Mr Children - Shirushi

Love this song so much!
Artist: Mr Children
Title: Shirushi (Proof)
Words: Sakurai Kazutoshi
Music: Sakurai Kazutoshi
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click read more for the lyrics and translation

saisho kara kounaru koto ga kimatteita mitai ni
chigau tenpo de kizamu kodou wo tagai ga kiiteru

donna kotoba wo erande mo dokoka ga uso ppoin da
sanou ni kaita tegami guchagucha ni marumete suteru

kokoro no koe ha kimi ni todoku no ka na?
shinmoku no uta ni notte...

da-rin da-rin ironna kakudo kara kimi wo mitekita
sono dore mo ga subarashikute boku ha ai wo omoishirun da
'hanshinhangi = kizutsukanai tame no yobousen' wo
ima, bimyou na nyuansu de kimi ha shimesou to shiteiru

'onnaji kao wo shiteru to' dareka ga hiyakashita shashin
bokura ha niteiru no ka naa? sore to mo nitekita no ka naa?

mendoukusai tte omoukurai ni majime ni mukiatteita
karuhazumi datta jibun wo urayamashiku naru hodo ni

kokoro no koe ha dare ga kiku koto mo nai
sore mo ii, sono hou ga ii

da-rin da-rin ironna kkao wo motsy kimi wo kimi wo shitteiru yo
nani wo shite sugoshiteita tte omoidashite kurushiku narun da
karenda- ni kinyuu shita ikutsumono kinenbi yori
kokizami ni senmei ni boku no kioku wo umetsukusu

naitari warattari fuantei na omoi dakedo
sore ga kimi to boku no shirushi

da-lin da-lin ironna kakudo kara kimi wo mitekita
tomo ni ikirenai hi ga kita tte douse aishiteshimau to omoun da
da-lin da-lin oh my darling
kuruoshiku senmei ni boku no kioku wo umetsukusu
da-rin da-rin

---

we each listened to our hearts beating to different tempos
as if things were meant to be this way from the start

no matter what words I choose, it sounds insincere
I crumple up the letter I wrote with the left side of my brain
and throw it away

do you hear the voice of my heart?
It's in this silent song...

darling, darling, I've seen you from many different angles
all of them exquisite, you've shown me what love is
now you're trying to show me by way of subtle techniques *1
that your uncertainty is a precautionary border
to keep you from getting hurt.

someone makes fun of our picture, "you two make such a pair"
Do we look alike? Or is it that we've started to?

we faced one another with such seriousness
that it was almost a burden to get on with it
so much so that it makes me jealous of the thoughtless guy I used to be. * 2

no one will hear the voice of my heart
I'm ok with that, it's better that way.

Darling, Darling,
I know you have many faces.
no matter what I do,
when I remember you, it pains me so.
more than all those memorable days on my calendar
my memory is filled completely by vivid memories
of every second of every day with you. *3
we cry, we laugh
it's a precarious sort of feeling but
it is proof of you and me.

Darling, darling
I've seen you from so many different angles
even if the day we can no longer be together comes our way
I don't think it matters because I can't help loving you.

Darling, Darling
Oh my darling
Maddeningly, and vividly
you fill in my memories completely
Darling, Darling.



Translator's Notes: The title "Shirushi" could be translated as Mark or Seal. I chose proof because of the context of the lyrics the way I interpreted them. I think the word mark fits just as well though. We think the song is a love song about being away from someone for a long time. The opening lyrics would at first seem to indicate a "doomed love" but we think Sakurai means it as "we nestled in clsoe and felt eachother's pulse."

* 1 - When Sakurai writes nyuansu, he means subtle things the girl does to make it clear that she wants him to understand her misgivings. The meaning is a bit different than the literal translation of the English nuance.

* 2 - I saw this line as being that he's jelaous of the carefree jerk he was, because now he has to deal with something he can't run away from. It might be a conversation, it might be sex. He's saying that he's growing up and there's a lot of presssure that comes with that.

* 3 - the "every second of every day with you" comes from the word kokizami which in this case means the smaller measurement of time. More than the birthdays, anniversaries and landmark events in their life, he remembers the minutest details and his memory is overrun with them. So much it drives him mad.