Time after time～花舞う街で～

Time after time by Mai Kuraki （倉木麻衣）

after so many years, still my favorite song of all time!



English Translation

If I had been able to meet you
I wouldn't have let go of you ever again
The hanamidou [1]
Tells of the end of spring
One petal from this misty flower...

And an old song floats back
Gently, even now, into my heart

Time after time
The miracle of meeting you
In a city where the wind whispered through
We walked a path through the hills hand in hand
And made an unforgettable promise

I can hear your voice in the wind
The thin ice freezes back over [2]
Long ago memories
Not knowing to be afraid of hurt, I swore
That someday, we'd meet again

Here, in a season of pale crimson
With smiles on our faces

Time after time
Alone in the city of whirling blossoms
Can't return to when things were fine [3]
In this very same place, just like on that day
With my face strewn with tears, I waited for you

Those petals fly in the whirling wind
As if stroking the water's surface
In my anguish, I treasure each and every one...

Everyone says that they're lonely
That they have to keep searching
For someone
But all they end up chasing after
Are the fleeting and fragile

Time after time
If I could have met you in the city of changing hues
I wouldn't need any more promises
More than anyone else
You are so easy to hurt
I want to be with you--this time, forever.

Note:
[1] A 'hanamidou' is a hall set up in front of every Buddhist temple and decorated with many beautiful flowers. This tradition commemorates the Buddha's birthday on April 8.
[2] Kuraki uses some obscure 'kigo' (seasonal phrases) in this song. 'Saeka(h)eru' refers to the weather getting chilly again in early spring after a period of warming, so in this line, I translated it as the thin ice (ie, over a pond/river) freezing back over. Kuraki said in an interview that she wanted to evoke an idea of early spring with these words.
[3] 'Chirazaru' means 'not scattered/dissipated'. I assume it primarily refers to the relationship between the romantic couple in this song, but it also hints at the scattered petals (ie, in 'the city of whirling blossoms').

Transliterated by Ran-san
Translated by teresa ko

GDP遊戲

香港剛推介了最低工資，每個掃地的保安的洗碗的都可獲得每小時28港幣的工錢，這項措施有讚有彈，這裡姑且不論。

再看看我們馬來西亞，百物上漲是每年政府對人民的祝賀禮物，"貧"民百姓只能逆來順受，每天有一餐沒一餐的過日子。

爲什麽百貨不斷上漲呢？或者說，爲什麽政府不制止百貨上漲呢？

以下是本人的推測

首先，擧個例子，雞飯前年的價格（平均）RM4.50一碟，去年RM5一碟，今年RM5.50一碟

去年起了11%，在今年又起了10%

假設其生意沒受影響，每年都賣同等數量，再假設GDP只算雞飯，那麽去年我們的GDP上升了11%，今年又上升了10%。

那麽如果接下來我國GDP必須保持在10%才能達到先進國標准，那麽我們只需每年都讓他起10%，肯定能達到。

慢者慢者，是不是覺得很熟悉？

當然我不是那剛過世的“大馬偉大經濟學家”Zainal，所以信不信由你。

好了，來看看現實世界。

商傢總是有種種藉口來讓其商品起價，什麽國際價格浮動啦，什麽油价起價啦，什麽政府減少津貼啦。

從他們的態度可看出，假設他們每年賺一百萬，他們是不允許今年變成了九十九萬，甚至有些無良的黑心商人會趁機把收入變成兩百萬。

就拿糖來説，事實上政府減少了津貼后每杯飲料只影響幾毛錢，大可忽略不計，偏偏有些商傢卻大起特起，結果害苦了消費者。

而這時候我們只能指望政府來管治市價，但是，政府有嗎？

商傢不斷趁機起價，是爲了製造漂亮的業績，每年越賺越多公司業績蒸蒸日上。

而政府呢？他們巴不得所有東西都漲，這樣才能營造美麗的GDP，製造先進國神話。

看看現在的樓价/房價，就連小學生都知道這是有心人炒高的，而我們那可愛的政府不但不管制，還幫上一把，推出了100%貸款計劃，爲什麽呢？

看看國產車越賣越貴，一輛Lancer的翻版既然要价8万，只比（加了重稅的）Lancer便宜一點。爲什麽大馬的（次等貨）東西越賣越貴呢？

結合以上種種，再看看我那假設，再看看今年的年份，如果我說這一切都是政府的GDP遊戲，你相信嗎？