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ooc: song lyrics
Dec. 8th, 2022 06:24 pm♪ Shimabara Lullaby | ( version 1 ) ( version 2 )
Notes: It's a popular folk song and lullaby that originated from Shimabara in Nagasaki. The popular version today is from the 1900s but was inspired by an older song in the area. There's some wordplay in the song!
(1) Nashi can mean pear or nothing so it can be interpreted as, "I was raised in Shimabara, in the village of pears" or "I was raised in Shimabara, in the village of nothing."
(2) Millet was cheaper than rice. The singer is so poor, they can't even afford even rice to eat.
In true lullaby fashion, the lyrics are actually pretty sad! It's about a poor village where families sell their young girls to earn money. Like the shiranui (lights that sometimes appear over the sea(3)) and the persecuted Christians that once inhabited the area(4), the girls are just a memory. The village has lost its beauty and warmth but they still try to comfort the children at night.
I was raised in Shimabara
I was raised in Shimabara
In the village of Nashinoki (1)
What is missing? What is missing?
The charming colors of this village are missing. Don't you think?
Don't cry, don't cry. Go to sleep.
Or the monsters will come and take you away
Why don't you drop by my house on your way home,
Why don't you drop by my house on your way home,
Even if my house is a miserable shack.
The rice I offer is only millet (2)
The rice I offer is only millet
But the millet rice is the color of gold. Don't you think?
Who gave you that beautiful lipstick?
The color is charming and will make you warm.
The mysterious lights over the open sea (3)
The mysterious lights over the open sea
They burn and die again.
The flutes and drums
Of the Jesuit festival (4)
have died out too.
Don't cry, don't cry. Go to sleep.
Don't cry, don't cry. Go to sleep.
I was raised in Shimabara
In the village of Nashinoki (1)
What is missing? What is missing?
The charming colors of this village are missing. Don't you think?
Don't cry, don't cry. Go to sleep.
Or the monsters will come and take you away
Why don't you drop by my house on your way home,
Why don't you drop by my house on your way home,
Even if my house is a miserable shack.
The rice I offer is only millet (2)
The rice I offer is only millet
But the millet rice is the color of gold. Don't you think?
Who gave you that beautiful lipstick?
The color is charming and will make you warm.
The mysterious lights over the open sea (3)
The mysterious lights over the open sea
They burn and die again.
The flutes and drums
Of the Jesuit festival (4)
have died out too.
Don't cry, don't cry. Go to sleep.
Don't cry, don't cry. Go to sleep.
Notes: It's a popular folk song and lullaby that originated from Shimabara in Nagasaki. The popular version today is from the 1900s but was inspired by an older song in the area. There's some wordplay in the song!
(1) Nashi can mean pear or nothing so it can be interpreted as, "I was raised in Shimabara, in the village of pears" or "I was raised in Shimabara, in the village of nothing."
(2) Millet was cheaper than rice. The singer is so poor, they can't even afford even rice to eat.
In true lullaby fashion, the lyrics are actually pretty sad! It's about a poor village where families sell their young girls to earn money. Like the shiranui (lights that sometimes appear over the sea(3)) and the persecuted Christians that once inhabited the area(4), the girls are just a memory. The village has lost its beauty and warmth but they still try to comfort the children at night.
