Someone suggested that I show how I use Japanese music to study. It’s something I never really thought about sharing, because I wanted to focus mostly on the music, but part of the reason I started listening to Japanese music was to practice hearing Japanese in a natural setting.
One thing you have to remember about lyrics, or 歌詞 (kah-shi), is that, just like with English lyrics, they aren’t always grammatically correct. This, however, hasn’t prevented me from expanding my knowledge on the language.
To start our learning session, the first song we’ll examine is Yonige’s “Goodbye Prisoner” (さよならプリズナー/sa-yo-nah-rah pu-ri-zu-na-).
What I look into when I want to learn a song is not necessarily how much I like it, but in its speed and repetitiveness. This is key when learning lyrics, especially when you’re just starting off.
The repetitive verse of Yonige’s song allows us to focus on one of the target grammars used: “any”
何もない、何もない、何もない
何でもない日々です。
何もない、何もない、何もない
何でもない部屋で
何もない、何もない、何もない
何でもない時間に
君がいただけだった
“de-mo” attached to the words for what, where, when, and who create the meaning of ‘any’.
だれでも (dah-re-de-mo) anyone
何でも (nahn de-mo) anything
いつでも (it-su de-mo) anytime
どこでも (do-ko-de-mo) anywhere
when you add ない (nai), it makes it negative.
だれでもない no one/ no body
何でもない nothing/ not anything
いつでもない never/ not always
どこでもない nowhere/ not anywhere
Next, a bit of kanji practice:
何 なん nahn (what)
時間 じかん ji-ka-n (time)
日々 ひび hi-bi (days/daily)
部屋 へや he-yah (room)
君 きみ ki-mi (you)
So, with the knowledge we’ve gained, we can attempt to translate:
“There’s nothing, nothing, nothing
The days aren’t anything
There’s nothing, nothing, nothing
There isn’t anything in the room
There was nothing, nothing, nothing
Not anything at the time
It was just you”
While I’m not sure how correct or incorrect this translation is, let’s keep learning together!
Next time, we’ll learn tatami words, likeドキドキ (doki doki), from one of my favorite songs: Aya Matsuura’s Doki Doki Love Mail!
that foreign music blog🌎 
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