Utsukushii Hito | Meilide-ren (Kentoushi Fune Saigen Theme)

[nijibug]

Today I found out about the Kentoushi Fune Saigen Project, in which Tang Dynasty envoy ships were rebuilt and sent off on the millenia-old journey from Osaka to Shanghai. Acclaimed composer Yoko Kanno and lyricist/singer Maaya Sakamoto collaborated on the bilingual theme song, which was performed at the ceremony on May 8th when the ship set sail.

I tried my hand at translating "Utsukushii Hito". The full song was just released today, as the ship entered the harbor at Shanghai. My translation is half guesswork, half creative license; Maaya's heartfelt lyrics are really beautiful and I would appreciate any help/corrections you have to offer!

美しい人

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

Beautiful People

If you can hear my voice, O birds of passage, please guide me
To the life I remember on that far-off shore......

The rest at my journal

Please help me tag this entry -
genre: lyrics, genre: songs, translation: english, language: japanese

Thank you.

Comments

[dhobikikutti]

I added your tags, and thanks for this. What a lovely song!

[nijibug]

Thanks for the help, and I'm glad you enjoyed it! :]

[wingblossom]

Oh, wow! Thank you for sharing this. I can't believe that I didn't know about this song before, because Sakamoto Maaya and Yoko Kanno are my favorites ever.

I'd be glad to help with translating the song -- I'm looking over the lyrics now. :D