Blooming is one of the more lyrically interesting songs from Band Maid. It sits in stark contrast with songs like ‘Dice’ or ‘Choose me’, each of which give a much greater sense of the lyricist being in the driver’s seat.
The music and lyrics both create a sense of tension, contradiction and manic desperation. Have you seen an animal at a zoo where the animal clearly wanted out? The lyrical repetition of ‘mada madamada’ and ‘demo demo demo’ — it’s like a window into someone’s manic internal monologue where they’ve clearly been running the same pattern for a while. They know it’s not working — may even know what needs to be done, but they’ve given up their own agency. There’s this appeal to some external party — ‘sakasete yo’ — let me bloom.
The MV lyrics seem to intentionally simplify the Buddhist tropes scattered throughout. It seems to be on purpose given there are otherwise some quite skilled and poetic translation choices.
The use of monotone versus colour in the MV as well as the chosen shots add a lot. There’s this sort of initial ‘Death Star meets foggy London morning’ thing going on as the camera focuses very tight and cropped, obscured by lighting or distance shots that never sit long enough for the eye to get comfortable. Initially the use of colour is reserved for emphasis and the chorus, but becomes increasingly inconsistent.
不妄語戒に背いて
不妄語戒 — fumougokai — (Buddhist tenet) Do not speak untruth
背いて — somuite — go against, disobey
Violating the tenet ‘refrain from speaking untruth’
Buddhist words, phrases, terminology are deeply woven into Japanese language. I wasn’t familiar with this one, but not at all surprised to see it turn up. The reference to a buddhist tenet sets up a theme of morality and behavioural norms — and from the outset going against them. This is different from Christian morality — there’s no invisible sky wizard keeping score and waiting to punish you, but there is a moral compass of sorts that is supposed to lead towards enlightenment.
待ち行く先は地獄か
待ち — machi — waiting
行く先 — ikusaki — destination
地獄 — jigoku — hell
Is hell the destination that awaits?
紅い月が そっと囁く
紅い — akai — red, crimson, scarlet (you get the idea)
月 — tsuki — moon
そっと — sotto — soft
囁く — sasayaku — whisper
The crimson moon softly whispers
やめられないやめたくない
I can not
I can not do it
とめられないとめたくない
I can not
I can not be stopped
やめられない — yamerarenai — (I) cannot (ie unable to) quit
やめたくない — yametakunai — (I) don’t want to quit
とめられない — tomerarenai — (I) cannot be stopped
とめたくない — tometakunai — (I) don’t want to stop
The use of passive voice ‘yamerarenai’ in reference to quitting evokes the sort of desperation of an addict. Being unable to quit either due to being driven or being addicted is left open to interpretation. ‘yameru’ and ‘tomeru’ both effectively mean ‘stop’. ‘yameru’ gives a sense of agency to change a thing. ‘tomeru’ is more about forces outside one’s control, like a flood, or an earthquake, or Saiki singing apparently.
どこまででも追いかける
どこまででも — doko made demo — to whatever extent, no matter how far
追いかける — oikakeru — chase, pursue
Chasing (you) to the ends of the earth
Who is chasing whom isn’t explicitly stated, but given the apparent indifference of the other person in this equation, this seems a safe assumption.
解けない雪が桜へと
ひらひら 心に散る
解けない — tokenai — unmelting
雪 — yuki — snow
桜 — sakura — cherry blossoms
へと — towards. Depending on how this compound particle is being used, it could be towards in the literal sense (snow settles on cherryblossoms), or metaphorical (snow becomes, or is like cherryblossoms).
ひらひら — hirahira — flutter
心 — kokoro — heart, spirit, mind
散る — chiru — scatter
Unmelting snow settles upon cherry blossoms
Fluttering down, to scatter over my heart
Sakura is maybe the most cliche Japanese trope there is from a western perspective — because it’s a cultural novelty that gets overplayed. From a Japanese perspective though, that sense of novelty isn’t there. It’s just a cultural norm and whilst a useful metaphorical device, not particularly remarkable. It just is.
Sakura evokes themes of transience — of life, of beauty, of a relationship. A cherry blossom is this heartbreakingly beautiful thing that blooms and reaches peak beauty in 2–3 days — and then dies. On the surface it’s this pretty thing. In a metaphorical sense, it’s a sort of tension-filled time bomb.
Here, cherry blossoms and the heart are fleeting things that will die unappreciated because they are smothered by unrelenting cold. There’s also an interesting juxtaposition with the movement in previous line (relentlessly chasing), and the stillness of snow falling on blossoms/a heart.
Burned out ときめかない
ときめかない — tokimenai — to not beat/throb (in anticipation/excitement).
Burned out. I am unmoved.
駆け引きに 一歩踏み込んで
駆け引き — kakehiki — strategy, game.
一歩 — ippo — one step
踏み込んで — fumikonde — step(ping) into
Taking a step into this game
‘kakehiki’ is an interesting word. It has various meanings and the MV translation’s use of ‘lover’s game’ is quite fitting, but takes poetic licence. You could translate the kanji literally as ‘advance/retreat’. You could go even further breaking down the radicals of the kanji into charging horses and pulled bowstrings, but it suffices for now to point back to Japanese language naturally lending itself to metaphor.
真実が見えるまで
真実 — shinjitsu — truth, reality. Throwing back to Buddhist themes ‘Absolute truth’
見える — mieru — be visible, seen
まで — made — until
Until the truth is revealed
まだ まだ まだまだ足りない
まだ — mada (not) yet
まだまだ — madamada — much more, nowhere near (enough)
足りない — tarinai — insufficient, lacking
It’s not, It’s not, not anywhere near enough
疼くような想いが
あの頃のまま 叫ぶ
疼く — uzuku — ache
ような — you na — like, resembling
想い — omoi — thoughts, feelings, desires
あの頃 — ano goro — those days, that time, back then
まま — mama — as-is, unchanged
叫ぶ — sakebu — scream, cry out
This aching yearning
Is just like it was back then. Scream
(I like the MV translation better actually. I have some issues with some of their other choices, but they absolutely nailed it here:)
That searing ache
Hasn’t dulled with time. Scream!
解いて 繋いで
ほら 咲かせてよ Blooming
解いて — hodoite — untie, unfasten,
繋いで — tsunaide — join, connect
ほら — hora — hey
咲かせて — sakasete — let (me) bloom. Could also be translated as ‘make me bloom’.
Release me! Join with me!
You see? Let me bloom (Blooming)
実り多き繁栄は
正しさあればこそ
実り — minori — crop, harvest
多き — ooki — great, abundant
繁栄 — hanei — prosperity
正しさ — tadashisa — righteousness, correctness
あれば — areba — if you have, if x is present
こそ — koso — precisely because of
Abundant prosperity lies
In righteousness alone
Again throwing back to Buddhist and arguably quite Japanese tropes of self improvement through diligent and correct action.
道無き道の証明
Cause and Effect
I must go on
道無き道 —michinaki michi — ‘trackless path’, the untrodden path/road
証明 — shoumei — testimony, proof
The proof of the untrodden path
Cause and effect
I must go on
満たされない満たされない
I don’t feel
I don’t feel like it
満たされない — mitasarenai — be unsatisfied, unfulfilled
Dissatisfied, unfulfilled
I don’t feel
I don’t feel like it
憎しみが 悲しみが 愛しさが
呼び起こす声に
憎しみ — nikushimi — hatred
悲しみ — kanashimi — sorrow
愛しさ — aishisa — affection
呼び起こす声 — yobiokosu koe — voice that awakens, voice that stirs (memories)
That voice awakens in me
Feelings of hatred, sorrow and affection
広がるあの日あの瞬間がそう
取り戻す日々 今も信じてる
広がる — hirogaru — to spread
あの — ano — that
日 — hi — day
瞬間 — shunkan — moment, instant
そう — yes, right
取り戻す — torimodosu — take back, regain, get back to
日々 — hibi — days (々 is kind cool in that it means ‘same as the previous character’)
今も — ima mo — even now
信じてる — shinjiteru — I believe
That day, that moment
Even now I still believe I can reclaim them
Sorry Saiki. You can’t step in the same river twice.
Burned out 言葉一つ
言葉 — kotoba — word
一つ — hitotsu — one, single
Burned out with just one word
心を揺さぶられていく
わかってた 何度だって
心 — kokoro — heart, mind, spirit
揺さぶられていく — yusaburarete iku — be shaken, jolted
わかってた — wakatteta — understood
何度 — nando — how many times
だって
でも でも でもでもダメなの
でも — demo — but
ダメ — dame — no good, useless, purposeless (also forbidden and a few other things depending on context)
なの — nano — a contraction of ‘na no desu’, which adds a sense of explanation/emphasis. A sort of ‘you see’.
but, but, but you see it’s no good.
飲み込んだ言葉が
棘のよう 胸に刺さる
飲み込んだ — nomikonda — drunk down, swallowed down
言葉 — kotoba — words
棘のよう — ibara no you — like thorns
胸 — mune — chest, breast, lungs
刺さる — sasaru — pierce, stick into, lodge in. According to my dictionary, also ‘to resonate emotionally’, so some poetic wordplay going on.
These words I’ve drunk down
Catch in my chest like thorns
見つけて 気づいて
もう 抜け出せはしない
見つけて — mitsukete — discover, find
気づいて — kidzuite — notice, realise
もう — mou — already, again, any longer
抜け出せはしない — nukedase wa shinai — won’t try to escape. ‘nukedase’ looks like it could be imperative form, but in this phrase is potential. A literal translation might be something like ‘as for being able to escape, I won’t’ — so a nuance of ‘even though I am capable, I won’t’. A resignation to one’s fate.
I find, I realise
I won’t try to escape again
(Far away
Take me somewhere far away
手を伸ばして 願えもっと
メロディーは続いてく
手を伸ばして — te wo nobashite — reach out your hand
願え — negae — (imperative) wish, desire, request, implore
もっと — motto — more
メロディーmerodi — melody
続いてく — tsudzuiteku — continues on (a contraction of tsudzuite yuku/iku)
Reach out your hand, Wish (for) more
The melody continues
Interestingly from an MV perspective, this is the first place we really get to see the girls. Up to this point it’s partial face shots, the instruments or distance shots. Here we get lingering full-face shots. From a narrative perspective, perhaps this is where the object of their affection has a moment of clarity and really looks for the first time in a long time. If that is a take that resonates, then pay attention to the shots they use as they close out the MV.
Go far away
Take me somewhere far away
手を伸ばして 歌えもっと
メロディーは続いて)
歌えも — utae — (imperative) sing
Reach out your hand, Sing more
The melody continues
なんて事ない なんて訳無いでしょ
なんて事ない —nante koto nai — It’s nothing. A colloquial phrase often used to indicate something doesn’t/didn’t matter.
なんて訳無い — nante wake nai — no way that
でしょ — desho — right?
There’s no way you can mean (to say) ‘It’s nothing’, right?
何度否定しても 飲み込まれて
些細でも 渡すことはできない
何度 — nando — how many times
否定して — hitei shite — deny
も — mo — again, as well
飲み込まれて — nomikomarete — be swallowed down
些細 — sasai — trifling, insignificant
でも — demo — even though, but
渡すこと — watsu koto — thing to be conveyed/transmitted, handed over
できない — dekinai — (I) cannot
No matter how many times I deny it, (I am) swallowed whole
I cannot convey even the most trifling thing
譲れないの この気持ちだけは
譲れない — yuzurenai — unable to yield, concede, give up, surrender
この気持ち — kono kimochi — this feeling
だけ — dake — just, only
I cannot surrender. At least not this feeling
I found this passage quite difficult to translate. There is an internal struggle in the lyrics that is not straightforward (for me at least) to initially parse. For example, you could translate ‘sasai demo watasu koto wa dekinai’ as ‘I can’t let you have even the smallest thing’, but it doesn’t fit the broader context. Yuzurenai is an interesting choice. It creates tension between the desire to convey something, and the unwillingness to give something up.
だから — dakara — and so
Burned out ときめかない
駆け引きに 一歩踏み込んで
真実が見えるまで
まだ まだ まだまだ足りない
疼くような想いが
あの頃のまま 叫ぶ
解いて 繋いで
ほら 咲かせてよ Blooming
Burned out. I am unmoved.
Taking a step into this game
Until the truth is revealed
It’s not, It’s not, not anywhere near enough
That searing ache
Hasn’t dulled with time. Scream!
Release me! Join with me!
You see? Let me bloom (Blooming)
(Far away
Take me somewhere far away
手を伸ばして 願えもっと
メロディーは続いてく)
Reach out your hand
Wish (for) more
The melody continues
Go far away
Take me somewhere far away
手を伸ばして 歌えもっと
メロディーは続いて)
Reach out your hand
Sing more
The melody continue — —
続いてくから
続いてく — tsudzuiteku — continues
から — because
Because it continues
This last line sounds to my ear like Saiki coming in over the top of Miku’s vocals to emphatically state a point.
Perhaps more interesting, given the Buddhist themes used throughout, is whether or not the references to ‘continuation’ are in any way related to reincarnation or not. I get the sense it’s another place of tension and contradiction. Are we talking about the continuation of the current (clearly fucking broken) relationship, the continuation of (the melody of) life? The cyclical nature of both?
I really like Blooming in terms of its ability to accomplish what it sets out to do. Lyrically, musically and visually it’s portrays the sense of a human being in this tortured, conflicted state of mind. I tend to appreciate this kind of song more if it’s part of a wider narrative (e.g. ‘I dreamed a dream’ from Les Miserables, or the entire ‘Downward Spiral’ album from Nine Inch Nails). The complete lack of agency on the part of the narrator is difficult for me to engage with. I’d probably enjoy the lyrics more if I knew that they were a precursor to the song Hate(?).
As a stand-alone song, I find blooming lyrically interesting and musically on-point, but the subject matter brings out my ‘old man yells at cloud’ tendencies.