I’m once again about to start another series of Igu translations, this time taking it back to 2016’s THIS IS NOW. Since “DREAM RIDER” is being used to promote exist†trace’s participation in the Gynophobia Festival—it’s not what it sounds like—and because it’s the lead single, I decided to start from this track rather than from the first one.

I really feel like this song would work well as an Initial D theme even though it’s not Eurobeat. It could be used for the racing team Impact Blue (the girls in the blue-violet Nissan SilEighty), or for just Mako after she goes pro.

Anyway, this song is self-explanatory lyrically, so miko doesn’t really talk much about that sort of thing in her blog. The post for this song specifically, from March 11, 2016, explains that this became the lead single, beating out “THIS IS NOW,” because she and the band wanted to make something new that would surpass even that track. Other points of interest in that post: miko considers this song like a second “Signal,” since both are songs that “don’t look back”; she mentions that she tripped on Jyou’s foot while they were standing back-to-back during filming and fell, but the cameraman thought it was part of the act and kept shooting; in the photo section, there’s a photo of Naoto “with a snake tongue” (it’s really just her hair); and there’s a photo of the crew standing in for the members, which miko captioned “What’s with this, they really look like a band! I’m sure there’s a band like this somewhere LOL,” further pointing out that it’s still Mally at the drums, which makes the whole thing funnier.

In this other post, from later that same month, miko posted in English briefly introducing the album to overseas fans. Though it isn’t long, please make sure to click on over and show some appreciation for the fact that she did that!

I also want to take this opportunity to wish everyone who celebrates a Merry Christmas and an upcoming Happy Kwanzaa!

And with that, on to it! Lyrics in Japanese can be found here on Rock Lyric. Translation and romanization below the video embed.

☆

 

DREAM RIDER

hito wa sou, yumeoi no BOYS & GIRLS
kimi mo sou, nani mo kakusanakute ii sa
YOU CAN RIDE ON THE DREAM TONIGHT
kowareta kibou wa TRASH AWAY
atarashii kaze ni matagari FIND YOUR WAY
gia agete ikou ze

RIDE ON kakubetsu no endorooru wa
RIDE ON shakunetsu no ai to meiyo ka?
RIDE ON “kimi” no mirai e hashire TOP SPEED de

COME ON! DREAM RIDER
mayowazu GOING THROUGH THE LINE
kimi no kako, mirai dare ni mo tsukamaerarenai

COME ON! DREAM RIDER
neraitsuzukeru no sa
eien ni kimi no aru beki basho wo

koko ga PLACE, DREAM wo REAL ni
kanou ka fukanou ka nante koto wa
LISTEN TO YOUR HEART DEEP INSIDE
dakara sou SOMETIMES YOU LOST THE WAY
mayotta toki wa fumikome RED ZONE
sogiotoshitekureru

RIDE ON kakubetsu no endorooru wa
RIDE ON shakunetsu no ai to meiyo ka?
RIDE ON sui mo amai mo koete MAX SPEED e

COME ON! DREAM RIDER
mayowazu GOING THROUGH THE LINE
kimi no kako, mirai dare ni mo tsukamaerarenai

COME ON! DREAM RIDER
neraitsuzukeru no sa
eien ni kimi no aru beki basho wo

SEE THE LIGHT donna yoru ni mo asa wa kuru
TAKE THE LIGHT dakara nando mo tatsun da

KEEP YOUR HANDS UP
DON’T GIVE UP YOURSELF
KEEP YOUR FACE UP
WOW

COME ON! DREAM RIDER
mayowazu GOING THROUGH THE LINE
kimi no kako, mirai dare ni mo tsukamaerarenai

COME ON! DREAM RIDER
neraitsuzukeru no sa
eien ni kimi no aru beki basho wo

DREAM RIDER
mayowazu GOING THROUGH THE LINE
kimi no kako, mirai dare ni mo tsukamaerarenai

COME ON! DREAM RIDER
neraitsuzukeru no sa
onsoku de kakenuketekou ze
eien ni kimi no aru beki basho e

DREAM RIDER

Humans are boys & girls who chase their dreams
Hey, you don’t have to hide anything either
You can ride on the dream tonight
Throw away your broken hopes
Find your way astride a new wind
Let’s shift up and go

(RIDE ON) Do special end credits roll
(RIDE ON) for getting a passionate love and good reputation?
(RIDE ON) Race to your future at top speed

Come on! Dream Rider
Crossing the line without hesitation
No one can take hold of your past or future

Come on! Dream Rider
Keep aiming for it
The place you should be forever¹

This is the place, make your dream a reality
To know whether something is possible or impossible
Listen to your heart deep inside
So yeah, sometimes you lost your way
But when you’re uncertain, put the pedal to the metal
The red zone will shave off that hesitation²

(RIDE ON) Do special end credits roll
(RIDE ON) for getting a passionate love and good reputation?
(RIDE ON) Overcome the bitter and the sweet to reach your max speed

Come on! Dream Rider
Crossing the line without hesitation
No one can take hold of your past or future

Come on! Dream Rider
Keep aiming for it
The place you should be forever

(SEE THE LIGHT) There is no night that won’t greet the morning
(TAKE THE LIGHT) So always get back up

Keep your hands up
Don’t give up on yourself
Keep your head up
Woa

Come on! Dream Rider
Crossing the line without hesitation
No one can take hold of your past or future

Come on! Dream Rider
Keep aiming for it
The place you should be forever

Dream Rider
Crossing the line without hesitation
No one can take hold of your past or future

Come on! Dream Rider
Keep aiming for it
Let’s blow past all this at the speed of sound
To the place you should be forever

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^1. I’m 99% sure this refers to where you should be mentally, not physically, because the lyrics say あるべき場所 (aru beki basho) rather than いるべき場所 (iru beki basho). While both “aru” and “iru” mean “to be” as in “to exist,” the former is generally used for non-living things, while the latter is used for living things. Also, in context, all the examples I found by googling variations of [person]のあるべき場所 referred to a psychological state. ⤴

^2. A direct and ungrammatical translation of these two lines would be “When uncertain, step in RED ZONE / Shave off [for you].” I think it’s safe to assume that “step in RED ZONE” means “Press the accelerator all the way down so you end up in the red zone [of the tachometer],” but what is shaving what off? That’s not explicitly stated. “The red zone will shave off that hesitation” is my interpretation. After all, if you’re going that fast, you have to make some decisions about where you’re going and how you’re getting there, because if you don’t, you either crash or blow your engine. ⤴