analysis of " Wind " by Kumi Koda

Little by little , I'm realizing that the translation is very interesting . That could be my hobby . In such an extent , I wanna say the translation is so interesting .

Today , I wanna show you how insteresting the translation is , using Koda Kumi's "wind " . Fortunately , the promotion video of the song has the English subtitle . Here ,

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Kumi+koda+wind

All you have to do is to read the subtitle . If you are Japanese , you can understand what she is saying in this song , eh ? I think you can automatically understand the Japanese part . All you have to do is to focus on the English part .

風に向かって　走るんだ　どんな辛いこと　あっても
明るい未来が　そこにあるから　
つかみとることを描いて 　幸せへと一歩ずつ　進んでいこう

I'll run , facing the wind no matter how painful things get
Because there's a brighter future there
I'm able to picture the things I want to obtain
So I take one more step foward towards happiness

How do you feel about this tranlation ? I wanna say this is amazing . Of course , the translater is the English native speaker .

Could you feel the difference of expression between Japanese and English ? Of course , you can feel this translation is pretty good , but , also , you can feel the differences , can't you ? I kind of feel there is a big difference between the Japanese and English . Like , the atmosphere is different , eh ? It's really hard to tell , but there is something different , and , that is important .

By the way , in this phrases , the translater translated "　風に向かって走るんだ” into " I'll run , facing the wind " , right ? But , I kind of feel it's weird . If you're really good at English , you'll definitely know the fact that the native speaker rarely use " will " . They usually use the simplified version ( "I'll or you'll ) or " going to "( or "gonna" , but , the English don't use this ) .

If you wanna use " will " , the context should be the situation when you wanna show your "intention" . So , I kind of feel " I will run, facing the wind " is better than " I'll run , facing the wind " . How do you think ? The translation is super difficult , eh ?


季節が変わる　時計が回る
とまることなく流れてゆく
流した汗も　白いと息もどこかへ

Seasons keep changing , the clock keeps turning
Nothing can stop the time from flowing
Sweat trickles down my body , my sigh white with cold

夢は夢って諦めかけた
そんなときもあったけれど
あきらめたって　何も変わらない

A dream is just a dream . I said , starting to give up
Whenever I feel like that , I say I'll quit
But in reality , nothing changes

This part is also awesome ,eh ? But , again , I kind feel it's bit strange .
The tense of the second part is " Past " , right ? So , I kind of feel this is better , like ,

" Whever I felt like that , I said I'd quit , but in reality , nothing has changed "

The second sentence is very hard. Delibaretely , I used " present perfect " insteady of " past " or " simple present ". Considering the context , "simple present" could be good , but , I feel " present perfect " is better . The problem is the original sentence itself is so difficult , isn't it ?

And ,

夢は夢って諦めた　そんなときもあったけれど　諦めたって何も変わらない

The tranlator didn't "automatically" tranlate the sentences , right ? He or she interprited the meaning of the sentence or what Kumi Koda wants to say in this context , and he or she made kind of her original sentence , right ? This is the harest part in translation.


たとえば　糸がほどけたとしても
心でいつもつながってたいよ
そんなの　当たり前のことだから
僕は誓いをたてたりしない

Just imagine , a thread becoming unwound
In my heart , I'll always try to wind it up again
And even though it all sounds so logical
It's not enough for me to just make an oath

What do you think of this part . I wanna say this part is almost incorrect . Don't you think the meaning has totally changed after the translation ?

そんなの　当たり前のことだから
僕は誓いをたてたりしない

And even thoug it all sounds so logical
It's not enough for me to just make an oath

What Kumi Koda wanna say in this sentence is , she doesn't want to make an oath , or she doesn't try to make an oath , right ? So , this could be better , like ,

I kind of don't make an oath , because , I take it for granted

Do you think this could be better ? She used " 誓いをたてたりしない” insteady of " 誓いをたてない” , so I used " kind of ". And I used " take it for granted " , instead of " logical " . I think " logical " is a bit different , describing this situation . " Take it for granted " should be good .

And , in addition to that , in this sentence , Kumi Koda used " Boku " , instead of " Watashi " . This is also the problem . Japanese has a tons of " I " , such as , " Watashi " , " Boku " , " Ore " , or so forth . And the each " I " has the situation when the people're suppose to use it .

And , in japan , " Boku " is considered the expression only for guys , especially, younger guys . However , needless to say , Kumi Koda intentionally used " Boku " in this context , even though she is a girl . You can understand why she used " Boku " in this context if you're Japanese , eh ?
Then , you can realize that what she put into this sentence , using " Boku " has been erased totally , right ? This is the situation I felt when I read this translation for the first time .


誰かよりも　上だ　下とか
本当は関係ないんだ
自分らしく精一杯やることに
意味があるんだ

Whether others are better or worse off than me
it really doesn't matter
What matters , is that I have what I have

Umm, I wanna say the last sentence is a bit different . I can understand why the translaor choosed this expression , but , I think the meaning has totally changed . The translation has erased the feeling of moving forward . I mean , basically , in this context , Kumi Koda want to say , like , " you should not care about the others ! As long as you put your energy into what you wanna do , it should be OK , and , that is the most important " . So , this could be better ,

What matters is that you do what you wanna do

But , still , this is far from perfect . The translation is so hard , isn't it ?

自分のことを　もっともっと
好きになってみればいつか
新しい何か　みつかるかもしれない

One day, I'll learn to love myself more and more
and perhaps I'll find a complete new me

How about " a complete new me " in this context ? Pretty good , eh ?

つまずいたときは　顔をあげてみて
手を差し伸べる友達がそこに
みんなは君の味方だからそう
信じてもう一度　立ち上がろう

When I fall , I'll keep my head held high
and stretch out my hands towards the friends around me
because you're all my comparions ,
and you'll believe in me once more , so that I can stand up

I strongly feel this translation must be wrong . The problem is , in this sentences , there is no subject , right ? So it isn't obvious that "who" falls down or "who" keep the head held high . And the translater interprited the subject in this sentence should be " I " , but , I feel the subject should be " YOU " . So , this should be better ,

When you fall , please keep your head held high
and stretch out your hands towards the friends around you
You know , they are in your side , so why don't you stand up , believing in them


風が僕に告げたんだ
僕らの夢を揺らしたんだ
揺れも　迷いも　かき消すように
切ない予感に　say good bye
あゆれる希望　抱きしめたい
この手で　この胸で

The wind came to me and made our dreams shiver
Shivering , confused , the dream appears to vanish
so I say good bye to these fearful omens
and hold my overflowing hopes in my hands , in my heart


Basically , I think this translation is pretty good , and , I also feel how hard it is to translate clearly and correctly . And I personally believe this difficulty makes the tranlation interesting . How do you think ?

By the way , this rhyric is not bad , eh ? Little by little , I kind of like Kumi Koda.