the GazettE - ガンジスに紅い薔薇 [eng sub] LIVE HD

“Ganges ni akai bara“ was requested by Emma, along with this very fitting performance from their 10th Anniversary The Decade Live at Makuhari Messe. The title can be translated as “Red roses in Ganges“ or “[...] for Ganges“, but let’s look at this song and its lyrics in the context of what Ruki has said about it (transl. by me): “Here Ganges is not a place, but conveys the mental image of a final spot. That’s why the gravesite can even be an ocean or a desert somewhere. When I thought about the overall image, I could feel the scent of Ganges.“ He continues: “Ganges is a place in Buddhism. But the character in this song is Christian. So I thought this feeling of being out of place would be nice. And you can take it in many different ways; since you could also say the “brass rosary“ in the lyrics are an image of Buddhism.“ I put a lot of time into this translation and went over it to change details many times. I’d like to credit two interpretations that especially helped me delve into the themes of these quite intricate lyrics: ���󥸥��˹Ȥ��� Translation by me. Annotations: What is repeated in the background at the very beginning and in the end sounds like “tsurai“ (辛い; “painful“) to me. “Her slender hand - Pointing to the sky“ - Just as an interesting note, Ruki didn’t pick the most straightforward word for “sky“ here, but one that also resembles “Heaven“, both in the Christian sense and as a Buddhist term (referring to a heaven-like place that’s visited as a stage of death). “Their reasoning was weakened“ - As in one’s “sense“, “reasoning power“. “What is there beyond what’s here?“ - The word “here“ is me trying to marry the written and sung lyrics, since they differ. The written lyrics simply say “reality“, but Ruki reads that word as “now“. Putting them together, I think he wants to convey what we often refer to as “the here and now“. “Here were you were born and raised and loved“ - To be exact, only “love“ is not passive, so this line says “Here [= this place] where you were born and raised and that [place] you loved“. “Oh that slumber, forever beautiful“ - Probably already quite clear, but “slumber“ most likely refers to “death“. “That I wish for you to rest in peace - Are never just sentimental words“ - Or to be more explicit, “words of pity“. The part in English at the end sounds like something along the lines of “You are sweet my darling“ to me, but since it’s in English I’m no more an expert than you are. --------------- Thank you for watching!