Voices of a Distant Star in song form, essentially.
*also quick side note, the peggies’ video thumbnail game is strong.

– –

宇宙の隅に溺れた
(uchuu no sumi ni oboreta)
[ From the corners of the universe, ]

僕の声を拾った
(boku no koe o hirotta)
[ My voice trails away — ]

君におくる歌
(kimi ni okuru utau)
[ A song just for you ]

何億光年も先に飛ばした光が
(nan okukounen mo sakini tobashita hikari ga)
[ A ray of light zoomed ahead by a million-ish light years — ]

僕の頬を撫でて流れてゆく
(boku no hoho o nadete nagareteyuku)
[ brushed against my cheeks and went on its way ]

書き溜めた手紙は2630通
(kakitameta tegami wa 2630 tsuu)
[ The letters I kept total 2630 ]

残りの70通は焼却炉で燃やした
(nokori no 70 tsuu wa shoukyukuro de moyashita)
[ The remaining 70 I burned in the incinerator ]

限られた命とかそんなの分かんないけど
(kagirareta inochi toka sonna no wakannai kedo)
[ I don’t really get what a limited lifespan means but, ]

今日を終えるのはなんだか寂しくて
(kyou o oeru no wa nandaka sabishikute)
[ today’s end is somewhat saddening ]

バイバイなんて言えない
(baibai nante ienai)
[ I don’t want to say goodbye ]

僕がダメなのは分かってる
(boku ga dame na no wa wakatteru)
[ I know I’m no good for you ]

それが分からない君がダメなのも
(soregawakaranai kimi ga dame na no mo)
[ If you can’t see that, then you’re no good for me either ]

全部知ってるよ
(zenbu shitteru yo)
[ I know everything ]

宇宙の隅に溺れた
(uchuu no sumi ni oboreta)
[ From the corners of the universe, ]

僕の声を拾った
(boku no koe o hirotta)
[ My voice trails away — ]

君におくる歌
(kimi ni okuru utau)
[ a song just for you ]

何億光年も先に飛ばした光が
(nan okukounen mo sakini tobashita hikari ga)
[ A ray of light zoomed ahead by a million-ish light years — ]

僕の頬を撫でて流れてゆく
(boku no hoho o nadete nagareteyuku)
[ brushed against my cheeks and went on its way ]

ねぇねぇ 聞こえてる？
(nee nee kikoeteru)
[ Hey, hey. Can you hear me? ]

聞いて欲しい話があるの
(kiite hoshii hanashi ga aru no)
[ There’s something I want to tell you ]

君だけにさ
(kimi dake ni sa)
[ You and only you ]

ねぇねぇ 聞こえてる？
(nee nee kikoeteru)
[ Hey, hey. Can you hear me? ]

聞いて欲しい話があるのに
(kiite hoshii hanashi ga aru no ni)
[ There’s something I want to tell you, and yet — ]

君はもういないの
(kimi wa mou inai no)
[ You’re no longer there ]

強がって絡まって傷ついたあの部屋
(tsuyogatte karamatte kizutsuita ano heya)
[ Strengthened. Entangled. Wounded — that one room ]

僕ってこんなに弱かったっけ
(boku tte konnani yowakatakke)
[ I may have just been too weak ]

君がいなくても大丈夫な僕でいたかったの
(kimi ga inakutemo daijoubu na boku de itakatta no)
[ You wanted me to be okay without you ]

今更だけどそんなの
(imasara dakedo sonnano)
[ It’s been some time since, and I ]

なれっこないよな
(nare konnai no yo)
[ had not felt that way at all ]

僕の左脳から1622キロ
(boku no sanou kara 1622 kiro)
[ 1622 kilometers from the left-side of my brain ]

たった５文字の言葉が
(tatta 5 moji no kotoba ga)
[ Only 5-letter words can ]

何度も傷ついて壊れて消えそうになって
(nandomo kizutsuite kowarete kiesou ni natte)
[ hurt countless times, break apart, and disappear ]

やっとここまで辿り着いたんだよ
(yatto koko made tadori tsuita nda yo)
[ I’ve finally made it here ]

遅くなっちゃったけど
(osokunachattakedo)
[ It may be a bit too late, but ]

重い赤い扉を今開くよ
(omoi akai tobira o ima hiraku yo)
[ I’m going through that heavy red door now ]

宇宙の隅に溺れた
(uchuu no sumi ni oboreta)
[ From the corners of the universe, ]

僕の声を拾った
(boku no koe o hirotta)
[ My voice trails away — ]

君におくる歌
(kimi ni okuru utau)
[ a song just for you ]

何億光年も先に飛ばした光が
(nan okukounen mo sakini tobashita hikari ga)
[ A ray of light zoomed ahead by a million-ish light years — ]

僕の頬を撫でて流れてゆく
(boku no hoho o nadete nagareteyuku)
[ brushed against my cheeks and went on its way ]

宇宙の隅に溺れた
(uchuu no sumi ni oboreta)
[ From the corners of the universe, ]

僕の声を拾った
(boku no koe o hirotta)
[ My voice trails away — ]

君に届くように叫ぶよ
(kimi ni todoku you ni sakebu yo)
[ I’ll scream my heart out to reach you ]

何億光年も先に飛ばした光が
(nan okukounen mo sakini tobashita hikari ga)
[ A ray of light zoomed ahead by a million-ish light years — ]

返ってこなくても
(kaettekonakutemo)
[ with no plans of coming back ]

– –

*So, for those of you who chanced upon my last post in 2016, I said I might do another translation before the year ended — but with the holidays going on I just couldn’t get around to it. The punchline really is that the actual translation was done months ago, but formatting the “ 漢字 / (romaji) / [ English ] ” takes a bit of time, lol

スプートニク (suputtoniku lit. Sputnik) is from the split-single スプートニク / LOVE TRIP (2016) by three-piece all-girl pop rock band, the peggies.

Like I said at the beginning, the song pretty much gives off a Voices of a Distant Star kind of feeling; that is to say it’s a song that (for me at least) tells a tale of an ill-fated romance/relationship between an astronaut (or some equivalent) and a lover/loved one staying on earth. Conversely, one can also think that the song is a reference to the launching of Sputnik 2, which had on-board a dog named Laika — making the sentiments of the song that of someone actually getting sent out into space.

Whether the imagery of Sputnik as that “where two parties can never meet again” is a universal theme in the context of Japan pop-culture, I wouldn’t really know (someone out there among you might be able to school me on this). But, it’d be interesting to note that acclaimed Japanese author Haruki Murakami (in his novel Sputnik Sweetheart) also used Sputnik to describe an irreconcileable distance and rift between two people. Something to think about.

Honestly, this may be my messiest translation as of yet (also a contributing factor of why it took me so long to get this one out) so as always, people who know the moonspeak better — do let me hear your thoughts.

For fellow fans of the music I’ve posted so far, music fans in general, or someone who just happened on this odd post out of nowehere; what’re your thoughts on thissun’ 😀