Music by sakanaction

Drifting, drifting

Does the bird grow nostalgic for a distant rock, flying high into the sky?

No one cares to know

Looking down at an unknown town

What does the bird think?

Is it just like the lonely me?

Separated, apart

Does the bird grow nostalgic for its flock, crying out in a high voice?

Saying nothing, the town silently was listening to it

Just like the weak me, I wonder?

Our words, grown accustomed to pain, to wounds, to lies

Float and drift upon the weary surface of the river

In the town where you live

They vanished

They vanished

(The river flows)

They vanished

(Still can’t see, still can’t see)

They vanished

They vanished

(The river flows)

They vanished

(Because I still can’t see, I still can’t see)

I want to sleep with my hair still wet

The clothes I took off and threw remain just as they were yesterday

Saying nothing, they lean against the wall of the room, seemingly  watching the me that’s a hot mess

My soliloquy, grown accustomed to pain, to wounds, to lies

The wind blowing alongside the weary night

Grazed your cheek

It grazed

(The night flows)

It grazed

(Wasn’t crying, Wasn’t crying)

It grazed

It grazed

(The night flows)

Because you

(Were crying, were crying)

Standing in the seasons I looked back on, I can’t remember them and I’ve come to hate it

Even the bird that was drifting, flowing

Was crying in the town, wasn’t it?

It was crying, wasn’t it?

Waiting for the seasons that have passed, I can’t remember them, and I’ve come to hate it

Taking flight from being separated

The bird was crying too, wasn’t it?

It was crying, wasn’t it?

It’s always waiting for us

Even the weary pain and wounds

Even the night that remains unchanged

I will keep singing

I will keep singing

It’s always waiting for us

Still unable to see, just waiting

Even a hot mess and weak self like me will keep singing

Will keep singing

La la la la, la la la la

For me, this song has been on repeat for probably weeks now. I think the message, in combination with the vocals and instrumentals, really just gets to ya. There’s an emotion in the lyrics of being sick of uncertainty and what feels certain in negative ways (lies, weariness, pain, etc.), alongside a feeling of being stuck and longing for a shift. There is also a sense of connection with nature paralleled by a disconnection from fellow man—just like the birds that fly and cry out but don’t seem to be minded by the townsfolk.

In the same way, the lyrics point to the loneliness felt by the singer, who perhaps yearns for nostalgic times and seasons. Yet, along with the burst of emotions at the end of the song, the singer builds the resolve to accept their current situation and the cycle of life they seem to be whirling through. Vowing to continue singing even through the unchanging night, they accept their weakness and messiness. It is almost as if a feeling of freedom is born at the end of the song, in comparison to the restricted feeling conveyed earlier in the music.

Like many of the emotions conveyed by the songs I share here, those present in this song are so familiar and close to me (shocker, I know :)). In this world, I can barely fathom the weight of the collective weariness and pain that humanity carries. Fathoming my own pain and digesting disappointing events and storylines in my own life can get hard enough. There is so much evil wreaking havoc in all corners of the earth, but I’m grateful for the moments in my own life where the same transition that happens in this song occurs. I hope more of those moments can be found in my life and in the lives of others who are journeying through the toughness and grime of life. I hope that we may find peace and purpose through our pain. I hope we can accept our seasons, both past and present. I hope our pain does not bury us, but instead leads to a more perfect strength and a more whole and beautiful version of ourselves.

May we continue to sing, whether shiny or dull, through a seemingly unchanging night…