I close my eyes and think of you
The colours within a brilliance unfading;
If I think back, we fought at times too
All those things now are dear to me
Even spring snow changed to rain, the colours of summer fading;
And once again, there was a flower that bloomed
Heartbeats are carving out the time we have together
In times of health, in times of illness, together with you
I can’t arrive at the reason for why I love you but
I just want to gaze at you, playing out this rhythm
At the edge of the night sky
Even now, are you dreaming the same dream as me?
I just want to make sure
Because even if we were to part, it would be long as one person, pulling in the string of our hearts
The autumn wind forgets the past, bringing the colours of winter
And dyeing the depths of my heart
If the strength of light can measure even distance
It can also fly over any amount of darkness, illuminate it
Become a shooting star, cross over thousands of nights
and never again will our linked palms part
Even if it doesn’t reach you, I’m here
So you can be true to who you are
Heartbeats are carving out the time we have together
In times of health, in times of illness, together with you
I can’t arrive at the reason for why I love you but
I just want to gaze at you, playing out this rhythm
The two of us can share even our pain
Until we end up forgetting how to flap our wings
.
NOTES / INTERPRETATION:
Thoughts. This song really is a little burst of light time ticking away in the background as the music plays. I seem to remember reading (or hearing) somewhere that this song nearly ended up on GEMINI, but instead turned into a little treasure of a track, tucked away on a single later that year. According to interviews, SHOU wrote the lyrics at a time when his grandmother had taken very ill, and he was visiting her in the hospital. The lyrics beautifully incorporate the notion of “in sickness and in health,” turning a heartbreaking experience into a breathtakingly tender poem that takes the listener through the seasons and into the cosmos while anchoring them in the present in such a down-to-earth way. The song itself has ticking sounds in the background to strengthen the image of time passing, and Saga’s bass line becomes more prominent as the song goes on, after the solo section in the interlude. The rhythm of time doesn’t speed up, it just becomes more noticeable–something to cherish.
It is one of my favourites in their discography and the memory of the last time I experienced the song in person at a live will stay in my heart forever.
.
アリス九號. ★ ALICE NINE.
Ray
Heart of Gold (2011)
Lyrics by 将/SHOU
Music by 虎/TORA
Original text translated from Japanese.
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