Warui Ousama no Ohanashi (悪い王様のお話) Lyrics Translation

So after ages of not having written anything, today's post shall be a translation of Goosehouse's Warui Ousama no Ohanashi (Story of the Evil King). Found this little gem some time ago and I loved the overall rhythm and feel of the song and especially how they turned a story into a song. I catch myself humming the chorus tune a lot and after searching, I realized that no one really translated it into English before, so here goes :)

小さな国の小さな町　小さな家に住む

若い娘は運命の恋に落ちたのです

Chiisana kuni no chīsana machi chīsana ie ni sumu 

Wakai musume wa unmei no koi ni ochita no desu

Living in a small house, in a small town, in a small country,

A young maiden fell in love with her fated love

恋のお相手は王様　めでたく見初められ

貧しかった家と別れ　家族になりました

Koi no o aite wa ōsama medetaku misome rare

Mazushikatta ie to wakare kazoku ni narimashita 

Her partner in love was the king, they fell in love happily at first sight,

She parted from her poor household and they became a family

ところが二人の子供　可愛い王子はやがて

邪智暴虐の王になり　人々　苦しめた

Tokoro ga futari no kodomo kawaii ōji wa yagate 

Jachibougyaku no ou ni nari hitobito kurushimeta 

Nevertheless, the child of theirs, the adorable prince, before long,

A tyrannical and cruel king he became, and the people suffered

「初めて腕に抱いた日　世界に足りないものなど

一つもなく　何もかもが輝きを増した

世界の全て終わる日も　世界の誰もがあなたの

敵になって矢が飛ぶ日も　私が盾になるよ」

"Hajimete ude ni daita hi sekai ni tarinai mono nado Hitotsu mo naku nanimo kamo ga kagayaki o mashita Sekai no subete owaru hi mo sekai no daremo ga anata no 

Teki ni natte ya ga tobu hi mo watashi ga tate ni naru yo 

  "The very first day we embraced you in our arms,

There wasn't a single thing that we lacked in this world, everything was glittering.

Even on the day everything on this world ends, even if everyone in the world

becomes your enemy and send arrows flying at you, I'll become your shield." 

王子が16歳になってすぐのことです

戦争が始まって　王様は戻らぬ人に

Ouji ga jyuroku-sai ni natte sugu no koto desu 

Sensou ga hajimatte ōsama wa modoranu hito ni 

It wasn't long before the prince turned 16,

A war started, and to the people he couldn't return to, the king said

「帰ると言った約束　信じて待つあなたの背を

抱きしめても　振りほどいて　一人で泣いてたね

世界の全てを疑い　世界の誰も要らないと

あなたは言う　でもね聞いて　私がここにいるよ」

"Kaeru to itta yakusoku shinjite matsu anata no se o 

Dakishimete mo furihodoite hitori de nai teta ne 

Sekai no subete wo utagai sekai no dare mo iranaito 

Anata wa iu demo nee kiite watashi ga koko ni iru yo"'

" 'I will come back,' the you that believed in that promise and waited,

Even after a hug, once we parted ways, you cried alone, didn't you?

Even if you decide to doubt everything in the world,

'I don't need anyone in this world,' you say that,

but hey, listen, I will be right here."

王様になった王子は　国中涙で染めた

それを止めた男がいた　彼の名前は　メロス

Ousama ni natta ōji wa kuni juu namida de someta 

Sore o tometa otoko ga ita kare no namae wa 

MEROSU

The prince that became the king, dyed the entire country in tears,

There was a man who stopped all that, his name was 

Meros

「自分を守るためだけに　生きていくには世界は

大きすぎて　バラバラで　すぐダメになるだろう」

Jibun o mamoru tame dake ni ikiteiku ni wa sekai wa 

Ooki sugite BARABARA de sugu dame ni narudarou' 

"If you only live by protecting just yourself,

this world will seem too huge and fall apart,

and all hope will soon be lost"

「初めて腕に抱いた日　世界に足りないものなど

一つもなく　何もかもが輝きを増した

世界の全て終わる日も　世界の誰もがあなたの

敵になって矢が飛ぶ日も　僕が盾になるよ」

"Hajimete ude ni daita hi sekai ni tarinai mono nado
Hitotsu mo naku nanimokamo ga kagayaki o mashita 
Sekai no subete owaru hi mo sekai no daremo ga anata no 

Teki ni natte ya ga tobu hi mo boku ga tate ni naru yo"
"The very first day we embraced you in our arms,

There wasn't a single thing that we lacked in this world, everything was glittering.

Even on the day everything on this world ends, even if everyone in the world

becomes your enemy and send arrows flying at you, I'll become your shield." 

[End of translation]

I'm not sure if this was the story the artists intended to portray, 

but I interpreted the story as such:

A long time ago, a king fell in love with a girl from a poor family, they had a cute son who they treasured and loved more than anything else. The first chorus is probably what the king and queen said to their son, showing just how much they loved him.

When the prince turned 16, the king left for a war. He left promising to return, but never did. The second chorus is probably what the king said to his loved ones before he left for the war; i.e. the queen and the prince.

Having lost his father who he loved dearly, the prince was extremely hurt, but didn't know how to deal with that pain. He lived doubting everything and distancing himself from everyone,  saying he didn't need anyone, true to the king's words, and grew to be a heartless king. :(

However, this all ended when a man named Meros brought the king back to his senses and the last chorus at the end was the prince remembering what his parents said to him.

これでめでたしめでたしかな？

This way, it ends well I guess? Hope this translation was helpful to those who really liked how the song sounded, but have no idea what it means.

Will defs be listening to this gem on loop for a while more,

time to revisit more of GooseHouse's older songs/covers. :D

*Disclaimer: 
i) Kanji and romaji lyrics are taken from JpopAsia. (edited a tiny bit where I saw fit)
ii) My Japanese is mostly self-taught from anime and at most at JLPT N4 level, so do let me know if I've made any errors in translation; it's always good to learn :) 

.:: It's now or never. ::.

It's been a little more than a year since my last post (so much for the resolution last year of writing more right? ><).

A short recap of the previous year would be that it was extremely taxing and stressful, especially the start of the year, but it was also one where I learned a lot and started to grow. I've had new experiences, new responsibilities, new encounters, new highs and lows.

I'll be hitting quarter life this year and I figured that there's no better time for change than now, so here's a list of resolutions I put together over the weekend for 2017 (better late than never, as always.)

1. Clear out any regrets.

In the past few months or so, I've watched people come and go and there's really no bigger reminder of how fragile and short our lives are. So this year, I resolve to clear out regrets that I may have had (or even forgotten about) and to not make any decisions from this point on that will leave me with new regrets.

This year, I'll truly embrace the #yolo-ness that has never quite surfaced for me. I'll say what I want to say, do what I want to do and go where my heart takes me.

The one regret that's at the top of my head is having stopped learning piano at the age of twelve. My previous instructor was more centered around perfecting our play of exam pieces and at that point in time, I was really glad to not have to go through those long hours of practice for songs I don't have any attachment to. But as the years passed (and thanks to anime like Shigatsu Wa Kimi No Uso and Kin Iro No Corda), this tiny little voice inside of me has always questioned my decision to stop. So this year I resolve to find time for casual piano classes / to set aside time to improve my sight reading so I can play more songs that I like.

Also, I've always sort of regretted not really taking the chance to travel much in the whole two and half years I spent in Melbourne. So hopefully, during my upcoming international attachment in Hong Kong, I'll be able to better utilize my weekends.

2. Feel the fear and do it anyway.

This one is inspired by a book I chanced across with the same title by Susan Jeffers. There have been so many times in the past that I've felt afraid of not being up for something / being good enough, but recently I've begun to see that everyone goes through that, even those who you'd think were so overwhelmingly talented and superior that nothing would faze them. Deep down, everyone has their own demons to face, all it takes is a first step to begin defeating them.

This year, I resolve to break through walls and perceptions of myself. This year, I'll be bold, this year, I'll be daring, this year I'll be prepared to do what the past me would have found unthinkable.

Bring on them exams, bring on them red shoes.

3. Remember to take things slow.

Sometimes, the world is so fast-paced that you take for granted that the things that are worth it come slowly. Whether it's that new language you're learning or that new habit you're honing, nothing was built overnight, so expecting changes to immediately bear fruits will only lead to disappointment.

Sometimes speed isn't everything. Sometimes the ability to wait out the storm by carefully thinking through will grant you better returns. In dashing for the finish line, sometimes it's better to conserve some energy for that final sprint.

This year, I resolve to be patient with myself. I resolve to be patient and forgiving of the mistakes I may have made / make due to carelessness or poor judgement and to learn from them so that I'll never repeat the same mistakes again. I was blessed enough to be in an environment where I'm allowed to fail and though I would never let myself be comfortable about making a miss, I need to remember that it's okay to stumble sometimes too.

4. Explore new things and grow.

This year I resolve to be open to new and unfamiliar things. I resolve to try the roads not taken, to challenge my own norms and break out of my comfort zone. This year, I'll be different. This year, I'll find a new me.

Some of the things that I really want to do more of is to have more exercise (it's been on my to-do-list since forever) so last weekend I finally pushed myself to go for zumba class (hopefully I'll be keeping that up for the remainder of the year). I also want to find more time to read and write more, so here's a resolution to write a blog post at least once every quarter.


2017 came sweeping in with the winds of change and I'm more than ready to glide on those winds. Here's to a fulfilling year ahead that I can look back and think fondly of. Blessed it be.