14 February 2013

"Itsumo" lyrics and translation - final correct version?

いつも

Many have already attempted this before, but I think these are the exact words used in the lyrics of the chorus of "Itsumo," the rap song by Dice & K9, a Filipino rap group, as well as the more correct translation. "Itsumo" is basically a rap song in English, but with a melodic chorus in Japanese. To refresh your mind (or to introduce you to the song), here is the link to the official music video. Sorry, because of content restrictions, I can't embed the music video directly.

If you listen to the song without native-speaker-level Nihongo, or if you just check out the lyrics scattering around the internet, you might think it's this:
Itsumo kokoro we hoshi itsuka
dare katu mata koi nei utchitimo
itsumo kokoro nei eiro itsumo
anata dake no basho ga aru kara
Everyone knows what itsumo means - "always." And people have probably gotten the 2nd and 4th lines right, because they are the same exact lines in the popular song, "First Love," by Japanese-American Hikaru Utada (宇多田 ヒカル). But well, not everyone has. Here are the more correct lyrics in the correct Romaji form:
Itsumo, kokoro he hoshii,
Itsuka, dareka to mata koi ni ochite mo.
Itsumo, kokoro ni iru.
Itsumo, anata dake no basho ga aru kara.
Of course, when someone (specially a non-native Japanese speaker) sings the above lyrics, they probably won't come out as spelled out.

If we translate the lyrics now literally, we have:
Always, to my mind, I like
Someday, with someone again (I) will fall in love also.
Always, in my heart is (you?)
Always, for you only there is a place, that's why.
And the more correct(?) translation:
I always like to think that someday, I could also fall in love with someone again.
Because you are always in my heart, where there is always a place only for you.
Any objections? :D

Anyways, if you're interested, you can also check out Google's translation at this link.

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