Help, please translate this!

moonfae · (#1 (**permalink**))

Ue o muitte aruko namida ga koboro nai yoo ni nakinagara haru no hi hitori bochi no yoru

thank you!!

XRaptor · (#2 (**permalink**))

Ah, I see you're listening to Sukiyaki, by Kyu Sakamoto.

上を向いて歩こう
涙が零れないように
思い出す春の日
一人ぼっちの夜

It roughly translates to:

I look up while I walk
So my tears won't fall
Remembering the spring days
But tonight I'm all alone

masaegu · (#3 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by moonfae

Ue o muitte aruko namida ga koboro nai yoo ni nakinagara haru no hi hitori bochi no yoru

thank you!!

Mistakes in red.

Might as well introduce the rest of this 1963 U.S. Billborad Number One song.

KyleGoetz · (#4 (**permalink**))

My hostmother in Japan had a tape of Sakamoto that I listened to often. I loved that album almost as much as I love enka.

I still can't figure out how the hell this song hit #1 in the US a scant two decades after Pearl Harbor and WWII. We Americans are not exactly comfortable with foreign languages in the US, let alone one of a then-recent enemy.

masaegu · (#5 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by KyleGoetz

　
I still can't figure out how the hell this song hit #1 in the US a scant two decades after Pearl Harbor and WWII. We Americans are not exactly comfortable with foreign languages in the US, let alone one of a then-recent enemy.

And neither can I.

What also intrigues me is the fact the song was renamed "Sukiyaki" in your country. We would not call a nice American ballard "Meatloaf", ya know...

XRaptor · (#6 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by masaegu

And neither can I.

What also intrigues me is the fact the song was renamed "Sukiyaki" in your country. We would not call a nice American ballard "Meatloaf", ya know...

Haha I have no idea why we would rename it that. Isn't the original title just 上を向いて歩こう?

masaegu · (#7 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by XRaptor

Haha I have no idea why we would rename it that. Isn't the original title just 上を向いて歩こう?

Yeah, it is.

It certainly isn't "What are we having for dinner tonight?"

KyleGoetz · (#8 (**permalink**))

Quote:

Originally Posted by masaegu

And neither can I.

What also intrigues me is the fact the song was renamed "Sukiyaki" in your country. We would not call a nice American ballard "Meatloaf", ya know...

Kyu Sakamoto tops the charts with "Sukiyaki" — History.com This Day in History — 6/15/1963

Inspired me to do a bit of googling.

Seems a British guy had it re-recorded locally, it got popular, and an American DJ started playing the original. "Sukiyaki" because "上に向いて歩こう" was too hard for British listeners, but still recognizably Japanese.

Eeentedesting.