Sumahama Translation

Here is a little piece I posted back on PSF daily poll thread, which I (thankfully) posted again on SS later:

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Here is the translation for the Japanese part of the song Sumahama:

須磨浜
Sumahama
Sumahama
(As confirmed in in an interview with a Japanese music magazine in 2013, Mike apparently sing about the beach of Suma(Sumahama), which is located in Hyogo prefecture, yet some Japanese listeners mistakenly take it that Mike sings simply about sunahama(the beach of sand))

そこは恋する人たちが
Soko wa koi suru hito tachi ga
It's where people in love

手に手を取って歩いた
Te ni te wo totte aruita
Walked hand in hand

きれいの(悲恋の)白い浜
Kirei* no siroi hama
Beautiful white beach (White Beach of sad love affair)
(*He can be heard here as kirei, which means beautiful, but doesn't connect with "no" which comes after it. He possibly wanted to sing Hiren, which means sad love affair)


いついつママ
Itsu itsu mama*
When, when, mama
(*The word "mama" is very inappropriate, given he sings a song about old Japan. Admittedly, "mama" is generally used in Japan today, but the word was imported from the us supposedly around Meiji period(1867-1912). So, in old Japan, which I think means Edo period(1603-1867), "mama" is never used. I'd suggest Mike that he use "ka-san", which also means mother, instead.) *1


須磨浜にいつまた行くの？
Sumahama ni itsu mata iku no?
When will we go to Sumahama again?

過ぎた愛を探しに行く
Sugita* ai wo sagasi ni iku *2
Searching for the past love
(*He couldn't sing properly here)

海の彼方、須磨浜
Umi no kanata, Sumahama
Far away in the sea, Sumahama

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須磨浜
Sumahama
Sumahama

秋に木の葉が散るように
Aki ni ko no ha ga chiru you ni*
Just like leaves falling in the autumn
(*He got it wrong here, too. He mis-pronounced two words- Aki(autumn) as Saki (before), and ko-no-ha(leaves) as ki-no-ha.)

寂しく悲しい恋の歌
Sabisiku kanasii koi no uta
The lonely, sad song of love


須磨浜の海から
Sumahama no umi kara
From the sea of Sumahama

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*1 When I posted this there, Monolithic pointed out that "old japan" may just refer to Japan as a country with long history, not Japan a century ago. Even if she's right, I think it's pretty inappropriate, as the word "mama" is not usually associated with what Japanese think of as, say, good old Japan. It's a term of westernized Japan. It's in no way a bad or embarrassing word, but it doesn't fit this particular context of the song, as shown on the postcard on L.A. cover.

*2 Monolithic also told me, according to what Mike said to a Japanese fan, that this verse is actually "Sugita ai o sagashi ni", which means pretty much the same as what I dictated above.


FYI, There are additional Japanese lyrics sung by Mike in concerts in Japan back in 1979. I'll probably translate and post them as well in the near future.