Practising Japanese: SHINee's Kiss Kiss Kiss and SNSD's Time Machine
Just for practice to see how far I've gotten, I took the Japanese lyrics and did the romanization and translation.
If you've seen JustDejavuS's stuff on Youtube, you recognize the color scheme for SHINee. Blue - Jonghyun, Yellow - Taemin, Green - Onew, Pink - Key, Orange - Minho. (I'm pretty sure these are the colors of their SHINee world t-shirts.) The only thing I have different is that I left the lines sung by all in black.
As for SNSD, I can tell the voices apart, but I don't know if the girls have any official colors like SHINee, but I found a few sites used this scheme. Taeyeon - Orange, Jessica - Blue, Sunny - Purple, Tiffany - Pink, Seohyun - Aqua. I'm not actually sure on some of the parts. There's seems to be a lot of disagreement on when Taeyeon and Seohyun sing, but I listened to it a few times and also watched the music video.
--
SHINee - Kiss Kiss Kiss
そう、あの日僕たちはふたり出会ったね
Sou, ano hi bokutachi wa hutari deatta ne
That’s right, that day we met
まだあどけなさが残ってったの、横顔忘れない
Mada adokenasa ga nokottetta no, yokogao wasurenai
You looked so innocent yet, I can’t forget your profile
初め出会った日から 気持ちを言えないままで
Hajime deatta hi kara kimochi wo ienai mamade
From that first day when we met, I still haven’t told you my feelings
過ごしてきたけど今日こそはこの思い届けるよ
Sugoshite kita kedo kyou koso wa kono omoi todokeru yo
All this time we’ve spent, today I’ll confess my feelings
君だけにKiss Kiss Kiss どんな時も
Kimi dake ni Kiss Kiss Kiss donna toki mo
Only you Kiss Kiss Kiss all the time
僕がずっと君のそばにいるよ
Boku ga zutto kimi no soba ni iru yo
I’ll always be by your side
Kiss Kiss Kiss 君だけを
Kiss Kiss Kiss kimi dake o
Kiss Kiss Kiss only you
これからも見つめていたい
Kore kara mo mitsumeteitai
I want to keep looking at you
I wanna feel you もっと
I wanna feel you motto
I wanna feel you more
全ての愛をこめて Kiss 送るよ
Zente no ai wo komete Kiss okuru yo
I’ll send a kiss filled with all my love
無邪気に笑う君の 声はいつの日も僕を 照らしてくれている
Mujaki ni warau kimi no koe wa itsu no hi mo boku o terashite kureteiru
Your innocently laughing voice always is to me shining
君がいるから僕も笑えるんだ
Kimi ga iru kara boku mo waraerunda
Because you’re with me, I can smile
君だけにKiss Kiss Kiss どんな時も
Kimi dake ni Kiss Kiss Kiss donna toki mo
Only you Kiss Kiss Kiss all the time
僕は君を守り続けるよ
Boku wa kimi o mamori tsudukeru yo
I’ll keep protecting you
Kiss Kiss Kiss 君だけを
Kiss Kiss Kiss kimi dake o
Kiss Kiss Kiss only you
いつまでも抱きしめていたい
Itsu made mo dakeshimeteitai
I wanna hold you forever
I wanna feel you もっと
I wanna feel you motto
I wanna feel you more
全ての愛をこめて Kiss 送るよ
Zente no ai o komete Kiss okuru yo
I’ll send a kiss filled with all my love
I just want you 君がいればほかに何もいらない
I just want you kimi ga ireba hoka ni nani mo iranai
I just want you If you are there, I don’t need anything else
I just need you 君の全部 を I love you
I just need you kimi no zenbu o I love you
I just need you your everything I love you
Always 君の隣に僕がいるよ
Always kimi no tonari ni boku ga iru yo
Always I’ll be by your side
Always 僕の隣に君がいるよ
Always boku no tonari ni kimi ga iru yo
Always You’ll be by my side
いくら考えても頭の中は君だけで
Ikura kangaete mo atama no naka wa kimi dake de
No matter how much I think of, my head is only full of you
夢中な僕を止められない
Muchuuna boku o tomerarenai
I’m in a daze, I can’t stop
僕のすべてを賭けたみたい
Boku no subete wo kaketa mitai
I’ll bet my everything on it and try to
君の傍で。。
Kimi no soba de ..
Be by your side
君だけに Kiss Kiss Kiss どんな時も(uhu~!)
Kimi dake ni Kiss Kiss Kiss donna toki no (uhu~!)
Only you Kiss Kiss Kiss all the time (uhu~!)
僕がずっと君のそばにいるよ (君のそばにいるよ)
Boku ga zutto kimi no soba ni iru yo (kimi no soba ni iru yo)
I’ll always be by your side (be by your side)
Kiss Kiss Kiss 君だけを(oh yeah!)
Kiss Kiss Kiss kimi dake o (oh yeah!)
Kiss Kiss Kiss only you (oh yeah!)
これからも見つめていたい(Oh no~)
Kore kara mo mitsumeteitai (Oh no~)
I want to keep looking at you (Oh no~)
I wanna feel you もっと
I wanna feel you motto
I wanna feel you more
全ての愛をこめて Kiss 送るよ(こめて Kiss 送るよ)
Zente no ai o komete Kiss okuru yo (komete Kiss okuru yo)
I’ll send a kiss filled with all my love (send a kiss filled)
Kiss Kiss Kiss どんな時も(どんな時もBaby~)
Kiss Kiss Kiss donna toki no (donna toki no baby~)
Kiss Kiss Kiss all the time (all the time baby~)
Kiss Kiss Kiss 君だけを(Wo)
Kiss Kiss Kiss kimi dake o (Wo)
Kiss Kiss Kiss kimi dake o (Wo)
I wanna feel you もっと
I wanna feel you motto
I wanna feel you moro
全ての愛をこめて Kiss 送るよ
Zente no ai o komete Kiss okuru yo
I’ll send a kiss filled with all my love
--
SNSD - Time Machine
いつもより少し広い部屋ただ一人
Istumo yori sukoshi hiroi heya tada hitori
Whenever I’m alone in a room, it feels bigger than it is
It’s over, guess it’s over
２人で創り上げたストーリーも虚しく
Hutari de tsukuri ageta sutoorii mo munashiku
The story of us is also disappearing
こんなに簡単に崩れてしまうなんて
Konna ni kantan ni kuzurate shimaunande
How easily it all just crumbles away
One mistake, got a one regret
“誰も完璧じゃない”って
“Dare no kanpekijanai” tte
“No one’s perfect.”
そう言い聞かせてみても
Sou ii kikasete miteto
I heard you say
何をしても傷は癒せなくて
Nani o shite mo kizu wa iayasenakute
Whatever mistake I made couldn’t be fixed
今タイムマシーンに乗り込んで
Ima taimu mashiin ni nori konde
Riding a time machine
あなたに会いに行く
Anata ni ai ni iku
I’d want to meet you again
ことが出来たなら
Koto ga dekita nara
If it were possible
もう何も願わない
Mou nani mo negawainai
I wouldn’t wish for anything else
儚くて遠い記憶になる前に
Hakakute tooi kioku ni naru mae ni
Before those fleeting memories get to far away
I need a time machine oh
I need a time machine oh
一人で過ごす時間は遅すぎて
Hitori de sugosu jikan wa ososugi te
The time I spend alone passes by so slowly
過ちの罰はあまりにも重く
Ayamachi no batsu wa amari ni mo omoku
The punishment for that mistake is too heavy
あなたが最後に残したwords
Anata ga saigo ni nokoshita words
The last words you said
今でもずっとリフレイン止まらない
Ima demo zutto rifurein tomaranai
Repeat constantly like a refrain
まだ胸が痛む
Mada mune ga itamu
My heart hurts
Just one mistake, just one regret
わがままも今は愛しくて
Wagamama mo ima wa aishikute
It’s selfish but I still love you
今タイムマシーンに乗り込んで
Ima taimu mashiin ni nori konde
Riding a time machine
あなたに会いに行く
Anata ni ai ni iku
I’d want to meet you again
ことが出来たなら
Koto ga dekita nara
If it were possible
もう何も願わない
Mou nani mo negawanai
I wouldn’t wish for anything else
儚くて遠い記憶になる前に
Hakakute tooi kioku ni naru mae ni
Before those fleeting memories get too far away
I need a time machine oh
時空飛び越えてあなたに逢えたら
Jikuu tobi koete anata ni aetara
If I can meet you before time flies away
例え同じ
Tatoe onaji
If the same
結末迎えたとしてもきっと
Ketsumatsu mukaeta to shite mo kitto
Ending is we could only reach
悔いは残らない筈だから
Kui wa nokoranai hazu dakara
There wouldn’t be any regrets
今タイムマシーンに乗り込んで
Ima taimu mashiin ni nori konde
Riding a time machine
あなたに逢いに行く
Anata ni ai ni iku
I’d want to meet you again
ことが出来たなら
Koto ga dekita nara
If it were possible
もう何も願わない
Mou nani no negawanai
I wouldn’t wish for anything else
儚くて遠い記憶になる前に
Hakakute tooi kioku ni naru mae ni
Before those fleeting memories get too far away
Yeah ２人の想い出忘れてしまう前に
Yeah hutari no omoi dewasurete shimau mae ni
Yeah, Before the memories of us two are forgotten
Gimme a time machine
Oh gimme a time machine
Oh gimme a time machine
--
I will admit, for some of the lines in Time Machine, I went with a more literal translation, rather than transliterating it. I did that just because I found it strange in the transliteration that some of the Japanese lines really have no meaning in English. In Japanese there's a lot of added words and conjugated forms to say regret that don't exist in English. English is a strange language in that most of what is said has to be understood by understanding the tone and connatation of the speaker. Japanese and other languages that I've encountered seem to have words and conjugated forms for specific kinds of connation and emotion, so translating directly is hard. That's way I left a little literal, so you could see the phrases where they are.
I have to admit, I think the hardest part of all of this was the actual color coding, especially Jonghyun's adlibs in Kiss Kiss Kiss. I nearly wanted to rip my hair out while working on that. :P Also, the last line in Kiss Kiss Kiss seems to have some disagreements on the voice, but I watched the live and it's definitely Jonghyun, which I'm horrified to admit I didn't guess.
As for my actual feelings on the songs, I do feel like the songs that both release in the Japanese market are much better than some of their Korean stuff, especially SNSD. I feel like the Japanese production team really knows what will work and how to make a good song without being gimicky. Time Machine reminds a lot of people of the girls' earlier work, before they became so packaged. I think the success of Gee made SM think that the Barbie Doll route was the way to go, and while it sells, it just doesn't do much to get new fans into the girls. I'll admit it . I hated Gee. I found it annoying, but then I heard Genie and I was impressed. I also found myself liking the girls when seeing them sing on 1000 songs, especially Sunny. Sunny has a wonderful messo-alto voice that brings depth to the girls. She has one of the lowest voices, but in the packaged songs, she sounds like a chipmunk. It's ridiculous that her voice is wasted like that. So I was really glad to hear her singing in her true voice in Time Machine and she sounds wonderful. I really hope that they do more songs like Time Machine, because it's in songs like this that you can hear why these girls are so talented and deserve all the joys of their hard work.
As for Kiss Kiss Kiss, I think it takes you back to the songs the SHINee World and Romeo. The R&B/pop sound is such a trademark of SHINee and in this song, it's been done so well without losing their growth. Taemin and Key sound amazing and Jonghyun's adlibs are worth dying over. This is one of the few songs in which I not only like the distribution of lines, I also thought it to be well thought out. They gave the boys lines that really suit their voices and they sound wonderful. The only song I think which can compare to Kiss Kiss Kiss in this is Hit Me Baby from Romeo. Hit Me Baby was one of the few songs in which the boys' voice were used so intellgently, by layering them and giving them canon lines. I love the parts of Hit Me Baby in which Jonghyun and Minho sing together because the contrast between their voices is absolutely magical and I think the Japanese team was able to capture that in Kiss Kiss Kiss, especially at the bridge.
I really hope that the Korean team learns from these songs and let both groups really sing again.
Let me know how you feel and if you catch any mistakes!
If you've seen JustDejavuS's stuff on Youtube, you recognize the color scheme for SHINee. Blue - Jonghyun, Yellow - Taemin, Green - Onew, Pink - Key, Orange - Minho. (I'm pretty sure these are the colors of their SHINee world t-shirts.) The only thing I have different is that I left the lines sung by all in black.
As for SNSD, I can tell the voices apart, but I don't know if the girls have any official colors like SHINee, but I found a few sites used this scheme. Taeyeon - Orange, Jessica - Blue, Sunny - Purple, Tiffany - Pink, Seohyun - Aqua. I'm not actually sure on some of the parts. There's seems to be a lot of disagreement on when Taeyeon and Seohyun sing, but I listened to it a few times and also watched the music video.
--
SHINee - Kiss Kiss Kiss
そう、あの日僕たちはふたり出会ったね
Sou, ano hi bokutachi wa hutari deatta ne
That’s right, that day we met
まだあどけなさが残ってったの、横顔忘れない
Mada adokenasa ga nokottetta no, yokogao wasurenai
You looked so innocent yet, I can’t forget your profile
初め出会った日から 気持ちを言えないままで
Hajime deatta hi kara kimochi wo ienai mamade
From that first day when we met, I still haven’t told you my feelings
過ごしてきたけど今日こそはこの思い届けるよ
Sugoshite kita kedo kyou koso wa kono omoi todokeru yo
All this time we’ve spent, today I’ll confess my feelings
君だけにKiss Kiss Kiss どんな時も
Kimi dake ni Kiss Kiss Kiss donna toki mo
Only you Kiss Kiss Kiss all the time
僕がずっと君のそばにいるよ
Boku ga zutto kimi no soba ni iru yo
I’ll always be by your side
Kiss Kiss Kiss 君だけを
Kiss Kiss Kiss kimi dake o
Kiss Kiss Kiss only you
これからも見つめていたい
Kore kara mo mitsumeteitai
I want to keep looking at you
I wanna feel you もっと
I wanna feel you motto
I wanna feel you more
全ての愛をこめて Kiss 送るよ
Zente no ai wo komete Kiss okuru yo
I’ll send a kiss filled with all my love
無邪気に笑う君の 声はいつの日も僕を 照らしてくれている
Mujaki ni warau kimi no koe wa itsu no hi mo boku o terashite kureteiru
Your innocently laughing voice always is to me shining
君がいるから僕も笑えるんだ
Kimi ga iru kara boku mo waraerunda
Because you’re with me, I can smile
君だけにKiss Kiss Kiss どんな時も
Kimi dake ni Kiss Kiss Kiss donna toki mo
Only you Kiss Kiss Kiss all the time
僕は君を守り続けるよ
Boku wa kimi o mamori tsudukeru yo
I’ll keep protecting you
Kiss Kiss Kiss 君だけを
Kiss Kiss Kiss kimi dake o
Kiss Kiss Kiss only you
いつまでも抱きしめていたい
Itsu made mo dakeshimeteitai
I wanna hold you forever
I wanna feel you もっと
I wanna feel you motto
I wanna feel you more
全ての愛をこめて Kiss 送るよ
Zente no ai o komete Kiss okuru yo
I’ll send a kiss filled with all my love
I just want you 君がいればほかに何もいらない
I just want you kimi ga ireba hoka ni nani mo iranai
I just want you If you are there, I don’t need anything else
I just need you 君の全部 を I love you
I just need you kimi no zenbu o I love you
I just need you your everything I love you
Always 君の隣に僕がいるよ
Always kimi no tonari ni boku ga iru yo
Always I’ll be by your side
Always 僕の隣に君がいるよ
Always boku no tonari ni kimi ga iru yo
Always You’ll be by my side
いくら考えても頭の中は君だけで
Ikura kangaete mo atama no naka wa kimi dake de
No matter how much I think of, my head is only full of you
夢中な僕を止められない
Muchuuna boku o tomerarenai
I’m in a daze, I can’t stop
僕のすべてを賭けたみたい
Boku no subete wo kaketa mitai
I’ll bet my everything on it and try to
君の傍で。。
Kimi no soba de ..
Be by your side
君だけに Kiss Kiss Kiss どんな時も(uhu~!)
Kimi dake ni Kiss Kiss Kiss donna toki no (uhu~!)
Only you Kiss Kiss Kiss all the time (uhu~!)
僕がずっと君のそばにいるよ (君のそばにいるよ)
Boku ga zutto kimi no soba ni iru yo (kimi no soba ni iru yo)
I’ll always be by your side (be by your side)
Kiss Kiss Kiss 君だけを(oh yeah!)
Kiss Kiss Kiss kimi dake o (oh yeah!)
Kiss Kiss Kiss only you (oh yeah!)
これからも見つめていたい(Oh no~)
Kore kara mo mitsumeteitai (Oh no~)
I want to keep looking at you (Oh no~)
I wanna feel you もっと
I wanna feel you motto
I wanna feel you more
全ての愛をこめて Kiss 送るよ(こめて Kiss 送るよ)
Zente no ai o komete Kiss okuru yo (komete Kiss okuru yo)
I’ll send a kiss filled with all my love (send a kiss filled)
Kiss Kiss Kiss どんな時も(どんな時もBaby~)
Kiss Kiss Kiss donna toki no (donna toki no baby~)
Kiss Kiss Kiss all the time (all the time baby~)
Kiss Kiss Kiss 君だけを(Wo)
Kiss Kiss Kiss kimi dake o (Wo)
Kiss Kiss Kiss kimi dake o (Wo)
I wanna feel you もっと
I wanna feel you motto
I wanna feel you moro
全ての愛をこめて Kiss 送るよ
Zente no ai o komete Kiss okuru yo
I’ll send a kiss filled with all my love
--
SNSD - Time Machine
いつもより少し広い部屋ただ一人
Istumo yori sukoshi hiroi heya tada hitori
Whenever I’m alone in a room, it feels bigger than it is
It’s over, guess it’s over
２人で創り上げたストーリーも虚しく
Hutari de tsukuri ageta sutoorii mo munashiku
The story of us is also disappearing
こんなに簡単に崩れてしまうなんて
Konna ni kantan ni kuzurate shimaunande
How easily it all just crumbles away
One mistake, got a one regret
“誰も完璧じゃない”って
“Dare no kanpekijanai” tte
“No one’s perfect.”
そう言い聞かせてみても
Sou ii kikasete miteto
I heard you say
何をしても傷は癒せなくて
Nani o shite mo kizu wa iayasenakute
Whatever mistake I made couldn’t be fixed
今タイムマシーンに乗り込んで
Ima taimu mashiin ni nori konde
Riding a time machine
あなたに会いに行く
Anata ni ai ni iku
I’d want to meet you again
ことが出来たなら
Koto ga dekita nara
If it were possible
もう何も願わない
Mou nani mo negawainai
I wouldn’t wish for anything else
儚くて遠い記憶になる前に
Hakakute tooi kioku ni naru mae ni
Before those fleeting memories get to far away
I need a time machine oh
I need a time machine oh
一人で過ごす時間は遅すぎて
Hitori de sugosu jikan wa ososugi te
The time I spend alone passes by so slowly
過ちの罰はあまりにも重く
Ayamachi no batsu wa amari ni mo omoku
The punishment for that mistake is too heavy
あなたが最後に残したwords
Anata ga saigo ni nokoshita words
The last words you said
今でもずっとリフレイン止まらない
Ima demo zutto rifurein tomaranai
Repeat constantly like a refrain
まだ胸が痛む
Mada mune ga itamu
My heart hurts
Just one mistake, just one regret
わがままも今は愛しくて
Wagamama mo ima wa aishikute
It’s selfish but I still love you
今タイムマシーンに乗り込んで
Ima taimu mashiin ni nori konde
Riding a time machine
あなたに会いに行く
Anata ni ai ni iku
I’d want to meet you again
ことが出来たなら
Koto ga dekita nara
If it were possible
もう何も願わない
Mou nani mo negawanai
I wouldn’t wish for anything else
儚くて遠い記憶になる前に
Hakakute tooi kioku ni naru mae ni
Before those fleeting memories get too far away
I need a time machine oh
時空飛び越えてあなたに逢えたら
Jikuu tobi koete anata ni aetara
If I can meet you before time flies away
例え同じ
Tatoe onaji
If the same
結末迎えたとしてもきっと
Ketsumatsu mukaeta to shite mo kitto
Ending is we could only reach
悔いは残らない筈だから
Kui wa nokoranai hazu dakara
There wouldn’t be any regrets
今タイムマシーンに乗り込んで
Ima taimu mashiin ni nori konde
Riding a time machine
あなたに逢いに行く
Anata ni ai ni iku
I’d want to meet you again
ことが出来たなら
Koto ga dekita nara
If it were possible
もう何も願わない
Mou nani no negawanai
I wouldn’t wish for anything else
儚くて遠い記憶になる前に
Hakakute tooi kioku ni naru mae ni
Before those fleeting memories get too far away
Yeah ２人の想い出忘れてしまう前に
Yeah hutari no omoi dewasurete shimau mae ni
Yeah, Before the memories of us two are forgotten
Gimme a time machine
Oh gimme a time machine
Oh gimme a time machine
--
I will admit, for some of the lines in Time Machine, I went with a more literal translation, rather than transliterating it. I did that just because I found it strange in the transliteration that some of the Japanese lines really have no meaning in English. In Japanese there's a lot of added words and conjugated forms to say regret that don't exist in English. English is a strange language in that most of what is said has to be understood by understanding the tone and connatation of the speaker. Japanese and other languages that I've encountered seem to have words and conjugated forms for specific kinds of connation and emotion, so translating directly is hard. That's way I left a little literal, so you could see the phrases where they are.
I have to admit, I think the hardest part of all of this was the actual color coding, especially Jonghyun's adlibs in Kiss Kiss Kiss. I nearly wanted to rip my hair out while working on that. :P Also, the last line in Kiss Kiss Kiss seems to have some disagreements on the voice, but I watched the live and it's definitely Jonghyun, which I'm horrified to admit I didn't guess.
As for my actual feelings on the songs, I do feel like the songs that both release in the Japanese market are much better than some of their Korean stuff, especially SNSD. I feel like the Japanese production team really knows what will work and how to make a good song without being gimicky. Time Machine reminds a lot of people of the girls' earlier work, before they became so packaged. I think the success of Gee made SM think that the Barbie Doll route was the way to go, and while it sells, it just doesn't do much to get new fans into the girls. I'll admit it . I hated Gee. I found it annoying, but then I heard Genie and I was impressed. I also found myself liking the girls when seeing them sing on 1000 songs, especially Sunny. Sunny has a wonderful messo-alto voice that brings depth to the girls. She has one of the lowest voices, but in the packaged songs, she sounds like a chipmunk. It's ridiculous that her voice is wasted like that. So I was really glad to hear her singing in her true voice in Time Machine and she sounds wonderful. I really hope that they do more songs like Time Machine, because it's in songs like this that you can hear why these girls are so talented and deserve all the joys of their hard work.
As for Kiss Kiss Kiss, I think it takes you back to the songs the SHINee World and Romeo. The R&B/pop sound is such a trademark of SHINee and in this song, it's been done so well without losing their growth. Taemin and Key sound amazing and Jonghyun's adlibs are worth dying over. This is one of the few songs in which I not only like the distribution of lines, I also thought it to be well thought out. They gave the boys lines that really suit their voices and they sound wonderful. The only song I think which can compare to Kiss Kiss Kiss in this is Hit Me Baby from Romeo. Hit Me Baby was one of the few songs in which the boys' voice were used so intellgently, by layering them and giving them canon lines. I love the parts of Hit Me Baby in which Jonghyun and Minho sing together because the contrast between their voices is absolutely magical and I think the Japanese team was able to capture that in Kiss Kiss Kiss, especially at the bridge.
I really hope that the Korean team learns from these songs and let both groups really sing again.
Let me know how you feel and if you catch any mistakes!