About to finish the story, here’s the second last song of Angelo’s 2019 album “FAUST“, this is specifically the 9th song out of total 10, and the name of the song is “SCENE“. This song was composed by Karyu. All lyrics by Kirito.
Kanji:
Cross the wall
開眼の果てふたたび見据えた未来の行く末は
絡み合う闇 貫く一筋光の道となって
震えるほどの確信を手に可能性を見極めた
大空を染める原色を取り込み
降り注ぐ陽射し 身体に浴びて
止まる事なくあらゆる痛みを映した瞳孔は
視線を超えて 君に美しい景色だけ見せようと
狂おしいほどの確信を手に恐怖の殻を叩き割った
大空を染める景色を取り込み
眩い陽射し 迷いを消して
仕掛けを散りばめた 暗号繋ぎ合わせ
今すぐ駆け出して もう振り返らないで
ストーリにはまだ続きがある
記憶を過ぎる痛覚を捨て去って
広がる陽射し 覚醒の夜明け
Follow the way.
Romaji:
Cross the wall
Kaigan no hate futatabi misueta mirai no yukusue wa
Karamiau yami tsuranuku hitosuji hikari no michi to natte
Furueru hodo no kakushin wo te ni kanosei wo mikiwameta
Oozora wo someru genshoku wo torikomi
Furisosogu hizashi karada ni abite
Tomaru koto naku arayuru itami wo utsushita doukou wa
Shisen wo koete kimi ni utsukushii keshiki dake miseyou to
Kuruoshii hodo no kakushin wo te ni kyoufu no kara wo tatakiwatta
Oozora wo someru genshoku wo torikomi
Mabayui hizashi mayoi wo keshite
Shikake wo chiribameta angou tsunagiawase
Ima sugu kakedashite mou furikaeranai de
SUTOORI ni wa mada tsudzuki ga aru
Kioku wo yogiru tsuukaku wo sutesatte
Hirogaru hizashi kakusei no yoake
Follow the way.
Translation:
Cross the wall
In the limits of spiritual awakening, my destiny in the future world that I had set my eyes on once again
Piercing through the intertwined darkness with a beam of light and transforming into the path
With trembling conviction, I was able to have a clear view of the possibilities in my hand
Incorporating the original colors that dye the firmament
Showering the body with the downpouring sunlight
The pupil that projected all the pain without stopping
Goes beyond the line of sight, and I will show you only the beautiful landscape
With madly conviction, I smashed the shell of fear with my hands
Incorporating the original colors that dye the firmament
Erasing my hesitation with the dazzling sunlight
I link together the code that was set on the device
And immediately I start running, without looking back anymore
There’s still a continuation of my story
Abandoning the sense of pain that passed by the memories
With the spreading sunlight in the dawn of awakening
Follow the way.
Translation notes: first of all, this song is a beautiful description of a self-awakening, I think no translation can do justice to the beauty of the Japanese expressions used in this song, but I did my best to convey the beauty of it.
The term 「未来の行く末」in the fist line may sound redundant at first but it’s really not, both 「未来」 and「 行く末」 can mean future in most context, however 「行く末」refers specifically to one’s fate or path, which can be interpreted as future, but then 「未来」 can mean future too, but it can also mean the next or upcoming world, the here after, or the life after death; so in this context, I believe Kirito refers to the protagonist fate in the upcoming world.
So, in this song the protagonist reaches the point of awakening, he opens his eyes to the truth, the way this awakening is described is beyond beautiful, it’s expressed as rays of light that pierces through the darkness, and his makes the true path to follow visible.
The protagonist now has the conviction to make a change to his reality, he understands the possibilities and his true strength. Another beautiful description of how this strength is shown is included in the chorus: Kirito uses the term 「取り込む」which has a range of meanings, for example it can mean adopting, incorporating, taking in, capturing, bringing in, etc. the nuance in that line is to adopt something into your reality, and what he will adopt is the “original colors that dye the firmament” here another interesting word is used: 「原色」which can mean primary colors (red, blue, etc.), pure colors or original colors, as in the original colors that a painting had before being modified for example. In this context, the “original colors” work best, because I think Kirito refers to bringing back the original values and convictions the protagonist had before accepting the contract, and therefore painting the skies with these “colors” of your former values, and your true strength. I’m mesmerized by the beauty of those lines and the metaphoric way of expressing it.
In the next segment, when the protagonist says that he will go beyond the pain that was projected in his eyes and only show the beautiful landscape, I think this portion in a figurative way means to focus on the positive things, which is what we all expect if you are in a moment of awakening, you focus in the positive things to escape from the depths of darkness.
I also love the next portion where the protagonists says that he will throw away fear, this is expressed as “I smashed the shell of fear / 恐怖の殻を叩き割った” as if you were smashing a barrier, a window, etc. this is really a great way to express that, because fear is something that feels like you are enclosed in a capsule, and you need to smash it in order to escape.
The rays of sun or sunlight is what describes the “awakening” throughout the song, and we see that this is what eliminates the hesitation from Faust’s heart.
In the next portion, we have another interesting expression 「仕掛けを散りばめた 暗号繋ぎ合わせる」, here we have 「繋ぎ合わせる」which means to link or connect something together, then we have 「暗号」this refers to code or password, and 「仕掛けを散りばめた」means a trap that was set; so here we can interpret that Faust was able to figure out the code to unlock the trap that was set for him, maybe before it’s too late, but we still don’t know if it’s too late or not, for now Faust has the conviction to attempt escaping from this trap when he starts running and this time he won’t make the same mistake of looking back, because there’s still a continuation to his story; just like Kirito explained in the Faust concept video, the story doesn’t have to end there, because humans can also start over again from scratch as long as they have the conviction to do so, and this part of the song describes that beautifully.
Lastly, he throws away the pain, and we have reached the “dawn of awakening” where Faust will follow the way as it says in English at the end.
So finally, Faust is fighting back with all his inner force and conviction, he will not give up, and he will do everything he can to make sure his story can continue. Please look forward to the ending in the next song!!
JAPAN MUSIC SEKAI ~ Jrock & Jpop talk ~ 