BABYLON’S TABOO

Romaji and English translation of the song BABYLON’S TABOO from the album NINTH by the GazettE.

Lyrics originally sung in English are in italics , and words or phrases I felt were implied are in [brackets] in the translation.

I also (usually) put repeats of chorus/verses/stanzas in [brackets] if they’re not written that way in the original lyrics for ease of singing along.

If he writes a word in the lyrics but doesn’t sing it, I put it in light grey to make it easier to skip when singing along.

I usually romajize katakana characters in CAPITALS, and keep punctuation and line spacing as close to the original booklet as possible. If you see me putting spaces before punctuation at the end of a sentence or writing things in mixed-case capitals, that’s because it’s how it was in the booklet.

Any comments I had during the romajization/translation process will be included as footnotes so as not to disturb the flow of the song. They’re not required reading, but Ruki does some pretty nifty things with his lyrics/kanji choices, or sometimes there’s further explanations about words or phrases in there.

BABYLON’S TABOO: Romaji

Buchimakeru
Kaiwai no migoroshi ni wa warau
Sono me de mita no wa
Jakusha kirisuteta utage

Magamaga shiki hakugai
Babylon’s Taboo
Yokuatsu sa re nabiite boukan
「ADE DUE DAMBALLA」
Tameshite iru no ka?

[「ADE DUE DAMBALLA」
Magamaga shiki hakugai
Babylon’s Taboo
Yokuatsu sa re nabiite boukan
「ADE DUE DAMBALLA」
Tameshite iru no ka?
「ADE DUE DAMBALLA」 ]

Giragira matataku o sora no uso ga
Dosu kurokute kirei
DORODORO ni utsuru ura no uramade
Ukenin reta unmei
This is babylon’s taboo

Boukan no black eyes
I can’t forget this humiliation
Fukan no black eyes
I fucking can’t forget this day

In vain
Shouki ka sae fu tashikana mono to natta
This is a curse
In vain
Mou haki chirasu zouo sae fu tashikana…
My curse

Giragira matataku kyokou to uso ga
Dosu kurokute kirei
DORODORO ni utsuru ura no uramade
Ukenin reta unmei
This is babylon’s taboo

Boukan no black eyes
I can’t forget this humiliation
Fukan no black eyes
I fucking can’t forget this day

Magamaga shiki hakugai
Babylon’s Taboo
Yokuatsu sa re nabiite boukan
「ADE DUE DAMBALLA」
Tameshite iru no ka?

[「ADE DUE DAMBALLA」
Magamaga shiki hakugai
Babylon’s Taboo
Yokuatsu sa re nabiite boukan
「ADE DUE DAMBALLA」
Tameshite iru no ka?
「ADE DUE DAMBALLA」 ]

My curse

BABYLON’S¹ TABOO: Translation

I confess
I laugh as I let² everyone around me³ die
With eyes that watch
The weak being sacrificed for the feast

Sinister oppression
Babylon’s Taboo
Spectator to conquering suppression
「ADE DUE DAMBALLA」⁴
Have you tried it?

[「ADE DUE DAMBALLA」
Sinister oppression
Babylon’s Taboo
Spectator to conquering suppression
「ADE DUE DAMBALLA」
Have you tried it?
「ADE DUE DAMBALLA」 ]

The lie of a dazzling twinkling sky
Threatening and utterly⁵ black
The rumble [of thunder] reflected in the shadows hidden from view
Your fate is guaranteed

This is babylon’s taboo

The black eyes of a watcher
I can’t forget this humiliation
Black eyes looking down [on you]
I fucking can’t forget this day

In vain
All I need is sanity, [but] even uncertainty [will do]
This is a curse
In vain
Eventually, spewing out hate won’t be enough⁶…
My curse

The glittering twinkle of fiction and lies
Threatening and beautifully black
Murkily reflected in the shadows hidden from view
Your fate is guaranteed
This is babylon’s taboo

The black eyes of a watcher
I can’t forget this humiliation
Black eyes looking down [on you]
I fucking can’t forget this day

Sinister oppression
Babylon’s Taboo
Spectator to conquering suppression
「ADE DUE DAMBALLA」
Have you tried it?

[「ADE DUE DAMBALLA」
Sinister oppression
Babylon’s Taboo
Spectator to conquering suppression
「ADE DUE DAMBALLA」
Have you tried it?
「ADE DUE DAMBALLA」 ]

My curse

Babylon in this case refers to the reggae (and hip hop) term, and not directly to the ancient city of Babylon. According to a Gekirock interview, the term is described as referring to 支配者 shihaisha, or a “leader / ruler.” In Iyaric, a dialect used by the Rastafari movement, “Babylon” refers to a materialistic capitalist society, or more broadly, “any system that oppresses or discriminates against all peoples.” The term is most likely derived from reference to the ancient city of Babylon, specifically the Babylonian captivity of the people of the Kingdom of Judah.
Special thanks to @24hrojisan for the info!
見殺し / migoroshi = “to let (someone) die without helping;” so looking on without doing anything to save them
界隈 / kaiwai = “neighborhood” or “vicinity.” I translated it as “everyone in the vicinity/around” as opposed to an actual neighborhood.
This is part of the voodoo invocation to summon the sky loa Damballa’s power used in the Child’s Play/Chucky horror movie franchise, which allows for a soul to take over another body. Damballa is a real figure in Haitian voodoo.
綺麗 / kirei = “beautiful” or alternately “completely, totally;” with the rest of the sentence, I went with “utterly” the first time, but used “beautifully” the second time it appears.
Mehhh, I’m a little loose on this. The actual word is “safe / wise / trustworthy / correct.”