#47 – Genyou Yakou

Have you heard our cover of Genyou Yakou? Be sure to check it out! As usual, references here.

As I wrap up this trio of Cerise Bouquet songs, I have to say again how grateful that I gave this group a listen. Aside from giving me something new and beautiful to listen to, it also prompted me to broaden what I listen to… ever so slightly. Don’t get me wrong – it’s still 99% idol anisong – but I’ve taken a lot more time to listen to non-Liella music. Will I still be suffering from Liella brainrot next year, though? You bet your ass I will be.

In any case, Genyou Yakou is probably a lesser played song from the Hasu discography but it is truly lovely. It takes a lot of imagery based on the night sky as well as water.

That imagery is laid out in the first prechorus – specifically, that of light being reflected off the surface of water

水面を駆ける 光の波紋 銀河に石を 散りばめた夜に願い事を 今夜叶えようよ

Ripples racing to and fro; pyrotechnics pirouette Ev’ry single wish me made, strewn across the night sky will light the galaxy above Undoubtedly they’ll come true tonight

In the official MV, the light takes the form of fireworks but I think it can also take the form of light from the stars. In my own interpretation, the stars are actually the wishes of the protagonists of our song. I’m quite happy that I took the back-to-back alliteration approach on the first line here (ripples race; pyrotechnics pirouette). It’s not something I do too often.

Moving on to the chorus, this section felt like a *journey*

ここじゃない どこかへ まだ誰も知らない場所まで 街中が空を余所見する間に このまま遠くへ 川沿い下って行けるとこまで 固く繋いだ この手はもう離さない 怖く…ないよ…暗闇だって 君とならこんなに眩しい

Where shall we go? Far, far away A place unknown to all, still veiled beyond our gaze And while ev’ry eye is fixed on the sky we’ll float and see What lies beyond this riverbend As far as we can go, I’ll see through it unto to the end I promise to not let go of your hand so please Hold onto mine I will not be afraid as we sail this lightless night ‘Cause when I’m with you, my world is dazzling bright

The image in my mind of the original lyrics is that of our protagonists leaving the crowd to someplace far away, down the river, with hands in tow. Since the source of “light” in the PV are the fireworks, this implies to me that they are also moving away from the light in the town and towards the darkness of the wilderness. It was an interesting contrast to me, since the prechorus talks about “gems” of light across the night sky – where did all the stars go? Ah… of course the source of brightness is the other person.

Finally, the bridge is relatively straightforward as far as adapting the lyrics go. But nevertheless…. I felt it was beautifully laid out in the original and, honestly, the bridge was the part that drew me to this song. Here it is.

いつもより賑わっている橋の上 背中向けて静寂の方へと走る 息を切る鼓動と足音　今はそれだけ 滲む(滲む)… 汗を(汗を)… 拭うのも忘れて 走り続けてゆく 「きれいな夜だね」

Weaving out from within the crowd as I leave this bridge far behind I will not look back as I run toward the silence beckoning me Now the gasp of our breathless heartbeats and the marching of our steps are all I hear Through sweat and tears I’ll persevere If time won’t stop, then why should we wait? Unceasingly I will run with you

The lyrics of the bridge flow so seamlessly from the ideas laid out in the first chorus. The “time won’t stop” part of the lyrics is a nod to the second chorus, which I skipped in this TV length cover. In the full length version, the preceding chorus actually talks about a “ship of words” being launched yet not reaching the intended recipient. It is a much more gut-wrenching version than what I have in my lyrics.

And that about wraps it up. Thank you all, as always, for indulging me here. I’m proud of every person involved with and every part of my videos but the translyrics themselves are always the nearest and dearest part to me. If you’re interested in audio mixing content, check out my side channel, where I’ll be releasing videos of myself mixing this cover.