Wanna Sing Along in Japanese?

Here are romanized lyrics to the four Japanese songs in the Eastern Youth part of the split album "8 teeth to eat you".
Each of the Japanese five vowels, transcribed here as a, i, u, e, o, has a more or less consistent sound as in Spanish: a as in "Ah", i as in "Hindi", u as in "Lu", e as in "Che (Guevarra)", o as in "Oh".
Long vowels, aa, ii, uu, ee/ei, oo/ou, are distinguished from corresponding short ones in speech and in spelling, but not necessarily in songs.
Doubled consonants such as -nn-, -tt- are always longer than single ones, as in Italian.

Look up to the dictionary?

Jim Breen's WWWJDIC Server will be useful. Choose "Japanese Keyword in Romaji" and enter a romanized word, that is, the cluster before the first "-".
Words with "=" and "+" are conjugated forms and compounds. Here are some clues to get the dictionary form.

• =ite, =ita: Replace with ku (na=ite > naku)
• =shite, =shita: Replace with su (ke=shite > kesu)
• =te, =ta, =zuni, =nai(>=nee), =nu Replace with ru. (But ki=ta is from kuru "to come")
• =nde, =nda, -nja- : Replace either with mu or bu (or nu).
• =tte, =tta, =ccha-: Replace either with u or tu or ru.
• =i, =e, =eba, =edomo, =anee(<=anai), =azuni, =eru: Replace with u.
• =ku, =kute: Replace with i.
• i+: Change i to u. +dasu is an auxiliary "start to".

5, Bura Bura Bushi

tobida=shite yokogiru neko-no kage
hiyaase randa-no tsura-no kawa
na=ite iru-no-wa densen datta-ka
zama-wa nee-ya-to karasu-no koe-ka

fui-ni ashimoto-o sarau you-na tsumetai kaze-ga
marude monuke-no kara-no you-na
kokoro-no fuukei-o fukinuke=ta

uta-o uta=eba
sora-ni kieru-yo
ma=tteta densha-wa nor=azuni okuru
megane-o hazus=eba ore-mo kieru-yo

fui-ni shakunetsu-to kagerou-ga tachi+araware=te
marude enogu-de ka=ita you-na
irihi-to kumo-ni hi-o tsuke=ta

acchi-e kocchi-e buura bura
buurari buurari buura bura

sarasara warau
namida-mo kawaku

nani-o doushite ki=ta-no-yara
hana-no ma-ni ma-ni saeru sora
ashita-o omo=eba fuan-ni naru-ga
sekai-wa itsudemo gappuri-yotsu da-ze

shirus=e! yuku haru-ni kuru haru-ni
tat=eru sugata-o
kaze-ni hanabira-no chiru mama-ni

ono-ga kokoro-no saku mama-ni

bura bura: expressive word for "walking without purpose, being idle or unstable, not properly fixed, swinging slowly"
bushi: a suffix to denote a traditional song title. A form of fusi "a melody, articulation, a joint".
gappuri-yotsu: Two sumo wreslers in a deadlock each with both arms gripping on the others' mawashi belt.

randa: "laziness, negligence, lethargy". I bet the rate of those who can read this word among enthusiastic eastern youth fans is significantly higher than the allegedly very low Japanese average. (I don't mean that we are lazier.)

Is this a happy song, fit for an excursion on the beach as the CMJ reviewer described? Well, sort of. All the four songs in the split album are about that lucid state of mind that follows the numbness caused by desperate attempts to find a way-out in a mental deadlock.

6, Muyou-no-suke

naras=e egak=e hirogaru subete-o
ore-wa yuku ze shinu-made yuku ze
sorya sou sa
mahiru-o yofuke-o kurau

soregashi muyou-ni goza-soro

moyas=e teras=e aba=ite saras=e
ore-wa make=nee enryo-wa ir=anee
saa doushita
taiyou-o gekkou-o kurau

soregashi burai-ni goza-soro

madowaku-o uchikowas=e gakubuchi-o yakihara=e

ikutabi kotoba-o nomiko=nde
ikutabi jibun-o nomiko=nde
oretachi doko-made ikeru darou
ik=edomo ik=edomo mada iku darou yo

naras=e egak=e hirogaru subete-o
ore-wa yuku ze shinu made yuku ze
sorya sou sa
mahiru-o yofuke-o kurau

soregashi muyou-ni goza-soro

-no-suke is a male name suffix, typical of Samurai warriors. Saito Takao, a famous manga comic writer, created a samurai hero Muyou-no-suke in late 60's. But Yoshino's song title explicitly denies the association with a distinct Chinese character for suke, which, commonly used for "support, assistance", makes the title sound as "No need for your support", in combination with muyou.
muyou: unnecessary, useless, dispensable. Quite a few 20th century Japanese artists defiantly claimed that their art was meant to be muyou, as against yuuyou, "practical, useful, resourceful things and persons such that might help bring up Japan to become a modern powerful nation, to be admitted in the club of ruling Western nations as an honorary member."
soregashi muyou-ni goza-soro A very formal way of self-introduction, as gallant Samurais used to do as a manner of their challenge. "I am DISPENSABLE, Sir".
burai: "independent, non-conforming". Don't be misguided by the WWWJDIC's description as "villainy". Sakaguchi Ango, one of Yoshino's literature icons, is known as a burai writer.

7, Nisokuhokou kouta

hitotsu-to se
hitori nagare=te kono yo-no hate-no hate
futatsu-to se
fum=eba samishii higure-no kageboushi

mittsu-to se
mir=eba miru hodo tsumaran ore daga
yottsu-to se
yos=eba ii noni matazoro shasharideru

akirame=te nandomo akirame=te
akirame+kire=nu kyou-ni kaze-ga fuku

itsutsu-to se
itsumo-nagara-no sae=nai ichi-nichi
muttsu-to se
munashi munashi-to tameiki kumo-ni naru

nageda=shite nandomo nageda=shite
nageda=shi+kire=nu kyou-ni ame-ga furu

nanatsu-to se
nak=eba naku hodo namida-wa kare=te yuku
yattsu-to se
yare yare shou-ga nee-to hanauta machi-no kado
kokonotsu-to se
koko-ga kokora-ga sekai-no domannaka
too de tootoo baka-warai
hora kori=zuni asu-mo yuk=e

ameagari sokora-ni mizutamari
karu=ku tobikosu gogo niji-o miru

This song is in the Kazoe-uta "counting song" format, in which 10 phrases repeat beginning each with one of the sounds Hi(to)-Fu(ta)-Mi-Yo-Itsu-Mu-Na(na)-Ya-Ko(no)-Too in this order, the tradtional way of counting up to ten.
nisoku: bipedal
hokou: ambulation, walking
ko-uta: small song, a suffix denoting a traditional song title, ballad

365-ho-no Buruusu
[365-step Blues] (2006)
Don Quijote (2004)
Soko-kara Nani-ga Mieru-ka
[What Can you see from your place] (2003)
Kanjusei Outou Seyo (2001)
Kumo Inuke Koe (1999)
Tabiji-ni Kisetsu-ga Moeochiru (1998)

Koritsumuen-no Hana (1997)
Kuchibue Yofuke-ni Hibiku (1995)
Non-album Titles (1994-2004)

Learn Japanese through Eastern Youth an ultra-abridged glossary of most frequent words in the Eastern Youth lyrics. (sorry, the Japanese analyzer I could concoct is rather crude. The frequency count is not very accurate.)