[Translyrics] “Wound” and Kara no Kyoukai: Lingering Sensation of Pain

This is one of my favourite songs in the series, because Fujino’s arc absolutely destroyed me. Again, for those unfamiliar with translyrics, it is simply a translation of lyrics that can be sung with the same melody even after being translated. This ED, “Wound,” is dedicated to Fujinon.

Wound (傷跡)

From the silence I come, I fumble in vain

In search for a picture of love unseen

Trusting only this pain

That kept me alive while I roamed for a place to be

Where you have touched me – this spot on my chest

One single wound opens gentle and red

All of those tears I kept in for the best

Tumble out at once and crimson the bed

On top of my skin so icy and still

Petals of lilies get set all ablaze

I am here still, intact but ill

Singing in mirth for all that aches

Now, even the dreams have fled

The stardust is swept and thrown away

Please hold me with all you have –

Enough so I’ll feel like I’m living today

arta vista

From the silence I come, not another in sight

Not even the daylight has reached out for me

Hungry for all I lack

I stretch out my two hands to clasp all the life I see

mistia kanta

konsta morti adita

Rains from the summer of a distant past

Won’t you please stay here to see me off?

I’ll journey away to where comfort lasts

Even if I cry, I won’t stop ‘til I love

Hopefulness, envy, desire and regret

I’ll have them all deeply engraved in my mind

I’m here with you, so glad that we met

Singing in memory of paradise

The stardust is swept up and thrown away

For the first time I shudder in the blaze of the sun’s cold rays

Give me one lasting kiss with those knowing eyes

As proof to the world that I’ve been in love

As if pierced by the force of being alive

I cry to the sky above

From the silence I come, t’wards the twilight I’ll set

I wish for a passion that’s yet unfelt

Holding just this request

I cut through the darkness and wait for the night to melt –

Notes:

• All Kajiura-go lyrics (the pseudo-Latin lines) come from canta-per-me, an excellent fan-site for Yuki Kajiura, her OSTs, and her vocalists, including Kalafina and FictionJunction. You can find a literal translation of the song and its romaji lyrics through the link.
• “傷跡” is more often translated as “scar,” as it is literally “the imprints of damage.” I chose “wound” because to me, “wound” and “scar” differ in weight in that one still hurts while the other has healed. The film being entitled “Lingering Sensation of Pain,” I decided that since Fujino is struggling with both physical and psychological pain, the wound must still be pretty fresh for her. There’s an OST called “ever cry, never life” (I think this phrase show up somewhere in the film too), and though the grammar doesn’t really work, I think the feel of this phrase describes Fujino’s condition well.
• The song is confusingly about both desiring feelings that haven’t been felt yet and recalling having experienced pleasant feelings in the past. The “you” seems to be the one providing love, so I’m not entirely sure why the speaker still feels like they haven’t experienced love. Maybe the same goes for Fujino in the film – Mikiya taught Fujino the taste of love by being the subject of her single-sided love, but doesn’t ultimately save her from her misery or allow her to experience being in a romantic relationship.
• This song contains some oxymorons that play with the idea of temperature (cold skin lighting up flower petals, sun’s rays being cold). I think it echoes how pain, hatred, and pleasure interact in the film. Also, Fujino’s powers change her from the victim to the victimizer, but are also what caused her to become pain-insensitive in the first place.
• The original lyrics had a tone at times resembling a scared child calling for their mom at night, which I couldn’t carry through completely. I specified that the petals were lily petals (purity?) and treated “stardust” like something you can sweep up and throw away in hopes of conveying Fujino’s innocence. *SPOILERS: That scene where she reverts into child mode after suffering fatal wounds really got me.

That would be the end of pt. 3. I took special attention to make sure that the lyrics represent Fujino properly. Without a doubt, Fujino is best girl in the series, and I hope to write a full post on her at some point.

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