song translation

[Belton]

I found a song I might have a chance to be able to sing. But I might have a better chance if I understood it better.
So I've tried a translation.
I know songs are difficult and don't always follow grammatical rules etc. but what do you think?
(There's also some vocab and grammar points I found interesting)


ウルフルス
Kuchiguse 口ぐせ
from the album "You"

ふたりでいる時は 　　　　when we are together
聞き流してしまうのに 　　although we are no longer ignoring each other
はなれている時は 　　　　when we are apart
いとおしい きみの口ぐせ 　--my darlings familiar voice.

ムカついている時は 　　　when we are fighting
耳をふさいでしまうのに 　although we have finished not listening
会いたくて目を閉じると 　when I want to meet you if I close my eyes
聞こえる きみの口ぐせ　　I can hear your familiar voice.

ぼくの ぼくの　　　　　　my my
愛しいきみの 　　　　　　darling's
なにげない 口ぐせ　　　　sweet familiar voice.

grammar points

Vdic toki
Vte shimau
no ni --particle
Vdic to --conditional conjunction

vocab

口癖 [くちぐせ] (n)
way of saying, favorite phrase, favourite phrase.

聞き流す [ききながす] (v5s,vt)
to ignore

仕舞う [しまう] v5u,vt (uk)
to finish, to close, to do something completely, to put away, to put an end to.

離れる [はなれる] (v1,vi)
to be separated from, to leave, to go away, to be a long way off.

愛おしい [いとおしい] (adj)
lovely, sweet, precious, adorable

君 [きみ] (n,adj-no)
(1) (male) (fam) you

むかついている (exp)
be in a tiff

むかつく　(v5k,vi)
to feel sick, to feel irritated, to feel offended, to feel angry

耳を塞ぐ [みみをふさぐ] (exp)
to stop (plug) one's ears

壅ぐ [ふさぐ] (v5g,vt)
to stop up, to close up, to block (up),

閉じる [とじる] v1
to close (e.g., book, eyes, meeting, etc.), to shut.

聞こえる [きこえる] v1,vi
(1) to be heard, to be audible, (2) to be said to be, to be reputed.

僕 [ぼく] (n) (male)
I, manservant.

愛しい [いとしい] (adj)
lovely, dear, beloved, darling.

何気ない [なにげない] (adj)
casual, unconcerned.

translation notes
kuchiguse seems better as familiar voice rather than favourite phrase.

I'm not sure if itoushi modifies kimi or the whole phrase kimi no kuchiguse.
If I was writing prose I'd probably phrase it as kimi no otoshi kuchiguse.

in the last line unconcerned sounds better as sweet I think.

I have problems phrasing the te shimau no ni lines. "finished not listening" is ugly.

Grammatically I wonder if the pronouns I use are the right sense, or if the objects of the verbs are right.

よろしくお願いします！

[Bueller_007]

kuchiguse seems better as familiar voice rather than favourite phrase.

口癖 doesn't really mean "favourite phrase". It means "a phrase that someone uses a lot".
So given the context of the song, I don't believe that 口癖 here means "familiar voice". It seems more to me like a guy is singing to his wife and telling her that he doesn't listen to her when she's around (because she's nagging him), but when she's not around, then he thinks about her "sweet naggings".

Kinda like "you may think I don't appreciate you, but I really do".

in the last line unconcerned sounds better as sweet I think.

Again, if you interpret the song as I have above, the final line implies that he realizes that there's no ill will behind her nagging.

I have problems phrasing the te shimau no ni lines. "finished not listening" is ugly.

I noticed this. And you've actually translated them with the complete *opposite* of the intended meaning. "-te shimau" refers to a completed action that can no longer be changed.
聞き流してしまうのに = "although I [unfortunately] listen without hearing"
耳をふさいでしまうのに = "although I [unfortunately] plug my ears"

I'm not sure if itoushi modifies kimi or the whole phrase kimi no kuchiguse.
If I was writing prose I'd probably phrase it as kimi no otoshi kuchiguse.

I'm also not clear about that, but I'm inclined to believe the same as you, especially since the phrase is broken over two lines. It modifies 君, not 口癖.

All in all, quite good, and I've kept a lot of it the same in my version. Your only fatal mistake was misunderstanding the 口癖 thing:

ふたりでいる時は 　　　　When we are together
聞き流してしまうのに 　　I listen without hearing
はなれている時は 　　　　But when we are apart
いとおしい きみの口ぐせ 　I love--your precious little nags

ムカついている時は 　　　When I'm feeling angry
耳をふさいでしまうのに 　I tend to plug my ears
会いたくて目を閉じると 　But when I close my eyes and long to see you
聞こえる きみの口ぐせ　　I can hear--your precious little nags.

ぼくの ぼくの　　　　　　My, my
愛しいきみの 　　　　　　Darling's
なにげない 口ぐせ　　　　Meaningless little nags

[Belton]

Thanks for your input.

The nagging thing does put a whole different spin on it, and it sits well with the bittersweet acappella singing. Guess I won't be singing that to impress a girl !

te shimau
I need to study this some more, it's only recently come into my limited experience.
I obviously haven't quite grasped the grammar books explanations.

[Bueller_007]

Thanks for your input.

The nagging thing does put a whole different spin on it, and it sits well with the bittersweet acappella singing. Guess I won't be singing that to impress a girl !

te shimau
I need to study this some more, it's only recently come into my limited experience.
I obviously haven't quite grasped the grammar books explanations.

It basically just means that you do something that you have no way of changing once it's done. A lot of the time it implies that what was done should probably *not* have been done. So it implies regret.