Yuuri Dried Flowers 優里のドライフラワー Lyrics in Japanese and English

Last time, we went through a strange but fun (and, I think, educational) song (Maneki Neko). This time, let’s get a little serious with a song about lost love and 未練(みれん). 未練 means “lingering attachment; lingering affection; regret; reluctance; ruefulness.”

Introduction

Yuuri is a young, up and coming singer/songwriter you might want to put on your playlist. You can find his music on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and YouTube. See links below.

This song, Dried Flowers, was released on October 25^th, 2020.

This time around, we actually have an official English translation. Of course, he translated the song to make the words flow with the music. Our more literal translation below will differ from the official English translation often due to that. Still, we are including the lyrics to the official English version at the bottom.

The song is about the experiences of a couple who had recently broken up. It appears to be written from the perspective of the woman as she describes their differences and her feelings. For example, in the first verse, the pronoun わたし is used. We suspected this might indicate the song is from her point of view, and the Wikipedia entry confirms it:

楽曲(がっきょく)は、ある二人(ふたり)が経験(けいけん)する別(わか)れを女性目線(じょせいめせん)で描(か)き・・・

The song depicts a breakup experienced by two people from the woman's perspective.

She doesn’t want to see or hear from him, and yet—and yet—she can’t help but reply to his texts.

She still has 未練(みれん) – unrequited love; lingering attachments to her boyfriend. Or as Frank Sinatra might say, she carries a torch for him.

There are three main sections with a short bridge before the final section.

Notice this line appears three times (once for each section):

声(こえ)も顔(かお)も不器用(ぶきよう)なとこも

Your voice, your face, your clumsiness also

The first time, the singer assures us her ex-lover's voice, face, and endearing clumsiness aren’t disagreeable to her.

She says:

全部全部(ぜんぶぜんぶ)　嫌(きら)いじゃないの

All of it – all of it, I don’t dislike it.

But the second time, she seems to waver. She uses 多分(たぶん) to show she isn’t as confident about what she thinks of his voice, his face, and his clumsiness.

多分今(たぶんいま)も　嫌(きら)いじゃないの

I probably don’t dislike it even now

After the second time, however, she expresses how she’s been deeply affected by his absence. She sees monsters dancing in the moonlight and “colors” deep within her cause her to remember that she still loves him. This is done not through a memory but through a fragrance. (How poetic!)

好(す)きという気持(きも)ちまた香(かお)る

Feelings of “I love you” again smell sweet

In other words, she’s a gone a little crazy (with love). Here’s how the official English translation handles the bridge:

I see my demons there dancing in the moonlight

Maybe I am going crazy, losing my mind

Even in darkness I can see the colors shine bright

And then, we come to the third section. By now, all pretense has been tossed to the side. His voice, his face, his clumsiness…

全部全部(ぜんぶぜんぶ)　大嫌(だいきら)いだよ

All of it, all of it, I hate.

The song is full of useful words and phrases, so I hope you’ll spend some time studying the song using our guide below.

Listen to the song

• Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/jp/artist/1489331027?app=music&at=10lpgB&lId=23049493&cId=none&sr=2&src=Linkfire&itscg=30440&itsct=catchall_p2&ct=LFV_1f53df49f670c1a6b3fde1a5c33fb985&ls=1
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0ixzjrK1wkN2zWBXt3VW3W?si=yY5Awl_3S2ONtN_vjDV3xA
• Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.co.jp/artists/B0859P2D6Z?ref=dm_sh_7FTyBbBcu7Fr7OJAIDEtBcIyE&tag=linkfirejapan-22&ie=UTF8&linkCode=as2&ascsubtag=1f53df49f670c1a6b3fde1a5c33fb985
• Youtube: The official music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzZ6KXDM1RI

Learning vocabulary from songs isn’t always the best idea because words are rarely pronounced as they are in normal conversation.

However, new songs often do have useful phrases used in real Japanese conversation but not often found in textbooks. That’s one reason why we recorded Yumi speaking each line individually below in normal, conversational Japanese.

Listen to the recording, understand the words and grammar, and repeat after her.

Makoto+ Bonus Content

Video of the Song

Sound File of the Lyrics

Here is a recording of all the lyrics spoken with pauses between lines. See below for breakdowns of every line with individual sound files.

Lyrics in Japanese with Furigana

Official English Version

Line-by-Line with Vocabulary and Translation

Please note, in many cases, due to the poetic nature of songs, other translations are possible.