eastern youth

365-step blues (365 Ho-no Blues)

11th Album - Released in 2006 by King Records (Japan) / Five One, Inc. (USA)
< Hisashi Yoshino - electric guitars, voices >
< Tomokazu Ninomiya - bass >
< Atsuya Tamori - drums >

Lyrics translated into English by: Shinkansen

(Thanks, Caleb, for showing me the English translated lyrics for 365-Step Blues to help me type and put them in this page. )
1. Make for the waste land/Arano-ni shinro-wo tore

no way of knowing the reasons you were born
then you stare, from where you stand, into the present
which is wounded and worn-out,
though keeping the starting posture of a runner

immense blue sky, as far as the eye can see
a good day to start a journey
the reflection of the town on a pool
resembled the landscape of your mind
�gmake up your mind for the worst by dawn�h
the nocturnal formula for thousands of nights
only in the imminent dark
could you find what you were after

leaning out of a window
waving yet another farewell
one keeps on their journey
jumping across the border
stepping into the stormy wasteland
one keeps on their journey

no way of knowing what tomorrow will bring
you stare into the today that you live through
sorrow may surge and overflow at any moment
you cannot be drowned and running

with wind above head
letting out songs instead of tears
one keeps on their journey
in slightly longer strides
with eyes wide open, gallantly windward
one keeps on their journey


2. One-way ticket song/ Katamichi kippu-no uta

as I stepped down on the platform
there was a lukewarm wind blowing
determined never to return
I came over to this city

the landscape almost unreal,
yet nothing but real
the sky would crack and fall apart
my shadow on the asphalt
a shadow of an exhausted walker
motionless, baked onto the pavement

things everybody knows
things anybody knows
still remain a mystery to me
a whole day of seeking
a whole day of missing
repeated yet again today

the evening sky beyond the horizon
jeering at my tiny self

those days have long since passed
they are water under the bridge

"wake up, rise and get out of the house
set off on foot and where shall I go
set off on foot and I'll go there
platform no. 4, colors are peeling off and fading
all right once you get used to it
all right whatever happens"

things obvious to everyone
things obvious to every way
still I would keep them as a challenge
a whole day of seeking
a whole day of missing
repeated again even today

the morning glow beyond the horizon
as if getting on my tiny back

the ticket is one-way, crumpled in hand
with a passenger in the dark
the train goes on
keep astray, go ahead


3. Lone path, wind's path/ Hitori michi, kaze-no michi

"so none of you have objections?"
on a street
"how about you?"
at the forks
your back is almost gone from sight
as birds in the sky fly out of sight

it's always like this
at my feet
it was always like this
a long shadow
you are the only one who never left me
the wind raises a cloud of dust

"give me a break for a while I can't laugh right now."
the sky was all that I looked up to
my shadow is the only follower on the path
it's good because they say nothing
it's good being with the sky and your shadow and nothing else

friendship is akin to business
passion is aking to apathy

"it's about time we parted again
see you again, somewhere, sometime"

breathing out, feet side by side
one step forward to know the wind

the sky is all that I look up to
my shadow is the only follower on the path
it's good because they say nothing
it's good being with the sky and your shadow and nothing else


4. The hill of hope/ Kibou-no oka

"today would be your day at last"
a voice comes from behind
yet the rain cloud remains hanging over my head

a song by some unknown fighter
rings today again through the street at dawn
echoing shaky and fragile dreams
sung and turned into a sky

footsteps sound as if only proof that i'm alive
the sudden urge to start running barefoot
fades into the morning haze over the lane

"today would be your day at last"
a voice comes from behind
yet the rain cloud remains hanging over me

footsteps sound as if only proof that i'm alive
the sudden urge to start running barefoot
fades into the morning haze over the lane

I came over here today again
to hear the voice of whoever was there
but there is no voice at all
I see a black bird flying above in the sky


5. The overpowered/ Hiriki naru mono

life is full of dooms
3 p.m., deep in defeat
are you kidding me? I am alive.
I defy! from one through ten!
(from one through ten: with everything, completely)

resignations and subjections
territories and unspoken norms
death threat? so what?
I defy! from one through ten!

oh sun!
like a huge fire ball
burn my anger and grief!

at daybreak, at midday, and night
those will burst, soundless and shapeless

"zip your mouth, big-headed bastard
stick to the norm, foolhardy dumbass"
who are you to tell me what to do?
I defy! from one through ten!

one stumble and tomorrow unknown
a total defeat and whereabouts unknown
hold on! no backing off!
I defy! from one through ten!

oh moonshine!
like a midwinter snowstorm
polish the solitude and bleakness

at daybreak, at midday and night
those will burst, soundless and shapeless

life is full of dooms
I am nose deep in the mud
don't piss me off, don't piss me off
I defy! from one through ten!

I defy and fight to be defeated
yet I continue to defy
my life is mine and mine alone
I defy! from one through ten!

oh pity,
pity the ignorant and incompetent
oh pity,
pity the innocent and overpowered

at daybreak, at midday and night
those will burst, soundless and shapeless


6. Summer shine/ Natsu-no hikari

with his back slightly hunched, near a commuter station
he melts into the suburban scene on the weekend
there are so many things out of his reach
the sweet dream escapes and flies away
his face left gaping in disappointment

like flowers
men and women passing by in their best clothes
now, fetched too far away from those
his mind succumbed, barely hears the wind
which is stating the fact that he is alive

as if it's singing, as if it's smiling
the summer shine is freezing quietly

the look of the clouds anticipates an intro starting
the evening bell sounds like a long-drawn sob
he finds tears and smiles blended on his face
on old, familiar street corners
he begins to feel like an utter stranger

as if to mark the beginning of the end
yellow-tinged clouds are gleaming
like elaborate blessings
like satanic whispers


7. A moonlit lamb/ Kohitsuji to tsuki akari

on the rooftop of a building, before dusk
I was gazing up at running clouds
every sound retreated in my ears
heard some kid's voice from somewhere
"conclusion yet to come"

(before one of those suburban railway stations:
with shopping malls and maybe a bus terminal nearby,
the busiest parts in residential areas of Tokyo.)
about the time human shadows pale out
about the time I abandon language
there's a faceless person by the ticket gate
picking up someone's face
"conclusion postponed"

trotting down the dark street with a smile on your face
when really there's nothing to be cheerful about
beneath an awkward fake smile
lurks a loneliness that will drive you to tears

moonlight on a big city at midnight

I saw a star dropping from the sky
and caught it in my hands
after gawking at it for a while
I threw it away on the road
"conclusion too early"

silence blots out my tomorrow
a sigh rips off my face
slowly it lands by the ticket gate
where someone picks it up
"conclusion anywhere?"

trotting down the dark street with a frown on your face
when really there's nothing to be serious about
beneath a crude fake theory
lurks an emptiness that will drive you insane

moonlight on a big city at midnight

tearing the air before daybreak
the first morning train again
heralds the new day rising
as I watch it there

"no conclusion wanted
no conclusion wanted
no conclusion wanted"

good-bye to the moonlight on a big city
good-bye to the moonlight on a big city


8. The reddened back/ Akai senaka

everything I know will be no better than a castle in the sand
it will wash out in a moment assaulted by the tide
what will remain of it? who is the wreck that I am?
the huge cloud is fleeing away

is the color of the evening glow borne red on my back
a blister with a dark ache
or the proof of a burning life?

afterthoughts and regrets are always flushed to drain
on a day I am at a loss where to go, I walk barefoot
to know the position where I am made to stand
and know the limit so that I transcend it
thus is today

the color of the evening glow borne red on my back
blazing redder, redder and yet redder
to the point it's sad

what should heal these burns?
I am waiting for a rain
just waiting for a rain

is the color of the evening glow borne red on my back
a blister with a dark ache
or the proof of a burning life?

it's still as it was on that day
it's all as it was on that day
it's still the color of the evening glow I have borne on my back

9. It snows on the tiled roofs/ Kawara-no yane-ni yuki ga furu


it snows on the tiled roofs
as if to lull us all to sleep
it snows on the high rises
as if to numb our nerves to sleep

snow in the city melts quickly
to form ugly, muddy slush
snow falls onto the dirty snow
keeps on falling as it gets defiled

off from the main road, escape into an alley
off from the main road, escape into the snow

ah, is it tears or dreams that are falling?
those soundless sounds
make my eardrums quiver

Tokyo in the snow tonight
tiled roofs and high rises alike in the snow


10. 365-step blues/ 365 ho-no blues

will this journey terminate here?
or is this where all trains originate from?
the spring wind should finally get me airborne
but the realities remain as surly as a wall

my tomorrows fall away with each halt
my heart thins with each rain
yet I never leave behind the color the sky that day
which I hold fast and clinch tight inside the pocket
my clenched teeth strangle my yawn
as I stand marooned on a city street in the early hours

wave after wave tripping my feet
tumbling and stumbling I run, run, run
for whom does the sun blaze and flare as it does
for what do we repeat our songs of tears as we do

my clenched teeth strangle my yawn
as I stand marooned on a city street in the early hours















back
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1