千夜一夜
sen’ya ichiya
A Thousand and One Nights
Vocals: めらみぽっぷ (Meramipop)
Lyrics: RD-Sounds
Arranged by: RD-Sounds
Album: 随 (Manima) [Official site]
Circle: 凋叶棕 (Diao ye zong)
Event: Reitaisai 14 [RTS14]
Original theme: Night Falls ~ Evening Star [夜が降りてくる ～ Evening Star]
Requested by: Lys
This is quite a mystical song, yet it also has quite a lot of darkness lurking beneath…
Firstly, the song title is a reference to the legend of Scheherezade and the Thousand and One Nights. In the story, Scheherazade will be executed at dawn by her king, so she devises a clever scheme to keep herself alive. She tells the king stories, but always leaves the King on a cliffhanger so he’ll spare her life.
I think this song, as a whole, is about Yukari and Merry. The language of the song leaves it open to multiple interpretations, but I think the 1001 nights are Gensokyo, and Yukari is Scheherezade. Merry finds herself lost there, and the events of the song happen. I’d love to hear what you think, though!
非公式の英訳/Unofficial translation
Swaying to and fro…
The sun sets, opening a festering wound beneath the sky.
Small, so small…
A figure is about to be swallowed up by the sky hanging over them.
While being afraid of something,
They do not even know
What about it they find so fearful.
In truth, nobody knows.
A thousand suns set
And tonight, beyond the dim light,
Countless interwoven stories will sleep.
Night tenderly stretches out its hands
Embracing you, embracing the world. (1)
…Now, night falls.
Swaying, to and fro…
In the pitch-black darkness, the fangs stripping you naked are so sharp.
Grandly, grandly…
On the other side, what was hidden is now visible. Everyone around you is an assassin.
What are you afraid of?
That unknown something
Seeks to make something appear frightful.
They just change the numbers around.
Night’s curtain fell a thousand times.
Our time begins anew tonight
Accompanied by immeasurable beauty and endless violence.
The moon is glass-coloured. The wind is like malicious laughter,
Hoping that all those who go astray
Will never be sent home.
A thousand dawns.
A thousand sunsets.
And thus, night arrives once more.
They are born
And they die,
All the while observing infinite lives. (2)
Everyone.
Everything.
And wise Scheherazade, with her mouth sealed— (3)
Somewhere in the sky,
A distant sky,
She gazes down upon those colours, even now
She looks upon a boundary that must never break down…
She passed through many nights,
And thus, she reached a thousand nights. One more night begins.
She will remain unchanging until she has told all the tales she has to tell.
A thousand and one nights.
Sleep tonight, once more and gaze upon the illusion you can see in your dreams.
When you view it at last, you will take it in your hands. It will form a new night’s tale.
A song of protection is heard far and wide.
Dawn is still distant
So sleep. Sleep…
Translator’s notes
(1) Gensokyo (幻想郷) is written, but world (世界) is sung.
(2) Tales (物語) is written, but lives (命) is sung.
(3) Wise one (賢者) is written, but Scheherazade is sung.
Releska 
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