Our latest cover is up! You can find our full-length cover of Link to the Future here on my Youtube channel. As usual, check references through this spreadsheet. A special thank you to aster, who kindly translated the song for me.
I had a ton of fun with these lyrics, probably more so than usual.
Legend
[JP] – Japanese lyrics
[TL] – translation
[Lyrics] – my lyrics
| [JP] どこかにあるとわかっていたんだ あきらめない限り ミライへの扉 絶対あるよ かんたんに探せないけど つらくっても 先へと手をのばさなきゃ 出会えないよ Let’s go！！ |
| [TL] I knew it was somewhere As long as you don’t give up, there’s definitely a door to the future Even if it’s not easy to find, even if it’s painful You have to reach out to the future We can’t meet if we don’t go! Let’s go! |
| [Lyrics] I know that it’s here somewhere If we persevere we’ll see A doorway to never ending possibilities Look up! Our future, it’s right there Yes, the way ahead is hard to find and it hurts sometimes If you don’t reach out for it, you’ll fall behind We can’t give up! So, let’s go |
One thing you’ll notice is that “future” appears in the translated text multiple times (and will continue to do so this song). In the JP lyrics, these are actually different words, including “mirai”, “saki”, “kore kara”, and even “FUTURE”. Finding different English equivalents was one of the challenges in writing for this song.
| [JP] ためらう心に触れて思い出した ユメの熱さ 今も変わらないこと ああ熱いね 迷い悩みぜんぶ抱きしめ ムダにはしない だいじな経験だと 笑い飛ばしてしまえば きっとみんな元気 We can try now！！ |
| [TL] Touching the hesitant heart, I remembered The warmth of dreams, the intensity is still the same, ah, it’s hot Embrace all hesitation and worries, don’t waste them If you laugh off important experiences, Surely everyone will be energetic, we can try now!! |
| [Lyrics] Hesitant, my heart skips a beat, when a warmth inside my chest Calls out incessantly, a fiery dream Burning up with such familiar intensity Moments that you’re frozen, locked in apprehension Don’t you let them go to waste; remember to laugh Embrace every precious experience We’ll all be fine! Surely, we can try now!! |
Lyrically, I’m really pleased with the contrast between “burning up with such familiar intensity” followed by “moments that you’re frozen”. Sayaka, who sings the latter half of this section, is an ice skater, which gives it an added lore-relevant reference.
| [JP] Korekara o tsukuritai atarashii jikan yo ugokidashite Kikoeteru minna? Mite yo / mite yo / kocchi sa / koko sa! Korekara mo issho ni atarashii jikan o sugoshitai ne Datte tanoshii Tanoshii kara |
| [TL] I want to create the future, let’s start moving in a new time Can everyone hear it? Look / Look / This way / Here! I want to spend new times together from now on Because it’s fun It’s fun, so… |
| [Lyrics] Here on out, we’ll make our own tomorrow; begin our time anew Springing to life our voices ring loud and clear! Now I’m Over here! Over here! Look right here! Look at me! Here on out I hope I can spend time anew right by your side This is my only wish ‘cause it’s fun to be It’s fun to be with you |
The hardest part here was how to adapt “atarashii jikan” – a not-infrequent phrase in Japanese lyrics that I’ve always struggled with. A big thanks to aster for planting “time anew” into my head!
| [JP] みんなつながってく 以心伝心 つながってく 意進前進 |
| [romaji] Minna tsunagatteku ishin denshin Tsunagatteku ishin zenshin |
| [TL] Everyone is connected Heart to heart Connected Forward with determination |
| [Lyrics] Let’s all join our hearts as one No need for words Join our hearts as one Marching forward |
This is a section I’m particularly proud of! I included the Romanized lyrics to illustrate that the two interjections sound super similar: “ishin denshin” and “ishin zenshin”. From my research, “ishin denshin” is a saying that corresponds to a mutual understanding that is implicit between individuals, rather than explicit. To address this meaning while keeping the parallel word structure, I used “for words” and “forward”, which are totally different in meaning but sound very similar when sung.
| [JP] ミライ いま笑顔でがんばってるみんなのミライは ここから始まる 出会えてホントに 嬉しい ありがとう！ |
| [TL] The future, the future of everyone working hard with smiles now It starts from here, meeting is really joyful, thank you! |
| [Lyrics] Now I see that the future we strive for Has sprouted all ‘cause of this joyful meeting Because of you, we’re beaming with happiness from ear to ear Sincerely, we thank you so |
“Hajimari” is a very common idol song word but I wanted to change it up a little. In this section, I use “sprout” because it’s a reference to Kaho’s desire to “blossom” as well as the lotus imagery of the school name.
| [JP]ミライ まだなんとでもなる？ ミライ 曖昧の彼方に描いてみようよ それぞれのユメ はみ出しながらね |
| [TL] The future, can it still be anything? Let’s try drawing it in the vague distance of the future Each of our dreams, while overfllowing |
| [Lyrics] Now I see that the future we’re painting Can take any form that our hearts can fathom Lift up your hand, we’ll cover this watercolor world anew With dreams swirling all around |
Again, painting is a recurring lyric in idol songs. Here, I decided to add an additional reference to Cerise Bouquet’s first song, Suisai Sekai (Watercolor World). It’s one of (if not the) first song to really hook me into Hasu!
| [JP] ひとりでもがんばれる みんなとはさらにがんばれるね じゃあやっぱり一緒がいいな 一緒にいたい |
| [TL] Even if you can’t do your best alone, you can do even better with everyone Well, I guess being together is better, I want to be together |
| [Lyrics] Oh, what a precious sentiment to comprehend my best is better yet with you So I guess it’s for the best for us to sing as one single voice |
My favourite part about these lyrics is definitely the recurring in-line near-rhyme using “precious”, “sentiment“, “comprehend“, “best“, “better”, “yet“, “guess”, and “best” again. I can’t remember ever writing such a long one before.
| [JP] ずっと / 一緒に / 歌おう もっと見ようよ 予想外のミライ |
| [TL] Always / Together / Let;’s sing Let’s see more of the unexpected future |
| [Lyrics] Evermore / Let us sing / ‘Til the door Swings open to unveil untold possibilities |
Rounding it off with this little reference back to the opening verse’s “doorway to never ending possibilities” line. I love it when a story circles back in on itself.
All in all, I’m super pleased with these lyrics and especially happy with how the cover turned out. I changed up the formatting of this blog post – hopefully my ideas are communicated a bit more clearly this time!
In case you don’t know, I’m recruiting for a Halloween chorus of Hasu no Sora’s Trick & Cute. Be sure to check out the form here.
Sepia Days Music 
Leave a comment