Ayumi Hamasaki

A Song for XX

• By your faith in people, you will someday be betrayed.
  I thought it was the same as being rejected.
  At the time I didn't have that kind of strength.
  Certainly, I knew too much.
  It was said that I was a strong child.
  I was praised, saying "you must have strength not to cry"
  The more things like that were said,
  the more even laughing was painful.
  • A Song for XX

Loveppears

• The lovers, appearing happy,
  walk, holding hands.
  Though it appears everything is perfect,
  only they know the truth.
  • Appears

• Who taught me true strength?
  Who taught me kindness?
  Whom do I walk for?
  Who did I want to stroke my hair?
  Who didn't give up for me?
  I'll never forget.
  • Who...

• When I lost my way, and
  When the road was too long,
  I was muttering to myself.
  Life is just that way...
  
  • Who...

• Today's happy face, today's sad face.
  Yesterday, a weak self, tomorrow, a strong self.
  If it's you, who are you showing it to?
  If it's I, whom should I show it to?
  • Trauma

Duty

• Everyone, including I, is certain
  that "that thing" they're searching for
  is in the future.
  But how many people have realized
  that "that" is actually in the past?
  I can't even guess.
  • Duty

• I saw the end of an age
  with these, my eyes.
  But I didn't want to know
  that it's my turn next.
  • Duty

• Choosing only the things you like
  isn't irresponsible.
  If you can't find anything you like
  then why take the responsibility?
  I take only the possibilities that I'm ready to accept.
  • Surreal

• If you don't need it, then
  it is useless to be compassionate.
  If it's important then
  it will probably be followed with pain.
  Loneliness that you feel with someone is worse
  than one you feel
  alone.
  • Surreal

• This year, once again, the seasons have passed.
  Memories have faded.
  The border between my blurry dream and
  reality has become blurred.
  Even so, the dream I once told you of
  did not have a single lie.
  • Seasons

• Today was very sad,
  and even if tomorrow, I cry,
  someday I will be able to laugh
  and remember our time together.
  How many seasons must pass,
  in this, our finite existence?
  If we live in the "now",
  what will we find?
  • Seasons

• You once said long ago
  while stroking my hair,
  "When you wake up, there'll be
  a nice present
  by your pillow."
  • Teddy Bear

• Your back always
  looked small and weak
  but we could laugh together
  at funny stories.
  But if people keep making
  the same mistakes over and over
  can they really regret them?
  • Teddy Bear

• When I woke up, I found
  by my pillow a teddy bear
  instead of you.
  • Teddy Bear

I am...

• Isn't it? It's as if we have just entered a new age
  It's a miracle;
  we will never experience it again
  Let's remember it once more
  • Evolution

• No matter how far apart we are,
  don't forget that we're
  still under the same sky,
  both traveling to the place
  we once dreamed of.
  • Daybreak

• Today, in this city
  two people will meet and lock eyes;
  the curtains are then turbulently thrown open.
  [...] Today, in this city
  two people will separate their paths;
  the curtains are then silently lowered.
  • M

• But, for everything,
  there is an end, someday, inevitably.
  • M

• "Maria" There is someone I should love.
  At times I sustain deep, deep wounds.
  But, by the person I should love,
  they are all healed.
  "Maria" Everyone is crying.
  "Maria" But I want to believe.
  "Maria" So I'm praying now
  that this is my final love.
  Beginnings come at random,
  but endings always have a reason.
  
  • M

• But in such a place as this, I can only tell you
  by singing this song.
  • A Song Is Born

• If you'd listen, even for a little while
  I'd be pleased
  
  Remember, once more
  we were born into this world crying.
  Your dreams and hopes for tomorrow
  are all in this world.
  • A Song Is Born

• Remember, once more
  how our world should be.
  And please, don't forget,
  please, please don't forget.
  • A Song Is Born

• Surely, no one hoped for so many things.
  Hold the flowers close to your heart;
  they may someday bloom.
  • A Song Is Born

• If you were alone
  and suddenly became blind,
  and even so
  you keep walking forward.
  • Endless Sorrow

Rainbow

• A woman could be having fun
  A woman could be like a nun
  In order to survive
  We cannot be kind
  Until we are hurt
  • Real Me

• In such a dirty city as this,
  You gather up, save, and show me
  Purely beautiful things.
  • Free & Easy

• I don't want a weak heart that can't cry
  or the strength not to cry.
  I'll search for a shooting
  Star to cast my wishes on, but
  Daybreak will come too soon
  And I won't be able to find one.
  • Hanabi

• In times when I encounter sad things
  I have a habit of saying "I'm all right".
  On that day, something had stopped for me
  And no matter
  how much I pray,
  I can't find a single star.
  • Hanabi

• How many times have I lost my way?
  Every time, the one who gave me a hand
  Was you.
  • Voyage

• We go on this voyage to find happiness.
  You see? A smile really suits you.
  • Voyage

• If time is a fading dream
  Then it would be like a flower
  Even if destined to fall
  It would be all the more valuable in its transience.
  • Dolls

Memorial Address

• Really, we are
  Not only dots
  But are the whole
  
  • Forgiveness

• If one day
  They are connected
  And form lines
  • Forgiveness

• Certainly everyone, in order to protect love,
  Certainly wishes to believe in something
  
  • Forgiveness

• Even in my age now, I'm the same as before
  and just as fearful
  I only learn how to pretend to be strong
  
  • No Way To Say

• Though my heart is filled with feelings I want to convey
  You see, I can't express them in words
  If I had not met you
  I wouldn't even have such an embarrassing pain
  
  • No Way To Say

• Slowly, I've come to realize
  That I cannot heal my past
  And that fearing the unavoidable future
  Is pointless
  • No Way To Say

• Goodbye. You have gone to the place where we can never meet again
  I can't accept the coldness of an eternal parting
  I wish I could have heard you say
  That surely, you had loved me
  Only once, even if it were a lie
  • Memorial Address ~Take 2 Version~

My Story

• You see? The times have changed
  But why do I still hear people say
  "Tears are woman's weapons"?
  We don't cry easily
  We are not always flirty
  We are not dolls
  Who are only dressed to the nines.
  • My Name's Women

• An interested stranger asked me
  How do I see the scenery from here?
  I reply
  It's how you think it would be.
  It's useless to explain
  Everybody GO! Everybody JUMP!
  • Humming 7/4

• My lips told a lie
  For a trivial reason
  It wasn't for anyone else
  But only to protect myself
  And I didn't think about anyone else
  • Walking Proud

• But I escaped from reality
  Escaped from the pain
  I said to myself
  "Some day, I'll be as I should be
  Though I'm far from there now"
  After such excuses, my eyes were opened
  All I could do was to live in the present time.
  • Walking Proud

(Miss)Understood

• Yayayaya Gagagaga Dadadada Wowowowo
  Yayayaya Gagagaga Dadadada Wowowowo
  Even if you think you are too bold
  It's all fine
  In all honesty, I'm hesitant
  To be prudent and reserved
  OK, together now, "Bold & Delicious!"
  Don't watch me quietly, stand up please, "Bold & Delicious!"
  • Bold & Delicious

• I feel most miserable
  When I can't step "step up to the plate"
  You know? People often say
  Regret from doing it is better than regret for not doing it
  • Bold & Delicious

• This is a common case,
  seriously,
  It looks like a fight with him
  But she's really fighting with herself.
  • Ladies Night

• If you are afraid of changes
  Watch from a distance
  Whether or not I might do something
  If you're going to talk about me behind my back
  It is what it is.
  • Alterna

• It is sad
  To lose sight of myself for the sake of myself
  I believe in scenery no one has ever seen,
  And next to you, I wish to stay in that place that doesn't exist
  • Will

• Daybreak comes quickly nowadays
  The scent of wind has changed
  It seems familiar yet unfamiliar
  It makes my heartbeat quicker
  It's sweet and sad
  We ran along the road to the sea
  Screaming with laughter innocently
  In the far-away summer days
  • Fairyland

• It was not coincidental that we chose what's left
  If the universe has a will
  I think we are part of it
  Tender and precious
  How many times have I searched for something
  Found and lost it
  Since then?
  • Fairyland

Secret

• Why are you ashamed of yourself?
  What happens after that?
  But I really like your way of walking
  In which you head straight and always hit a wall.
  • Startin'

• I feel that
  these glass shoes are too fragile
  for running through this era.
  • Beautiful Fighters

Guilty

• Just because this age is full of information and temptations
  We should decide on our own
  You know
  That creation comes after destruction
  • Talkin' 2 Myself

• Reality will always deceive us
  But in that, you see, only your answer is hidden
  If you feel you have not seen it
  It is something you brought about with your own hands.
  • Decision

• This summer, our new journey begins
  I sense a slight discomfort in the distance
  We saw that place in our dreams
  Today, let's find the road there again.
  • Glitter

• Where does this road lead?
  And where does it go from there?
  Even if I imagine [the possibilities]
  Of course, I have no clue.
  I feel the more I wish to be strong
  The weaker my heart becomes
  In inverse proportion
  
  • Fated

• We notice it the moment our eyes meet someone else's
  We feel it when coming into contact with him [or her]
  But then once
  We feel weak in the knees
  The wind strokes my cheeks and makes it feel real
  And whispering quietly
  That this is not an illusion at all
  • Fated

• On that day, you decided
  That you would walk by yourself
  On the endless road
  that crosses the clouds [and leads] to the sky
  Leaving so much here
  I want to tell you and talk about.
  • Untitled ~For Her~

• What if everyone goes on the endless road
  Sooner or later
  Over the clouds to the sky
  Be sure to wait for me.
  And then, we will talk away
  About our countless memories.
  • Untitled ~For Her

Miscellaneous

• I was forgiven by forgiving many things
  Including my long-ago childhood
  I was healed, but I intended [to] heal
  I've just noticed, the way
  I was saved by love
  Though I tried to keep love away.
  • Rainbow

• Because we want the same happiness
  We keep carving the same wounds onto our hearts.
  Forever, forever
  So I won't forget you
  I call you over and over again
  Please don't cry any more
  I won't leave you alone.
  • Part of Me

Sourced

• It is necessary that I am viewed as a product. I am a product.
• I don't have dreams. How can I say it? I myself am a dream.
• I don't set goals. Like, that's what I want to be doing however many years from now. I do what I love to do at the moment.
• I thought Mommy's life was strange, not mine.
  • Interview with TIME, 2002 http://www.time.com/time/asia/features/ayumi_hamasaki/int_ayumi2.html

• My job is simply to be myself, to be Ayumi Hamasaki.
• [...]Everyone has a secret. Right? Of course I have a secret. I think maybe you too?
• I don't want to become adult!
• If people will listen, I will go anywhere in the world!
• Music is my life, if I am without music or if I can't sing any more, I die, I'm nothing...because music is everything.
• [...] I don't know my future. I don't know about tomorrow. I can just control for today or present, right now. [...] I don't want to think about future too much, because present is most important for me.
  • Interview with TalkAsia, November 2007