'll forgive you"
Stupid, stupid, stupid
How could you let her
take you away from me, it's stupid
Of course I'm crying
Ahh, from this it seems that her Egao relationship ended because another girl got his attention. And there's even a direct quote from Kanashimi Twilight: "by the time I realize it I've quickly forgiven you".
Without realizing a thing,
stupid, stupid, stupid
How long were you
friends with her?
Of course I'm crying
In a repeat of the "Baka ne" chorus, we learn more about this girl. She was a friend! That is not good news.
The dusk after the setting sun
suits my loneliness
Your favorite phrase
still echos in my ears
I won't show you my tears
I won't show them to anyone
I'm constantly putting on a show of courage
She's trying to get through this second serious relationship crash, but I'm not sure if it's working. I guess we'll have to see what happens with Morning Musume's next single!
I hope you enjoyed it! I suppose I'll continue with this as more singles come out. Finally I'll have something to say about it- expect a new corner with my reviews, "Lyrics Inspection!" I encourage other people to do the same kind of thing, not only review the song and vocals but the lyrics as well. What do they mean to you? I'm sure everybody has very different views that would be fun to read about!
-Soli
Comments
Thinking about your entries, I actually started to think of my own storyline going on since Ambitious, but I'm trying to work it back to Osaka now because that's such a story song...I love that we're spending all this time finding meanings and storylines in songs that Tsunku probably just wrote on a whim. But who cares? It's fun. In any case, good final installment, and it'll be interesting to see what the next single is like. Kanashimi Twilight isn't happy, but Onna ni Sachi are is downright angsty, which hasn't happened in a Momusu single since Shabondama. I can't even imagine what the next single will sound like.
It's fun isn't it? I want to hear what you think the story is!
I know I've read somewhere that Tsunku always adds a strange line in every song he writes. I can't remember the example it gave, but in some songs the special line is pretty obvious. Like in Iroppoi- "The sea highlights my jealousy". That seems a bit strange to me. I'd never put together the sea with jealousy.
And I can't wait either! I'm curious as to the next single. I feel like "Onna ni Sachi Are" was written for more of a Miki/Ai leadership. If Miki had stayed, that song would have totally fit the current Morning Musume group very well. But without her, there's no toughness to the group. So for the next single, I'm hoping for a "Koko ni Iruzee" type song. Fun, hyper, and just happiness! xD
As for the next single...I'm just interested to see what Tsunku's going to through out next! First 80's-like, then Rockish like...then Techno-Chicken-y? How is going to top that? Or is not going to? Well, I will patiently wait for the day they announce the next next single :D
I predict that Momusu's next single with have them being all depressed because they've had a new boyfriend like every three singles and now all the girls at their proverbial school think they're sluts. OR SOMETHING.
...it could happen...
Exactly! Poor girl... but I suppose that all goes with the rules of H!P (no boyfriends). =o They sing of love, but it always ends badly. I bet that's for the wota who want to marry them or whatever they think.
HAHA! Emo song for their next one!! I can totally picture them wearing school clothes and walking the halls while getting bumped and evil looks from the other girls. All dark lighting and stuff. XD
Yeah Onna ni Sachi Are is very powerful and very angsty, but mostly it's just a normal girl mad at herself for making the same mistake once again (falling in love and having her heart broken), so I think it's a good follow-up for Kanashimi Twilight. It's like she was suspecting something and then got her suspicions confirmed with Onna ni Sachi Are. But as you said, we're just making this up as we go, I have no clue whether Tsunku really did think things through! But if so, yay for him, coherence is always good.
But yeah apart from all my very annoying corrections (sorry about that), I think it's very interesting the storyline you drew here! I would never have even dreamed of doing the same, so kudos for you!
Ah, I sort of knew the meaning of Chokkan. But your explaination cleared a bunch of things up that I had just thought of as Tsunku craziness.
It does seem like the two singles fit together well. But that makes you wonder, if Miki hadn't left (and taken her meanish attitude with her, leaving all the nice/cute girls) would Mikan be the next single? I can't imagine Miki leading a group singing the happy and upbeat MIkan. XD The lyric story line goes up positively with all the "you'll get a chance! =D" singing.
No worries about corrections! As long as it's not in a "u r stupid and wrong!!!" kind of way. ;p Corrections are very helpful and I thank you!
And if you've never dreamed of doing the same, now you know it right? So you can make your own storyline! Everybody thinks of the lyrics in different ways, right? =)