Maaya Sakamoto – Utsukushii Hito
Maaya’s latest album You can’t catch me was just released a few days ago. The best song in the new album is by far Utsukushii Hito, a collaboration with Yoko Kanno for the Kentoushi Fune Saigen Project at last year’s Shanghai World Expo. The exhibition itself was basically a replica of a ship used during the Tang Dynasty to bring Japanese envoys to China and Utsukushii Hito was the official theme song for the project. Maaya performed it live at the ship’s departure ceremony from Osaka but didn’t actually show up at the Expo.
Lyrics and translation after the break.
Utsukushii Hito
Maaya Sakamoto
kono koe ga kikoeru nara wataridori yo michibiite
inochi ga oboeteiru harukanaru ano basho e
uminari kokoro ga osore ni torawarenu you ni
utatte anata no umareta kuni no kotoba de
meili de ren mitsumeaeba meili de ren
hitomi no naka onaji kibou no hi wo tomoshiteru
mada minu kanochi no hana wa marude suzunone no hibiki
nishi eto mukau kaze ni akogare yo habataite
tenohira kasanete namiutsu futatsu no kodou
oshiete futari wo hedateteiru mono wa nani
qin’ai de ren toki ga kureba qin’ai de ren
hikari no naka kodoku wa nukumori ni toketeiku
kono koe ga kikoeru nara wataridori yo michibiite
kiri mo yoru mo arashi mo ai dake wa ubaenai
tori ga umi wo wataru you ni hito wa hito wo shiru tame ni
inochi ga oboeteiru harukanaru ano basho e
anata ni furete hoshii akogare yo dakiyosete
todoite watashi no umareta kuni no kotoba de
meili de ren aishiteiru meili de ren
meili de ren aishiteiru meili de ren
Beautiful Person
Maaya Sakamoto
O birds of passage, show me the way if you hear my voice.
Lead me to the distant land that my life remembers.
Ocean rumbles, please let my heart be free from fear.
Sing for me, in the tongue of the land you were born in.
Beautiful person, if you look into my eyes, beautiful person,
You’ll see in your eyes, the same flames of hope are lit.
The flowers in that land we cannot yet see, are like the sound of ringing bells.
O my yearnings, spread your wings and fly with the westward breeze.
Put your palm over mine and feel the beating of our hearts.
Tell me, what is it that separates us from each other?
Dearest person, when the time comes, dearest person,
In the light, loneliness will melt away in a warm embrace.
O birds of passage, show me the way if you hear my voice.
Through the fog, the night, the storm, my love cannot be taken.
So people may understand others like the birds fly across oceans,
Lead us to the distant land that our lives remember.
I long for your touch. O my yearnings, embrace me.
May my feelings reach you, in the tongue of the land I was born in.
Beautiful person, I love you, beautiful person.
Beautiful person, I love you, beautiful person.
美しい人
坂本真綾
この声が聞こえるなら 渡り鳥よ 導いて
命が覚えている 遥かなるあの場所へ
海鳴り 心が恐れに捕われぬように
歌って あなたの生まれた国のことばで
美麗的人 見つめ合えば 美麗的人
瞳の中 同じ希望の火を灯してる
まだ見ぬ彼の地の花は まるで鈴の音の響き
西へと向かう風に 憧れよ 羽ばたいて
てのひら重ねて 波打つふたつの鼓動
教えて ふたりを隔てているものはなに
親愛的人 時がくれば 親愛的人
光の中 孤独はぬくもりに溶けていく
この声が聞こえるなら 渡り鳥よ 導いて
霧も夜も嵐も 愛だけは奪えない
鳥が海を渡るように 人は人を知るために
命が覚えている 遥かなるあの場所へ
あなたに触れてほしい 憧れよ 抱き寄せて
届いて 私の生まれた国のことばで
美麗的人 愛している 美麗的人
美麗的人 愛している 美麗的人
Interestingly, the chorus contains two short phrases sang in Mandarin Chinese but rendered in Japanese kanji in the lyrics booklet (probably out of typesetting convenience). I am not 100% certain, but I think this may be the first time Maaya sang anything in Chinese. :O
Such an awesome song. Gives me chills in a good way. 美丽的人 :D
P.S. Speaking of Chinese lyrics in Japanese songs, check out ALI PROJECT’s Feihong De Mudan.
January 17th, 2011 at 2:27 am
Wow, the shanghai expo is a pretty big coup-de-tat, but still, I didn’t expect mandarin lyrics(was having a bit of a hard time understanding them).
January 17th, 2011 at 4:46 pm
I knew I shouldn’t have skimped on shipping and gone for EMS instead of SAL D:
January 17th, 2011 at 8:09 pm
Dude. I used SAL too.
January 20th, 2011 at 3:01 pm
Somehow I was expecting an obligatory fangasm of epic proportions from Maaya’s and Yoko’s collaboration. Or at least just from the fact that it’s Maaya.