 Album: Abracadabra
2020.09.21 Lingua Sounda/Victor
Que Sera Sera Elegy
Lyrics: Imai Hisashi
Music: Imai Hisashi
Start up the fantasy
of our group destiny1
time to connect with you
fa fa fa fa2
Delusion, recklessness
legal exuberance3
instinct, survive and thrive
La la la la2
woo! glitter glitter bright
ha! here comes that sun
woo! burning burning hot
ha! here comes that sun4
woo! glitter glitter bright
ha! here comes the sun
woo! here comes the sun
A drifting surfer
crossing over the stormy seas
hang tight and get it done
fa fa fa fa
Psychopath charisma chart-topping pop stars and5 the gods and monsters too la la la la
woo! glitter glitter bright
ha! here comes that sun
woo! burning burning hot
ha! here comes that sun
woo! glitter glitter bright
ha! here comes the sun
woo! here comes the sun
The world, around and round it turns
The world is turning crazy, hey6
I doubt that it will ever stop
And you, you're laughing on and on
You laugh hysterically, hey
And you won't stop - what should I do?
Sorrowful paradise7
Into the future, go!
I love you forever
Que sera sera elegy
Start up the fantasy
of our group destiny
time to connect with you
fa fa fa fa
Delusion, recklessness
legal exuberance
instinct, survive and thrive
La la la la
woo! glitter glitter bright
ha! here comes that sun
woo! burning burning hot
ha! here comes that sun
woo! glitter glitter bright
ha! here comes the sun
woo! here comes the sun
You see, the future is flickering
The future swings in the balance, yeah8
Do you get it? Can you see?9
And you, you're still wavering
You're still feeling unsteady, yeah
Lose your way? Or run ahead?
Sorrowful paradise
Into the future, go!
I love you forever
Que sera sera elegy
Note on the title: The phrase “que sera sera” (“whatever will be will be”) was the title of a song written for 1950’s American pop singer Doris Day by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. The song was a hit in the US and the UK and became Day’s signature song. The phrase “que sera sera” has been translated into Japanese as “naru you ni nare,” and appears in the lyrics to the second verse of Buck-Tick’s song “La Vie en Rose,” on the album Tenshi no Revolver. Sakurai also used the original phrase "que sera sera" in the lyrics to "Lullaby III" on the album Memento Mori. The lyrics to Doris Day's "Que Sera Sera" go,
Que sera sera, whatever will be will be
The future's too hard to see, que sera sera
By titling this song "Que Sera Sera Elegy," Imai seems to be implying that the era of letting it be is over, and now it's time to take the future into our own hands. He also implies that there is a destiny waiting for us in the future, for those of us with eyes to see it.
1) The phrase "unmei kyoudoutai" literally means, "group of people connected by fate" - interestingly similar to the idea of a soul group, in which groups of souls incarnate together into shared destinies or purposes across multiple lifetimes. With the release of No. 0, Imai mentioned that a fortune teller he had consulted told him that the five Buck-Tick members were such a soul group, and had incarnated together across many lifetimes. "Gensou," which I translated here as "fantasy," also means "illusion," something like a dream, which seems to be real but isn't. The implication of the first line is not that the shared destiny is a fantasy or delusion, but rather, that incarnate life itself, what we think of as "reality," is actually more like a dream, and the "real" reality is elsewhere, outside "real life" - a major theme in Buck-Tick's work, and a major theme on this album.
2) Imai wrote "fa" in the lyric booklet (as in the solfège scale, do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si, do). However, during the Abracadabra Live on the Net live performance on September 21st, 2020, Imai pointedly stuck up his middle finger on this line, implying that what he really means here is "fuck fuck fuck fuck" ("fuck" is rendered as "fakku" in Japanese, so it starts with "fa"). Likewise, the "la la la" at the end of the next stanza is written as "la la la" in the lyric booklet, but during the live performance, Imai made a heart with his hands on this line, implying that what he really means is "love love love love" ("love" is rendered as "rabu" or "labu" in Japanese, so it starts with "la"). This ties in well with the lyrics to "Eureka."
3) This song is full of word plays, and I attempted to preserve that in my translation, so I switched the order of the words "kyousou" ("exuberance") and "gouhou" ("legal") to preserve the flow of the sounds. "Gouhou" is often used in the context of drug legality/legalization. Ever since the scandal of Imai's 1988 arrest for LSD possession, Buck-Tick have taken every opportunity to mock Japan's draconian drug laws (and sometimes been censored for it - see "Speed" and "Heroin.") I believe Imai is using "gouhou" here as a euphemism for LSD (see "Sophia Dream" for more info on why). The next line, "honnou de kuchatte," can mean either "live by your instincts," or "eat it on instinct." "Kuu," the word Imai used for "eat," is also used as a slang word for doing acid (as in "kami wo kuu," "to eat paper.") It's a cheeky wink - and an oblique hope that the future Imai sings about later in the song includes legalization of psychedelics.
4) I translated this line as "that sun" rather than "the sun," because the use of "ano" in "ano atsui taiyou" implies a certain distance from the sun - "that sun over there" - one sun among many other suns in a huge galaxy, perhaps hotter and brighter than the sun on the alien world Imai calls home (who knows?) "Taiyou da" literally means "it's the sun," not "here comes the sun," but the meanings are close enough and "here comes the sun" sounds better and fits the syllable count. "Here Comes the Sun" is, of course, a very famous song by The Beatles. The song "Sophia Dream" is already one big naked Beatles reference, so I felt that adding a Beatles reference here fit in perfectly, especially because "Here Comes the Sun" is a song about renewal or a new future, which is a strong theme in "Que Sera Sera Elegy," as well.
5) In the original Japanese, Imai paired the word "psycho" with the word "saikou," meaning "best" or "top" (as in "top hit pop star"). Unfortunately, I couldn't preserve this word play in English.
6) In this line, Imai wrote "kuruu kuruu," which means "going crazy, going crazy" - but Sakurai sings it as "kurukuru," meaning, "spinning round." Therefore, I translated it as "turning crazy."
7) The word in this line, "aishuu," meaning "sorrowful," uses the same first kanji as the word "aika," meaning "elegy." 8) Imai didn't literally use the phrase "swings in the balance" - that was my own artistic license. But the words "yureru" and "yurayura" can imply a swinging or rocking motion, in addition to a wavering, flickering, or swaying motion. (Or, if you're Sakurai, a gyrating motion, but let's leave that one for "Datenshi.") 9) Imai uses slightly unusual kanji here - for "mieru ka?" ("can you see?"), he uses a kanji implying directed attention, not just simple seeing. For "wakaru ka?" ("do you understand?"), he uses a kanji implying solving a puzzle or grasping a complex concept, not just simple knowing or understanding. He seems to be implying that the future is visible to those who direct their attention the right way, and put the pieces together. I switched the order of the two in order to preserve the flow of the English lyrics with the original melody. ケセラセラ エレジー
作詞：今井寿
作曲：今井寿
幻想の始まりだ 運命共同体 君と繋がって ファファファファ
妄想も暴走も狂騒も合法も 本能で喰っちゃって ララララ
woo! ギラギラの ha! 太陽だ woo! あの熱い ha! 太陽だ
woo! ギラギラの ha! 太陽だ woo! 太陽だ
漂流のサーファー 荒波乗り越えて がんばってやっちゃって ファファファファ
Psychoのカリスマも 最高のポップスターも 神もモンスターも ララララ
woo! ギラギラの ha! 太陽だ woo! あの熱い ha! 太陽だ
woo! ギラギラの ha! 太陽だ woo! 太陽だ
ほら 世界が回る 世界が狂う狂う ねえ 止まんないだろう
ほら お前は嗤う お前はケラケラ ねえ 止まんない どうしよう
哀愁のパラダイス 進め未来へ
I love you forever ケセラセラ エレジー
幻想の始まりだ 運命共同体 君と繋がって ファファファファ
妄想も暴走も狂騒も合法も 本能で喰っちゃって ララララ
woo! ギラギラの ha! 太陽だ woo! あの熱い ha! 太陽だ
woo! ギラギラの ha! 太陽だ woo! 太陽だ
ほら 未来が揺れる 未来がユラユラ さあ 視えるか？ 解るか？
ほら お前は揺れる お前はフラフラ さあ 迷うか？ 走るか？
哀愁のパラダイス 進め未来へ
I love you forever ケセラセラ エレジー
Que Sera Sera Elegy
Lyrics: Imai Hisashi
Music: Imai Hisashi
Gensou no hajimari da unmei kyoudoutai kimi to tsunagatte fa fa fa fa
Mousou mo bousou mo kyousou mo gouhou mo honnou de kucchatte la la la la
woo! giragira no ha! taiyou da woo! ano atsui ha! taiyou da
woo! giragira no ha! taiyou da woo! taiyou da
Hyouryuu no saafaa aranami norikoete ganbatte yacchatte fa fa fa fa
Psycho no karisuma mo saikou no poppu sutaa mo kami mo monsutaa mo la la la la
woo! giragira no ha! taiyou da woo! ano atsui ha! taiyou da
woo! giragira no ha! taiyou da woo! taiyou da
Hora sekai ga mawaru sekai ga kuruu kuruu nee tomannai darou
Hora omae wa warau omae wa kerakera nee tomannai dou shiyou
Aishuu no paradaisu susume mirai e
I love you forever que sera sera erejii
Gensou no hajimari da unmei kyoudoutai kimi to tsunagatte fa fa fa fa
Mousou mo bousou mo kyousou mo gouhou mo honnou de kucchatte la la la la
woo! giragira no ha! taiyou da woo! ano atsui ha! taiyou da
woo! giragira no ha! taiyou da woo! taiyou da
Hora mirai ga yureru mirai ga yurayura saa mieru ka? wakaru ka?
Hora omae wa yureru omae wa furafura saa mayou ka? hashiru ka?
Aishuu no paradaisu susume mirai e
I love you forever que sera sera erejii
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