I wrote this in one day but couldn’t decide on a translation for the title. To my surprise a whole month passed before I sat down to look at it again. And then I got distracted by today’s Daily Writing Prompt, for which an answer popped into my head immediately. (LOL)

Anyway, miko did a bilingual “self liner notes” blog post for this song, but she didn’t translate the title there. You can read it here:
https://ameblo.jp/existtrace-miko/entry-12945202635.html

Ultimately, I’m sticking with my first pick, “Turmoil.” Second choice would’ve been “Upheaval.” I feel like “turmoil” is commonly applied to both social and inner disturbances, and both are alluded to in this song.

Lyrics in Japanese can be found here: https://linkco.re/HE3pyfBD/songs/3999688/lyrics?lang=en

⭐︎

GEKIDOU

zatsuon shoudou kurutta uzu ni kakikesareta kimi
kyoufu ka? ikari? hokosaki ni dare ga nani ga aru n da
seigi wo kazasu kamen ga haita kotoba no bouryoku
gekidou no jidai wo ima

kotae ga naku to mo

aitai to sakebe
furetai to negatte ii
kimi dake no omoi wo
sono koe ga todoku you ni yuke, yuke, yuke

ketsudan koukai subete wa kimi dake no te no naka ni
karada wo meguru sore wa kibou ka mayakashi na no ka
shingi wo tozasu kyosei ga kakusu uchinaru byouryoku
gekidou no jidai wo ima

kotae ga naku to mo

aitai to sakebe
furetai to negatte ii
kimi dake no omoi wo
sono koe ga todoku you ni yuke, yuke, yuke

kokoro tozasu mo omoi tomenai

dakishimetai to
kono kyori wo kowasetara
kimi ga iru ima

aitai to sakebe
furetai to negatte ii
kimi dake no omoi wo
sono koe ga todoku you ni yuke, yuke, yuke

TURMOIL

Painful noise, impulse, you’re drowned out by a mad vortex
Is it fear? Anger? Who or what are you attacking?
The violence of spat-out words masquerading as justice¹
Now, this era of turmoil—²

Even if there’s no reply

Scream out that you want to meet
It’s okay to wish for physical touch
Voice your true hopes
Keep going until they’re realized³

Decisions, regrets, everything is solely in your hands
What’s coursing through your body, hope? or delusion?
Authenticity covered by a bluff, hiding inner violence
Now, this era of turmoil—

Even if there’s no reply

Scream out that you want to meet
It’s okay to wish for physical touch
Voice your true hopes
Keep going until they’re realized

Even if you close off your heart, you can’t stop feelings

I want to hug you
If I broke this distance
There you are, now

Scream out that you want to meet
It’s okay to wish for physical touch
Voice your true hopes
Keep going until they’re realized

---

^1. A literal translation would be “the violence of the words spat out by the mask masquerading as justice.” Meaning that technically it’s the mask that is masquerading as justice, not its words. But this literal translation is really long and awkward, even if I replace “masquerading” with “pretending.” So I opted for using the verb “masquerade” as it encompasses the concept of a “mask,” plus I think it’s fair to assume that if the mask is pretending to be justice, the vehicle for that charade can be the words that “it” uses. Also, note that while “mask” in English can refer to all types of masks, in Japanese the word used in this line, 仮面 (kamen), is used primarily for masks that cover either the whole face or the eyes, while masks that cover the nose and mouth are called マスク (masuku) from the English word “mask.” So even though this song was written during Covid, this (probably) isn’t one of those masks! ⤴

^2. The use of the object marker を (wo) in this line tells us that a verb is being left unstated. My instinct is to say that verb is probably 生き抜く (ikinuku) turning this line into “Now, live out this era of turmoil” or maybe “Now, survive through this era of turmoil.” But it could easily be something else, too. ⤴

^3. These lines are more literally “Only your thoughts/feelings/desires/hopes / Go so that that voice reaches/arrives.” Which sounds dreadful, plus has the downside of being ambiguous on what the word “only” is modifying. So once again I’ve opted to have a verb stand in for both a verb and a noun (the unstated verb from “kimi dake no omoi wo” and the noun 声 [koe] “voice”). Also, the verb “todoku” usually means “reach” as in “reach/arrive at a physical destination,” but it can also be used figuratively to mean that something is realized or accomplished. Lastly, the “keep going” is how I’m interpreting “yuke, yuke, yuke,” which literally just means “go, go, go.” The official lyrics don’t write that word out three times though; I included them because that’s how Jyou sings it and I think anyone looking for lyrics in romaji probably wants to sing along. ⤴