Tears of a Mother
Here I am with the first part of this month’s themed week in “Lyrical Love”! Today’s subject is one of the most famous songs by the Japanese band Buck-Tick, entitled Jupiter and released as one of the lead-tracks of the sixth album Kurutta Taiyou (Lunatic Sun) on 21st February 1991. This song is one of the most important of their huge repertory, because of the passage of genre which meant for them, between a nostalgical rock melody and the dark-shaded image which shaped the band as we know it now, dealing with a heartful theme.
THE MUSIC
A vibrant melody played by the guitar opens the theme, along with far and suffused vocals; Sakurai’s voice evolves inside the song, going from the suffused, closer to a nostalgical style, to a flowing and melancholic vibe, around a strong and melting melody, driven by the perfect harmony between the chilling instruments, which become stronger in the second part, thanks to the drums and the guitar and the overwhelming vocal interpretation, building up a gloomy and intense dark-rock ballad, unique in this band’s history.
Lyrics (Romaji)
Arukidasu tsuki no rasen wo yuusei dake ga sora ni matte iru soko kara wa chiisaku mieta anata dake ga yasashiku te wo furu. Hoho ni nagaredasu akai shizuku wa semete owakare no shirushi. Hajime kara shitte ita hazu sa modoreru nante dakedo…sukoshi dake wasureyou subete no naifu mune wo kiri saite fukaku shizumeba ii. Mabuta ukande kiete iku zanzou wa marude haha ni nita hikari soshite namida mo chi mo minna kare hate yagate haruka naru omoi. Dore hodo kuyami tsuzuketara ichido wa yasashiku nareru ka na? sayonara yasashikatta egao konya mo hitori de nemuru no kai? Hoho ni nagaredasu akai shizuku wa semete owakare no shirushi konya kirei da yo tsuki no shizuku de yogoreta kono karada sae mo. Donna ni hito wo kizutsuketa konya wa yasashiku nareru ka na? sayonara kanashikatta egao konya mo hitori de nemuru no kai?
Lyrics (Translation)
When I got away from the moon spiral, only a falling star was dancing in the sky. From there, only you, who seem little, waved gently the hand.
The red drops, flowing in the cheeks, are at least a sign of farewell. (I)
Since the beginning I should have known that I can’t leave But… only for a little Let’s forget all the knives It’s good cutting the chest and deeply drowning.
On the eyelids the afterimages are floating and disappearing As if the light resembles the Mother And all the tears, the blood, the withered things And the feelings become distant. (II)
How long I should be sorry So that I get used to be kind? Goodbye gentle smile Will I sleep alone tonight? (III)
The red drops, flowing in the cheeks, are at least a sign of farewell. Even tonight my body is wet by the beautiful tears of the moon.
For how long I should hurt other people So that I get used to be kind tonight? Goodbye sad and gentle smile Will I sleep alone tonight? (IV)
THE WORDS
Written by the singer Atsushi Sakurai, this song is really important for the band itself, both for a musical and a more personal reason. As well as for the sound change mentioned above and for the different text style, darker and less closer to their early themes with a lot of symbolical elements, it has a particular meaning for the author. In fact at that time Sakurai has lost his mother, because of her disease, and the pain for her loss was the main image who inspired this song. For understanding it, we should start from the album title; the lunatic sun is a reference to the existence, lived by everybody and therefore impossible to avoid, despite its unpredictable shades. In general the album is filled with astronomical elements used as symbols and this song is titled Jupiter, as the biggest planet of Solar System, but mainly for the father of gods in Roman mythology, the one who created all the living things. From the words of the text we can see that the core image is a painful separation, between a mother and his son, like if the earth gets separated from the divine plan of existence; this separation brings out a strong loneliness for the protagonist, along with pain and unhappiness. And now… let’s analyze the song!
I) The text starts with the protagonist who notices a falling star dancing in the sky, while he is going away from the moon spiral, the following of each phase of life (Arukidasu tsuki no rasen wo ryuusei dake ga sora ni matte iru) and from there he saw her, who seemed little to him, waved gently with her hand (soko kara wa chiisaku mieta anata dake ga/yasashiku te wo furu); on her cheeks, red drops were flowing, a sign of a goodbye, of their separation (Hoho ni nagaredasu akai shizuku wa semete owakare no shirushi).
II) In this sequence he regrets of not having known before that he couldn’t leave without any consequence (Hajime kara shitte ita hazu sa modoreru nante), but it happened only for a little time (dakedo…sukoshi dake), because now he wants to forget all the knives who cut his chest and his heart and let him drowning deeply in his pain, thinking that it was good (wasureyou subete no naifu/mune wo kiri saite fukaku shizumeba ii); on his eyelids, the afterimages of his life are floating and disappearing, as if the light he sees next to him reminds the Mother (Mabuta ukande kiete iku zanzou wa marude haha ni nita hikari, the word “mother” has been translated in capital letter because it refers to the Virgin Mary, as you can see even in the song’s videoclip, the Christian figure of the motherhood in general, linked to the author’s mother) and finally all the tears, the blood, the withered things and the feelings he had become more and more distant, because he is closer to his mother (soshite namida mo chi mo minna kare hate/yagate haruka naru omoi).
III) This sequence is more focused on the protagonist’s conscience; in fact he wonders how long he should be sorry for his pain, in order to get used in being kind in his life (Dore hodo kuyami tsuzuketara/ichido wa yasashiku nareru ka na?) and after having said goodbye to her mother’s gentle smile (sayonara yasashikatta egao) he asks if he will sleep alone in that night (konya mo hitori de nemuru no kai?), with his own pain.
IV) The final sequence starts with the repetition of the final line from the first one and then goes on with the image of the protagonist’s body, wet by the beautiful drops of the moon, the tears of his mother (konya kirei da yo tsuki no shizuku de yogoreta kono karada sae mo); then he wonders how long he should hurt other people because of his pain, in order to become kind only for one night (Donna ni hito wo kizutsuketa/konya wa yasashiku nareru ka na?) and after having said goodbye to his mother’s smile, now sad and kind (kanashikatta), asks again if he will sleep alone in that night, and probably he will be forever in his own pain.
A mother’s love, which gives joy and kindness to whoever feels it, but when she is not there anymore, the person who felt it lives with a great pain and a big sense of emptiness. Buck-Tick deals with a not simple theme, starting from a sad personal event, related to the author, and arriving to unveil the true sense of the tie between a mother and his son, one who can’t be broken completely, where the loss is something who destroys and gives pain for the son and for whoever loved her.
That’s all folks! See you tomorrow for the next part of this themed week in “Let’s Listen to”!
Thanks for the reading!
*Sorry for the delay*
