The title of this song is "the Red and White Rose". I think it can be interpreted in multiple ways. White roses symbolise innocence and youthfulness, while red roses symbolise love and grief. The two ways I thought of were:
1. The red rose symbolises the swordswoman, still alive and loving and grieving her friend's death. Her friend symbolises the white rose, she was innocent and young when she lost her life
2. The red and white rose (one rose, two colours) symbolises the girl who died. She was young, innocent and loved the swordswoman.
The roses that are cut down by the swordswoman are probably also both in one of the two colours.
I think the first one is red and the second one white. I am not too sure of the first one, but the second one is pretty clear. The word innocent is explicitly stated.
Next to roses, there also are lilies. Lilies are also a symbol of purity, but also symbolise death and lesbian love (It is often associated with girls' love). I think all three elements are coming back in this song and are symbolised by the lilies. The poor other girl had died at a young age and I think it is insinuated that the girls were more than just friends.
About this love... There is more ambiguity to this song. I interpreted these stanza on two ways. I think both translations fit the song thus I decided to leave them both in. See the translation notes for further explanation!
Translation:
緩やかな 川の音
優しい 木漏れ日の匂い
君と来た 約束の
場所に 佇む
yuruyaka na kawa no oto
yasashii komorebi no nioi
kimi to kita yakusoku no
basho ni tatazumu
The gentle sound of the river
The gentle smell of the sun shining through the trees
I stood still at the place I came with you
the place of our promise
楽しい声 悲しい声
全て 今も覚えてる
君と来た 約束の
森に 佇む
tanoshii koe kanashii koe
subete ima mo oboeteru
kimi to kita yakusoku no
mori ni tatazumu
Happy voices and sad voices,
I remember everything even now
I stood still at the forest I came with you
the forest of our promise
突然落ちた 君の一命
何が起きたか 解らなかった
totsuzen ochita kimi no ichimei
nani ga okita ka wakaranakatta
You suddenly lost your life
I did not understand what happened
咲き乱れてた 薔薇の花が
笑った君を見てたから
すぐ 花を斬りつけた
舞い散る百合の花 蕾のまま
愛おしく ただ思ってたのに
そばで消えた
saki midareteta bara no hana ga
waratta kimi wo miteta kara
sugu hana wo kiritsuketa
maichiru yuri no hana tsubomi no mama
itooshiku tada omotteta no ni
soba de kieta
The roses were blooming in profusion
because they saw the smiling you
I immediately cut the flowers
The lilies danced down, like buds
Despite I thought they were lovely
they disappeared from my side
(As our love withered like buds that never had the chance to grow,
I just thought about how much I loved you
but you disappeared from my side)
村を出て 駆けた森
手には 剣を握ってた
悪夢から 逃げだして
赴くままに
mura wo dete kaketa mori
te ni wa tsurugi wo nigitteta
akumu kara nigedashite
omomuku mama ni
I left the village and ran to the forest
In my hand I grasped my sword
I ran away from the nightmare
And as I proceeded
瞳閉じても 君の横顔
凍り付いてた 最期の笑顔
hitomi tojitemo kimi no yokogao
kooritsuiteta saigo no egao
Even if I closed my eyes, I kept seeing your outlines
Your frozen last smile
何も知らない 薔薇の花が
笑って私を見たから
すぐ 花を斬り捨てた
舞い散る百合の花 秘密の愛
愛おしく ただ思ってたのに
そばで消えた
nanimo shiranai bara no hana ga
waratte watashi wo mita kara
sugu hana wo kirisuteta
maichiru yuri no hana himitsu no ai
itooshiku tada omotteta no ni
soba de kieta
Since the innocent rose flower smiled
and looked at me
I immediately cut down the flower
Lilies dancing down like our forbidden love
Even though I thought they were lovely,
they disappeared from my side
(I just thought about how much I loved you
but you disappeared from my side)
伝えたかった 言えなかった
私の恋情の全て
でも それは誰のせい？
舞い散る百合の花 空に誓う
いつの日か 取り戻すよ
君は居ないけれど
tsutaeta katta ienakatta
watashi no renjou no subete
demo sore ha dare no sei?
maichiru yuri no hana sora ni chikau
itsu no hi ka torimodosu yo
kimi wa inai keredo
I wanted to tell you, but I could not
All my love for you
But, whose fault is that?
As the lilies dance down, I vow to the sky
Someday, I will take it back what was taken from me
Even though you are not here anymore
Translation notes:
舞い散る百合の花 蕾のまま
愛おしく ただ思ってたのに
そばで消えた
Interpretation 1: The lilies danced down, like buds. Despite I thought they were lovely
they disappeared from my side
Interpretation 2: As our love withered like buds that never had the chance to grow, I just thought about how much I loved you
but you disappeared from my side
The first interpretation is literally talking about the lilies that the swordswoman cut down in the field of lilies and roses she is standing in.
The second interpretation talks about their forbidden love (the symbolism of the lilies) and how that died down before it could bloom (they were still young and had not reach maturity -> bloomed yet). The 愛おしく is then more freely translated as "I love you" instead of "how lovely you were".
