NEHANSHIKA Translation
So, I've been obsessed with this song ever since I saw Deino's PV for it and decided to try to work out the lyrics.
I won't sugar coat it, this song is a translator's NIGHTMARE. For one thing, I doubt it was ever intended to even make sense to Japanese people. The lyrics are made up of three things
1. Buddhist sutra and medieval Japanese poetry
2. References to old anime (mostly the work of Leiji Matsumoto and Hayao Miyazaki)
3. PUNS
With a generous topping of gibberish phrases. But anyway, I think I have created a rough translation that captures the feel a Japanese person would get from looking at the lyrics sheet ("wtf is this?"), along with an annotated version that explains some of the weirdness to the best of my ability. Along with the PV, this song gives me the mental image of slowly degrading post-apocalyptic robots simply babbling relics of human culture without understanding the meaning.
Not being a native speaker though, it's possible I've misunderstood some of the parts, missed puns, or simply missed the meaning in some of the "gibberish", so I'm considering this a draft for now and I'd like to invite other Japanese speakers to contribute their understanding.
Original here.
Nehanshika (Nirvana Poem)
AaAAa-
ABCDE FGHIJK
theflowersarefragrant buttheyfallwhointhis
worldisunchanging overthemountainsofexistencetoday
wecrossanddreamnomore norseeillusions
AaAAa-
theflowersflowersflow buttheyfallfallfall
whointhisworldwho isssssssunchanging
He shall come clad in blue
descending on golden fields
to take back the lost fetters of the earth
and lead the people to a pure blue landland
NaNaNauNausicaa
Now deer, now goat
Now deer, now goat
It's over e Pressure Overload
I will not die until I have a machine body
Tetsurou Maetel
Andromeda
-meda Medama Oyaji we Kitaro
AaAAa- uP
MuskaMuskaMuska mymymy eye
MuskaMuskaMuska mymymy eye
MuskaMuskaMuska mymymy eye
MuskaMuskaMuska Lord Yupa!
NirvanaaaaaaAAa-
Maha Prajna Paramita mimitahannyaharamitutasi
Border of enlightenment A-Avalokitesvara boddhavista-a
all is nothingness nokayohijifukito nothingness is all
It's chaaaaaaAAaa-os (foresters P)
ririnhiutoshin Dispersion of demons Exorcise th-th-them
It's Namo Amitabhaya
He shall come clad in blue
Obaba, shall we meet Were the legends true?
Lord Yupa Yupa is dejected too
It's the anger of the earth The insects are enraged
Obaba I'm scared!
NaNaNauNausicaa
Nausicaa Muska
Nausicaa Mu-Muska
Herlock Emeraldas Taking a soldier's weapon into your hands
Ceaseless random pounding
Nausicaa attacks Lord Yupa is bald
Aman is taotaotaopaipai (peaches pale) respect yourself
WoOOOOOooOO P
あぁああぁ～
AaAAa~
あかさたな はまやらわ
ABCDE FGHIJK
[This line is the first letter of each row in the modern Japanese alphabet. It is pretty meaningless]
いろはにほへと ちりぬるをわかよ
たれそつねらむ ういのおくやまけふ
こえてあさきゆめ みしえひもせすん
いろわにほえどち
theflowersarefragrant buttheyfallwhointhis
worldisunchanging overthemountainsofexistencetoday
wecrossanddreamnomore norseeillusions
[These lines are an old Japanese poem known as Iroha. Because it uses every syllable once, it was used as the alphabetical order until replaced by the modern alphabet. I have translated the poem roughly, but it may well have no more meaning than rapidly reciting the alphabet]
あぁああぁ～
AaAAa~
いろはいろはいろ ちりぬるりぬるを
わかよよよたれ そつつつつねならむ
theflowersflowersflow buttheyfallfallfall
whointhisworldwho isssssssunchanging
[These lines are the Iroha again, but only stuttering fragments of it]
そのもの蒼き衣をまといて
金色の野に降り立つべし
失われし大地のとの絆を取り戻し
人々を蒼き清浄の地に導かんカン
He shall come clad in blue
descending on golden fields
to take back the lost fetters of the earth
and lead the people to a pure blue landland
[This appears to be a quote from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, with a stutter at the end]
ななナウなうシカ
ナウシカ ナウ山羊
ナウシカ ナウ山羊
NaNaNauNausicaa
Now deer, now goat
Now deer, now goat
[This is a pun- Nausicaa in Japanese is written as "naushika". "Shika" means "deer". "Yagi" means "goat", and it replaces the "shika" in the repetition of Nausicaa]
もうダメ イ 臨界突破
It's over i Pressure Overload
[Pretty straightforward, except there's a random out of place letter in the middle of the line that appears to have no meaning]
機械の体、手に入れるまで氏ねないわ
I will not die until I have a machine body
[n/a]
鉄郎 メーテル
アンドロメダ
Tetsurou Maetel
Andromeda
{Two characters and a location from the manga/anime Galaxy Express 999]
めだ目玉おやじ をぃ鬼太郎
-meda Medama Oyaji we Kitaro
[Medama Oyaji and Kitaro are characters from GeGeGe no Kitaro]
あぁああぁ～ ぷ
AaAAa- Pu
[The "pu" seems to be a random letter again]
（ムスカムスカムスカ メメメガ）
（ムスカムスカムスカ めめめガ）
（ムスカムスカムスカ 目目目ガ）
（ムスカムスカムスカ ユパ様！）
MuskaMuskaMuska mymymy eye
MuskaMuskaMuska mymymy eye
MuskaMuskaMuska mymymy eye
MuskaMuskaMuska Lord Yupa!
[Muska is the villain from Laputa Castle in the Sky, Lord Yupa is from Nausicaa, the first three lines all end in "mememega", but only in the third is "me" given a kanji with the meaning of "eye".]
ニルバーナァーァァァアアァ～
NirvanaaaaaaAAa-
摩訶般若波羅蜜多 ミミタハンニ波羅ミ蜜多心経
悟りの境地 カ観自在菩薩ツ
色即是空 ノカヨヒジフキト 空即是色
Maha Prajna Paramita mimitahannyaharamitutasi
Border of enlightenment A-Avalokitesvara boddhavista-a
all is nothingness nokayohijifukito nothingness is all
[This appears to be the Heart Sutra, an important Buddhist text, though quite distorted (to total gibberish at points) and I can't decipher what an appropriate translation/transliteration would be for some of it]
カオスダァーァァァアアァ～ （林家ぺ）
It's chaaaaaaAAaa-os (foresters Pe)
["Rinka" means a family working in the forest industry. "pe" appears to be another random letter]
リリンヒウトシン 悪霊退散 清めタタ珠恵
南無阿弥陀仏だぁ
ririnhiutoshin Dispersion of demons Exorcise them
[Beginning of the line is possibly another gibberish-fied Buddhist chant but I really don't know]
It's Namo Amitabhaya
[Buddhist chant: "I sincerely believe in Amitabha"]
そのもの蒼き衣をまといて
ババ様 会おうお 伝説はマコトであったか
ユパ様 ユパモヒカンだ
大地の怒りじゃ 蟲達が怒っておるじゃ
ババ様 こわっ！
He shall come clad in blue
Obaba, shall we meet Were the legends true?
Lord Yupa Yupa is dejected too
It's the anger of the earth The insects are enraged
Obaba I'm scared!
[More Nausicaa quotes/references]
ななナウなうシカ
ナウシカ ムスカめ
ナウシカ ムムスカ
NaNaNauNausicaa
Now deer, now goat
Now deer, now goat
ハーロック エメラルダス 戦士の銃を手に取り
Harlock Emeraldas Taking a soldier's weapon into your hands
[Harlock and Emereldas are from Space Pirate Captain Harlock]
撃ちまくり 乱れ撃ち
ナウシカ撃ち ユパ様ハゲェー
Ceaseless random pounding
Nausicaa attacks Lord Yupa is bald
アマンが タオタオタオパイパイ（桃白白）自重しろ
Aman is taotaotaopaipai (peaches pale) respect yourself
[I'm not 100% on the middle section of this line (gibberish?), but I'm pretty sure the "paipai" (boobs) is intentional given the "peaches pale"]
うぉおおおおおぉぉおお ぺ
WoOOOOOooOO Pe
[Another random "pe"]
I won't sugar coat it, this song is a translator's NIGHTMARE. For one thing, I doubt it was ever intended to even make sense to Japanese people. The lyrics are made up of three things
1. Buddhist sutra and medieval Japanese poetry
2. References to old anime (mostly the work of Leiji Matsumoto and Hayao Miyazaki)
3. PUNS
With a generous topping of gibberish phrases. But anyway, I think I have created a rough translation that captures the feel a Japanese person would get from looking at the lyrics sheet ("wtf is this?"), along with an annotated version that explains some of the weirdness to the best of my ability. Along with the PV, this song gives me the mental image of slowly degrading post-apocalyptic robots simply babbling relics of human culture without understanding the meaning.
Not being a native speaker though, it's possible I've misunderstood some of the parts, missed puns, or simply missed the meaning in some of the "gibberish", so I'm considering this a draft for now and I'd like to invite other Japanese speakers to contribute their understanding.
Original here.
Nehanshika (Nirvana Poem)
AaAAa-
ABCDE FGHIJK
theflowersarefragrant buttheyfallwhointhis
worldisunchanging overthemountainsofexistencetoday
wecrossanddreamnomore norseeillusions
AaAAa-
theflowersflowersflow buttheyfallfallfall
whointhisworldwho isssssssunchanging
He shall come clad in blue
descending on golden fields
to take back the lost fetters of the earth
and lead the people to a pure blue landland
NaNaNauNausicaa
Now deer, now goat
Now deer, now goat
It's over e Pressure Overload
I will not die until I have a machine body
Tetsurou Maetel
Andromeda
-meda Medama Oyaji we Kitaro
AaAAa- uP
MuskaMuskaMuska mymymy eye
MuskaMuskaMuska mymymy eye
MuskaMuskaMuska mymymy eye
MuskaMuskaMuska Lord Yupa!
NirvanaaaaaaAAa-
Maha Prajna Paramita mimitahannyaharamitutasi
Border of enlightenment A-Avalokitesvara boddhavista-a
all is nothingness nokayohijifukito nothingness is all
It's chaaaaaaAAaa-os (foresters P)
ririnhiutoshin Dispersion of demons Exorcise th-th-them
It's Namo Amitabhaya
He shall come clad in blue
Obaba, shall we meet Were the legends true?
Lord Yupa Yupa is dejected too
It's the anger of the earth The insects are enraged
Obaba I'm scared!
NaNaNauNausicaa
Nausicaa Muska
Nausicaa Mu-Muska
Herlock Emeraldas Taking a soldier's weapon into your hands
Ceaseless random pounding
Nausicaa attacks Lord Yupa is bald
Aman is taotaotaopaipai (peaches pale) respect yourself
WoOOOOOooOO P
あぁああぁ～
AaAAa~
あかさたな はまやらわ
ABCDE FGHIJK
[This line is the first letter of each row in the modern Japanese alphabet. It is pretty meaningless]
いろはにほへと ちりぬるをわかよ
たれそつねらむ ういのおくやまけふ
こえてあさきゆめ みしえひもせすん
いろわにほえどち
theflowersarefragrant buttheyfallwhointhis
worldisunchanging overthemountainsofexistencetoday
wecrossanddreamnomore norseeillusions
[These lines are an old Japanese poem known as Iroha. Because it uses every syllable once, it was used as the alphabetical order until replaced by the modern alphabet. I have translated the poem roughly, but it may well have no more meaning than rapidly reciting the alphabet]
あぁああぁ～
AaAAa~
いろはいろはいろ ちりぬるりぬるを
わかよよよたれ そつつつつねならむ
theflowersflowersflow buttheyfallfallfall
whointhisworldwho isssssssunchanging
[These lines are the Iroha again, but only stuttering fragments of it]
そのもの蒼き衣をまといて
金色の野に降り立つべし
失われし大地のとの絆を取り戻し
人々を蒼き清浄の地に導かんカン
He shall come clad in blue
descending on golden fields
to take back the lost fetters of the earth
and lead the people to a pure blue landland
[This appears to be a quote from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, with a stutter at the end]
ななナウなうシカ
ナウシカ ナウ山羊
ナウシカ ナウ山羊
NaNaNauNausicaa
Now deer, now goat
Now deer, now goat
[This is a pun- Nausicaa in Japanese is written as "naushika". "Shika" means "deer". "Yagi" means "goat", and it replaces the "shika" in the repetition of Nausicaa]
もうダメ イ 臨界突破
It's over i Pressure Overload
[Pretty straightforward, except there's a random out of place letter in the middle of the line that appears to have no meaning]
機械の体、手に入れるまで氏ねないわ
I will not die until I have a machine body
[n/a]
鉄郎 メーテル
アンドロメダ
Tetsurou Maetel
Andromeda
{Two characters and a location from the manga/anime Galaxy Express 999]
めだ目玉おやじ をぃ鬼太郎
-meda Medama Oyaji we Kitaro
[Medama Oyaji and Kitaro are characters from GeGeGe no Kitaro]
あぁああぁ～ ぷ
AaAAa- Pu
[The "pu" seems to be a random letter again]
（ムスカムスカムスカ メメメガ）
（ムスカムスカムスカ めめめガ）
（ムスカムスカムスカ 目目目ガ）
（ムスカムスカムスカ ユパ様！）
MuskaMuskaMuska mymymy eye
MuskaMuskaMuska mymymy eye
MuskaMuskaMuska mymymy eye
MuskaMuskaMuska Lord Yupa!
[Muska is the villain from Laputa Castle in the Sky, Lord Yupa is from Nausicaa, the first three lines all end in "mememega", but only in the third is "me" given a kanji with the meaning of "eye".]
ニルバーナァーァァァアアァ～
NirvanaaaaaaAAa-
摩訶般若波羅蜜多 ミミタハンニ波羅ミ蜜多心経
悟りの境地 カ観自在菩薩ツ
色即是空 ノカヨヒジフキト 空即是色
Maha Prajna Paramita mimitahannyaharamitutasi
Border of enlightenment A-Avalokitesvara boddhavista-a
all is nothingness nokayohijifukito nothingness is all
[This appears to be the Heart Sutra, an important Buddhist text, though quite distorted (to total gibberish at points) and I can't decipher what an appropriate translation/transliteration would be for some of it]
カオスダァーァァァアアァ～ （林家ぺ）
It's chaaaaaaAAaa-os (foresters Pe)
["Rinka" means a family working in the forest industry. "pe" appears to be another random letter]
リリンヒウトシン 悪霊退散 清めタタ珠恵
南無阿弥陀仏だぁ
ririnhiutoshin Dispersion of demons Exorcise them
[Beginning of the line is possibly another gibberish-fied Buddhist chant but I really don't know]
It's Namo Amitabhaya
[Buddhist chant: "I sincerely believe in Amitabha"]
そのもの蒼き衣をまといて
ババ様 会おうお 伝説はマコトであったか
ユパ様 ユパモヒカンだ
大地の怒りじゃ 蟲達が怒っておるじゃ
ババ様 こわっ！
He shall come clad in blue
Obaba, shall we meet Were the legends true?
Lord Yupa Yupa is dejected too
It's the anger of the earth The insects are enraged
Obaba I'm scared!
[More Nausicaa quotes/references]
ななナウなうシカ
ナウシカ ムスカめ
ナウシカ ムムスカ
NaNaNauNausicaa
Now deer, now goat
Now deer, now goat
ハーロック エメラルダス 戦士の銃を手に取り
Harlock Emeraldas Taking a soldier's weapon into your hands
[Harlock and Emereldas are from Space Pirate Captain Harlock]
撃ちまくり 乱れ撃ち
ナウシカ撃ち ユパ様ハゲェー
Ceaseless random pounding
Nausicaa attacks Lord Yupa is bald
アマンが タオタオタオパイパイ（桃白白）自重しろ
Aman is taotaotaopaipai (peaches pale) respect yourself
[I'm not 100% on the middle section of this line (gibberish?), but I'm pretty sure the "paipai" (boobs) is intentional given the "peaches pale"]
うぉおおおおおぉぉおお ぺ
WoOOOOOooOO Pe
[Another random "pe"]