So, what is an Antiphon? An antiphon is a piece of music, derived from the Ancient Greek words ἀντί (anti), being "opposite" and φωνή (fonè), which means "voice" together it becomes ἀντίφωνον/ἀντίφωνα (the latter is plural). This type of music is often sung in Christian churches. A common pattern in antiphona is that there is a call and response type of chorus/verse. You can indeed see it back in the song. We have two singers, Yuki and Hato, and in like 70% of the song, they call and respond to eachother. I will not colour code this in the Romaji and Kanji here, maybe on another day, but it is a pain, really. It is not done in the booklet either, however, it is indicated very clearly there as the level of the text (the amount of tabs or spaces) clearly indicates who sings. The word immorality comes back in the lyrics, as the girl slowly loses all her morality and falls back into the dark life of a vampire.
This song has also been featured on Nostalgia Prelude, including an instrumental, but instead of Hato, it features Sayu (I will tag her in this post too, as the song is essentially the same). I'm glad Yuki still sings for -LostFairy- as I really love Yuki's voice! So, this song was actually very hard to translate if you haven't listened to the song. You need to find the right connections and determine who is speaking and from whose perspective you are watching. Thankfully Hato and Yuki's (or in the other version Sayu and Yuki's) voices are very different, making it easier for me to determine who sings what.
Seriously this song is my favourite in the entire album, Yuki's godly voice, Hato's unique breathy voice, the complexity of the lyrics, the call and response, the half intertwining lines, the epic drums, guitar and bass. The organ at the beginning... Ahh, it is so good, i can keep listening to both versions. I'm so happy I could translate this song to share its meaning with you all...
Edit: 15/10/2022: This song has again been featured on a new album, 終焉を謳うアリエッタ, , Vocals by Yuki and Sayu again.
Red:
Hato or Sayu (as vampire)
Black: Yuki (as devil)
Blue: Together
Black: Yuki (as devil)
Blue: Together
宵闇の呪縛に潜む悪魔の囁きが 身を蝕む
鏡に映らない姿の時だけ感じる 喉の渇き
yoiyami no jubaku ni hisomu akuma no sasayaki ga mi wo mushibamu
kagami ni utsuranai sugata no toki dake kanjiru nodo no kawaki
鏡に映らない姿の時だけ感じる 喉の渇き
yoiyami no jubaku ni hisomu akuma no sasayaki ga mi wo mushibamu
kagami ni utsuranai sugata no toki dake kanjiru nodo no kawaki
Lurking in
the spell of dusk, the whispers of the devil,
Gnaw away at my body, a thirst that I only feel when my form does not reflect in the mirror
- 嘆きの物語 -
- nageki no monogatari -
Gnaw away at my body, a thirst that I only feel when my form does not reflect in the mirror
- 嘆きの物語 -
- nageki no monogatari -
-
- A tale of grief -
自由な体が求めるは ひどく甘い赤
atatakana yume wo miteita asa no hikari wa itai hodo mabushiku
jiyuu na karada ga motomeru wa hidoku amai aka
I was having a warm dream, the light of the morning was so bright it hurt
But the only thing her free body sought was awfully sweet blood
atatakana yume wo miteita asa no hikari wa itai hodo mabushiku
jiyuu na karada ga motomeru wa hidoku amai aka
I was having a warm dream, the light of the morning was so bright it hurt
But the only thing her free body sought was awfully sweet blood
「苦しい・・・喉が渇くの・・・」
「可哀想、知らないのね」
「どうすれば生きられるの・・・？」
「簡巣、求めるままに」
「出来ない・・・同じ人間を・・・」
「貴方はもう人じゃないわ」
「kurushii... nodo ga kawaku no...」
「kawaisou, shiranai no ne」
「dousureba ikirareru no...?」
「kantan, motomeru mama ni」
「dekinai... onaji ningen wo...」
「anata wa mou hito janai wa」
「可哀想、知らないのね」
「どうすれば生きられるの・・・？」
「簡巣、求めるままに」
「出来ない・・・同じ人間を・・・」
「貴方はもう人じゃないわ」
「kurushii... nodo ga kawaku no...」
「kawaisou, shiranai no ne」
「dousureba ikirareru no...?」
「kantan, motomeru mama ni」
「dekinai... onaji ningen wo...」
「anata wa mou hito janai wa」
[It
hurts… I am thirsty…]
[Oh you poor thing, you do not know yet, eh?]
[What should I do so I can live…?]
[It is simple, just by seeking it]
[I cannot do that… to people like me…]
[But, you are no longer human…]
[Oh you poor thing, you do not know yet, eh?]
[What should I do so I can live…?]
[It is simple, just by seeking it]
[I cannot do that… to people like me…]
[But, you are no longer human…]
巣食う
ただの 悪魔
sukuu
akuma
tada no
ただの 悪魔
sukuu
akuma
tada no
Is what the haunting
Devil said
just a
just a
宵闇の呪縛を纏う悪魔が赤い血で 染まらぬように 祈り続け
滅びへの序曲と知りながらも抗えずに 身を委ねる
yoiyami no jubaku wo matou akuma ga akai chi de somaranu you ni inoru tsudzuke
horobi he no yokyoku to shiri nagara mo aragaezu ni mi wo yudaneru
滅びへの序曲と知りながらも抗えずに 身を委ねる
yoiyami no jubaku wo matou akuma ga akai chi de somaranu you ni inoru tsudzuke
horobi he no yokyoku to shiri nagara mo aragaezu ni mi wo yudaneru
The devil
that wears the spell of dusk,
and I continued to pray that I would not be stained with red blood
Knowingly and without resisting,
I devote my body to a prelude to ruin
and I continued to pray that I would not be stained with red blood
Knowingly and without resisting,
I devote my body to a prelude to ruin
嘆きと欲望・・・
nageki to yokubou...
Grief and lust…
「終焉の鐘が 脳裏に響く 傷つける以外では・・・」「生きていけない それが運命よ 逃げられない世界」
「shuuen no kane ga nouri ni hibiku kizutsukeru igai de wa...」
「ikiteyukenai sore ga sadame yo nigerarenai sekai」
[The
bells of demise echo in my mind, but outside of hurting… it…]
[You cannot live like that, this is your fate, a world you cannot run from]
[You cannot live like that, this is your fate, a world you cannot run from]
だけど・・・私は・・・
dakedo... watashi wa... ah
dakedo... watashi wa... ah
But… I am… ah
「苦しい・・・？喉が渇くの・・・？」
「さぁ楽にしてあげなきゃ」
「闇に堕ちてまで生きるの・・・？」
「自分もそうだったじゃない」
「ならば私は貴方を・・・」
「可哀想な子羊を・・・」
「kurushii..? nodo ga kawaku no...?」
「saa raku ni shite agenakya」
「yami ni ochite made ikiru no...?」
「jibun mo sou datta janai」
「naraba watashi wa anata wo...」
「kawaisou na kohitsuji wo...」
[Does it hurt…? Am I thirsty…?]
[Come on, you should make yourself comfortable]
[Can I live until I fall into darkness…?]
[Were you not like that before?]
[In that case, I want you to…]
[Oh, pitiful lamb, I shall…]
救う悪魔
sukuu akuma
sukuu akuma
Save me, Devil
you, as the
宵闇の呪縛を纏う悪魔が赤い血で染まらぬように 祈り続け
滅びへの序曲と知りながらも抗えずに 身を委ねる
yoiyami no jubaku wo matou akuma ga akai chi de somaranu you ni inori tsudzuke
horobi he no yokyoku to shirinagara mo aragaezu ni mi wo yudaneru
宵闇の呪縛を纏う悪魔が赤い血で染まらぬように 祈り続け
滅びへの序曲と知りながらも抗えずに 身を委ねる
yoiyami no jubaku wo matou akuma ga akai chi de somaranu you ni inori tsudzuke
horobi he no yokyoku to shirinagara mo aragaezu ni mi wo yudaneru
The devil
that wears the spell of dusk,
and I continued to pray that I would not be stained with red blood
Knowingly and without resisting,
I devote my body to a prelude to ruin
and I continued to pray that I would not be stained with red blood
Knowingly and without resisting,
I devote my body to a prelude to ruin
ひとつの終焉と ひとつの運命
- 始まる物語 -
hitotsu no shuuen to hitotsu no sadame
-hajimaru monogatari-
The demise of someone and the fate of someone
-
- The beginning of a story -
Translation notes:
- 巣食う
ただの 悪魔 versus 救う悪魔.
The first time, Hato (probably, as it is not clearly audible, but we can deduce it based on either the position of the lyrics and the meaning it carries) sings 'haunting', as the devil haunted her in her attempt to die. Yuki bit her, meaning that she probably is a vampire, yet she claims to be a "normal" demon.
There is no second lyric under the second one, yet I did give it a second meaning. Yuki and Hato sing the same in the second time, yet their point of view is different. Yuki sings from the viewpoint of the devil (the saviour) and Hato/Sayu sings from the point of the vampire girl (the one who wants to be saved).
Both lyrics 巣食う and 救う are pronounced as "すくう", the first one being Ateji and the latter one a kun-yomi. I chose the meaning "haunt" over "nest", because that is more logical in context. The second time it is sung as "saving", this basically is an antithese in its own, while it's pronounced the same. This is so interesting, and things like this are a prime example of why I LOVE translating!
- 「簡巣、求めるままに」
「出来ない・・・同じ人間を・・・」
What does the devil mean by "seeking it" ? Of course blood. "I am thirsty" also refers to thirsty for blood, not to thirsting for water. But... Carmilla is reluctant to bite others... as she thinks she is still human.
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