Beauty & the Beast
Ok – here’s my last post about the Beauty & the Beast musical that I saw in Hiroshima. I wanted to follow up on the last post by reporting that the words to the musical versions of a few songs, if not all of them, are entirely different from those found in the animated film. For a refresher, you can first listen to the English and Japanese film versions of Beauty & the Beast.
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If you’d like to see the lyrics and their translation, go back to this post and take a look. Now, check out the Japanese adaptation of the same number, but this time from the Broadway musical. It’s pretty much a completely different song from the get-go. The lyrics and translation are all here for your perusal “after the jump.” 
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美女と野獣 （劇団四季の日本語版）いつの世も 変わらぬは
恋心
心奪う 突然に
眼差しに 想い寄せつ
気遣いつ 陥ちてゆく
恋の淵へ「踊りましょう。」
「えっ？俺は‥。」
「踊りなさ〜い！」人の世は 変わらずに 繰り返す
日は昇り また沈む
恋もまた 愚かさと 寂しさと
嬉しさの 甘き香り日は昇り また沈む
いつの世も 変わらぬは 恋心堕ちてゆく 恋の淵へ
二つの心「さぁ、一緒に戸棚に戻りましょう、チップ。もうお休みの時間よ。お休み、ボー。」
Beauty & the Beast (Shiki Theatrical Company – Japanese Release)What changes not from age to age
is the emergence of love
Suddenly, one’s heart is taken
With a look, affections drawing near
And in spite of being anxious,
Falling deeply in love“Shall we dance?”
“What? I…”
“Dance with her!”The world of men repeats without variation
The sun rises and sets once more
And love again, sweetly fragrant
of foolishness, lonesomeness, and joyThe sun rises and sets once more
What changes not from age to age
is the emergence of loveFalling deeply in love,
two hearts“Let’s head back to the cupboard together, Chip. It’s already bedtime. Goodnight.”
Well, I’m a little shaky on the Japanese translation, but from what I’ve got there, I’ve got to say that I prefer the musical version of the song to the film version. What do you think? I think it’s a bit less superficial, and it more closely matches the “tale as old as time” theme.
Bonus! Here’s the reprise from the musical, at the very end of the show after the big transformation sequence where everyone becomes human again. Imagine the cast all waving to the crowd with loads of huge smiles and brilliant, dazzling lighting effects as you listen to this music. It’s almost like watching the commercial again!
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美女と野獣リプライズ （劇団四季日本語版）日は昇り
また沈む
いつの世も
変わらぬは
恋心いつの世も
変わらぬは
恋心
I’m not going to bother translating the reprise separately, since I’ve already got it covered above. Anyway, that’s all for today, and all for the musical, as well. Hope you got a kick out of it like I did. Fun stuff!
