人間の心の中には生まれつきある音楽が流れていてそれに似た曲を人は好きになるんだとか。「自分の曲」は何だろうといつも考えながら歌詞を和訳しています。
I have heard that every one of us has a special music running deep inside our soul and whatever music we love in our lives has something in common with it. I always translate English lyrics into Japanese, wondering what my music sounds like.
皆様の大半はおそらく彼らの名前をご存じないでしょう。私もそうでした。2014年10月30日の時点ではWikipediaに彼らの項目はありません。したがって彼らのFacebookのアカウントからの情報になりますが， このバンドはBoots Copeland，Bradley Pierce，Cobo CopelandそしてDrew Buffingtonの4人で構成されています。苗字が同じであるところを見ると，BootsとCobo Copeland，そしてはおそらく兄弟でしょう。ただこのヴィデオの監督Cory Copelandも苗字はこの2人と同じですが，彼が彼らと血縁関係にあるかどうかはわかりません。
Probably most of you have never heard of them. Neither have I. As of October 30, 2014, Wikipedia has no entry for them, which is rather surprising to me. According to their Facebook account, https://www.facebook.com/knoxhamiltonmusic/info?ref=page_internal the band comprises four people: Boots Copeland, Bradley Pierce, Cobo Copeland and Drew Buffington. Sharing the same last name, Boots and Cobo seem to be brothers. Although the director of the video also shares the last name, Cory Copeland, I'm not sure if he's related to them. Work It Out (Knox Hamilton)
I know what you're doing when you're falling apart
I know how you're feeling when you're breaking my heart
I know we've debated but it's over, love, that's all for us
Well, maybe we can work it out.
I know what you're doing when you're falling apart
I know how you're feeling when you're breaking my heart
I know we've debated but it's over, love, that's all for us
Well, maybe we can work it out.
I know, I know
I know, I know
I know, I know
I know we can work it out
I know that you're fuming at a thousand degrees
I know you'd like to take one last shot at me
I know we've debated, but it's over, love, that's all for us
Now why you want to swing at me?
I know that you're fuming at a thousand degrees
I know you'd like to take one last shot at me
I know we've debated, but it's over, love, that's all for us
Now why you want to swing at me?
I know, I know
I know, I know
I know, I know
I know we can work it out
またこのミュージック・ヴィデオ，お金がかかってないという点から言っても，曲が先である点から言っても，昨日取り上げたOK GoのI Won't Let You Downの対極にあると言えるでしょう。どちらが良いかをここで一概に論じることはできませんし，それぞれに素晴らしい点があるのは言うまでもないことですが，この曲には一種の「疾走感」があるので，走りながら聴くのに向いているような気がします。
「卵が先かニワトリが先か」というのは昔からある疑問ですが，この疑問，最近では曲とミュージック・ヴィデオの関係にも当てはまるような気がします。個人的には「曲が先」と信じたいのですが，その逆である場合も少なくありません。Daft PunkのGet Luckyのような気持ちのいい軽快なディスコ調の曲ですが，曲自体よりもミュージック・ヴィデオの方により力が入っているように思われます。
それはともかく，この曲は下のミュージック・ヴィデオを見なければ意味がありません。10月27日に出たヴィデオですが，その後わずか２日間で400万以上のヴュー数をYouTube上で獲得しています。
It's an age old quetion: Which comes first, a chicken or an egg? Well, I think these days the same question applies to a music video and a song. Personally, I'd like to believe that a song comes first but sometimes the opposite seems to be true. Although it has a nice crispy disco sound like Get Lucky (Daft Punk), they seem to put more emphasis on the video.
Anyway, just take a look at the music video below. After released on October 27th, it got more than 4 million views only in two days on YouTube. I Won't Let You Down (OK Go)
I won’t let you down, no I won’t let you down. I won’t let you down, my love.
Nikki, she’s got no flag to fly, but she don’t seem to mind that much, no she don’t seem
to mind.
And you, you’ve got your armor on. Nights out in babylon, yeah, nights out in babylon.
But maybe all you need is someone to trust, maybe all you need is someone.
And I won’t let you down, no I won’t let you down. I won’t let you down, my love.
I won’t let you down.
Now Emily’s got no tricks to try, but she don’t seem that much to mind, no she don’t
seem to mind that much to me.
And you’ve got what the whole world wants, so strap that armor tighter on, double on
down like it’s gonna make you free.
But maybe all you need is someone to trust, maybe all you need is someone.
And I won’t let you down, no I won’t let you down. I won’t let you down, my love.
I won’t let you down.
世の中には（付き合っている相手との別れ）というものに大変弱い人がいるのですが，この主人公もその一人。相手との別れに非常に傷つき，その結果，ゆきずりの関係や摂食障害（やけ食い）などを招いてしまいます。例えば，歌詞の中で主人公は日常的に「家に帰ったらつまみ食い，お菓子を一箱食べちゃったら，お風呂で吐いてベッドに行く」と語っています。何故日常的だとわかるのか？それは彼女が現在形を使っているからですが，それだけに事態は余計に深刻です。
Some people are very vulnerable to a breakup. The protagonist of this song is one of them. She seems to be heavily hit by the breakup with the second person that it causes her casual sex and binge eating disorder (BED),
For example, in the lyrics, the protagonist confesses she "Binge on all my Twinkies, Throw up in the tub, then I go to sleep" as her daily routine. Why do I presume it daily? She uses the present tense. That makes things much worse. Habits (Stay High) (Tove Lo)
Uh-uh uh-uh uh-uh
I eat my dinner in my bathtub
Then I go to sex clubs
Watching freaky people getting it on
It doesn't make me nervous
If anything I'm restless
Yeah I've been around and I've seen it all
I get home, I got the munchies
Binge on all my Twinkies
Throw up in the tub, then I go to sleep
And I drank up all my money
Tasted kind of lonely
You're gone and I got to stay high
All the time to keep you off my mind, ooh ooh
High all the time to keep you off my mind, ooh ooh
Spend my days locked in a haze
Trying to forget you babe, I fall back down
Gotta stay high all my life to forget I'm missing you
Pick up daddies at the playground
How I spend my day time
Loosen up the frown, make them feel alive
I make it fast and greasy
I know my way too easy
You're gone and I got to stay high
All the time to keep you off my mind, ooh ooh
High all the time to keep you off my mind, ooh ooh
Spend my days locked in a haze,
Tryin' to forget you babe, I fall back down
Got to stay high all my life to forget I'm missing you
Staying in my play pretend
Where the fun ain't got no end
Oh, can't go home alone again
Need someone to numb the pain
Oh, staying in my play pretend
Where the fun ain't got no end
Oh oh can't go home alone again
Need someone to numb the pain
You're gone and I got to stay high
All the time to keep you off my mind, ooh ooh
High all the time to keep you off my mind, ooh ooh
Spend my days locked in a haze
Tryin' to forget you babe, I fall back down
Got to stay high all my life to forget I'm missing you
聞くところによると「ストーカー行為とは，２人で一緒にロマンティクな散歩をしているつもりでも，相手はそうは思っていない場合だ」そうです。確かにその通りだと思いますが，ただ「愛情」は往々にして「執着」と紙一重だったりするので両者を明確に区別するのは容易ではありません。例えば，誰かを好きになるとその相手と始終一緒にいたいと思うものですし，それはかなり自然なことのように思えますが，ちょっと待ってください。それが「執着」ではないと言い切れますか？
ところで，この曲はあるウェブサイトで1982年を代表する曲のトップ10に挙がっていました。その点について何ら異論はないのですが，それでも個人的にはストーカー・ソング以外の何物でもないように思えます。
Some say, "Stalking is when two people go for a long romantic walk together but only one of them knows about it." I think it's true but love often borders obsession and it's not easy to draw a line between them. For example, when we're in love, we want to spend all our time together. It may sound pretty normal but wait a second, are you sure to say it's not an obsession?
Anyway, a website names it as one of the top 10 songs in 1982. I won't argue about it but to me it's more of a stalker song than anything. Hungry Like The Wolf (Duran Duran)
Dark in the city night is a wire
Steam in the subway earth is afire
Do do do do do do do dodo dododo dodo
Woman you want me give me a sign
And catch my breathing even closer behind
Do do do do do do do dodo dododo dodo
In touch with the ground
I'm on the hunt down I'm after you
Smell like I sound I'm lost in a crowd.
And I'm hungry like the wolf.
Straddle the line in discord and rhyme
I'm on the hunt down I'm after you.
Mouth is alive with juices like wine
And I'm hungry like the wolf
Stalked in the forest too close to hide
I'll be upon you by the moonlight side
Do do do do do do do dodo dododo dodo
High blood Drumming on your skin it's so tight
You feel my heat I'm just a moment behind
Do do do do do do do dodo dododo dodo
In touch with the ground
I'm on the hunt down I'm after you
Scent and a sound. I'm lost and I'm found
And I'm hungry like the wolf.
Strut on a line it's discord and rhyme
I howl and I whine I'm after you
Mouth is alive all running inside
And I'm hungry like the wolf.
Hungry like the wolf
Hungry like the wolf
Hungry like the wolf
Burning the ground I break from the crowd
I'm on the hunt down I'm after you
I smell like I sound. I'm lost and I'm found
And I'm hungry like the wolf
Strut on a line it's discord and rhyme
I'm on the hunt down I'm after you
Mouth is alive with juices like wine
And I'm hungry like the wolf
恋愛運のない方には下のヴィデオは辛いかもしれません。ヴィデオに登場するカップルは「本物の愛(real love)」を見つけたことで，全身から幸せオーラが出ているからです。こういう状況では「お幸せにね」くらいしか言えませんよ。口惜しいかって？まさか！皆さんの幸せだけをお祈りしてますから。信じてもらえないなら，ウソじゃないと証明するために，裁判で証言台に立って「真実を，真実そのものを，そして真実だけを語る」と宣誓してもいいくらいですよ。
If you're unlucky in love, the music video below could be a bit difficult to watch. Couples in the video are beaming with joy and happiness after finding their 'real love.' In that situation, what else could a person say to them other than something like "Have a happy life together"? Am I jealous? Of course, not. I wish nothing but the best for them. If you don't believe, I'm ready to ll take the stand in a trial and swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but truth to clear the suspicion. Real Love (Clean Bandit & Jess Glynne)
[Verse 1]
Oh, you've got the feeling that I wanna feel
Oh, you've got the feeling that I know is real
[Pre-Chorus]
It's in the way you look, it's in the way you love
And I can see that this is real
It's in the way you talk, it's in the way you touch
And I can see
[Chorus]
This is real, real, real, real love
This is real, real, real, real love
You give me that feeling, you give me that feeling
You give me that, you give me real love
You give me that feeling, you give me that feeling
You give me that, you give me real love
[Verse 2]
Oh, before you I was searching for a rarity
Oh, you showed me things I never thought that I would see
[Pre-Chorus]
[Chorus]
[Bridge]
Time won't waste, and we just learn *
To take it slow and wait our turn
Held my breath, cause I believe
That you'll find me
それはともかく，この曲，メッセージはイヤというほど無駄に伝わってくるのですが，だからといって和訳しやすいかというと全くそうではなく，とりわけ冒頭の「Oh, you've got the feeling that I wanna feel, Oh, you've got the feeling that I know is real」の部分をこのまま直訳すると一体何が言いたいのかさっぱりわかりません。
この曲，先日友人と話をしていた際に，Jessie JがOletha Adamsの（正確にはオリジナルはBrenda Russelですが）Get Hereをカヴァーしていたという流れで出てきた曲です。 http://oyogetaiyakukun.blogspot.jp/2013/08/got-here-if-you-can-oleta-adams.html
下のミュージック・ヴィデオでは，ボクサーの男性とポール・ダンサーの女性との関係を描いています。この文脈に沿えば，歌詞に登場する「The Great White Hope」という言葉はおそらく1970年に公開された同名の映画を指すものでしょう。「ボクシングの黒人チャンピオンが白人の女性と共に，白人のボクシング組織から目の敵にされながら，必死にその世界で生き残ろうとする」内容の映画です。
歌は1分辺りから始まります。
One of my friends mentioned this song when we're talking about Jessie J who covered Get Here by Oletha Adams (technically, the original is by Brenda Russel, though). http://oyogetaiyakukun.blogspot.jp/2013/08/got-here-if-you-can-oleta-adams.html
The music video below depicts a relationship between a boxer and a pole dancer. In this context, 'The Great White Hope' appearing in the lyrics is probably a reference to a film released in 1970 in which "a black champion boxer and his white female companion struggle to survive while the white boxing establishment looks for ways to knock him down."
The song starts around 1:00. Woman In Chain (Tears For Fears ft. Oleta Adams)
You better love loving and you better behave
You better love loving and you better behave
Woman in chains, woman in chains
Calls her man the great white hope
Says she's fine, she'll always cope, ooh
Woman in chains, woman in chains
Well, I feel lying and waiting is a poor man's deal (A poor man's deal)
And I feel hopelessly weighed down by your eyes of steel
(Your eyes of steel)
Well, It's a world gone crazy keeps woman in chains, woh woh woh
Woman in chains, woman in chains
Trades her soul as skin and bones
(You better love loving and you better behave)
Sells the only thing she owns
(You better love loving and you better behave) ooh ooh
Woman in chains (the sun and the moon), woman in chains
Men of stone, men of stone, hey baby, no no no, ooh
Well, I feel deep in your heart there are wounds time can't heal
(The time can't heal)
And I feel somebody somewhere is trying to breathe
Well, you know what I mean
It's a world gone crazy keeps woman in chains
It's under my skin but out of my hands
I'll tear it apart (somebody somewhere is trying)
But I won't understand (to breathe)
I will not accept the greatness of man
It's a world gone crazy keeps woman in chains
Gone crazy keeps woman in chains
So free her, so free her, so free her
So free her, so free her (the sun and the moon)
So free (the wind and the rain) her, so free her
So free her, so free her, so free her, so free her
So free her, so free her (the sun and the moon)
So free (the wind and the rain) her, so free her
下にあるこのミュージック・ヴィデオはかなり見るのが辛い内容で，ゲイの男性がリンチされています。このミュージック・ヴィデオは，Brendan Cantyが監督したもので，ロシアにおけるゲイの人々への抑圧を批判したものです。この曲については，教会のような宗教界的指導者の偽善と大衆扇動を非難していると多くの人が考えているようですが，それはおそらくこれが理由でしょう。
The music video below in which a gay man seems to be lynched by others is pretty disturbing. It's directed by Brendan Canty criticizing the repression of gay people in Russia. Probably it's the reason that many people think the song criticizes the hypocrisy and demagoguery of religious people such as the church. Take Me To Church (Hozier)
My lover's got humor
She's the giggle at a funeral
Knows everybody's disapproval
I should've worshiped her sooner
If the Heavens ever did speak
She's the last true mouth piece
Every Sunday's getting more bleak
A fresh poison each week
We were born sick, you heard them say it
My church offers no absolution
She tells me 'worship in the bedroom'
The only heaven I'll be sent to
Is when I'm alone with you
I was born sick, but I love it
Command me to be well
Amen (x3)
Take me to church
I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife
Offer me that deathless death
Good god, let me give you my life
Take me to church
I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife
Offer me that deathless death
Good god, let me give you my life
If I'm a pagan of the good times
My lover's the sunlight
To keep the goddess on my side
She demands a sacrifice
To drain the whole sea
Get something shiny
Something meaty for the main course
That's a fine looking high horse
What you got in the stable?
We've a lot of starving faithful
That looks tasty
That looks plenty
This is hungry work
Take me to church
I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I'll tell you my sins so you can sharpen your knife
Offer me my deathless death
Good god, let me give you my life
Take me to church
I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I'll tell you my sins so you can sharpen your knife
Offer me my deathless death
Good god, let me give you my life
No masters or kings when the ritual begins
There is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin
In the madness and soil of that sad earthly scene
Only then I am human
Only then I am clean
Amen (x3)
Take me to church
I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife
Offer me that deathless death
Good god, let me give you my life
Take me to church
I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife
Offer me that deathless death
Good god, let me give you my life
かわいらしい曲ですし，シンプルで美しいのですが（少なくとも私にとっては）大変訳しにくい曲です。歌詞には「星（座）」「宇宙（天）」「柔らかい」「青白い」「光」などの月を連想させるイメージが散りばめられています。勿論これらをメタファーと考えることもできるのですが，私はむしろ文字通りに捉え，月の輝く夜の美しさを歌った曲と考えたいと思っています。
It's a sweet little song. It's simple and beautiful but very hard (at least for me) to translate into Japanese. The lyrics are a collection of images associated with the moon, such as constellation, heaven, soft, blue and light, They could be taken metaphorically, of course but I'd rather take it literally. It's about the moon and the beauty of a moonlit night. Virginia Moon (Foo Fighters ft. Norah Jones)
Dearest constellation, heaven surroundin' you
Stay there, soft and blue.
Virginia Moon, I'll wait for you tonight
Sweetest invitation, breaking the day in two
Feelin' like I do, Virginia moon, I'll wait for you tonight
And now our shades become shadows in your light
In the morning when we're through and tomorrow rescues you,
I will say goodnight
Secret fascination, whisper a quiet tune
Hear me callin' you, Virginia moon, I'll wait for you tonight
And now our shades become shadows in your light
In the morning when we're through and tomorrow rescues you,
I will say goodnight
Virginia Moon, I'll wait for you tonight
And now our shapes become shadows in your light
In the morning when we're through and tomorrow rescues you,
I will say goodnight
この曲でNickelbackのChad Krugerは繰り返し「一体何を待ってるんだよ？」と聞いてきます。 この文，表面上は疑問文ですが実際にはそうではありません。ここで彼が言わんとしているのはこういうことです：「何かが起こるのをただ漫然と待って時間を無駄にせず，自分から打って出なければダメだ。人生は一度きりで後戻りはできないんだから。」
ところで歌詞に登場するYOUとは違い，私自身はかなりせっかちな方なので，これまでの人生でずっと「待て」と言われてきました。私が子どもの頃の母の口癖は「なんで待てないの？」でした。さすがに大人になった今では，あの頃よりもずっと気が長くなったと思うのですが，それでも他の人に比べるとせっかちなのかもしれません。
"What are you waiting for?" Chad Kruger asks repeatedly. On the surface it's a question but actually it's not. What he's telling us is this: Do not waste your time just waiting for something happening. You've got to go for it because you live your lives only once. No going back.
Unlike the second person in the lyrics, as a pretty impatient person, I've been told to wait in my life. "Why can't you wait?" was my mother's favorite phrase when I was a kid. Now I think I'm far more patient than I used to be but still less patient than others I guess. What Are You Waiting For (Nickelback)
What are you waiting for? x2
Are you waiting on a lightning strike?
Are you waiting for the perfect night?
Are you waiting till the time is right?
What are you waiting for?
Don't you wanna learn to deal with fear?
Don't you wanna take the wheel and steer?
Don't you wait another minute here?
What are you waiting for?
You gotta go and reach for the top
Believe in every dream that you got
You only living once so tell me
What are you, what are you waiting for?
You know you gotta give it your all
And don't you be afraid if you fall
You only living once so tell me
What are you, what are you waiting for?
Are you waiting for the right excuse?
Are you waiting for a sign to choose?
While your waiting it's the time you lose
What are you waiting for?
Don't you wanna spread your wings and fly?
Don't you wanna really live your life?
Don't you wanna love before you die?
What are you waiting for?
You gotta go and reach for the top
Believe in every dream that you got
You only living once so tell me
What are you, what are you waiting for?
You know you gotta give it your all
And don't you be afraid if you fall
You only living once so tell me
What are you, what are you waiting for?
Tell me what your waiting for
Show me what your aiming for
What you gonna save it for?
So what you really waiting for?
Tell me what your waiting for
Show me what your aiming for
What you gonna save it for?
So what you're really waiting for?
Everybody's gonna make mistakes
but everybody's got a choice to make.
Everybody needs a leap of faith
When are you taking yours?
You gotta go and reach for the top
Believe in every dream that you got
You only living once so tell me
What are you, what are you waiting for?
おそらく今まで聞いた中で最も変わったコラボのひとつでしょう。Kanye Westのコラボ相手として私がBon Iverを思い浮かべることはまずありません。ただ変わっているからといって，それが直ちにつまらないかというとそんなことはありません。それどころか大変素晴らしく，コーラス（サビ）の部分でドラムの音が入った瞬間，私はすっかり心を奪われました。
Probably this is one of the most bizarre collaborations I've ever known and Bon Iver would be the last person who comes to my mind when I think of an artist collaborating with Kanye West. How bizarre it may be, it doesn't mean inferior. Actually it works so good that I was completely hooked when I heard the drums start beating in the chorus. Lost In The World (Kanye West ft. Bon Iver)
[Justin Vernon - Bon Iver: Sample From "Woods"]
I’m up in the woods, I’m down on my mind
I’m building a still to slow down the time
I’m up in the woods, I’m down on my mind
[Hook 1 x2]
I’m lost in the world, Been down my whole life
I’m new in the city, and I’m down for the night
Down for the night
Said she’s down for the night
[Kanye West - Verse 1]
You're my devil, you're my angel
You're my heaven, you're my hell
You're my now, you're my forever
You're my freedom, you're my jail
You're my lies, you're my truth
You're my war, you're my truce
You're my questions, you're my proof
You're my stress and you're my masseuse
Ma ma se, ma ma sa, ma ma ku sa
Lost in this plastic life
Let's break out of this fake-ass party
Turn this in to a classic night
If we die in each others arms we still get laid in our afterlife
If we die in each others arms we still get laid, yeah
[Hook 2]
I’m up in the woods, been down my whole life
(Run from the lights, run from the night)
I’m building a still to slow down the time
(Run for your life, Down for the night...)
I’m lost in the world, been down my whole life
I’m new in the city, and I’m down for the night
Down for the night
Said she’s down for the night
(Run from the lights, run from the night)
[Bridge]
Who will survive in America
Who will survive in America
Who will survive in America
[Justin Vernon - Bon Iver: Sample From "Woods"]
森の中に
迷い込んでしまったみたいに
今もこの頭のなかで
あれこれずっと考えている
そこに精錬所を作り上げ *
時計の針を遅らせるんだ
まるであの森の中に
迷い込んでしまったみたいに
今もこの頭のなかで
あれこれずっと考えている
** 元々はカメルーンのアーティストManu DibangoのSoul Makossaのフレーズで，Michael Jacksonが1982年のWanna Be Starting Somethingで使ったことで，以来A Tribe Called Quest, The Fugees, Jay-Z, Will Smith, Rihannaなど数々のアーティストが使ってきたヒップホップの世界では有名なフレーズということです。
*** このWho Will Survive In Americaはこの曲が収録されているアルバムMy Beautiful Twisted Dark Fantasyの最後を飾る曲だそうです。
（余談）
リリースされた2012年にはすでにこのブログを始めていたはずなのに，こんな素晴らしい曲があったことに全く気付きませんでした。この曲のYou're my devil, you're my angelから始まる第１連について，当初Kanye Westはこれはラップのことだと言っていたのですが，本当はあの彼女のことだったと後に認めているそうです。
[Verse 1:]
I want you by my side
So that I never feel alone again
They’ve always been so kind
But now they’ve brought you away from here
I hope they didn't get your mind
Your heart is too strong anyway
We need to fetch back the time
They have stolen from us
[Chorus:]
And I want you
We can bring it on the floor
You’ve never danced like this before
But we don’t talk about it
Dancin on doin the boogie all night long
Stoned in paradise
Shouldn’t talk about it
Shouldn't talk about it x2
[Verse 2:]
Coldest winter for me
No sun is shining anymore
The only thing I feel is pain
Caused by absence of you
Suspense is controlling my mind
I cannot find the way out of here
I want you by my side
So that i never feel alone again
ですよね，わかってましたよ。この曲を聞いた時，Nellyがカントリー・シンガーのTim McGrawという組み合わせに当惑したのは自分だけではないはずだと確信したのですがやはりでした。実際SongMeaningsでこの曲にコメントを寄せた多くの人がその点に言及しています。
それはともかく，ヒップホップとカントリーを組み合わせたFlorida Georgia LineのThis Is How We Rollを聞いた時，これは最近の流れだと思ったのですが違いました。この曲がリリースされたのは10年前。これだけでも私が音楽に詳しくないことがわかります。 http://oyogetaiyakukun.blogspot.jp/2014/03/this-is-how-we-roll-florida-georgia-line.html?q=this+is+how+we+roll
Sure I knew it. I knew I was not the only one who were completely puzzled with the fact that Nelly paired up with a country singer Tim McGraw when I heard this song. Actually many people who posted a comment on this song at SongMeanings mentioned it.
Anyway, when I came across This Is How We Roll (Florida Georgia Line) which coupled hiphop with country, I found that's quite new. That's not true. This song is released 10 years ago. That's enough to demonstrates I know very little about music. http://oyogetaiyakukun.blogspot.jp/2014/03/this-is-how-we-roll-florida-georgia-line.html?q=this+is+how+we+roll Over and Over (Nelly ft. Tim McGraw)
[Hook: Nelly]
Cause it's all in my head
I think about it over and over again
And I can't keep picturin you with him
And it hurts so bad... yeah
Cause it's all in my head
I think about it over and over again
I replay it over and over again
And I can't take it, I can't shake it no
[Nelly]
I can't wait to see you
Wanna see if you still got that look in your eye
That one you had for me
Before, we, said our goodbyes
And it's a shame that we
Gotta spend our time bein mad about the same things
(Over and over again) about the same thing
(Over and over again)
Ho.. but I think, she's leavin
Aw, man, she's leavin
And, I don't know what else to do
[Tim M] I can't go on not lovin you
[Hook]
[Nelly]
I remember the day you left
I remember the last breath you took right in front of me
When you said that you would leave
I was too damn stubborn to try to stop you or say anything
But I see clearly now
And this choice I made keeps playin in my head
(Over and over again) play in my head
(Over and over again)
Ho.. but I think, she's leavin
Aw, man, she's leavin
And, I don't know what else to do
[Tim M] I can't go on not lovin you
[Hook]
[Nelly]
Now, that I've real-izzzed
That I'mmmm goin dow-hown
From all this pain you've put me through
[Tim M]
Everytime I close my eyes (woo!)
I-hiiii lock it dowww-wn, ohh-hooo
I can't go on not lovin you
[Hook] - repeat 2X
[Nelly]
Uh... over and over again, over and over again
Alicia Keysは２番目の子どもを妊娠中「なぜあなたはここにいるのか（Why are you here?）」と聞かれたことをきっかけにこの曲を書いたそうです。人間というものは子どもを持つと環境についてそれまで以上に色々考えるようですが，彼女のような芸風のアーティストならば，こういう曲を書いても全く問題ありません。ただここでは詳らかにしませんが，この手の曲が芸風に合わないアーティストというのも存在しますよね。
Alicia Keys wrote this song when she's pregnant with her second child. She was inspired by a question, "Why are you here," It seems that people tend to think more about their environment when they have a child. It's absolutely OK with someone like her to write a song like this. I'm not going to be more specific here but I don't think this kind of songs don't always work for some artists. We Are Here (Alicia Keys)
We are here
We are here for all of us
We are here for all of us
It's why we are here, why we are here
We are here
Bombs over Baghdad
Tryna get something we never heard
Let's start with a good dad
So real but it's so sad
And while we're burning this incense
We gon' pray for the innocent
Cause right now it don't make sense
Right now it don't make sense
Let's talk about Chi-town
Let's talk about Gaza
Let's talk about
Let's talk about Israel
Right now it is real
Let's talk about
Let's talk Nigeria, and the mass hysteria
Our souls are brought together so that we could love each other brother
We are here
We are here for all of us
We are here for all of us
It's why we are here, why we are here
We are here
No guns made in Harlem
But yet Crime is a problem
He wanna shine, he wanna rob 'em
Single mother, where they come from?
How we gonna save the nation
With no support for education
Cause right now it don't make sense
Right now it don't make sense
Let's talk about our part
My heart touch your heart
Let's talk about
Let's talk about living
Had enough of dying
Not what we all about
Let's do more giving
Do more forgiving, yeah
Our souls are brought together so that we can love each other sister
We are here
We are here for all of us
We are here for all of us
It's why we are here, why we are here
We are here
このバンドについて私が知っていたのは，英語教師の一人がこのバンドのファンだということだけで，Metrolyricsの記事でFleetwood Macが今秋ツアーに出ると知るまで，彼らの曲はひとつも知りませんでした。その記事によると，この曲は70年代における彼らの最大のヒット曲だそうです。
ところでこの曲の歌詞はメタファーに溢れています。最初の「Rhiannon rings like a bell through the night, And wouldn't you love to love her?（直訳：Rhiannonは夜通し鈴のように鳴る。彼女を愛しませんか？）」の部分。今でこそ「Rhiannonが大変美しい」ということを表現していると理解していますが，最初はもっと別の意味に捉えていました。ただ悪いのは私じゃなくてR&Bですから。
All I know about the band was that one of my English teachers said he's a big fan of Fleetwood Mac. I didn't know anything about their music until I learned on Metrolyrics that the band's going on tour this fall. The article says this song is one of their biggest hits in 1970's.
The lyrics are pretty metaphorical. Now I think the opening part, "Rhiannon rings like a bell through the night, And wouldn't you love to love her?" describes that Rhiannon is very beautiful but at first I took it as something different. Blame it on R&B not me. Rhiannon (Fleetwood Mac)
Rhiannon rings like a bell through the night
And wouldn't you love to love her?
Takes through the sky like a bird in flight
And who will be her lover?
All your life you've never seen a woman
Taken by the wind
Would you stay if she promised you Heaven?
Will you ever win?
She is like a cat in the dark
And then she is the darkness
She rules her life like a fine skylark
And when the sky is starless
All your life you've never seen a woman
Taken by the wind
Would you stay if she promised you Heaven?
Will you ever win? Will you ever win?
Rhiannon
Rhiannon
Rhiannon
Rhiannon
She rings like a bell through the night
And wouldn't you love to love her?
She was alive like a bird in flight
And who will be her lover?
All your life you've never seen a woman
Taken by the wind
Would you stay if she promised you Heaven?
Will you ever win? Will you ever win?
Rhiannon
Rhiannon
Rhiannon
Taken by, taken by the sky
Taken by, taken by the sky
Taken by, taken by the sky
Dreams unwind
Love's a state of mind
Dreams unwind
Love's a state of mind
残念なことに（別に残念ではなくて自業自得だとお考えの方も多いかもしれませんが）Chris Brownといえば，アーティストとしてではなく，自分の彼女をひどく殴ったヤツということで認識されています。無論彼がやったことに弁解の余地などありませんが，あんなことがなかったら，もっといいイメージだったはずです。実際，彼にはFine Chinaやこの曲などの悪くない曲もあると思います。http://oyogetaiyakukun.blogspot.jp/search?q=fine+china
Unfortunately, well some of you may think he asked for it, to many of us Chris Brown is remembered as a jerk who hit his girlfriend very hard not as an artist. Of course what he did to her was inexcusable. Had not been the case, he would have been recognized as something more positive. Actually, I think some of his music like Fine China and this are not bad. http://oyogetaiyakukun.blogspot.jp/search?q=fine+china New Flame (Chris Brown ft. Rick Ross & Usher)
[Verse 1: Chris Brown]
There can be one only you
And baby, God could never make two
And I know you came here with your crew
But I promise you that it feels like it's just us two
[Pre-hook: Chris Brown]
Oh, I don't know what you had planned to do tonight
But I just wanna be the one to do you right
We're standing here looking at each other, baby, eye to eye
And I'm hoping that you're thinking about leaving with me tonight
[Hook: Chris Brown]
Who said you can't find love in a club?
Cause I wanna tell them they wrong
Come on, just baby, try a new thing
And let's spark a new flame
You gon' be my baby
Love me, love you crazy
Tell me if you with it
Baby, come and get it
Maybe try a new thing
And let's spark a new flame
[Verse 2: Usher]
I can't believe you came here all alone, baby girl, where's your lover?
Oh, it don't really matter cause I got ways to get to know you better
Baby, baby, baby, baby, let's make what we got here last forever
Girl, cause I don't wanna let you go, never
[Pre-hook: Usher]
[Hook: Chris Brown & Usher]
[Verse 3: Rick Ross]
Homeplate, world series, how a nigga sliding in her
Baby, I'm a boss, I'm talking George Steinbrenner
Panamera, Yogi Berra, my two-seater Derek Jeter
Got more stripes than all these niggas
Babe Ruth balling in a Beamer
Collar on my Polo, kisses on my necklace
All my diamonds watching, now my watches getting jealous
Smoking on a bomb in my autograph LeBron's
Yeah, she told me I'm the one, that's when I only hit it once
「バカなアメリカ人にはなりたくない，メディアがみんなを操るような，そんな国はご免だね」と主人公は言っていますが，そんなことが可能でしょうか？我々はメディアの流す情報の洪水に飲み込まれた世界で暮らしています。仮にメディアの側に操作する意図がなかったとしても，我々は自分の「経験」には影響されてしまいます。そしてその「経験は」今までの人生で（多くの場合様々なメディアを通じて）学んで来たことです。だとすればこれも，間接的ではありますが，「メディアがみんなを操る」ことにならないでしょうか？
"Don't want to be an American idiot. Don't want a nation under the new media" the protagonist says. Could that be possible? We're living in a world where people are overwhelmed by a deluge of information from the media. Even if the media didn't have any intention to control us, however, still we're a prisoner of our own experiences. What we learned (often through various media) in our lives shapes what as we are. Doesn't it mean we're (in an indirect way) under the (new) media? American Idiot (Green Day)
Don't want to be an American idiot.
Don't want a nation under the new media.
And can you hear the sound of hysteria?
The subliminal mind-fuck America.
Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the alien nation.
Where everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
For that's enough to argue.
Well maybe I'm the faggot America.
I'm not a part of a redneck agenda.
Now everybody do the propaganda.
And sing along to the age of paranoia.
Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the alien nation.
Where everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
For that's enough to argue.
Don't want to be an American idiot.
One nation controlled by the media.
Information Age of hysteria.
It's calling out to idiot America.
Welcome to a new kind of tension.
All across the alien nation.
Where everything isn't meant to be okay.
Television dreams of tomorrow.
We're not the ones who're meant to follow.
For that's enough to argue.
この曲は2004年のアメリカ大統領選の間にリリースされました。一般的には，Bush政権の行ったイラク戦争を批判しているといわれていますが，Billy Joe Armstrong自身が語ったところによると，この曲を書いたのは，ある日車のラジオから（一昨日こちらで取り上げた）Lynyrd SkynyrdのThat's How I Like Itが流れてきたことがキッカケだそうです。（ただこのThat's How I Like Itがそれほど保守的で過激な内容かというと全くそういうことはなく，私には普通のカントリーソングの内容とさほど違うようには思えません。） http://oyogetaiyakukun.blogspot.jp/2014/10/thats-how-i-like-it-lynyrd-skynyrd.html
それにしても，Lynyrd Skynyrdと言えば，」以前取り上げた彼らのSweet Home Alabamaは，少なくとも表面上はNeil YoungのAlabamaという曲に対して抗議する内容の「アンサー・ソング」という位置づけでした。そしてその数十年後，今度はその彼らのThat's How I Like ItがGreen Dayにこの曲で抗議されることになりました。思わず「ドミノ倒し」を連想してしまうのは私だけでしょうか？
[Hook: Tori Kelly]
All the times I have laid in your light
When your love kept me safe through the night
All the time, I was sure you were mine
And before time demands our goodbye
Can you sing me a last lullaby?
[Verse 1: Professor Green]
It's been a while since I last dreamt
Barely remember what it's like to dream
Finding it hard to get to sleep, too stressed
And there ain't anyone to sing a lullaby to me
Pretend shit doesn't get to me
And I suffer in silence when I'm hurting
A man's problems are his own
And it's my burden
Tossing and turning, trying to get to sleep
But I find it hard to switch off when my mind's working
I ponder on things I shouldn't bother with
Off the rails, my train of thought's wandering
Sick of pretending to be so happy
All the while my anxiety eats away at me
My skin crawls, I look up to the sky
And it falls, the walls close in and it's
As if all the good in my life disappears
In an instant, happiness is so distant
So seeing the ones who I love, the ones who love me
But I don't wanna tell em how I feel in case they judge me
It's just me, wish I could let somebody in
But I ain't ever been too trusting
[Hook: Tori Kelly]
[Verse 2: Professor Green]
I've barely had any sleep when I get up
Sick of all these nightmares and these night terrors
Like it's only when I'm leathered that I sleep better
Might sleep better when I get up, I'm weak
It just makes my day harder, I wonder if
It would've been any different if I had a father that I knew
Could it have helped shape the way that I grew?
But the point of things I never have went from
Being a reason for the things that I do
To just being an excuse that I'd use
I've gotta take responsibility for the things I do
Find something other than negativity for my fuel
But I feed off it, even when I don't seem bothered
I hide everything that's going on inside
Guess it's been a while since I've been honest, I need help
But I deny it and even lie to myself like I'm fine
[Hook: Tori Kelly]
[Bridge: Professor Green]
I just wish someone would tell me it would be OK
But pessimism leads me to believe that it won't
To see even a glimmer of hope in the darkness
Is hard and depression is a slippery slope
I don't wanna do what my dad did with a rope, though
So I carry on even though it's hard to
The only thing that's definite is death and things always change
As long as you give em a chance to
ピンと来ませんか？こちらをご覧の方の中には「ハイハイ，あれね」と仰る方もいらっしゃるでしょう。この曲が別の曲と密接につながっているためです。歌詞を見て前に取り上げたFlorida Georgia LineのThis Is How We Rollを思い出しました。 http://oyogetaiyakukun.blogspot.jp/2014/03/this-is-how-we-roll-florida-georgia-line.html
主人公は今の自分の生活に満足してそれが当たり前だと考えています。物事をあまり深く考えるタイプでもなさそうです。
Does this ring a bell? Probably some of you say, "Aha! I got it." This song is closely associated with another song. The lyrics reminded me of This Is How We Roll by Florida Georgia Line I posted before. http://oyogetaiyakukun.blogspot.jp/2014/03/this-is-how-we-roll-florida-georgia-line.html
The protagonist seems to enjoy his life and takes what he has right now for granted. He doesn't seem to take things too seriously either. That's How I Like It (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
Let me tell ya...
Where I come from it's grits and gravy not champagne and caviar
Got pickup trucks, ain't no mercedes, that's who we are (Oooooh.. Yeah I wouldn't change a thing)
I ain't no saint sometimes a sinner and I can't tell you why
But I get up every mornin' and thank the man above (Oooooh WOOOoo my life is good)
Let me tell ya how good... hahaaa
Like my women hot and my beer ice cold
A real fast car and my whiskey old
Like a slow drive down and old dirt road
That's How I like it
I like to turn my music way up loud
Ain't nothin' better than the sound of a crowd
American flag it makes me proud
That's how I like it
Wooooo...aaah... Listen now...
Ain't no cell phone towers, you won't catch me online
Workin' with my hands for hours, is how I spend my time
And I don't stand in line for coffee, It ain't my cup of tea
Out here in the country we got everything we need Ooooh Woooo yeah..
Like my women hot and my beer ice cold
A real fast car and my whiskey old
Like a slow drive down and old dirt road
That's How I like it
I like to turn my music way up loud
Ain't nothin' better than the sound of a crowd
American flag it makes me proud
That's how I like it yeah..
Ooooohhhh...
WOOooooo That's how I like it
[Whistle]
Like my women hot and my beer ice cold
A real fast car and my whiskey old
Like a slow drive down and old dirt road
That's How I like it
I like to turn my music way up loud
Ain't nothin' better than a Skynyrd crowd
American flag it makes me proud
That's how I like it yeah...
That's how I like it
That's how I like it
ミュージック・ヴィデオは歌詞をほとんど一字一句そのまま映像化しています。歌詞に「歯医者」と出てくる部分ではヴィデオに歯医者が登場しますし「かわいい子たち」と歌っている部分では，美しい女性が登場します。ただしこのヴィデオ，歌詞の内容を理解するのにはあまり役に立ちません。Genius.comのこの曲についたコメントによると，Vance Joy本人がインタヴューで，このミュージック・ヴィデオは歌詞をそのまま解釈したものと答えているので，このヴィデオの意味を深く考えても仕方ないのかもしれません。
The music video almost visualizes the lyrics verbatim. When the lyrics mention 'dentists', a dentist appears in the video and a beautiful woman smiles when the singer sings 'pretty girls'. It doesn't, however, help us very much understand the message the lyrics are trying to deliver . According to a comment on this song on Genius.com, it's said that Vance has stated in an interview that everything in the music video is the literal interpretation of the lyrics. You shouldn't look into the video too much. Riptide (Vance Joy)
I was scared of dentists and the dark
I was scared of pretty girls and starting conversations
Oh, all my friends are turning green
You're the magician's assistant in their dreams
Oh, and they come unstuck
Lady, running down to the riptide
Taken away to the dark side
I wanna be your left hand man
I love you when you're singing that song and
I got a lump in my throat because
You're gonna sing the words wrong
There's this movie that I think you'll like
This guy decides to quit his job and heads to New York City
This cowboy's running from himself
And she's been living on the highest shelf
Oh, and they come unstuck
Lady, running down to the riptide
Taken away to the dark side
I wanna be your left hand man
I love you when you're singing that song and
I got a lump in my throat because
You're gonna sing the words wrong
I just wanna, I just wanna know
If you're gonna, if you're gonna stay
I just gotta, I just gotta know
I can't have it, I can't have it any other way
I swear she's destined for the screen
Closest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that you've ever seen, oh
Lady, running down to the riptide
Taken away to the dark side
I wanna be your left hand man
I love you when you're singing that song and
I got a lump in my throat because
You're gonna sing the words wrong
Oh lady, running down to the riptide
Taken away to the dark side
I wanna be your left hand man
I love you when you're singing that song and
I got a lump in my throat because
You're gonna sing the words wrong
Oh lady, running down to the riptide
Taken away to the dark side
I wanna be your left hand man
I love you when you're singing that song and
I got a lump in my throat because
You're gonna sing the words wrong
I got a lump in my throat because you're gonna sing the words wrong
2番目のヴィデオを称してMetrolyricsは「音楽界のスターを散りばめた(Music's Star-Studded)」と表現していますが，そこに登場する全員がおわかりでしょうか？実は私はわかりませんでした。わかったのは半分以下で，残りの半分には初めて聞く名前も多かったように思います。こう言ってはなんですが，ピアノのところにいた作曲者のThe Beach BoysのBrian Wilsonさえわかりませんでした。
Metrolyrics describes the second video as "Music's Star-Studded." Did you recognize them all? Well I didn't. Actually I recognized only less than half and many of the rest are quite new to me. I hate to say this but I didn't recognize even The Beach Boys’ songwriter Brian Wilson who's at the piano in the video. God Only Knows (The Beach Boys)
(BBC Impossible Orchestra Cover)
I may not always love you
But long as there are stars above you
You never need to doubt it
I'll make you so sure about it
God only knows what I'd be without you
If you should ever leave me
Though life would still go on believe me
The world could show nothing to me
So what good would living do me
God only knows what I'd be without you
God only knows what I'd be without you
If you should ever leave me
Well life would still go on believe me
The world could show nothing to me
So what good would living do me
God only knows what I'd be without you
God only knows what I'd be without you
God only knows
