Country Road

May 16th, 2007
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There comes a time for every foreigner in Japan when they run headlong into an existential crisis primarily concerned with the popularity of an unlikely song choice from overseas. Ok, that might be a bit of an overstatement. But you’ve got to admit – hearing John Denver in Japanese is a bit odd at first. Thanks to the Studio Ghibli film 「耳をすませば」 (titled Whisper of the Heart in English), it’s available. I thought it would be fun to do a quick translation comparison. I am pretty sure you’ve heard the John Denver version. In case you’re not so lucky, here’s your chance to hear it in Japanese. The short version, anyway, cause that’s the one I like better.

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To trip the light fantastic and check out the re-translation of the lyrics, click the read more link.

カントリー・ロード
(Violin Version)

　ひとりぼっち　恐れずに
All alone, without fear
　生きようと　夢見てた
I dreamed of truly living
　寂しさ　押し込めて
I’ll seal off my loneliness
　強い自分を　守っていこ
Protect my strong self, and go

　カントリー・ロード
Country road
　この道　ずっとゆけば
If I follow this road all the way
　あの街に　続いてる
I’ve got a hunch that it continues
　気がする　カントリー・ロード
All the way to those familiar town streets (country road)

　どんな寂しい　時だって
Lonely times, come what may
　決して 涙は見せないで
Don’t show your tears
　心なしか 歩調が速くなっていく
Pace speeding up without much mind
　思い出　消すため
To snuff out the memories

　カントリー・ロード
Country road
　この道　故郷へ続いてば
If this road stretches to my hometown
　僕は　行かないさ
I shan’t go
　行けない　カントリー・ロード
I can’t go (country road)
　
　カントリー・ロード
Country road
　明日は　いつもの僕さ
Tomorrow I’ll be the same
　帰りたい　帰れない
I want to go home, I can’t go home
　さよ（う）なら　カントリー・ロード
Goodbye (country road)

(modified version of these lyrics)

I want to point out that Joe Hisaishi did not write this song, nor did he translate it. It’s just mislabeled because it’s part of the soundtrack collection I have runnning. :-) The translator is listed on the aforementioned site as 鈴木 麻実子. You can see the original lyrics here. I’d definitely say some artistic license was taken, but I like both versions. One seems to be yearning, the other seems to be lost. This is my first attempt at translating song lyrics, so please feel free to suggest alternate wording or correct complete blunders that I’ve likely made. :-)

By the way, I highly recommend all of the Studio Ghibli films, but this one’s especially good.

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  • Still don't have a clue about how it came up. But thanks for the input. :-)
  • yamane
    In Japanese myth, Is another name of holy blade Kusanagi-no-turugi which exists in Atsuta Shrine at Nagoya.
  • Chris
    I think last two coments are related to Princess Mononoke.Official name of Iron and steel making in Takadono is "tatara".
    And now in order to get raw steel of formal tradition japanese sword ,tatara steel making method runs without commerce.
  • I don't understand how the last two comments are related to anything we've discussed on this post so far...but they don't appear to be spam, so I'll leave them up. Just thought I'd mention that. :-)
  • Jhonny kanata legend
    I remenber the Godess Izanami of Japanese Myth as soon as i hear the film "the Last Samurai Bushido".
    You may be able to remenber the Goddess,if you know the head story of that famous moive .
    Indeed Special steel works of Hitachi Metals is located on yasugi-shi shimane-ken(ancient name Izumo) Japan where Izanami’s grave is also located.And also they only makes the raw steel of samurai sword "Wakou(Japan Steel)" by using ancient steel making method "tatara".
    Izumo Myth also says that land name "yasugi" was named by iron and Steel God"Susanoo"who is the son of Izanami.And also Susanoo got the imperial and holy balde “ame-no-murakumo-no-turugi” which is the one of Three Sacred Treasures from the
    eight head dragon “yamata-no-orochi”.it is wrote in the oldest book “Kojiki” in Japan..
    That makes me feel the mystery more than a chance agreement.
  • katana girl
    Japan Steel also means the raw steel of samurai sword in Japan.
    It is also called "tamahagane" which is made from chacoal and iron sand
    by ancient blast furnace "tatara".
    One of a famous high-tech steel maker "Hitachi Metals" only makes it for only japanese sword smith.But the way of steel making is real ancient one.
    The ancient tatara is located in yasugi izumo shimane Japan where is the land of ancient japanese myth and Princess Mononoke.
  • Hey Jon -
    You are correct about my mistaken kanji. :-) Great catches. Both have been fixed. Wish I could say I'd heard different things from my buddies about ゲド戦記, but I haven't. Seems like it didn't live up to the hype by a long shot. Too bad. I heard the theme song for months in the supermarket. Ha ha.
  • Good translation. I just have two things I'd like to point out.
    どんな寂しい　時だって is closer to "No matter what lonely times" although there's probably a better way to word it in English. And the next line 決して 涙は見せないで doesn't have "erase" in it anywhere. I suspect you selected the wrong kanji in the dictionary when you looked up "keshite" which means "never" and always accompanies a negative verb. So the translation is "Never show your tears." I'm inclined to think that this is a command form - well, it is. But if the singer were speaking about the first person they probably wouldn't use this form.

    My first Miyazaki film was Tottoro though I don't remember it well since I was young. After that came Mononoke which I really liked. All the others after that have been kind of...blah. I mean, Spirited Away was pretty good, but I wasn't impressed with Howl's Moving Castle which I saw in Tokyo.

    I also saw Gedo Senki back in August here in Japan. I was quite disappointed. I mean, come on, the ending was so lame. It's like the character designer suddenly got lazy and reverted to elementary school sketches. Hell, some of my kids draw better than that! It's definitely lacking in the story department as well, though I liked the music.
  • I won't lie...I'm shocked at that too...hahaha.

    I think Princess Mononoke was my first Miyazaki film too. Castle in the Sky was good. Interesting side point, the title of the sequel to the Diana Wynne Jones book Howl's Moving Castle (which I think was much better than the film...I know, it's blasphemy) is Castle in the Air. Interesting coinky-dink. (That's "coincidence" spelled humorously, folks. ;-) )

    Did anyone go see ゲド戦記? It's the film by Goro Miyazaki (Hayao Miyazaki's son, I believe). Based on the Earthsea books. Wondering what people thought. I never made it to the theater - wondering if it's worth a rental.
  • Laputa: Castle in the Sky was my favorite Miyazaki film. The first film I saw was Princess Mononoke. I've never seen Totoro, and people are generally shocked by that, especially my wife.
  • I've never seen the Castle of Cagliostro - it is officially on my list.

    I love Joe Hisaishi's music. Thanks for the link. (The first video was the "Summer" theme from the Beat Takeshi Film Kikujiro (I think it's きくじろの夏 in Japanese?). Great music. :-)
  • TofuUnion
    Thank you very much for your long answer. My favorite movie was Nausica. I liked its music, too. But it was long time ago. I can't say I am a big fan of Hayao Miyazaki Anime. Actually I'm not opinion of his nature philosophy. He certainly has a very oriental thinking about "the nature" similar to animism.(like Princess Mononoke) It's very important for us to preserve ecosystem, but we are now in the position to control it and co-exist with the environment.

    Some works like Kiki's Delivery Service, Porco Rosso or Howl's Moving Castle reflect yearnings for European culture by Japanese people. As I've worked in Switzerland for some years, I understand how well they are drawn. And old good Japanese nostalgias like Pom Poko, Neighbor Totoro or Spirited Away. I think latter works could be more interesting for oversea audience.

    What I am a little concerned about his Anime Works is that it's overwhelming to kids. Maybe too much. After all it's only a wonderland in the Animation world.

    Here is YouTube site for Joe Hisaishi: You can enjoy it.

    http://www.youtube.com/results...
  • A Japanese version of Country Road was playing in the background of one of the NHK English programs. Or at least I think it was Country Road.
    My first exposure to a Ghibli film was Totoro in Japanese class in high school (I'm old so this was a while ago, perhaps when it first came out). Other than the art and the general light tone of the films, I don't think the stories themselves have all that much in common. But there is something about most of the earlier films that is very comforting. I think a lot of people studying Japanese and early American otaku back in the late eighties and early nineties were familiar with the Ghibli films.
    My own personal favorite is one of the earliest Miyazaki films, The Castle of Cagliostro. I know that he takes the character of Lupin and sort of softens him (the story could have worked with different characters) but there are some sequences that are absolutely brilliant (I'm thinking mainly about when he is on the rooftops preparing his rocket and how the music and the scene work together).
  • This Japanese version is supposed to be an amateur girl - it is from a scene in the film, not the professional background music. She's shy and doesn't know the words as she begins. It's good. (The scene, I mean.)

    As you might guess, I am a huge fan of of Studio Ghibli films. (I think I said so, actually.) The only widely circulated Hayao Miyazaki anime is still 千と千尋の神隠し (Spirited Away). I saw ハウルの動く城　(Howl's Moving Castle) when I was in Tokyo. I've seen almost all of the other Studio Ghibli films on DVD and VHS since then. They are really great. Something about them just captivates me. By the way, I feel like the visuals from the film 紅の豚 (Porco Rosso) are reminiscent of the area in which I now live. I'm lucky. I did a research project on the contract issues between Studio Ghibli and the various Walt Disney property handling companies when I was studying at Waseda. Interesting to me, boring to most people.

    Anyway, to answer your question, I feel like people are split on these films. Some of my friends who loved films like 魔女の宅急便 (Kiki's Delivery Service) really disliked the "weirdness" in films like 平成狸合戦ぽんぽこ (Pom Poko) or even となりのトトロ (My Neighbor Totoro). I think that some of the tales of childhood, coming of age, whimsical adventure and soforth strike many young Westerners as magical and nostalgic. On the other end of the spectrum is the group of people who are bothered by the idea of a giant baby or a cat bus. I wouldn't say that loads of people love the movies, but I would say that those who are exposed to them have a special affinity for the films for the most part. :-) Long answer, huh?
  • TofuUnion
    I definitely prefer the original "Country Road" of John Denver. This Japanese version is like a song sung by an Amateur girl. If I didn't know the original version, might be the Japanese one OK.

    I wonder why so many young people love Studio Ghibli or Miyazaki Anime. How is it in the US ?
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