âRaimeiâ â romaji and English translation
ăé·ćœă
Artist: Kaida Haru
Original lyrics: Horie Shota
Translation by Snowdust64
The title approximately translates to âthunderous life.â However, when ćœ is read as âmeiâ it can also mean âfateâ or âcommand.â
Implied pronouns in brackets with my best guesses. The repeating phrase, ârai rai rai raiâ is just âthunderâ x4, and I left it out to save space. Translation notes and commentary at the bottom.
kiyari-goe  tsuranare
tada karidashite uta ni natte
bikabika ni mazariau
enrĆ ze    Â
In kiyari voice, unite *
Just rush out and make song
Flashing brightly, blend together
[Letâs] live it up **
ikiatari battari nayandeiru ka
yonabe kubete  asa ni shikararete
sono kodoku ni ibasho wa naku
nakedo nakedo  kasure-goe   Â
Haphazardly feeling worried
Eating hotpot at night, getting scolded in the morning
Within that loneliness is no place to belong
Though [your] hoarse voice cries and cries
saredo itamu no da
kitte hatta yĆna shin'no zĆ ga
mada itamu no da  ikiteitai kotodama ga
pachipachi to kusuguttai uchinaru koe
sĆ da  itai no da
omae to onaji doshaburi ni
mimi fusai da  sono riyĆ« wa   Â
Even so, it still hurts
As if it was slashed and strained, [my] heart
Still hurts   The words "I want to live"
Crackle and tickle, an inner voice
Thatâs right, [I] want to be there
In the same downpour with you
The reason [I] covered my ears was â
inabikare, Â tĆboe o kasanete
kyĆ, Â hitotsu no sakebi to narĆ
aiso waratte koroshita ikari
yasashiku akirameta hikari
inabikare, Â ienai koto tabanete
kyĆ,  todoroku hitotsu ni narĆ
donten ni saku no wa  hajimari
sono hitomi ni harema o takushite    Â
Flash like lightning, overlapping howls ***
Today, they become a single cry
The anger that was killed by an amicable smile
The light that gently gave in
Flash like lightning, bind together what cannot be said
Today, roaring, [let's] become one
Bursting open in the cloudy sky is a beginning
Entrusting the piercing sunlight to those eyes â
(same as 1st verse, minus the last line)
koko ni wa nai ze   darekare mo
onaji-iro no doro ni magirete
koroge asobeba wakaru darĆ
koko ga,   omae ga matsuri dato    Â
Thereâs none of that here Anyone and everyone
Blends into the same-colored mud
Roll around and play, youâll understand
That in this place, the festival is you
soshite itamu no da
kishimi ugoita shin'nozĆ ga
tada itamu noda  `ikite iru' o hokoru yĆni
pachipachi to tobidashitai uchinaru koe
sĆ da   itai no da
kitto ima   deau tame   Â
And so it hurts
Creaking as it moves, [my] heart
Just hurts, as if to proudly say âIâm aliveâ
An inner voice, crackling, wanting to leap out
Thatâs right, it hurts
Surely, it was all so [we] could meet now
gĆgĆ Â Â sawagasetai
kusubutten no wa nĆ Â Â nĆ
gĆgĆÂ Â sawagasetai
hajirattenâno ka nĆÂ Â nĆ
gĆgĆ Â Â sawagasetai
omae ga dare toka nĆ nĆ
ashita ga dĆ toka kankeinÄ kara   Â
Roar, roar, want to raise a ruckus
Whatâs smoldering is â No, no âĄ
Roar, roar, want to raise a ruckus
Feeling embarrassed? No, no §
Roar, roar, want to raise a ruckus
Whoever you might be, no, no
Whatever is tomorrow, it doesnât matter
inabikare, Â tĆboe o kasanete
kyĆ, Â hitotsu no sakebi to narĆ
aiso waratte koroshita ikari
yasashiku akirameta hikari
inabikare, Â ienai koto tabanete
kyĆ,  todoroku hitotsu ni narĆ
donten ni saku no wa  hajimari
sono hitomi ni harema o chikatte    Â
Flash like lightning, overlapping howls
Today, they become a single cry
The anger that was killed by an amicable smile
The light that gently gave in
Flash like lightning, bind together what cannot be said
Today, roaring, let's become one
Bursting open in the cloudy sky is a beginning
Promising the piercing sunlight to those eyes
(same as 1st verse, minus the last line)
mata asobĆ ze   doshaburi de
Letâs play again in the pouring rain
===== translation notes =====
Wow, I had to use Weblio so much. Thereâs a lot of traditional or archaic vocabulary in these lyrics. Still feel like I might be getting some of the grammar wrong.
* âkiyariâ refers to traditional songs that were sung by laborers as they worked in unison. They are now often associated with festivals and Shinto rituals. The singing style is somewhat higher-pitched and nasal, and involves a lot of long, held notes. You can find lots of examples by searching âæšéŁăâ on YouTube.
** 柎 is read âutageâ or âenâ and means âto have fun by eating, drinking, singing, dancing, etc.â
***Â âinabikaâ is specifically the light from lightning; it doesnât include the sound of thunder that accompanies it. (Consider how, in English, we say âfirelightâ to mean the light of the fire, while excluding the cracking, popping, and whooshing noises that fires usually make.)
â   æŽăé (harema) specifically means when a small patch of clear, sunny sky appears amidst dense clouds or during a rain/snow shower.
âĄÂ âkusubutteâ â Smoldering like small fire that doesnât go out, but also is not growing; stuck in an unimpressive state.
§ The repeating âno, noâ is alliteration, but the first two times, the syllable is actually coming from the kanji for âbrainâ (èł). So, if I were to strictly translate the text: â[Your] brain is whatâs smolderingâ and âFeeling embarrassed, brain?â
ćżăźè (shinâno zĆ) which appears a few times is an older word for âheart,â which nowadays is shortened to ćżè (shinzĆ).Â
ćç éă (doshaburi) â I want to point out a cool word! The translation is âdownpourâ (referring to rain) but the kanji actually means âreduction of soil and sandâ and does not contain any character related to rain. It comes from the idea that the rain is so heavy, it washes away the soil and sand.
Summary of commentary from Kaidaâs listen-along stream on 6/14/25, starting at 1:44:55 in the YouTube archive.
Lyrics by Horie Shota, music by Mitusyo who did the opening BGM for VÎLZâs live concert series last year.
The repeating line ârai rai rai raiâ is a mix of Kaida, Horie, and Mitsuyoâs voices.
Keywords: festival, raise the tension, go crazy, run riot, become one, lend your strength and Iâll lend mine
1:51:03 â âJust for today, forget about all the unpleasant things and letâs be crazy. Donât care whatâs happening tomorrow, whether it's work or vacation doesnât matter. Man or woman, old or young, none of that matters. [âŠ] So, with everyone becoming one, letâs fire up this festival of music.â  For people who are attending a live concert for the first time and arenât sure how to cheer on the performance â âDoesnât matter! Weâll show you how!â
The feeling of being stronger, like youâre capable of anything, when youâre working in unity with other people is what he wanted to capture in this song. As examples, participating in a club or a tournament. Kaida also relates it to the VÎLZ live concerts, where the team was not just the three members onstage, but everyone involved in making the show happen.
1:53:09 â Comments from Mitsuyo: âThis is no time to be saying âThe rain wonât stop.â There will be times in life when you have to carry on in spite of the rain beating down on you. With the prompt being music that can give people a push in those times, I started creating this music. The core is a percussive groove of acoustic guitar, and I created the sound with a scene of a growing procession that gradually involves a bigger and bigger crowd. I asked my good friend Horie-kun to write the lyrics. The song is called Raimei. I would be very happy if it could become a part of the lives of the people who listen to it.â