In other news, Tom Gabel of rock band, Against Me, says he’s been a woman all along. Correction, she‘s been a woman all along. I think that deserves a: You go, girl!

Tom or Laura Grace Jane, as she’s soon to be known, has a wife and a two year old daughter. Will this make his wife a lesbian? Will the daughter grow up resenting her “father?”

Those questions don’t mean anything.

They’re just a way for people to look down on someone who is transgendered. If good people love and care for one another, they’ll get by. Better a father who is happy with who she is, than a father who hides it and breeds resentment and self hatred. Love is just love and love is everything. It needs no other labels.

I’m sick of the debate. We’re all headed for the grave, let’s make the most of the time in between and end these pointless crusades.

the harder and faster we run through
the more trying the headwinds become
edged to the left, edged to the right
as we lose our balance
but here we are, right here.

my dream strays off course
and goes shooting away, deflating as it goes
The thought occurs to me, where should it make a crash landing?
when it’s smashed to bits, and leaves there as just a scent in the air
it will fly to wherever you are
so when it does, take a deep breath of it.

We are one
but, there’s just no way to share each little thing.
Neither of us recognized the tears of the other, we went right past it
but here we are again.

I can’t find the missing pieces but,
let’s continue doing this puzzle.
I know we won’t be able to fill in every space but, that’s OK.
Those empty spaces,
from now on those will be the blank spaces
we use to draw our dreams,
so let’s make them even more real
than the ones we once dreamed would be there.

You can think of the missing pieces and open spaces
as some kind of pattern.
like the footprint we leave behind.
those uneven steps
are the tracks we made together to this point,
chasing down our dreams.
so let’s take the next step now.

my dream strays off course
and goes shooting away, deflating as it goes
The thought occurs to me, it might just up and fade away
but even if it does fade and vanish, it won’t be gone
it’s the miracle that you and I were even alive at the same time
c’mon, let’s go fill in the next blank together.

we’ll make it more real than the ones we once dreamed would be there.

Translated By: Brian & Takako Stewart

when I clench your hands, gone numb from the cold, in mine
I think to myself, “I wish I could stop time on this moment.”
your peering eyes search mine for the hint of a lie
but you’ll find no such thing, silly. I respond with a smile.

I see dreams of our far off future and I fret
I go back and forth over it in my mind again today
I’d rather see the course of my heart play out with my own eyes
than manipulate the outcome, so I do my best to keep out of it.

goodbye, goodbye, and so long
to the ugliness within me that threw mud on my dreams
even if someone ridicules this defenseless dreamer
I want to hold onto that unyielding feeling, that wish.

if it seems like the places and things I’ve grown used to
are showing me a new side
it’s actually because my perspective has changed.
The reason I feel a sense of ill intent from words like
“purity” and “honesty” is surely because
there’s evil in me now too.

I try and forget but I always come back to thinking about it
no matter how old we get, everyone is pretty much the same
those things we never wanted to lose, one after another…
add color to the course of our hearts.

If you’re not sure what to do next, just listen carefully for the current
you’ll hear as it flows from the mouth of your heart
and then all you have to do is set a prayer
like a ship made of the sasa leaf afloat
on that babbling, twinkling current.

Every time you laugh or smile
it stirs the heart
and that desire to be stronger
motivates me to be so

Don’t ever forget the light you have inside you.
I want to always keep watch over it so it never goes out.

goodbye, goodbye and so long
to the weakness within me that stepped on my dreams
the sadness and loneliness, in the course of all these tears
that sometimes fall, will become a beautiful river,
upon which you can then set a prayer like
a ship made of the sasa leaf afloat.

Translated By: Brian & Takako Stewart

Translator’s Notes: The word “kidou” literally means a track as in a train track but the meaning here is a little more nuanced. I see “kidou” as being like destiny. A history of where you’ve been and where you will go. In the case of the heart it means “love” and in the case of tears it means sadnesses. Visualize it like a timeline, or as we translated (eventually) as a course, and it suddenly makes sense.

The reason I did not translate sasabune as simply leaf boat is because it’s a very Japanese image that carries with it a very Japanese emotional resonance. When I was a kid we didn’t sail pretty leaf boats down the brook, we sailed eggshells that we emptied with a nail and painted. If I made a song with “eggshell boats” in it I’d want that image correctly portrayed.

It’s a beautiful video, if a little dull, but whenever I feel a yawn coming on, Sakurai’s unrivaled passion brings me back. I love that this band can have such a big, bold artistic concept in their video. They truly are a dying breed.

Makes you hungry huh? btws, they have jawesome (jaw-droppingly awesome) hummus.

I felt it from the first moment, a fragile love
that I was kept from ever touching.

Now, there is only one shadow which lurks in my heart, whispering to me
one shadow that I will never try to chase away.
I will keep my gaze focused until I get there,
to where that moon casts a pale shadow.

A misting rain wets my cheek
and washes away
when warmth is known
the feelings that dissipate with each departing breath
float on the sea of tranquility, only to dissolve away.

The shaky dream I wanted back then,
has changed and left only an empty space behind.

Now, there is only one shadow burned into my heart, whispering to me
one shadow that I carry the burden of.
I will keep my goal focused until we understand one another,
to where that moon casts a pale shadow.

a warm wind blows, as if gently enveloping us
countless white flowers bloom in full,
pieces of them wafting in the air.

The moment I woke, it all went away.

That’s why there is only one etched in my heart,
an affection I keep as I do this decision.
I walk on without looking back, until alI my strength is spent,
even if, in the end there’s nothing there.

the light that floats through the night
almost within reach
when the pain is forgotten

Translated by: Brian & Takako Stewart

it shines blindingly bright
each time, whittling away my life

We brought the anger of heaven upon us
with our loathsome tactics
boldly changing the shape of the thrilling script

we build an impermanent future
and each time, shed tears over it

in a topppled paradise, robbed of even my voice,
the sadness that continues to wander,
makes its way once more toward the light
As many times as I have to, I will try to fly away
from this desolate earth
with only my reckless instincts

marring the once perfect (sinless), arrangement of the DNA helix,
I put the past, that blocks the way forward, behind me
and press on without looking back

we build an impermanent future,
and each time, dull our passions further

in a toppled paradise, robbed of even my voice,
the sadness that continues to wander,
makes its way once more toward the light
As many times as I have to, I will try to fly away
from this desolate earth
with only my reckless instincts

let’s share each maddening second of the time we have together
a tomorrow, built without you, would mean nothing
in this brand new place, let’s join hands
with only this reckless desire

in a flash it was gone, crumbled to pieces
only the heavenly framework remaining
at the moment of death it showed us
a reality there’s no turning back from

it shines blindingly bright
and each time, I search for a sign of you.

Translated by: Brian & Takako Stewart

out of the blue, an unpredictable despair looms large
tired and drained of strength, your body beleaguered
you’ll never be able to take your eyes off it, swallowed by the depths of the darkness
it will feed off of your mind and never let go.

Remember what you felt as a stream of tears ran down your cheek
are you prepared to leave it all behind?

The gospel you heard when you were at your saddest,
brings out a scream to wipe out your resignation
you’ll receive such benediction as to make you quiver
and reborn, you’ll be more beautiful than anyone else.

What you see leaves you speechless, a scene that defies the imagination
it ruthlessly takes away even the shred of hope you lightly clung to
crying out until you’re hoarse, when the seeds of anger begin to sprout
then you’ll start to see your true self, hidden until now within the darkness.

Honing the emotions you felt as you shrieked
Are you prepared to bid your past a fond farewell?

The gospel you heard when you were at your saddest,
brings out a scream to wipe out your resignation
you’ll receive such benediction as to make you quiver
and reborn, you’ll be more beautiful than anyone else.

The earth rings out with the sound of crying,
a cruel tomorrow will draw us together once more.

The gospel that plays beyond the devastation
brings out the answer, you’d lost sight of through the tears.
awash in the blessing of the radiant light of god
reborn, you are more dear to me than anyone else.

Translated by: Brian & Takako Stewart

If you desire, once more
the DNA will rearrange with a big bang.

No way, No more, feel the pain? if you’re tired  of crying
No way, No more, feel despair, do it again, i know you want it

revelation, god’s plan, a natural evolution
infection, awakening, attempted violent acts

If you desire, once more,
the DNA will burst out onto your dried skin.

No way, No more feel the pain? if you’re tired of crying
No way, No more, feel despair. do it again, I know you want it
Always hopeless broken world. It’s god’s will be done.
Always keep staring at you. do it again, blooming out of season

drifting on a sea of darkness…

No way, No more feel the pain? if you’re tired of crying
No way, No more, feel despair. do it again, I know you want it
Always hopeless broken world. It’s god’s temptation.
Always keep staring at you. do it again, touching the hair on the back of your head

It is reality. It is confusing. It is a birthcry full of warnings.

Translated By: Brian & Takako Stewart

Translator’s Notes: I looked up Plosive online and got a lot of links about speech. A plosive is the sound we make using words with a p or b etc. sound. The Japanese use the word “haretsuon” to describe this. Here’s where things get weird. Haretsuon also means explosion or, in our translation, “big bang.” So either Plosive is another way to say Explosive or Kirito lost the meaning in translation because he clearly means it as “Explosive”.

We chose to translate kuruizaku in two ways to reflect the dual nature of this song. On the one hand it’s clearly about DNA and evolution thus “blooming out of season could refer to changes on a genetic level which happen because of outside influence. On the other hand, it’s clearly about sex and possibly rape. Those opening lines give me a rape vibe as does the part about “DNA bursting out onto dried skin” what else could that mean except possibly things that were once fish, now walking on land and being dry because they aren’t in the sea?? How does DNA burst out onto their skin though?? I’ve said too much, these are just impressions and theories. Make up your own mind how to interpret the individual lines.

but I’m reluctant, I know it’s just a little further but
I want to be there alongside your gentle smile

I make a beeline for it, the cloudless blue sky so bright
propelled by a fair wind, I begin a new journey
so we can see each other again one day
I head straight for tomorrow without looking back.
Good luck my way, towards the road I believe in.

Running around all over the place
unless I drill it into my brain, it seems like I’ll never find the answer
I’m sure, I know for sure, I’ll have no regrets
I’ll keep pushing ahead so we can laugh about it someday

Because you see, I’m not scared anymore
no matter what tomorrow may bring
I can get through it, because even if I stumbled on my way
I got this far.

To be able to find someone like you
in a corner of this bustling world made me happy
I couldn’t find the words to express all these feelings
bursting from within me
if we meet again one day, maybe I’ll have learned to express myself
Good luck my way, smile at me.

I make a beeline for it, the cloudless blue sky so bright
propelled by a fair wind, I begin a new journey
so we can see each other again one day
I head straight for tomorrow without looking back.
Good luck my way, smile at me.

To be able to find someone like you
in a corner of this bustling world made me happy
I couldn’t find the words to express all these feelings
bursting from within me
if we meet again one day, maybe I’ll have learned to express myself
beyond the distant rainbow,
Good luck my way, towards the road I believe in.

Translated by: Brian & Takako Stewart