"Progress" Shikao Suga: "Take just a single step forward."

I wrote about two musicians, Kurt Cobain and Ben Folds, who were born in the same year.

"A Rock Star Was Dead And A Geek Is Still Alive: KurtCobain and Ben Folds"

"All Right, Ben Folds Five, Are You Ready to ChangeRock 'n' Roll?"

Shikao Suga is one of my favorite Japanese musicians and he is also the same age as me. I love his lyrics, because I can project my own life onto them.

I'd like to talk about one of his hit songs, "Progress."

the lyrics in Japanese

We got set to start the race.

I was pleased quietly

to see him stumble.

Even now, I can't do the right thing;

I can't forgive, and I can't protect the one I love.

I'm as useless as I was that day.

The ideal self I've been seeking

is far cooler than what I am.

The days and the steps I've been taking

might really be called "self."

I'll give these words to a flood of sigh around the world

and to our sweet and sour despair.

"Take just a single step forward."

The sky is always filling with shinning stars like our hope.

I held out my hand, though I knew I couldn't reach.

I saw sadness displayed in a glass case,

and I murmured, "poor thing."

I hate myself so much that I want to kick myself.

The dream we've been dreaming

isn't the same color of someone else's future.

The courage we seek, known to no-one

might really be called the "future."

I offer give these words to a flood of sighs around the world

and to our sweet and sour despair.

"Take just a single step forward."

The ideal self I've been seeking

is far cooler than what I am.

The days and the steps I've been taking

might really be called "self."

The dream we've been dreaming

isn't the same color of someone else's future.

The courage we seek, known to no-one

might really be called the "future."

I offer give these words to a flood of sighs around the world

and to our sweet and sour despair.

"Take just a single step forward."