Night Dancer - imase

This song. Lives in my head. Rent free. Like it just pops up randomly as I'm going about my day. So I decided to translate it. I mean, maybe I'll listen to it until I get sick of it and finally it'll escape from my brain right? Hah. Who am I kidding? Chances are it'll stick even more and I'll never be free from its clutches until another song takes its place :") This song and Overdose actually. Maybe I should translate Overdose too. LOL.

The lyrics pretty much tell us a story about a night that is forgettable, like any other. But the way it's described makes the night seem like one that is worth remembering. Sounds pretty tsundere. Saying one thing and meaning another. "I don't care about it" internally imprints the memory to heart lol.

I find the music video rather intriguing. The whole song talks about being together, dancing together, engraving together, passing time together, and yet, the girl and the guy never appear in the music video together. They appear in the same places, the room, the balcony, the street, the taxi. They wear the same headphones, maybe they're listening to the same song (NP: Night Dancer - imase), both dressed in white, but always, alone. WHY. Scheduling conflicts? Looming deadlines? Lol just kidding but yeah. Interesting choice 🤔

Let's talk about the lyrics.

The word needle 針 appears in this song 3 times in 3 different contexts. In the first verse, it talks about needles that tick away time, indicating clock needles, or the hands of a clock. The word for tick away 刻む also appears later in the last line of the chorus, which we will look at in a bit. The second time 針 appears is in the second half of the first verse. It talks about a dropped needle that plays something until one is tired of listening to it. The first thing that comes to mind is a gramophone. Both a clock and a gramophone appear in the MV when those lines are being sung, so the MV confirms this. The third needle, which is in the pre-chorus, however, is a slanted needle that one ignores but just steps one's feet down. Ouch. The MV just shows a slanted angle of imase's foot stepping forwards. Why the obsession with needles? We'll have to ask imase I suppose 🤪

About the last line of the chorus, 二人刻もう based on context probably means for two people to make memories together. However, that 刻む word has a variety of possible meanings. The meanings used to infer making memories together are: to etch; to carve; to engrave, etc. Other meanings of the word are: to chop; to mince; to shred; and even to torment. Hmm... 🙃 Welllll, I'll leave it to you to determine how sadistic and pessimistic you wish the lyrics to be 🙈

Just looking at the chorus alone, we can get the hint that it's not really a night that he doesn't care about. If we look at the bridge, it be like, "The night is long (a lot of time has already passed), the music might stop at any moment, I want to be with you, I want to drown in this moment, even if tomorrow doesn't come it don't matter." FO SHO he wants the night to last forever, he's in ecstasy as far as I can tell. What about this night do you not care about? Nothing!

There's this other sentence that repeats a few times - 変わらないね 変わらないで. The sentence somewhat translates to - things don't change, do they? Please don't change. - which lead me to think that maybe, maybe, this kind of thing happens really really often. Dancing together with the girl he likes. In the first verse, there is a line saying that the two of them have been accumulating years. So they probably have been acquainted for a long long time. Maybe he likes her but never told her. Maybe they always hang out in lively places together, making memories together, that's why in the very last chorus he says "Because I don't care, even while lightheaded and stumbling, let's dance, only with me." Again, saying he doesn't care, when he actually does care.

Unless of course, everything is a lie, pure imagination, there ain't no girl, there's only a night, a taxi, a street, a room, a balcony, white clothes, and white headphones. Hah.

Below I have a line-by-line breakdown of the lyrics if you're interested. Probably will never do such a breakdown again if I can help it. The formatting and alignment of each of the lines were a nightmare lol.

どうでもいいような 夜だけど

Before I read the lyrics, I always thought he was singing とってもいい instead of どうでもいい. I thought he was saying that it's a really great night, but he was actually saying it's a night he couldn't care less about. LOL. どうでもいいような夜 = an I-dont-care kind of night. だけど = but

響めき commotion || 煌めき sparkling || と and || 君 you || も also/too
The commotion, the sparkling and you too

まだ still || 止まった stopped || 刻む tick away (e.g. time) || 針 needle || も also/too
and the clock needles that are still not moving

入り浸った stayed long, frequented || 散らかる scattered || 部屋 room || も also/too
and the messy room that I've always been staying in

変わらないね doesn't change huh
They don't change do they?

思い出しては in my recollection || 二人 the two of us || 歳を years || 重ねてた have been accumulating
In my recollection, the two of us have been stacking on the years :/

響めき 煌めきと君も

入り浸った 散らかる部屋も

変わらないね

思い出しては 二人 歳を重ねてた

まだ止まった 刻む針も

また止まった

また again || 止まった stopped
Again it stopped,

落とす針をよく流した 聞き飽きるほど

落とす dropped || 針を needle || よく often || 流した played/broadcasted || 聞き listen || 飽きる tired of /bored of || ほど to that extent
the gramophone needle often plays until I'm tired of listening to it.

変わらないね 変わらないで

変わらないね doesn't change huh || 変わらないで please don't change

いられたのは 君だけか

いられた existed/stayed || のは (the one who) || 君 you || だけ only || か huh
The only one who stayed is you huh.

無駄話で はぐらかして

無駄話 useless talk/idle chit chat || で with || はぐらかして escape/avoid
Escape reality with idle chit chat

触れた先を ためらうように

触れた touched || 先を point/ahead is || ためらう hesitating ||ように as if
The place touched is as if hesitating.

足踏みして ズレた針を余所に

足踏みして stomp/step one's foot down || ズレた slanted || 針を the needle || 余所に ignore
Stomp down, ignoring the slanted needle

揃い始めてた 息が

揃い gather || 始めてた has started || 息が breath has
Breath has started to gather

響めき 煌めきと君も "踊ろう"

The commotion, the sparkling, and you too. "let's dance"

どうでもいいような 夜だけど

It's a night I don't care much about but...

二人刻もう

二人 two of us || 刻もう let's engrave/carve/etch. Earlier 刻む針も appeared in the 3rd line, this same word is being used again but in a different context. Previously it was the hands of a clock ticking. Now it's two people spending time together, engraving each other into the other's memories. Scarily, this word can also mean to mince, shred, chop, torment, etc. So... take your pick 🙃

透き通った 白い肌も

透き通った transparent || 白い white || 肌 skin || も also/too
Transparent white skin and

その笑った 無邪気な顔も

その that || 笑った smiling || 無邪気な innocent || 顔 face || も also/too
and that smiling innocent face as well

変わらないね 変わらないで

They won't change will they? Please don't change

いられるのは 今だけか

いられる will/can exist/stay || のは (the thing that) || 今 now || だけ only || か huh
The only thing that will remain is now huh.

どうでもいいような 夜だけど

It's a night I don't care much about but...

見つめるほどに 溢れる メモリー

見つめる can be seen || ほどに until || 溢れる overflow || メモリー melody
A melody overflowing so much so it's visible

浮つく心に コーヒーを

浮つく restless || 心 heart || に to || コーヒーを coffee
Coffee to the restless heart. (possibly describing the overflowing melody having the effect of caffeine)

乱れた部屋に 掠れたメロディー

乱れた messy || 部屋 room || に in || 掠れた blurred || メロディー melody
A blurred melody in a messy room

混ざりあってよう もう一度

混ざりあって mixed up || よう as if || もう一度 one more time
as if mixed up. One more time. (breaking the 4th wall cos here comes the chorus once more)

The second chorus is exactly the same except for the second line:

ときめき 色めきと君も "踊ろう"

ときめき palpitation (heart) || 色めき excitement/liveliness || と and || 君 you || も also/too || "踊ろう" let's dance
The palpitation, the excitement, and you. "Let's dance"

夜は長い おぼつかない

Then the bridge goes:

夜 night || は is || 長い long || おぼつかない unstable/hazy

今にも止まりそうな ミュージック

今 now || にも also/too || 止まりそうな seems like it will stop || ミュージック music
Music that might even stop right this instant

君といたい 溺れてたい

君 you || と with || いたい want to be || 溺れて indulge/drown in || たい want
I want to be with you. I want to indulge in...

明日がこなくたって もういいの

明日が tomorrow || こなくたって even if it doesn't come || もういいの it doesn't matter anymore
Even if tomorrow doesn't come, it's fine already.

The final chorus has 2 and a half new lines:

どうでもいいような 夜だけど... 愛して

It's a night I don't care much about but... I love...

どうでもいいから 僕だけを

どうでもいい I don't care || から so || 僕 I || だけ only || を (towards)

ふらつき よろめきながらも "踊ろう"

ふらつき lightheaded/wobbling/staggering || よろめき stagger/stumble/misbehave || ながら while || も also || "踊ろう" Let's dance
Because I don't care, even whilst lightheaded and stumbling, dance only with me.