才能なんか
sainou nanka
I’ve Got No Talent

Vocals: 音街ウナ (Otomachi Una)
Lyrics: 午後ティー (gogotea)
Composed by: 午後ティー (gogotea)
Upload Date: 13 November 2019

Requested by: naaa
Watch the official video on YouTube!

I originally translated the title as “Something Like Talent.” That, and any permutation of it, is a valid translation choice. The decision here was based on an interpretation of なんか (nanka) that aligns more closely to なんて (nante). It has the nuance of making light of something – picture them shrugging and saying it with a rueful smile.

For another example of this usage, see タバコなんかやめろよ (tabako nanka yamero yo – stop smoking!). The なんか doesn’t change the sentence to mean “stop smoking, or something like that” – instead, it emphasises タバコ (tobacco/cigarettes).

僕に才能なんかないなら
もっと早く教えて　神様
お陰で行くも帰るも　もうできん場所に来ちゃった
そんな顔をしないでよ　母さん
こんな歌　歌ってごめんな
でも　そうしなきゃ僕が僕でいられない日々だ

boku ni sainou nanka nai nara
motto hayaku oshiete kamisama
okage de iku mo kaeru mo mou dekin basho ni kichatta
sonna kao o shinaide yo kaasan
konna uta utatte gomenna
demo sou shinakya boku ga boku de irarenai hibi da

If I have no talent at all
then you could have told me a bit sooner, God!
Thanks to you I’ve reached a dead end and I can’t turn back.
Don’t look at me like that, mum.
I’m sorry I’m singing this sort of song
but these days, I can’t be me without singing it.

夜勤明けの駅は凪いで　朝を焼いて
すてっぱちな僕の生活を暴いては嘲笑う
容赦がないよな

yakiake no eki wa naide asa o yaite
suteppachi na boku no seikatsu o abaite wa azawarau
yousha ga nai yo na

After night shift, the station is calm. Dawn burns the sky.
It uncovers my desperate life and sneers at me.
It’s so merciless.

憧れだったミュージシャンが嫌いになったのは去年の春先
「夢は叶うのさ」って戯言を歌ったから
諦めること　ちょうどいい引き際も
大事だってちゃんと歌ってよ
綺麗な言葉だけで生きてけりゃどれほどか

akogare datta myuujishan ga kirai ni natta no wa kyonen no harusaki
“yume wa kanau no sa” tte tawagoto o utatta kara
akirameru koto choudo ii hikigiwa mo
daiji datte chanto utatte yo
kirei na kotoba dake de ikitekerya dore hodo ka

At the beginning of spring last year, I started hating the musician I used to admire
because what they sang was a joke: “your dreams will come true.”
Knowing the right moment to give up on them
is important, so sing about it seriously!
How long can you live with just pretty words?

僕に才能なんかなかった
疾うに周知の事実ですか
行くも帰るも才能なら　僕は肉塊以下だ
こんな歌を歌わないで済む人生はどこに売ってんのさ
道端に転がる吸いさしが　まさに僕だ

boku ni sainou nanka nakatta
tou ni shuuchi no jijitsu desu ka
iku mo kaeru mo sainou nara boku wa nikukai ika da
konna uta o utawanai de sumu jinsei wa doko ni utten no sa
michibata ni korogaru suisashi ga masa ni boku da

I had no talent after all.
Has it been common knowledge this whole time?
Going or returning… when it comes to talent, I’m worse than a hunk of meat.
Where do they sell lives in which you don’t have to sing this song?
There’s no mistake, the cigarette butt lying at the side of the road is me.

1Kの牢で横臥
日が暮れて満月の明るさを知った
そうだ　もう僕には逃げ場がないのだ

wankei no rou de ouga
hi ga kurete mangetsu no akarusa o shitta
sou da mou boku ni wa nigeba ga nai no da

I lie on my side in my jail, a shoebox apartment. (1)
The sun set, and then I noticed the full moon’s brightness.
That’s right—I’ve got nowhere to run to now.

ここから出ていくためには死ぬしかねぇ
夢なんて持たぬが身のため
明日は我が身だと震える余生　クソくらえ
下を見てみろ　精神論者ども
僕は全てに負けたぞ
線路に横たわる敗者の声は聞こえてんだろ

koko kara deteiku tame ni wa shinu shika nee
yume nante motanu ga mi no tame
asu wa wagami da to furueru yosei kuso kurae
shita o mite miro seishin ronsha domo
boku wa subete ni maketa zo
senro ni yokotawaru haisha no koe wa kikoeten daro

I guess I’ve gotta die to leave this place.
Dreaming no dreams is for one’s own good.
I’ll shudder, thinking “this is me” for the rest of my tomorrows. To hell with it all!
Look down, you idealists!
I’ve lost to everything.
Can’t you hear the voices of those spread out over the railway tracks?

四季の移ろい　人の営み
勝者だけに許された贅の極み
時間なんてない
若いやつらに後ろ指さされてばっか　立つ瀬がない
僕が座る椅子はもうない
世間体　プライド　心中も辞さない
「生きていたい」なんて言えない

shiki no utsuroi hito no itonami
shousha dake ni yurusareta zei no kiwami
jikan nante nai
wakai yatsura ni ushiro yubisasarete bakka tatsu se ga nai
boku ga suwaru isu wa mou nai
sekentei puraido shinjuu mo jisanai
“ikite itai” nante ienai

The passage of the seasons, and work…
They’re the height of luxury, only permitted for the victors.
There’s no time.
The young ones keep talking about me behind my back. I lose face.
There aren’t any chairs left for me.
I’m prepared for the double suicide of my appearances and pride.
“I want to live,” as if I could say junk like that.

項垂れた頭に空いた風穴
どこで道を間違えたかな
14の秋にギターを手にしてからか
今じゃゴミを漁る浮浪者を見て　他人事だとは思えねぇ

unadareta toube ni aita kazaana
doko de michi o machigaeta ka na
juuyon no aki ni gitaa o te ni shite kara ka
ima ja gomi o asaru furousha o mite hitogoto da to wa omoe nee

An air hole opened in my head hung low.
I wonder, when did I lose my way?
Was it since I took up the guitar that autumn when I was 14?
Now, I look at the tramps fishing through the rubbish and can’t think it’s someone else’s problem.

憧れだったミュージシャンが嫌いになったのは去年の春先
「夢は叶うのさ」って戯言を歌ったから
諦めること　ちょうどいい引き際も
大事だってちゃんと歌ってよ
綺麗な言葉だけで生きてけりゃどれほどか

akogare datta myuujishan ga kirai ni natta no wa kyonen no harusaki
“yume wa kanau no sa” tte tawagoto o utatta kara
akirameru koto choudo ii hikigiwa mo
daiji datte chanto utatte yo
kirei na kotoba dake de ikitekerya dore hodo ka

At the beginning of spring last year, I started hating the musician I used to admire
because what they sang was a joke: “your dreams will come true.”
Knowing the right moment to give up on them
is important, so sing about it seriously!
How long can you live with just pretty words?

僕は才能なんかないけど
最後に一つだけいいかな
結局、行くも帰るももう自分次第だってさ
「夢を持つならそれでもいいが、目測だけは見誤るな」
それさえ分かってりゃ大抵はどうとでもなるそうだ

boku wa sainou nanka nai kedo
saigo ni hitotsu dake ii ka na
kekkyoku, iku mo kaeru mo mou jibun shidai datte sa
“yume o motsu nara sore demo ii ga, mokusoku dake wa miayamaru na”
sore sae wakatterya taitei wa dou to demo naru sou da

I’ve got no talent
but can I just say one thing to finish off?
Whether you move forward or turn back, it’s all up to oneself in the end.
“It’s fine if you’ve got dreams, but make sure you don’t misjudge their scope.”
If you understand that, things will generally work out one way or the other.

厭世と多幸は表裏一体だ

ensei to takou wa hyouriittai da

Pessimism and happiness are two sides of the same coin.

(1) 1K (literally “1 kitchen”) refers to a studio apartment with one bedroom and a kitchen, often with only a small door separating the bedroom from the kitchen.