The single includes a very strong ‘B-side’ track in the form of Re:Start, the third song in both editions of the CD, which sadly does not feature in the Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2 game, but is – in my humble opinion – an amazing song.

As we mentioned before, finding an accurate translation is always an issue, but thankfully Quartet4 allows requests on his dedicated Forum, and has now posted the full translation online! The song is about starting over but not forgetting the memories shared with the other person. Gorgeous, as expected from Kenji03 and Teeda!

Quartet4 has kindly provided permission for us to repost the translation here, and – as we test out a new display format – you can find it below the cut with the original kanji, romaji and karaoke versions of the lyrics as well!

If you haven’t heard the song yet, visit our Music page and scroll to the end for our pop-out radio and listen to it. In the mean, I’d like to say a big thanks to Quartet4 for the translation!

If you haven’t had a chance to listen to the song yet (remember it’s the OP for Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2) have a look at some of the options available in our earlier post, where you can watch the PV, download the mp3 or even enjoy a subbed version with karaoke effects!

You can either view the English-only translation below or a line-by-line translation with the original Kanji. Either way, this translation has really helped me to appreciate the song a lot more, and I am sure it will be the same for you as well. Thank you to Quartet4 for their great work!

However, the biggest thank you must go to Takenoko of TV-Nihon (who we contacted after seeing the forum post by BenBoomZ) who has very kindly allowed us to post their translation of Sands of time on Back-on Online!

So without further ado…

ENGLISH TRANSLATION by TV-Nihon

“逢いたいよ” って今すぐにでも
“I want to see you” right now!

[Verse 1]
つないでた手を離したんだ I know…わかってる
Our hands used to be connected, but they’ve come apart
I know… I know.

無口なホームで…
Our home is silent…

[RAP]
I’m Mr. lover なんて強がる can you feel me?
I’m Mr. Lover. I put up a tough front. Can you feel me?

未だに you’re my 心癒す diva
You’re still the diva that still heals my heart

But I can’t say this word “逢いたいな”
But I can’t say these words “I want to see you”

I wanna 時を rewind right now
I wanna rewind time right now

[Chorus 1]
“逢いたいよ” って今すぐにでも 叫びたいのに
“I want to see you” right now! Even though I want to shout it.

もうYou and I 言えない
I no longer can say “you and I”

意地をはっても つかめない
Even if I try to force it. I can’t catch you

あの頃は腕の中にいたのに
Back then you used to be in my arms

キミはもういない
But you’re gone now.

[Verse 2]
Baby… come back to here for me

そう隣に… I wanna say it
Yes, by my side… I wanna say it

You and I お互い 言えない 逢えない
You and I. Neither speaking or seeing each other

あの时から素直になれない 魔法が解けない
I’ve never been honest with my feelings. I can’t undo the spell

I wanna use the sands of time… 君のそばにいたい
I wanna use the Sands of time… I wanna be by your side

[Chorus 2]
“愛してる” って叫んでみたけど
I yelled out “I love you!” but…

君の元には届かないよ
It could not reach you

泣かないでくれよ ツラくなるから
Please don’t cry. It makes it more painful

胸の奥に想いを閉じ込めた
I’ll keep these feelings in my heart

キミはもういない
Because you’re gone now

[Bridge]
Hey my girl 誰かの “モノ” になるなら
Hey my girl if you’re going to be someone else’s

いっそ消えてほしいと願う 心の中
Then my desires and wishes quickly disappear. In my heart

未だ思い出 flash back!
Still memories flash back!

あの時 あの場所で出会わなければ…
That time, that place where we met…

[Chorus 1 & 2]
“愛してる” って叫んでみたけど
I yelled out “I love you!” but…

君の元には届かないよ
It could not reach you

泣かないでくれよ ツラくなるから
Please don’t cry. It makes it more painful

胸の奥に想いを閉じ込めた
I’ll keep these feelings in my heart

“逢いたいよ” って今すぐにでも叫びたいのに
“I want to see you” right now! Even though I want to shout it.

もうYou and I 言えない
I no longer can say “you and I”

意地をはっても つかめない
Even if I try to force it. I can’t catch you

あの頃は腕の中に
Back then you used to be in my arms

Sands of time, the title track of the single (umm… Sands of time) is also the ED of the Japanese drama ケータイ捜査官7 (Keitai Sousakan 7) and the band did a fantastic PV for the song that you can watch in full on Youtube courtesy of gangangan03, or if you want the subbed version of the PV, check out the release by #TV-Nihon, which was uploaded by Vanalovas.

And the long awaited lyrics are finally here! We have to thank rageguy for posting the romaji version on the Forums, and he kindly allowed us to post them here! The usual kanji, hiragana and karaoke versions are now also available (August 3rd 2008!)

We’re experimenting a little this time, and posting the lyrics (as per the original) without the usual dividing brackets. It would be great if you could let us know what you thought!

As always, if you spot any mistakes, please let me know either by commenting below or via the contact form. If you would like to post these lyrics elsewhere, please link back to this page. :)

JAPANESE (Kanji)

つないでた手を離したんだ I know…わかってる
無口なホームで…

I’m Mr. lover なんて強がる can you feel me?
未だに you’re my 心癒す diva
But I can’t say this word “逢いたいな”
I wanna 時を rewind right now

“逢いたいよ” って今すぐにでも 叫びたいのに
もうYou and I 言えない
意地をはっても つかめない あの頃は腕の中にいたのに
キミはもういない

Baby… come back to here for me
そう隣に… I wanna say it
You and I お互い 言えない 逢えない
あの時から素直になれない 魔法が解けない
I wanna use the sands of time… 君のそばにいたい

“愛してる” って叫んでみたけど 君の元には届かないよ
泣かないでくれよ ツラくなるから
胸の奥に想いを閉じ込めた
キミはもういない

Hey my girl 誰かの “モノ” になるなら
いっそ消えてほしいと願う 心の中
未だ思い出 flash back!
あの時 あの場所で出会わなければ…

“愛してる” って叫んでみたけど
君の元には届かないよ
泣かないでくれよ ツラくなるから
胸の奥に想いを閉じ込めた
“逢いたいよ” って今すぐにでも叫びたいのに
もうYou and I 言えない
意地をはっても つかめない
あの頃は腕の中に

p/s: If you do decide to post this first attempt elsewhere, please give some credit to this page, even if it is a first draft! ^^

ENGLISH

[Introduction]
Ladies and gentleman, the battle of love will now begin. Let’s get ready to BACK-ON!
*chokes*
I’m sorry!

[Verse 1]
キーンコーンカーンコーン！ 休み時間のチャイムの音！
Ding-dong-dang-don! It’s the chime of the recess/breaktime bell!

ターゲットは斜め前の席の子！
The target is the child(or person in this case?) in the seat diagonally to the front! (?)

超キュート！ んでもって最高にボンキュッボン！
Super/ultra cute! The most voluptuous! (?)

マヅでたまらん！ フェロモンバンバン！
‘mazu’ (Must?) be patient! The pheromones are banging away!

雄猿達の視線 like a 弾丸！
The male monkeys’ eyes are like bullets!
(I think in this context it means that they have eyes only for a certain target?)

ちょっと待って Every body~！ 挑む奴ぁ~Step up！ 1 歩前に！
Everybody, wait a moment! (Take up the) Challenge, fellows ~ step up! (???) (Take) one step forward!

紳士的に掴んでこうぜ！ 女神の微笑み~！
A gentlemanly grasp(?) A goddess’ smile!

You know what I mean？ おわかり！ さぁバトル開始！！
You know what I mean? (Do you) understand? The battle begins!

[Interlude 1]
Now, there are two sides of the story, and here’s both!
Oh! x3 Oh yeah!

[Verse 2]
1 時間目から、あっ！！ ヤベー！！ 俺宿題忘れ！
From the first hour, ah! I’m in trouble!! I’ve forgotten my homework!

絶対絶命ビンチたぜ！ だけど隣の席に座る！
A desperate situation, a crisis! However, the (person) sitting beside me,

君、救いの手くれてハート ドッキドッキ！
You, give (my) heart dokidoki with your helping hand!
(literally: You, (use) your helping hand to give my heart doki doki)

[Verse 3]
2 時間目体育で俺様の出番だぜっ！
The second hour is PE (physical education) and it’s my turn (to perform?) !

見てなべイべー！ マヅで惚れちゃうぜ？
Look (here) baby! Aren’t you/haven’t you fallen in love?

君にドライブシュート！ なんちゃってマチガイないぜ！
You’re in the driving seat! Just joking, I am certain/I have no doubt (???)

言葉はいらない目でおとす！ Aaight
(These are) words, (you) don’t need to lose your eyes(???) Aaight

[Chorus - 1]
BURN！ BURN！ こじ開け~ろトビラ！
BURN! BURN! Wrench open the door!

君のハートは誰の物なんだ！？
Who does your heart belong to!?

BURN！ BURN！ 燃やせ恋の炎！
BURN! BURN! The flames of passion!

チャンスは一度でキメてみせろぁ~！！
There is only one chance to decide!!

[Chorus - 2]
かっとばせ Every body！ Step up！ 1 歩前に！
Knockout/slam Everybody! Step up! (Take) one step forward!

めざせあの女神 You know what I mean？ おわかり！
Aim for that goddess, you know what I mean? (Do you) understand!

BURN！ BURN！ 燃やせハート！！ かませ恋の魔法
BURN! BURN! Burn the heart!! (Cast?) the spell of passion/love

超高鳴る鼓動！キメる放課後！
Superfast (rhythmic) beats! (It starts) after class!

[Verse 4]
3 時間目、教科書忘れたフリして！
In the third hour, (I) pretended to forget my textbook!

『チョット見せて！』と言って！ 急接近して！
『chotto顯示！說』！ 急接近！
“Wait, (let me) show (you)!” Because! (She’s) suddenly closer! (???)

彼女の香り かなりイイ感じ！
Her fragrance – such a good feeling!

まさに刺激的なひととき！
Definitely a stimulating moment!

[Verse 5]
4 時間目そろそろキメこんでこーか？
Is it gradually now the 4th hour? (???)

君のハートに愛の爆弾投下！
(I’ll) throw a bomb of love towards your heart!

どうだ？ Baby slow down 落ち着いていこらじゃん？
How’s that? Baby slow down (it’s?) quiet, isn’t it? (???)

ささやく Love you! 俺の愛爆発　Yeah~！！
Whisper Love you! My love explodes Yeah!!

Repeat [Chorus 1 & 2]

[Interlude 2]
(Kenji03/TEEDA/Sensei have a conversation about the new teacher)

Repeat [Chorus 2]

Repeat [Chorus 1 & 2]

The lyrics come courtesy of Yakhobian of the Crystal Nova fansub group, who also kindly shared his recording of the OP from Murder Princess OVA. His fansub group, Crystal Nova, have just released their versions of Murder Princess OVA – Volume 1-4, and they’ve done an excellent job translating the episodes imho, so I would highly recommend downloading their work!

You can find the torrent files from the Crystal Nova Forums and having downloaded the file myself, I can definitely say that the quality of the video is very good. There are two file sizes available – 200mb and 116mb. Yakhobian recommends using CCCP to watch the files as it supports the SSA/AAS subtitling format used by the group for their .mkv files.

Read on for the lyrics…

The lyrics for the OP were translated based on the original Hikari Sasuhou ヒカリサスホウ lyrics so I’m sure they’re as accurate as can be without the band’s official release. Yakhobian has kindly provided Back-on Online with the original kanji, romaji and also the English translation. You can find all 3 on this page, the kanji on page 2, romaji on page 3 and the English translation on page 4.

冷めた顔していたって
sameta kao shite itatte
I knew from the start

初めから僕は分かっていたけど
hajime kara boku wa wakatte ita kedo
why you made such a cold face, but

言葉とは裏腹に歪んでいた
kotoba to wa urahara ni hizunde ita
my words were twisted around.

この思いを消してくれよ
kono omoi wo keshite kure yo
Please erase this feeling.

Uh…glowin’ da dark　闇の中光る
Uh…glowin’ da dark yami no naka hikaru
Uh… glowin’ da dark. A brief ray of light

一筋の閃光
hitosuji no senkou
shines in the darkness.

それはまるで幻想　描く映像
sore wa maru de gensou egaku eizou
It’s like an illusion drawn into the image.

But 真実の栄光
But shinjitsu no eikou
But there you’ll succeed

そこで掴み取る成功
soko de tsukamitoru seikou
to grab the glory of the truth.

Uh…Nobody knows　答えなんて
Uh…Nobody knows kotae nante
Uh… Nobody knows what the answer is.

わからないキリがない　揺れる脳内
wakaranai kiri ga nai yureru nounai
It’s incomprensible. Forever swaying in our brains.

I’m lookin’ for the answer

いつだってそうさ So　blast out da speaka!
itsu datte sousa So blast out da speaka!
It’s always that way so blast out da speaka!

終わらないストーリー
owaranai sutoorii
It’s an endless story.

壊れないように響け
kowarenai you ni hibike
Ring it out like it won’t break.

Rock な Beat 狙う　ピンポイント
Rock na Beat nerau pin point
Aim for the rock beat and pin point.

ヒカリの射す方目指していこう!
hikari no sasu hou mezashite ikou!
Set your sights on where the light shines.

ヒカリサスホウに
hikari sasu hou ni
Even if this voice

この声が届かなくても
kono koe ga todokanakute mo
doesn’t reach as far as the light shines,

Pow! Pow! Pow!

打ち込む My flow like a 弾丸
uchikomu My flow like a dangan
Drive home my flow like a bullet

登りつめる階段
noboritsumeru kaidan
and climb to the top of the stairs.

いつだって君は
itsu datte kimi wa
you’ll always be searching

奥底で探している
okusoku de sagashite iru
in the depths of your heart.

p/s: Please do give some credit if you decide to post this first attempt elsewhere. :)

ENGLISH

[RAP/Verse]
Time to break da chain.
no pain don’t be afraid
but unchanging same ol’days same ol’ways.

回り続ける時計 uh…乾ききった光景.
The clock continues to turn/revolve, a dried up scene

Repeatされた毎日
Repeating the same day, every day

ずっと抜け出せないこの方程式
A totally inescapable equation

カゴの中で操られたパペット
A manipulated puppet in a cage

かき消すんだNoise…
The completely silenced noise

Can you hear my voice

はきだして　投げ捨てた
Sweep it out, and throw it away

理屈ばかりの誇り
(And then you have) a reason to be proud

悲しみに　響く風　自由へとさそう
The sorrow, the echo of the wind, (you’re) free to shine

Go my way

[Chorus]
さぁ行こうぜ！鎖はずして！ 翼広げ！ 青い世界へ･･･
Let’s go! Take off the chains! Spread your wings! (Fly) Towards the blue world…

[Chorus Rap]
Time to break da chain.no pain. don’t be afraid

自由求め解け向かえ開放へ
Freedom, seeking release and becoming open/liberalised

That’s da sign it’s time to try. you gotta fly.

上も下も無いYou gotta grab da sky.
There’s nothing above and below (so) you gotta grab the sky.

[RAP/Verse 2]
照りつける日ざしで1日始まり
The sunday that is shone upon is the first day

いつもどおりスニーカーにヒモ通し
(Wearing) The usual sneakers always walking the streets

同じ道のり　おなじみのstory.
The same path, the familiar story

I wanna step in da 未知の領域
I want to step into unfamiliar territory

Hell I know you can’t stop me

光りを見つけた時の様に
(I’ll) discover my shining appearance (what my appearance will look like when I’m shining)

The winds at my back so it’s time to fly

自分信じ飛び立てよ right now！
I now believe that I can stand and fly right now!

灰色に包まれた　太陽を呼び覚ます
I’ll awaken the dust-wrapped sun

敗北を転がして　明日へと繋ぐ
Roll and defeat tomorrow’s chains/connection.

My wish

さぁ行こうぜ！鎖はずして！ 翼広げ！ 青い世界へ･･･
Let’s go! Take off the chains! Spread your wings! (Fly) Towards the blue world…

You ready to wake up
you gotta fly with us

闇が目を覚ます　もう光り差す･･･
Awaken from the darkness in your eyes and you’re already shining

さぁ行こうぜ！鎖はずして！ 翼広げ！ 青い世界へ･･･
Let’s go! Take off the chains! Spread open your wings! (Fly) Towards the blue world…

Anyway, this is just a news update to let you know that Back-on Online will be releasing a draft of this translation. This will be work-in-progress and be open to correction by anyone, with full credits to their work. Is this something you’re hoping to find too or do you think we should be focusing on other things? Please drop us a comment on this news post or via the contact form to let us know your views!

UPDATE: The first draft is now available at: http://www.backon-online.com/lyrics-chain-english-draft/