At the toll of a decaying bell
Even the pain plucking at me
Still won’t get through to my brain
It’s the ripened vertigo of extinction
So I can drag you through heaven
The pig statue sneering with civility
Yeah, it clung to my cornea
Might as well kill the part of you
That has no skill for balancing on a ball
“Even if you attend a meeting in passive silence, zero won’t become one”
Creation－
Imagination－
Make them bloom in glorification
Breaking－Destroying
The castle of papier-mâché banknotes
Like an eternally long struggle
Let’s say our goodbyes to the poisoned apple
An orchestra of vilification
Resounds in my eardrums;
Yeah, let’s put an end to the part of you
That doesn’t know the taste of gnawing on your own blood
“Even if you attend a meeting in passive silence, zero won’t become one”
Creation－
Imagination－
Make them bloom in glorification
I reach for
The gentle light reflecting in your eyes
So that we won’t waver anymore
Breaking－Destroying
The papier-mâché pretense of me
Like an eternally long struggle
Let’s say our goodbyes to the poisoned apple
.
NOTES / INTERPRETATION:
Blue font indicates text originally written in English in the official booklet.
Thoughts. The title would normally be read as “keikyoku” (wild rose) or “bara” (rose), but the reading Shou went with is “ibara”, which puts a bit more emphasis on the thorns that would be in a briar patch (where roses grow), so Shou really wanted to emphasize the thorn aspect. That’s why I chose “briar” as the translation for the title.
The lyrics to this song have a lot of sharp edges, paired with really cool imagery, like that of making creation and imagination bloom in glorification as a counter-balance to breaking and destroying the papier-mâché pretenses that came about through eating a poisoned apple. And the poisoned apple, to me, calls to mind the lyrics of RUMWOLF. Even the pig symbolism returns in this one, in RUMWOLF a metaphor for greed or excess, maybe, and in ibara, a metaphor for insincerity, it seems to me. The lyrics and the intensity of the song abound with rebellious energy, with the focused intention that comes from a mind choosing to break free.
And as a fan, it was incredibly exciting at the time this was released (first as a single, then as part of a full length album) to see the band (at the time, going by A9), find their footing as indie artists and release their first single and full-length album under their own steam after getting their start thanks to two very successful crowdfunding campaigns (which I very enthusiastically backed).
At the time of posting this translation, ALICE NINE. are on an indefinite freeze, but the lines “creation / imagination / make them bloom in glorification” absolutely holds true to the projects the members are all currently working on or supporting.
.
アリス九號. ★ ALICE NINE.
荊棘 | ibara
MEMENTO (2017)
IDEAL (2017)
Lyrics by 将/Shou
Music by 虎/Tora
Original text translated from Japanese.
Released by NINE HEADS RECORDS
Listen on itunes/Spotify.
If you’d like to share the translation, please link to this page; you can also find the translation posted as a comment to the official Youtube video. Do not repost it. Thank you ♡
Translation also on the Alice9Lives Archive.