Happy belated November Igu Day! Unbeknownst to me, exist†trace released a new album on the 19th of this month. I’ve given it a few listens since finding out about it and buying a digital copy. This track, “VENUS,” stood out to me from the first listen. Overall it reminded me of U2’s “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me,” while the guitars and amorphous synths reminded me of Steve Vai’s “Bad Horsie.” It was surprising to read in this interview on Jrock News that miko said she’d been listening to a band called Polyphia lately, then, upon looking them up, finding out they’d collaborated with Vai. Likewise, I’d been thinking that Jyou was singing even deeper than usual on some tracks and literally thought, “It’s like she’s amped up her otokoyaku power,” then there she was in that same interview saying she’d gone to see the Takarazuka Revue and had been influenced by them!

Anyway, I usually include translations of relevant miko blogs with these song lyric translations, but after what appears to be a year-long hiatus from her blog, miko has returned with bilingual posts. So you can read what she had to say about this track on this post from November 14 of this year. I assume and hope that she’s writing these translations herself or otherwise has a human doing it.

As for the lyrics in Japanese, I had been using Rock Lyric for Igu songs, but they don’t have the ones for this album up. For streaming this album miko herself is linking to TuneCore Japan, so I’m going with them as well for the lyrics. You can see them here: https://linkco.re/zq78xA3C/songs/4039751/lyrics?lang=en

⭐︎

VENUS

giragira to teritsukeru taiyou wo se ni
sayonara wa sotto kaze ni takushita
TWO OF US doko ka tooku e

tsumetai machi tsunaida no wa jibun jishin
kirikiri itamu no wa karada ja nai
ONLY YOU kimi wo tsuredashi

me ga kuramu yo mabushisugiru kimi ga warau
boku de ii kai? kizukarezu ni tsureteyukou

garasu no VENUS kowaresou de itoshii
HEY MY VENUS shinjite kureru kai?
garasu no VENUS furimukanaide oide
HEY MY VENUS daiya yori kirei da
VENUS

guragura to kuzuredasu tenbin ni saku
miageta saki ni aa kimi ga warau
ONLY YOU dare ni mo todokanai basho e

kimi wo ubatte sora wo nurikaete
Falling, falling
iki wo koroshite ten ni negatte mo
Falling, falling

garasu no VENUS kowaresou de itoshii
HEY MY VENUS shinjite kureru kai?
garasu no VENUS furimukanaide oide
HEY MY VENUS daiya yori kirei da
VENUS

daiya yori kirei da VENUS

VENUS

Putting the blazing sun behind me
I’ll leave the goodbyes up to the wind
The two of us, going somewhere far away

I had bound myself to this cold town
There’s a sharp pain, but it’s not my body
I’ll lure you out, only you

You laugh and I’m blinded; you’re too dazzling
Am I good enough? Let’s get you outta here without anyone noticing

Glass Venus, so fragile and precious
Hey, my Venus, will you believe in me?
Glass Venus, don’t turn away, come here
Hey, my Venus, you’re more beautiful than diamonds
Venus

The scales are thrown off balance, but blooming there—
When I look up, aah, I see you laughing
I’ll take you, only you, somewhere no one can reach

I’ll steal you and paint us a new sky
Falling, falling
Even if you hold your breath and pray to God
Falling, falling

Glass Venus, so fragile and precious
Hey, my Venus, will you believe in me?
Glass Venus, don’t turn away, come here
Hey, my Venus, you’re more beautiful than diamonds
Venus

You’re more beautiful than diamonds, Venus

---

The image in the header is a photo of Diego Velázquez’s mid-1600’s painting Venus at Her Mirror, more commonly known in the English-speaking world as the Rokeby Venus. While the word “glass” can be used in English to mean “mirror,” the same isn’t true in Japanese. So the lyrics here refer to a Venus who or that is literally or figuratively made of glass, not one who is reflected in a mirror. I still thought it was funny to think of this song as being sung from the point of view of some self-obsessed person singing to themselves. (LOL)

That said, while I assume that “Venus” is meant to be taken as a woman, given miko’s blog post I think “Venus” could also be interpreted as an object, either an art object (such as the Venus de Milo, which was mentioned in “Ginger” as a possible target for the phantom thief character in that song), diamonds, or some other type of jewelry. Maybe “garasu no venus” is a pun on “gurafu no venus,” the “Graff Venus” from the Graff Diamond Company. I also initially wasn’t sure if Jyou was singing “garasu” (glass) or “karasu” (crow). Perhaps a crow Venus that is herself obsessed with shiny objects?

TL;DR it’s giving Louvre heist if the thief had inappropriate feelings towards the jewelry.