There are songs that you overhear without paying too much attention to them. You just generally like them, but nothing more. 'Till, one day, you stop listening really what the singer has to say and you find a little jewel where you just spotted some glowing in the sand.

Shimamiya Eiko's "Ozone", from "Endless Loop", is one of those songs. It's simple and elegant in its melody, yet catchy. You just listen to it and get slowly grabbed by the skillful and female voice, by the solid yet discrete underlying arrangement, by the simple and elegant piano inciso.

And when the melody and harmony finally convince you, you start to listen the song. A monologue thought as a dialogue with her lover, now gone, and the pain he caused. Oh, there's plenty of those songs around, you'd say.

Yeah, but this one is overwhelmingly sincere. In our western culture, where emotion bursts are regarded as clumsy and outrageous, openly saying "I wish you to cry" is considered bold, at least. But here, she goes on about half of the song telling him what her imagination is making up with him now. Precisely.

This description of her state of mind, of what her mind is doing, is so deep, so real, so touchy that you just have to feel like her. A fine piece of lyrics, being able to move anyone while still being not poetic, but plainly, just, "told".

Ozone

Music & lyrics by Eiko Shimamiya
Arrangement by Katsuya Takase


ごめん
gomen
Sorry
Scusa

今僕は　君がこの空の下で
ima boku wa kimi ga kono sora no shita de
but now, I am wishing that, while we're under the same sky
ma adesso sto desiderando che, da qualche parte,

誰かに身も心も汚されて
dareka ni mi mo kokoro mo yogosarete
someone is staining your body and your soul
qualcuno stia sporcando il tuo corpo e la tua anima

泣いてる事を望んでいるんだ
naiteru koto wo nozonde iru'n da
making you to cry.
facendoti piangere.

---

こうして　今僕のイマジネーシオンは
koushite ima boku no IMAGINE-SHION wa
Right now, in my imagination,
Ecco, ora la mia immaginazione

愛した分だけ
ai shiteta bun dake
I am wishing you to cry bitter tears of regret
tanto quanto ti ho amato

君に後悔の涙を流させたがっている
kimi ni koukai no namida ni nagasasetagatteru.
just as much as I loved you.
desidera che tu versi lacrime di rimpianto.

---

Ozone 息が出来ないよ
Ozone iki ga dekinai yo
Ozone I can't breath!
Ozone Non riesco a respirare!

Ozone 僕が負けたままじゃ
Ozone boku ga maketa mama ja
Ozone And this how I am defeated.
Ozone E questa è dunque la mia sconfitta.

Ozone 「ごめんね」って
Ozone "Gomen ne?"-tte
Ozone the fantasy of you saying "hey, sorry darling"
Ozone "Scusa, eh" mi dici,

駆け寄ってくる妄想だけが薬
kakeyotte kuru mousou dake ga kusuri
and running to me is my sole medicine
e corri da me, questa fantasia è la mia unica medicina.

---

忘れてくれていい
wasuretekurete ii
Oh, just forget it
Oh, lascia stare.

煙のように全部
kemuri no you ni zenbu (*)
as if it was smoke, everything I said.
Fai come fosse fumo, tutto quel che ti ho detto.

だけどあの時　空がやぶれて流れ込んだ
dakedo ano toki sora ga yaburete nagarekonda
It must just have been that ray of sadness that fell flowing down
E' solo che prima il raggio di tristezza che era sgorgato giù

悲しみの光線は確かに　僕を蝕んだ
kanashimi no kousen wa tashika ni boku wo mushibanda
breaking the sky, that, for sure, burned me inside
spezzando il cielo, di sicuro, mi rodeva l'anima.

---

Ozone ハートが黒ずんで
Ozone HA-TO ga kurozunde
Ozone My hart blakens
Ozone Il mio cuore si annerisce

Ozone 僕が醜くなる
Ozone boku ga minikuku naru
Ozone And I become ugly
Ozone Ed io mi imbruttisco

Ozone 「さよなら」って
Ozone "Sayonara" tte
Ozone Your voice coldly saying "goodbye"
Ozone La tua voce che mi dice freddamente "addio"

言った君の冷たい声だけが薬
itta kimi no tsumetai koe dake ga kusuri
is my sole medicine
è la mia unica medicina

---

明日なんてもう
ashita nante mou
I don't care if
Il domani

来なくていい
konakute ii
the tomorrow comes anymore
è meglio se non arriva

だけどあの時輝いてた君の輪郭
dakedo ano toki kagayaiteta kimi no rinkaku
until when your profile, once shining,
fintanto che il tuo profilo, che brillava, un tempo

悲しみの光線ですべてを焼き尽くすまで
kanashimi no kousen de subete wo yakitsukusu made
will be burned down by this ray of sadness.
sarà incenerito da questo raggio di tristezza.

---

泣きはらした顔を僕の胸にうずめてる
nakiharashita kao wo boku no mune ni uzumeteru
Your face finally clear from tears as I bury it in my breast
Il tuo volto ormai sgombro da lacrime sprofondato nel mio seno

悲しみの幻想は確かに　僕を蝕んだ
kanashimi no gensou　wa tashika ni boku wo mushibanda
is the sad delusion that burned me inside
è la triste illusione che mi rode l'anima.

----------------------------------

(*) Actually, there isn't a precise wording in this sentence pointing out the fact that it refers to "what she is saying". Up to this moment, a listener will think that she is referring to the whole of her, or to their past story. But the sentence is left open and vague, and as soon as it enters the next verses, it becomes clear that she was referring not just to the story in its whole, but also, and mainly, to what she is doing right now, that is, her fantasizing. As occidental languages aren't able to convey that vagueness that far in the sentence construction, I had to drop part of the implied meaning (forget all about us) to let the reader know the meaning that is made clear to a Japanese listener thereafter (forgive what I said).