Densha wo Oriru

Title:                電車を降りる | Densha wo Oriru | Get Off the Train
Info:                 NMB48 2nd Album - Sekai no chuushin wa Osaka ya ~Namba Jichiku~
Member(s):        Ota Yuuri, Kashiwagi Yuki, Kato Yuuka, Kishino Rika, Kono Saki, Koga Narumi, Kotani Riho, Jonishi Kei,                                       Sutou Ririka, Nishimura Aika, Murashige Anna, Muro Kanako, Yamauchi Tsubasa, Yamagishi Natsumi,                                       Yamaguchi Yuki, Yamamoto Sayaka, Yoshida Akari, Yogi Keira

ラッシュアワーの人の流れに わざと逆らうように 僕たちは手を繋いで 駅のホームから逃げ出す 発車のベルが鳴り響き 時間通りドアが閉まって 押し込められて 萎んだ夢なんか見たくなかった AH… 大人の車輪 動き出してしまう前に… AH　切符を捨てて ここじゃないどこか 探しに行こう 今ならば　まだ間に合う 本当の自分 君への愛くらいしか 他に持ってないから 自由とは選べること いくつもの道を… レールはないよ どこへだって行けるんだ ガラスの窓に顔を歪(ゆが)めて ただ運ばれてく 人はみな生きるために 同じこの電車に乗るんだ 学校なんか行かなくても 気づかれない空気のような 青春の存在感 孤独と孤独が愛し合った AH… 青空の下 暇つぶしの場所はない AH　それでも絶対 降りようと思った 未来のため 今ならば　やり直せる 違う行き先 無謀な愛だからこそ すべて失ってもいい 希望とは思い込みさ 悔いることはない 楽じゃない道 どこへだって行けるんだ 今ならば　まだ間に合う 本当の自分 君への愛くらいしか 他に持ってないから 自由とは選べること いくつもの道を… レールはないよ どこへだって行けるんだ

RASSHUAWAA no hito no nagare ni wazato sakarau you ni bokutachi wa te wo tsunaide eki no HOOMU kara nigedasu hassha no BERU ga narihibiki jikan doori DOA ga shimatte oshikomerarete shibonda yume nanka mitaku nakatta AH... otona no sharin ugokidashite shimau mae ni... AH kippu wo sutete koko ja nai doko ka sagashi ni yukou ima naraba mada maniau hontou no jibun kimi e no ai kurai shika hoka ni mottenai kara jiyuu to wa eraberu koto ikutsu mo no michi wo... REERU wa nai yo doko e datte ikerunda GARASU no mado ni kao wo yugamete tada hakobareteku hito wa mina ikiru tame ni onaji kono densha ni norunda gakkou nanka ikanakute mo kidzukarenai kuuki no you na seishun no sonzaikan kodoku to kodoku ga ai shiatta AH... aozora no shita himatsubushi no basho wa nai AH soredemo zettai oriyou to omotta mirai no tame ima naraba yarinaoseru chigau yukisaki mubou na ai dakara koso subete ushinatte mo ii kibou to wa omoikomi sa kuiru koto wa nai raku ja nai michi doko e datte ikerunda ima naraba mada maniau hontou no jibun kimi e no ai kurai shika hoka ni mottenai kara jiyuu to wa eraberu koto ikutsu mo no michi wo... REERU wa nai yo doko e datte ikerunda

In order to avoid The mingling rush-hour crowd We hold hands And escape from the platform The train bell goes off And the doors close right on time Pressed in among the passengers I see my dreams beginning to deflate AH... Before the wheel of adulthood Begins to turn... AH throw away the ticket Let’s go find someplace Away from here We can still make it in time To be true to ourselves ‘Cuz my love for you Is the only thing I have Freedom is being able to choose Countless different paths... There aren’t any rails We can go anywhere With our distorted faces in the window We’re just being carried along In order to live Everyone boards this same train Even if we don’t go to school We’re like invisible air This is the anonymity of youth Where one lonely person collides with another AH... Beneath this blue sky There’s no place to kill time AH but even then, surely This is for the future’s sake When we would’ve wished we’d gotten off There’s still time to make things right And head for a different destination Because this is a reckless love We can afford to lose everything Hope is just a subjective impression There’s nothing to regret Even if it’s an uneasy path We can go anywhere We can still make it in time To be true to ourselves ‘Cuz my love for you Is the only thing I have Freedom is being able to choose Countless different paths... There aren’t any rails We can go anywhere

I fell in love with this song the first time I heard it. I loved the whole country vibe that is so rare in AKB songs. But when I started looking at the lyrics I was all the more impressed. The train is such an apt metaphor for how our lives so often go down a set path, from childhood to adolescence and into adulthood. As a child, we are made to go through a string of schools, and fifteen years or so later, we emerge from the bubble of education and are seamlessly guided into the midst of a faceless sea of adults working out the rest of their days in office cubicles, just one tiny cog in a vast machine.

The concept of the PV, where the girls dance and behave like puppets, is another very apt visual imagery of this. Plus, the Western, rustic setting also ties in nicely with the country-style music, so this is one PV which actually fits in very well with various aspects of the song (yes, despite not featuring any trains or couples...amazing!).

The fact that the persona is a youth, someone who has yet to be engulfed by the system, makes his keen observations and resolve all the more stirring. With the "anonymity of youth" comes the vast potential to explore the very boundaries of their existence. They've got their whole life ahead of them, and we are comforted in knowing that the persona, at least, will do his best to strike out from the beaten paths of daily drudgery and live a life that is true to himself. The romance is a nice little touch as well, adding to the song's youthful innocence.

By the way, although I refer to the persona as a 'he', this is not explicitly indicated in the lyrics, though there are 2 clues that suggest a 'he'. (1) The pronoun 'boku' (='I') in 'bokutachi' (='I' plural, meaning 'we') is typically used by guys to refer to themselves. (2) The pronoun 'kimi' (='you') is typically used to refer to girls, especially within a romantic context. Plus, I'd like to think of the persona as a guy who gallantly leads the girl he loves into embarking on this heroic journey together. 'Cuz that's just so much more "aw...."

(All kanji/kana and romaji lyrics on this site are taken from Studio48 unless otherwise stated. Please do not reproduce anything from this site without giving due credit.)