SCANDAL's MIRROR Lyrics Essays

＃1 - MAMI's "Ai ni Naranakatta no sa" Lyrics Essay


The things I personally consider to be important when it comes to love are...

---

On Jan. 26, 2022, SCANDAL will release their new album MIRROR! It will contain a total of 10 songs: 7 new songs plus the three singles (eternal, Ivory, one more time) released last year. Also included are songs with lyrics and music written by each of the band members. Please look forward to the many songs that are unique to this album!

There will be a total of 4 essays from SCANDAL about this latest release. This is the first one, written by guitarist MAMI. She talks about the song "Ai ni Naranakatta no sa" (It Didn't Turn Out to Be True Love) which features lyrics and music written by her. What do you consider to be important when it comes to love? Please enjoy this lyrics essay while thinking of what love means to you.

～Lyrics Essay: "Ai ni Naranakatta no sa"～

The melody for this song came to mind at the same time as the one for "Ivory." As I was considering which one to pen the lyrics for first, I happened to be able to write the lyrics for "Ivory." This song was then shelved for a bit as a voice memo (New Recording ＃58).

At that time I still didn't know what lyrics to write, nor what arrangement it should have, and so it took the shape of it being warehoused inside of myself without showing it to the world (even the other band members didn't listen to it).

During the time we were making the three songs we released as singles in 2021, the subject of an album came up. We were like, "Oh no! We have no songs stocked up! Now we need to hurry up and work on making some!" That was when I suddenly remembered that voice memo. I thought, "Huh, could we use this?" I listened to the memo again and decided to make a demo of me singing to my own accompaniment (to be honest, it only had a decent melody, haha).

Recalling the time when I made this melody, I just wanted it to have a different theme from "Ivory," so I thought it would be better to limit what it was about. I also remember that I had a lot of friends who were having relationship problems at that time. But their problems were complicated, I didn't know what I would do if I were in their shoes, and come to think of it, what were my own past relationships like, again? Etc., etc. I finally arrived at these lyrics after thinking back on a lot of things.

What love is... Even if it's not love, you can have different sets of values. It can be important for some people to be together at all times, and it can also be important for some people to express love even if they can't be together. There are also people who believe their hearts are connected even if there's nothing there (and I think there are even more kinds, like those who think reporting / communicating / discussing is important).

There are 3 things I personally consider to be important when it comes to love: Don't ask for anything in return, don't get your hopes up, and don't forget to be considerate. I think that would be unconditional love, which I can't do, haha. If you care for your partner, there shouldn't be any reason to break up with each other. Even if don't have someone that you love. But if you're expecting something in return and have your hopes up, you'll think that it's not enough.

To you who's reading this, what do you think is important?
The day I'll get closer to unconditional love is still far away～...

＜SCANDAL・MAMI＞

SCANDAL's MIRROR Lyrics Essays

＃2 - HARUNA's "Yuugure, Tokeru" Lyrics Essay


You can fully convey something just by saying, "I don't really get it, but I really like this."

---

On Jan. 26, 2022, SCANDAL released their new album MIRROR! It contains a total of 10 songs: 7 new songs plus the three singles (eternal, Ivory, one more time) released last year. Also included are songs with lyrics and music written by each of the band members. Please enjoy the many songs that are unique to this album!

There will be a total of 4 essays from SCANDAL about this latest release. This is the second one, written by vocalist HARUNA. She talks about the song "Yuugure, Tokeru" (Dusk Is Melting) which features lyrics and music written by her. A piece of this song was born during a certain evening during an autumn in the midst of the pandemic. What feelings propelled the work forward, and what did she feel after completing it? Please enjoy this essay along with the lyrics.

～Lyrics Essay: "Yuugure, Tokeru"～

The song on our album that I wrote the lyrics and music for began with the words "Dusk is melting" that came to mind while on a walk with my dog on an autumn evening of 2020 in the midst of the pandemic.

The pandemic hit and our planned concerts had to be postponed/canceled. Even everyday life was restricted. My purpose as a musician was stolen away from me, I felt depressed, and I couldn't get started with writing songs.

Although there were times like that, it wasn't always like that. I gradually started accepting the state of things and felt positive feelings surging forth of how I must do what I'm able to right now, in my own way. They oddly fit with the setting sun I saw at that time, and it just completely resonated with me. To say that "dusk is melting" is odd, but I thought it sounded kind of nice. I believed in that feeling and started writing.

The songs with lyrics and music written by me up until now feature things like scenery and situations that you can immediately picture by reading the lyrics, and they explain my feelings. That was good when I was in my twenties, but now that I'm in my thirties, I've sometimes felt that I need to slightly limit my variations for direct expressions.

So, when I made abstract and ambiguous lyrics that were born by giving names to scenery and feelings this time, I felt that I came in contact once more with the freedom of music and expression. I was very happy to discover the possibilities in writing lyrics.

In life you're asked your reasons for liking something, and there are many times when you need to verbalize it. When you can't explain something well, you feel down that your point's not getting across. However, I want to believe that you can fully convey something just by saying, "I don't really get it, but I really like this." I want to affirm many things that seem like that and expand my world even further.

Live true to yourself, and express yourself the way you want to. What I strongly feel right now is that I want to cherish this song, which reminds me of what it means to be a musician, and continue to help out the lives of many people with music.

＜SCANDAL・HARUNA＞

SCANDAL's MIRROR Lyrics Essays

＃3 - TOMOMI's "Ai no Shoutai" Lyrics Essay


Every time I'd hear about things like that, I'd feel something bubbling deep down.

---

On Jan. 26, 2022, SCANDAL released their new album MIRROR! It contains a total of 10 songs: 7 new songs plus the three singles (eternal, Ivory, one more time) released last year. Also included are songs with lyrics and music written by each of the band members. Please enjoy the many songs that are unique to this album!

There will be a total of 4 essays from SCANDAL about this latest release. This is the third one, written by bassist TOMOMI. She talks about the song "Ai no Shoutai" (Love's True Colors) which features lyrics and music written by her. What are the "precious things" that you realize after growing up? Please enjoy this essay along with the lyrics while thinking of someone important to you.

～Lyrics Essay: "Ai no Shoutai"～

The moment I went from my twenties to my thirties, I was alone at home. The first state of emergency had just been lifted a few days prior, but I couldn't get around to feeling like going out and was bewildered by the first wave of things as I watched the news on TV every day. That was about two years ago. This May, I'll be turning 32.

As usual, I stay up until dawn, I drop eggs I've just bought, I drop my iPhone into water—every day I laugh at and am amazed at myself, being as far away as ever from the image of myself at around 30 that I pictured before. However, there have been more moments recently when I feel that I'm getting older.

The environment around me has changed a lot.

When you grow up, a lot of things can occur. People get married, have kids, fall in love with the same sex, get sick, lose family and friends.

Every time I'd hear about things like that, I'd feel something bubbling deep down.

I take pride in the fact that I've always been blessed by the people around me. I was surrounded by kind and warm people, and given so much love. I had worries, but I always had someone there for me. I spent my time feeling that those days I was just given, were a given.

But now I feel that there is something just as precious as that happiness, or maybe even more precious.

That is to be the giver of that happiness.

One friend said, "I want to make this person laugh for the rest of my life." Another said, "When my daughter suffered a life-threatening illness, I wondered over and over why I couldn't take her place."

The reason why I felt a bubbling deep down was because those words pierced through me so intensely.

I also have people whom I cherish from the bottom of my heart. What I've realized as I've gotten older is that I want to be a giver to those people.

Yes, that's something you realize when you grow up.
I'm sure many people have realized that.

Even in 2022 the world is still full of problems and constant conflicts. But there are people who cherish from the bottom of their hearts both sides that are fighting, and people who want them to always have a smile on their faces.

The world on a smaller scale is full of love, but the world on a larger scale has missiles flying around.

Why do adults who know the joy of giving love purposely try hurting each other?

That's something you won't understand even after giving it much thought, but I want us to face each other despite not understanding. I want to fix the frayed threads.

And, I want to hold tight the spirit of love that all humankind should have all had from the start so as not to not let it be overwhelmed by the waves of society. I want us to acknowledge and forgive each other.

With that in mind, I'm still awake at dawn today as well.
I'm living in my thirties now.

＜SCANDAL・TOMOMI＞

SCANDAL's MIRROR Lyrics Essays

＃4 - RINA's "MIRROR" Lyrics Essay


A sturdy, fragile mirror.

---

On Jan. 26, 2022, SCANDAL released their new album MIRROR! It contains a total of 10 songs: 7 new songs plus the three singles (eternal, Ivory, one more time) released last year. Also included are songs with lyrics and music written by each of the band members. Please enjoy the many songs that are unique to this album!

There will be a total of 4 essays from SCANDAL about this latest release. This is the fourth and final one, written by drummer RINA. She talks about their thoughts on building the album MIRROR to completion during the pandemic, as well as the title track "MIRROR" that opens the album. Please enjoy this essay along with the lyrics.

～Lyrics Essay: "MIRROR"～

Thrown into a pure white world with no landmarks, it was like we were searching for something the entire time. The state of the world changed completely. The music stopped. Different from working hard or giving up, we just came to a halt right then and there. We stopped running and were forcibly stopped while having to face what was going on at the time as well as ourselves. That's what the production period was like.

Light, delicate, calm, soft. I like songs that can we can play for a long time, and that have a femininity to them that we feel. More and more I wanted to write things that were abstract and soft. I didn't know what I wanted to do, and I didn't need the right answer.

It's interesting how the three singles we released during the pandemic have elicited all sorts of reactions like, "It's new and I like it!" or "Their musicality has changed and they've matured." Above all, I accepted all of those opinions and nodded in affirmation.

Carefully, little by little, we finished our 10th album with unusually high attention to detail. Even though it's our own band, I felt that if we cut something even a little, we'd be slapped by the hand of God...haha. We worked methodically while developing different mentalities. I think the four of us have each done everything we can do right now to make a very distinctive, mysterious, nice album that's unique to us.

It was hard to decide on the album title. Even on the day we were told that we can't keep putting it off, we still talked about it using vague words. At the very end, we suddenly were like, "What about 'mirror'?" We were like, "Wow...that's it!" and things went fast after that. Our conversations and feelings moved forward.

After that, we decided to make the lead song "MIRROR" for the album and its opening track. I thought to turn the feelings we've talked about so many times until arriving at this point, and that I can't explain well, exactly as they are into lyrics. I wasted no time and hit on a perfectly-suited title and song that seemed as if they were already foreshadowed.

A sturdy, fragile mirror. It reflects your appearance for what it is, including things you like and things you don't, while accepting it and sometimes striking back as if throwing a counterpunch. This song was written by taking a step forward from ourselves and facing the band and the world.

May it reach as many ears as possible! And, we hope that it flies to and reaches the depths of the hearts of those it should reach! It's also an egoistic album that we made for ourselves. I'm sure that we couldn't have moved on without making this. So, when it was completed, it felt like we had won with one point in the lead.

My hope is that everyone can be exactly as they are, with all of our different personalities, and acknowledge and and interact with each other. I will always and forever think that.

＜SCANDAL・RINA＞

https://www.uta-net.com/user/writer/todaysong.html?id=12332

#front-page #mirror

---

If you enjoy my translations, please consider leaving a tip!