Bath Room

Romaji and English translation of the song Bath Room from the album NIL 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.

Bath Room: Romaji

Nemurenai no wa naze?     shizukesa ni yoi shireteta
Shimetta heya de hitori mata     kuchizu sameba munashiku
Nemurenai no wa naze?     anata ga mieta kara
Shiten wa nureta yuka     atama wo kashigete nemutteru

Shiritaku mo nai youna genjitsu ni tada mu kanjou de
Koe mo dasazu zutto matataki sura wasurete anata ni mitoreteita

Nemutte shima itai     mezame dake wo osorete
Subete wo wasuretai     migatte na zaregoto ne
Anata no namae wo yobu     kamoku ni ki ga fureru
Yaseta kata wo tsutsumi¹ sakenda     ka hoso sugita nukumori ni

Shiritaku monai youna genjitsu ni fukaku kokoro obore
Kuchibiru wo kami koraeta namida sae imi ga naito shitta

Tachi tsukusu boku no haigo no koe
Hakidasu wake² nado     dou demo yokatta
Tada me no mae no anata ga totemo sabishi sou na kao de
Nani hitotsu deki nakatta     jibun wo shinu hodo nikunda
Namae wo kureta yuiitsu no anata e     kono mama soba ni ite kurenai ka
Sou     boku ni totte saisho de saigo no yasashiki “mama³”
Shiroi kabe ni sotte     makka na enogu de anata wo fuchidotta
Mada atatakai hoo wo suri yosete     shizuka ni waratte mise you
Ootsubu no namida ga anata to kasanatte     hitotsu ni nareta ki ga shita [no]
Mabuta wo toji     nukumori ga kieru koro     boku wa anata no soba de

Bath Room: Translation

Why can’t I sleep?     I was bewitched by the silence
I’m still here, alone in this damp room     absently humming to myself
Why can’t I sleep?     Because I saw you
The only thing left here is this wet floor     so I’ll lay my head down on it and try to sleep

I don’t really care about this reality that I can’t understand
I was so mesmerized by [the sight of] you that I was rendered completely silent, forgetting even to blink

I just want to sleep     because [at the moment] I’m more afraid of being awake
I want to forget about everything     But that’s just selfish nonsense, isn’t it?
I call out your name     because I’m going mad in this silence
I grabbed your slim shoulders and yelled;     they [felt] too thin, but still so warm

My heart is drowning in this deep reality that I can’t understand
I bit my lip as I tried to hold back my tears because I just couldn’t understand

I was frozen in place, even when the voice in the background
spat out observations     But it doesn’t matter anymore
because     your face, right before my eyes, looks so forlorn
I guess there’s nothing we can do     but hate our own mortality
But [I say] to you, the one who gave me my name,     couldn’t you have stayed by me just a little longer?
Because     as far as I’m concerned, you are my “mother” – gentle from the beginning to the end
On the white wall [behind you]     you’re surrounded, almost tenderly, by such a deep scarlet color⁴
Your cheek is still slightly warm when I touch it     and I can see the hint of a smile [on your face]
My large tears fall onto you;     I just feel so helpless
I [gently] close your eyes;     your warmth is already starting to disappear     but I’m still here by your side⁵

Note: Also check out DRIPPING INSANITY – it’s kind of a continuation or or alternate view of this song.

The kanji 掴み (tsukami – grip) is written, while 包み (tsutsumi – wrap) is sung; this gives the impression of the singer firmly – yet gently – wrapping his hands around her shoulders, as if to shake her to get her to wake up (not with the intention of hurting her).
The kanji 理由 (riyuu – reason, motive) is written, while 訳 (wake – conclusion from reasoning) is sung.
Kanji is typically pronounced haha but he uses the more Westernized “mama.”
I think this line is referring to blood splattered on the white wall behind her.
Obviously, if you couldn’t tell by the end of the song, the woman the singer is talking about – someone admired as a mother figure (possibly his actual mother, since she was “the one who gave [him his] name” – but since he has “mother” in quotes, I don’t think so) – has died. I get the sense that she committed suicide in a bathroom (not only from title of the song – duh – but also the dripping sounds at the beginning of the song, the damp room, the wet floor), and I think it was suicide rather than, say, murder because he says even though her face is “forlorn” he can see the hint of a smile on her face, perhaps because she is finally free from whatever problems / illness / what-have-you caused her to choose to kill herself.

The line about a voice in the background “spitting out observations” gave me a lot of trouble, but my opinion is that there are one or more people in the room with the singer – such as an EMTs, police detectives, etc. – who are having a rather cold, clinical, or factual discussion about the situation, one devoid of the sorrow and compassion the singer obviously feels towards the deceased.

Finally, throughout the song, the singer could be saying “sleep” and meaning “death” – wishing that he were dead along with the woman.