Below a frigid moon, we tell the tale of an amber dream
A sheep’s black flock
Dissipated on a related night
The lovers of Eden exchange vows unchanged
Seeing an ideal morning
At the end of the path they chose
She said,he said
But God said
A dream played by a rainbow
Is pursued with uncertainty
But because they’re going to fall into a new light
Hope burns and shines
(Light is fluttering down) ¹
She said,he said
But God said
“I feel so dead”
A transparent flame illuminates even the past
So please don’t be frightened of making mistakes
It rings through you—
The dream played by a rainbow,
Pursued with uncertainty
But because you’re going to fall into a new light
Hope burns and shines
The sheep’s black flock
Dissolved on a related night
.
NOTES / INTERPRETATION:
Blue font indicates text originally written in English in the official booklet.
oo1. This line appears to be what SHOU says within the static, but it is not written in the booklet, so please take my impression with a grain of salt.
Thoughts. These lyrics are infused with religious imagery and concern the somehow related black flock of a sheep and sets of lovers from Eden who reconfirm their vows. Reading the lyrics alone, they feel hopeful overall, even bright, but the music they accompany is largely dark in tone and that contrast brings the song together in an interesting way. A sense of menace constantly gives way to a brief period of calm and respite, keeping hope alive.
One of the things that intrigued me most in these lyrics is the fact that it is the flock that is described as black, not the sheep itself. Logically, being part of said flock, the sheep would be black as well — the point is simply that, the emphasis was placed on describing the flock rather than the sheep. There may be no real significance tied to that choice (other than perhaps it flowed more smoothly), but it still stuck out to me as being interesting, even unusual. More to the point: I had to wonder if the sheep is simply a part of the black flock, or if the sheep was leading the black flock. Another interesting angle to ponder.
Finally, the choice of punctuating the title of this song with a colon (like Stargazer:, before it), was another interesting detail. In Stargazer:’s case, the colon was apparently meant to prompt the listener to add their own name to the song mentally (i.e. every listener could put themselves in the shoes of the Stargazer), but somehow that doesn’t strike me as the right line of thinking for Exodus:…
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アリス九號. ★ ALICE NINE.
Exodus:
GRACE (2022)
Lyrics by 将/SHOU
Music by 沙我/Saga
Original text translated from Japanese.
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Translation also on the Alice9Lives Archive.