Dear Vocalist - Bakeneko English Translation

[venven]

Lyrics: Iwasaki Daisuke
Composition: R・O・N




In the middle of the night
Hello, pleasure to meet you
Welcome to the meeting of new gods 
Shall we create everything in seven days?
Let's part the sea for a start

Traffic lights come in only three colors; red, yellow, and green
Why, why, why, why?
Being the half-hearted people we are, in order to fight

We outfox
We outfox

Let's reach for the fruit of paradise and suck on it together
We bet on mere promises like that
So see you in the afterlife, peace!

We've always had a staircase leading to heaven
Gently led by the hand through its steps
Anyone can enjoy an easy life
Like a mass production of livestock

Avoiding eye contact, you're driven into a corner
Prepare to become a thing of the past [1]
Try, try, try, try
You can't eat it all? Who do you think you are?
What you should be saying is

I'm sorry
I'm sorry

In a world as far gone as this one,
Even the devil sheepishly raises his glass for a cheer
Come on, let's take a picture of this tragic scene
See you in the afterlife, ready, cheese!

As dawn breaks, the messenger crows
Inside a tree hollow
They cry, cry, cry, cry
Swallow down every last drop
From this empty bottle

Let's reach for the fruit of paradise and suck on it together
We bet on mere promises like that
So see you in the afterlife, peace!

I want to be with you, I only need you
I can't see anyone but you, can't see, can't see at all, meow

You want to be with me, you only need me
You don't like anyone but me, no one, no one at all, meow

 

 

Notes:

[1] I'm not entirely sure of what the word 死語 is being used for here because it's more of an “obsolete word/dead language” than a general “thing of the past” but it also rhymes with 覚悟 so that might be why.

2- A Bakeneko is a type of yokai that’s featured in a myriad of tales (more info in the link).
The word “bakashiai” in the chorus (translated into “outfox” here) is also associated with the stories of yokai, where a kitsune and a tanuki would shapeshift into humans to trick one another. This term is now used to refer to evil people who try to deceive each other when both are the same level of wicked.

3- The last part of this song is written using hiragana except one kanji for each section. Let me paste it here so you can see what I mean:

あなたといたいの あなたがいいの
あなたいがいは皆、みない、みない

わたしといたいの わたしがいいの
わたしいがいは否、いない、いない

Other than the visual effect, there's a chance the hiragana means for the line to be read as both あなたと居たい (I want to be with you) and あなたと痛い (it hurts being with you). The latter isn't common usage at all, but Reodo mentioned the lyrics this season include wordplay which made me think about it.