Romanization/translation by me.  Please link back to this entry if you use the translation or post it elsewhere.

——

欠けてゆく　欠けてゆく　月の影にまたキミが居て
溶け合う　溶け合う　星の数も降る物語
遠く街の灯には　姿だけ置いて　漂う　漂う

果てしない　果てしない　キミを映すあの物語
消えない　消えない　キミが一人住むこの部屋で
行きかう人には言葉だけ置いて　漂う　漂う

ラーララ　月の影に　月の影に　月の影に　キミを見る日は
行きかう人が　呼び合う人が　争う人が生きるよ

欠けてゆく　欠けてゆく　月の影に　今キミは無く
見えない　見えない　星の数も降る物語
遠く街の灯には　姿だけ置いて　漂う　漂う

ラーララ　月の影に　月の影に　月の影に　キミを見る日は
行きかう人が　呼び合う人が　争う人が生きて見えるよ

月の影で　月の影で　月の影で　歌う歌には
行きかう人が　呼び合う人が　争う人が生きて見えるよ

月の影に　月の影に　月の影に　キミを見る日は
行きかう人が　呼び合う人が　争う人が生きて見えるよ

——

kakete yuku  kakete yuku  tsuki no kage ni mata kimi ga ite
tokeau  tokeau  hoshi no kazu mo furu monogatari
tooku machi no hi ni wa  sugata dake oite  tadayou  tadayou

hateshinai  hateshinai  kimi wo utsusu ano monogatari
kienai  kienai  kimi ga hitori sumu kono heya de
yukikau hito ni wa kotoba dake oite  tadayou  tadayou

laalala  tsuki no kage ni  tsuki no kage ni
tsuki no kage ni  kimi wo miru hi wa
yukikau hito ga  yobiau hito ga  arasou hito ga ikiru yo

kakete yuku  kakete yuku  tsuki no kage ni ima kimi wa naku
mienai  mienai  hoshi no kazu mo furu monogatari
tooku machi no hi ni wa  sugata dake oite  tadayou  tadayou

laalala  tsuki no kage ni  tsuki no kage ni
tsuki no kage ni  kimi wo miru hi wa
yukikau hito ga  yobiau hito ga  arasou hito ga ikite mieru yo

tsuki no kage de  tsuki no kage de
tsuki no kage de  utau uta ni wa
yukikau hito ga  yobiau hito ga  arasou hito ga ikite mieru yo

tsuki no kage ni  tsuki no kage ni
tsuki no kage ni  kimi wo miru hi wa
yukikau hito ga  yobiau hito ga  arasou hito ga ikite mieru yo

——

Waning  Waning  The moonlight in which you appear once more
Merging  Merging  The tales that fall as numerous as the stars
Leaving only your form behind far away in the city lights, you
drift away drift away

Infinite  Infinite  The tales that reflect you
Eternal  Eternal  Within this room where you live alone
Leaving only your words behind to those who come and go, you
drift away drift away

Laa la la  The day I see you in the light of the moon
in the light of the moon  in the light of the moon
those who come and go  those who call out to one another 
and those in conflict  are alive

Waning  Waning  The moonlight in which now you disappear
Invisible  Invisible  The tales that fall as numerous as the stars
Leaving only your form behind far away in the city lights, you
drift away drift away

Laa la la  The day I see you in the light of the moon
in the light of the moon  in the light of the moon
those who come and go  those who call out to one another 
and those in conflict  seem to be alive

Within the song you sing in the light of the moon
in the light of the moon  in the light of the moon
those who come and go  those who call out to one another 
and those in conflict  seem to be alive

The day I see you in the light of the moon
in the light of the moon  in the light of the moon
those who come and go  those who call out to one another 
and those in conflict  seem to be alive

——

Notes:

(1) According to the page for Sim City on Japanese Wikipedia, Susumu Hirasawa originally planned to make this album a 90s version of The Dark Side of the Moon, but in 1994 he became interested in Thailand, which led it to become Sim City instead. Tsuki no kage literally means “shadow of the moon.”  As to why I have translated it as “Moonlight”, here is an explanation from someone who encountered the same phrase while working on a translation of the Ono Fuyumi novel Tsuki no Kage, Kage no Umi:

In one instance, though, Ono’s vocabulary resists translation: the title. The translation I have used, “Shadow of the Moon, a Sea of Shadows,” is a literal one, applying the more common meaning to kage. However, kage can also be translated as “reflection” as in “reflected light” or reflected image.” This usage is found in a haiku from the Kokinshu (10th century, author unknown):

木の間より
もりくる月の
影見れば
心づくしの
秋はきにけり

ko no ma yori
morikuru tsuki no
kage mireba
kokorodzukushi no
aki wa kinikeri

I look up and see
moonlight slipping through the trees
and so I know
that fond autumn
has come at last

The phrase tsuki no kage here means “reflection of the moon,” or “moonlight.” In the novel, Ono specifically uses the phrase to describe the reflection of the full moon off the surface of the ocean. In order words, in English, the opposite of “shadow”.

In another instance, Youko is standing on a cliff looking down at the Sea of Emptiness (Kyokai), and sees the stars of the Milky Way shining up from the dark, translucent depths. In this case, kage refers to the shadow-like surface of a sea that “even in the light of dawn, looked like night” and the flowing starlight scattered through it “like grains of sand.”

The dual meaning shows up in the Kurosawa film Kagemusha, or “Shadow Warrior.” The title comes from kage (shadow/reflection) + musha (warrior). The movie concerns a lowly samurai who is discovered to be a doppelganger for his commanding general. When the general is killed in battle, the samurai is installed in his place to deceive their enemies. But he is a reflection of his dead lord, doomed to be nothing more than the man’s empty silhouette.

A more accurate translation of Tsuki no Kage, Kage no Umi might be, “The Moon’s Reflection on a Sea of Stars.” But that is a bit too pretty, and lacks that sense of “otherness” that the original Japanese creates. Even as a somewhat strained transliteration, Shadow of the Moon, a Sea of Shadows works well enough that I am loath to give it up.