On the national highway walks, walks a living corpse
To the west it sinks, it sinks, burned by the setting sun
That’s the kind of dream I had
Rosalia
The number of times I’ve cried without shedding tears
Even waking, I am still in the dark
Rosalia
Goodbye for now
The morning of reincarnation
Is for being born once again
How much emotion
Was spilled, ended up drowning?
My current location is still at that night
It shouldn’t be somebody else’s problem
Funny, isn’t it
That the one who feels nothing is me
It’s already hopeless
You taught me that, you know
Let’s put an end to grieving already
That’s right, Rosalia
People are living beings that are near death while asleep
In the morning awoken, I am different
Rosalia
Goodbye for now
I cannot bring you along with me
See you again someday
For a tomorrow, the living corpse wishes, hopes;
The darkness lights up, lights up, embraced by the sun
My tears overflowed
You were near me
The light peeked through
If the person I am today had only just been born,
Would I be able to love incessantly falling snow, rain that won’t stop?
Even the sadness of that day that I put in my pocket?
Hatred one day too, will turn into a diamond
Both the past and the future are trivial, you know
Only the present time
Shines
.
NOTES / INTERPRETATION:
oo1. The term sayonara to mean goodbye is one of the few Japanese words that have been borrowed into the English language so far, this one in the late 1800s. I chose to leave the word as-is for the title, but I did translate it to goodbye in the verses of the song. As for the name Rosalia, while it may have been chosen for the way that it sounds or for a private reason left unsaid, it is just as likely a reference to Rosalia Lombardo, also known as the “Sleeping Beauty of the Capuchin catacombs”. After having caught the Spanish Flu, Rosalia died tragically, shortly before her second birthday. Her body was exceptionally well-preserved at the request of her grieving father, Mario Lombardo, and hers was one of the last to be admitted into the Capuchin catacombs in Sicily. Many that have visited the catacombs have observed a phenomenon in which her eyes appear to open and close throughout the day, but this is simply an optical illusion caused by light filtering through the windows at different times of day; her blue eyes were preserved partially open. Rosalia sleeps eternally in a silk blanket, wearing a beautiful silk bow, in a coffin embellished with an ornate cross. You can read more about Rosalia Lombardo in [ this article ] and [ this Wikipedia entry ], but please be aware that both contain photos of her mummified face.
Thoughts. Even without considering the possible reference to the Sleeping Beauty of the Capuchin catacombs, these lyrics depict such grief, and a sense of resolve that doesn’t seem tied to either happiness or sadness. The music itself is remarkably upbeat and energetic, despite the heavy words and emotions they carry, though by the end, that sense of resolve to keep moving forward in the present shines through quite literally. The repetition of words in the song helps to convey the sense of trying to move forward, even while being stuck in the memory of a traumatic experience.
Ever since I first read these lyrics, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about them, and wondering what prompted the composition of the song, the writing of the lyrics. The self-liner notes hint that the lyrics were written taking inspiration from a Pythagorean phrase, but that is as far as the hint goes; the rest of the lyrics’ meaning is up to us to divine as listeners. VOLLAND GUMP (that is, Saga), explains that his going into detail would have gotten boring.
Respectfully, I disagree. Further explanation would have been fascinating. π
.
VOLLAND GUMPγβΎγγ¦γ―γ¨γ·γ¬γΊγβγγγγγͺγγγΆγͺγ’γ(VOLLAND GUMPγ»2015)
VOLLAND GUMP β sayonara ROSALIA | From YUKUESHIREZU (VOLLAND GUMP β 2015)
Original text translated from Japanese.
VOLLAND GUMP is a nom de plume used by ζ²ζ from γ’γͺγΉδΉθ.