In the Glass Case (ガラスケースのなかで EN ver.)
- 5月16日
- 読了時間: 4分
English lyrics of my song "In the Glass Case." Two versions on YouTube follow.
月はセーラームーンで
the moon was Sailor Moon
自然はトトロだった
nature was Totoro
人間社会に生まれ育つ
born and raised in human society
平らな地球
a flat earth
ガラスケースのなかで
in the glass case
「世界」は社会で
"the world" was society
彼女は世界が怖かった
she was afraid of "the world"
ガラスケースのなか
in the glass case
空はたしかに美しく
yet the sky — truly beautiful
夢中で雲撮るインスタントカメラ
an instant camera, lost in chasing clouds
写真を愛でる ことなんかなくて
never once cherishing what was captured
雑木林で用水に遊ぶ
playing in the irrigation ditches through the grove
落ち葉のベッド
a bed of fallen leaves
煮干しでザリガニを釣る
fishing for crayfish with niboshi
小さな白い富士はもう見えない
the small white Fuji, where did it go?
砂利石のコロッケ
gravel croquettes
泥のクッキー 太陽で焼く
mud cookies baked beneath the sun
股を泳ぐアオダイショウ
a rat snake swimming between legs
ザリガニ溢れた水槽は やがて緑の苔の箱
the tank crammed with crayfish, becoming a box of green moss
「世界」は社会だった
"the world" was society
「世界」がこわかった
"the world" — so scary
あるがままで なんて言葉 知らなかった
never knew the words — just as you are
その空気は、seriousness
the air was seriousness
ちゃんと、しっかり、真面目にね
properly. earnestly. seriously.
真剣に、努力して、頑張ってね
be solid. give your all. keep going.
出来る、イケてる、さすがだね
you can do it. you've got this. as expected.
ガラスケースのなか
in the glass case
開け放した縁側
the engawa, thrown wide open
かかることない鍵
a lock, never locked
風はたしかに通り抜ける
the wind — always passing through
裸足の暮らし
a barefoot life
母に触れていたくて
wanting to touch mother
父の背中が好きだった
loved father's back
駅に降り立った友は
a friend, stepping off the train,
ゴムの匂いがすると言った
said it smelled of rubber
世界は社会だった
"the world" was society
戦後拓かれた区画整理
post-war, the grid advancing
生命に保険
life, insured
畑は四角にカットして分譲の地
fields cut to squares — sold off, lot by lot
見上げる君は菩薩の微笑み
looking up — you, the smile of a bodhisattva
先祖の墓は彼方
ancestors' graves, so far away
新たに建てようも墓地は満室
even to build anew — the cemetery is full
トトロの青い波 sunshine
Totoro's blue wave. sunshine.
死が そのナタを振りかざして
death, raising its blade high
ガラスケースの外をさす
pointing beyond the glass case
光の波打ち際
the light at the waterline
黒砂に白波の軌跡
black sand — white waves — their fine trace
沈み込む砂は足跡
sand yields underfoot, a footprint
水平の線に
on the horizon
永遠のときが止まる
eternal stands still
ここは地球
this is earth
分離の手ではどうして描けよう
how could the hand of separation ever draw this
the wholeness
the wholeness
波が 海が 月が 地球が 宇宙
wave — sea — moon — earth — universe
ガラスケースは氷の四角
the glass case is a square of ice
黒砂に白波の軌跡
black sand — white waves — their fine trace
沈み込む砂は足跡
sand yields underfoot, a footprint
水平の線に
on the horizon
永遠のときが止まる
eternal stands still
死を幾重に重ねて
layers upon layers of death
the wholeness
the wholeness
四角は光の露と消え
the square dissolves into drops of light
Sing and dance
sing and dance
Holographic world を舞う
dancing through a holographic world
いつかあそんだ
once played
ガラスケースのなかで
in the glass case
The poem arrived the moment I woke, on September 7, 2025. My sister's birthday morning.
Around that time, Suno — an AI music generation app — released a major update. When I tried it, I felt it had finally crossed a threshold — I could make what I envisioned. After tinkering with it here and there, these two versions were completed in October.
I want to sing this myself. (I already have a vision for the music video.)
But honestly, I'm not yet at a level I can share with others. I've since started vocal lessons, and I'm aiming to perform live by spring next year.
I'm genuinely moved and grateful for the quality of what was generated.
But there are still spots in the song where the kanji get misread — 愛でる (mederu) comes out as "aideru," 雑木林 (zouki-bayashi) as something like "zakki-XXX" — parts that are hard to make out.
I tried to fix it, but in the end, I gave up. And so half a year passed.
During that time, I shared it with family and friends when the moment felt right, and they encouraged me to keep going. The first line (I'm a 1/3 Manifestor) needs a solid foundation, you know.
And finally, I gathered the courage to release it as is. After half a year.
With the hope that something good may be kindled within those who read the poem, and those who hear it as a song.
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