【Touhou Lyrics】 Hiroshige No.36 ~ Neo Super-Express

  / lyricalive  

A nostalgic duet for Renko Usami & Maribel Hearn. ...I know I say a lot of songs are meaningful to me, but this one really takes the cake. Please allow me to share a bit of retrospective on its process.

In March of 2015, I went on my first overseas vacation to Japan. I got a chance to ride the eastbound Tokaido-line bullet train from Kyoto to Tokyo... the same route that Renko and Maribel take in this CD, "Retrospective 53 Minutes." I purchased the CD in Akihabara and listened to it aboard the train, as the musical sound effects blended together with the real ones. The only thing that could have made it better is if my Renko was there too! I simultaneously realized how much I loved trains, and how much I missed Renko.

Inspired by this, a few months later, I wrote the first draft of this song. Dedicated to that Renko, during a bad time, its words were meant to be a message of hope: "Whenever you feel like you're at the end of the line, you have to believe that there's always something more to see."

The lyrics were useful in this way, but as time passed, the actual recording was left on hold, just for the typical busy/difficult/perfectionist reasons. In the meantime, a lot of good things happened (we've gotten to visit!), but also really hard feelings (we still lived so far apart...), and I've desperately needed that message of hope for myself too.

As I post this today, my most important dream is finally becoming reality. I'm moving from California to Florida... That is, I'm "running east," to be close to my long-distance partner Lori-hime, who graciously reprises her role as Renko once again. (   / lori-hime   ) Our full playlist of Hifuu duets is here:    • 【Touhou Lyrics】 ZUN's Music Collection  

Merry and Renko totally deserve to make it to Gensokyo together, don't you think?

Your Gensokyo is out there, too. Just keep running!

DOWNLOAD ON MY BLOG: http://asa-turney.tumblr.com/lyrics
ZUN's Music Collection Vol. 4, Bouyu Toukaidou ~ Retrospective 53 Minutes
Maribel Hearn & Renko Usami: "Hiroshige No.36 ~ Neo Super-Express"
Original music by ZUN.
English lyrics by me, fandub vocals by me & Lori.
Fanmade alphes-style portraits from http://gensoukyou.1000.tv/dl.html, art by Kaoru, released for free use.

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(Keep it running on~) All on board, all on board.
One big city's what we're heading toward.
We can get there quick, one short haul--
Not much of a journey after all.

(Sigh...) I'm so bored. I'm so bored!
Through this window is a dull, dull world.
It's a made-up scene, no appeal,
Drawn up in a technicolor seal.

Look at how the blue coast rolls, mountains rise,
Crows fly over in the nearby skies...
But it's all so fake. Is that so?
And if it were real, would you know?

Oh~
-- "I wish we could ride the line above ground and see real scenery, Renko."
-- "I know, I know."
We're trapped in this kaleido-screen...
-- "Whoa, what's the matter Merry? That look on your face."
-- "All of sudden... I feel something strange..."
There's bound to be a better scene...

Run due east, run due east.
Cross that capital to make our peace.
Till the Sun due west clears our mind,
Gaze on back at what was left behind.
Is it one straight line, first to last?
Split this track into a brand new past...
((Bound, we are bound for the end of the line~))
((All bound to be bound for the end of the line~))
((Unbound, turn around at the end of the line~))
((A retrospective, back in time...))

(Keep it running on~) Let's run east, let's run east.
Just keep running, at the very least.
If we've made it here, next go there--
Let's go! Destination: anywhere...!

All on board, catch our ride...
Shift gears swiftly to the other side.
On a train of thought, watch us run--
My my, a conductor's life is fun!

Station number fifty-three~ fifty-three~
Count up all the sights we hope to see!
When the number rings, seize our prime,
Roll in at the designated time!

Keep it running, right on track~ right on track~
There's no ticket to be going back!
Hanging on that rail, don't you fall!
It's our kind of journey after all!

Now approaching: final stop~ final stop~
Past our terminal for getting off.
As we take this step, mind that gap!
We're here! Off the border of the map...