Songwriting Coffee | 詩書きコーヒー1

English Romaji

Living at the bare minimum, in a six-mat room of a small apartment
Saiteigen no seikatsu de chiisa-na heya no roku-jou de2
I thought only about how nice it would have been if I could live with you Kimi to kurasereba yokatta, sore dake kangaeteita
The color of happiness is semi-transparent, so it was better to be invisible Shiawase no iro ha jun-toumei, nara mienai hou ga yokatta
I can't do anything; still today will end Nanimo dekinai no ni kyou ga owaru

Living at the bare minimum, in a six-mat room of a small apartment
Saiteigen no seikatsu de chiisa-na heya no roku-jou de
I spent every day staring up at the ceiling, thinking about something Tenjou wo nagameru mainichi, nanika wo kangaeteita
The price of happiness is 60,000 yen Shiawase no kachi ha roku-man-en
After rent, 4,000 yen Yachin ga hikarete yon-sen-en3
In a daze I rummage through memories of you Boyaketa atama de omoide4 wo asaru

I had gotten to where I would talk about love with cold and jaded eyes
Sameta me5 de ai wo kataru you ni natteita
And my coffee, too, is always just as cold Sameta KO-HI- mo aikawarazu sou nan da
I hate this Kirai da

I don't get it, I don't
Wakannai yo, wakannai yo
I don't, I don't Wakannai yo, wakannai yo
The memory you've become will get in my way Omoide ni naru, kimi ga jama ni natteiku
I don't get it, I don't Wakannai yo, wakannai yo
I don't, I don't Wakannai yo, wakannai yo
I don't understand Wakannai yo
How to walk well Jouzu na aruki-kata mo
Or how to say goodbye Sayonara no ii-kata mo

At the lowest possible volume, in a room that's gotten a little bigger
Saishougen no onryou de, sukoshi ookiku natta heya de
I scribble down the cut-off gas Tomatta GASU mo omoide mo
And my memories and the chill of the shower SHAWA- no tsumetasa mo kakinagutta
If I sold my life, I'd hold back two years Jumyou wo uru nara nokori ni-nen
Keep just that, and go back to that town Sore dake nokoshite ano machi he
In all this unneeded time, I rummage through memories of you Amatta jumyou de omoide wo asaru

Clear days and night festivals and the streetlights in Sekimachi
Hare mo yomatsuri mo Sekimachi6 no gaitou mo
Clouds and mirages on the road and the cynical slant of my lyrics Kumo mo nigemizu mo sha ni kamaeta kashi-kan7 mo
It's all sophistry Kiben da

I don't get it, I don't
Wakannai yo, wakannai yo
I don't, I don't Wakannai yo, wakannai yo
The memory you've become will turn into a song Omoide ni naru, kimi ga uta ni natteiku
I don't get it, I don't Wakannai yo, wakannai yo
I don't, I don't Wakannai yo, wakannai yo
I don't understand how to forget Wakannai yo, wasurerareru houhou mo
Or how I could start to do so myself Kore kara no tsukai-kata mo

In my cold, jaded eyes, I was writing the song of you
Sameta me no naka de kimi no uta wo kaiteita
These days of mine are a life lived only for you Boku no kono hibi ha kimi no tame no jinsei da

As I forget dreams, and transience; your mouth, your eyes, those fingertips of yours
Yume mo hakana-sa mo kimi no kuchi mo me mo sono yubisaki mo wasure-nagara
Listen, the song is ending - it's time Hora, sorosoro uta mo owaru jikan da

Your turn has come at last
Yatto kimi no ban dakara sa

I don't get it, I don't
Wakannai yo, wakannai yo
I don't, I don't Wakannai yo, wakannai yo
Become a memory, become a song and leave me Omoide ni nare, kimi yo uta ni natte ike
I don't get it, I don't Wakannai yo, wakannai yo
I don't, I don't Wakannai yo, wakannai yo
You know I don't Wakannai ne
I don't understand that people can walk Hito ha arukeru n da to ka
Or that that should be obvious to anyone Sore ga atarimae da to ka wakannai sa
I don't understand Wakannai yo

1 The character 詩 is used throughout the song, but pronounced as うた rather than し, hence my transcribing the title as "uta-gaki" rather than "shi-gaki". The word うた is used for both songs and poetry, without strong distinction; this character specifically is used for poetry, despite the pronunciation contextualizing its meaning as "song". It's worth considering this song especially as both poem and song. I've also seen two different versions of this song title (the other is 詩書きとコーヒー) but the version here is what's on their official website.
2 A "6-mat room" is a common size of room or very small apartment. It comes out to an area of around 10 m2, or around 110 ft2, with dimensions of around 4m x 3m, or 12 ft x 9 ft. The 6 mats are tatami floor mats, of standard sizes and laid out in a fixed pattern.
3 In 2019, 60,000 yen would have been about $550 USD, with 4,000 yen being around $37 USD. Although cost of living in Japan is much lower than it is anywhere in the United States (meals out can be as cheap as 150 yen), and despite not putting any money towards some utilities, this is obviously still a very dire amount of money to live on for 4 weeks. Based on Tokyo minimum wage, the singer could only have been working a maximum of ~15 hours per week to make this little.
4 想い出 here and throughout this song, a less standard spelling that emphasizes the strong emotions tied to the memory.
5 Playing on 冷めた目 "cold look" and 目が覚めた "awake" or "having come to one's senses".
6 Sekimachi comes up throughout the album. It's a neighborhood in the Nerima Ward of Tokyo, known as the birthplace of anime and the setting of many famous series. Some specific locations, such as Fujimi-doori, are mentioned in other songs.
7 This constructed phrase is likely a play on the common word 価値観, one's values. The implication is that the songwriter expresses the way he views the world through the perspective of his lyrics.