[Translyrics] “You Turn It into Light” and Kara no Kyoukai: Murder Inspection (Pt. 1)

Here’s ED2 of the Kara no Kyoukai series. I added some notes on translating and some of my thoughts related to the song and film at the end.

君が光に変えて行く (You Turn It into Light)

Somebody calls my name beyond the greens

Their whispers cross the waters with the breeze

Reflecting on the darkness in remorse

The dawn hereby begins its course

 

For certain, tomorrow

A rainbow so silvery

Will strike across the beautiful scenery

 

Even with a sight that’s filled with harshness and strife

You will turn it slowly into soft, glowing light

Every tiny droplet of the tears that you shed

Falls like jewels that clatter with the echoes of life

For all the days ahead

 

Within your heart there are secrets to be kept

But still I yearn only to peer inside the depth

Both you and I will break from the shock of touch

This fear, this awe; I know that I’m inept

 

Cross the bridge, reach the shore – on that other side of the river

(For certain, tomorrow

In the brilliance of noon)

Spring will bloom, sweet and blue, with the scent of swaying heather

From your dream wake up for me

What is it that people keep searching for?

 

ildito ii somari adia

 

Even in a world that’s filled with order and light

You are here, to grab me by my frail, sorry hand

While I stand here in the brilliance, blind and in fright

You assure me with those arms that reach from behind

 

Even with the brittleness of half-buried dreams

You will turn it slowly into soft, glowing light

And those tears I cried when I awoke from my sleep

Fall like jewels that clatter with the echo of life

For all the days ahead

 

Notes:

• The title is often translated as “Turn You into Light” or “You Turn into Light,” but given the context of the chorus, I decided that it must be “You Turn It into Light,” even though the first two possibilities sound cooler…
• Doesn’t a rainbow being silver violate the very definition of a rainbow? Yuki Kajiura appears to think that rainbows don’t have to be, well, rainbow-coloured (there’s a line about a red rainbow in the new Kalafina song, “Hyakka Ryouran”). It does sounds poetic if you don’t think too deeply into it.
• A thing with Kajiura’s lyrics is that you can never be quite sure who the speaker is, though he/she most likely represents a central character in the anime. Like in many songs, I’m pretty sure the speaker changes. The one who turns things into light is probably Mikiya while the one being saved is Shiki. But who’s the one shedding tears? And does the same person cry in both choruses of the song, or do the two people take turns crying? I decided on the latter for the sake of paralleling, and because the film functions as the part that provides insight into Shiki and Mikiya’s bonding and draws out their similarities and differences.
• Another possible interpretation of the song is that it is actually about the two Shikis occupying the same body. In that case, I would imagine the main speaker to be the female Shiki, who ends up being saved in the end by her counterpart’s sacrifice. Because subjects/objects are often not specified in Japanese, it can very well be “within my heart there are secrets to be kept.” The idea that their touching each other will cause their destruction works well in this interpretation too, because the two Shikis are polar opposites who can never be in control of the body at the same time. They do interact with each other frequently though, as Shiki reveals, so maybe the song still works best with Shiki and Mikiya.

Kajiura seems to be digging this whole light imagery thing. You’ll notice as I keep doing this that many lyrics are recycled. That’s something Kajiura often gets criticized for, and I’ll try my best not to make certain lines/words feel overused.