The helplessness of 'If I were a hero.' The lyrics of 'Tsubasa no Oreta Angel' that resonate after becoming an adult
When you hear 'Tsubasa no Oreta Angel' (Broken-Winged Angel), many people likely recall that husky voice, the Cup Noodle commercial, and the intensity of the year 1985.
However, reading these lyrics (written and composed by Ken Takahashi) again now that I am an adult, I realize that it is not just a 'love song of delinquent culture,' but one that depicts the universal pain of youth and a sense of 'helplessness.'
In this article, I would like to unravel why this song still tugs at our heartstrings from the perspective of its lyrics.
The countdown from 13 to 18
The most distinctive feature of this song is the 'passage of age' that is recited in a rapid-fire manner in the pre-chorus.
Thirteen, the two of us met
Fourteen, with young hearts leaning in, I entrusted them to you at Fifteen
Sixteen, our first kiss
Seventeen, our first morning
Meeting at 13 and experiencing our 'first morning' at 17.
Up to this point, it is a 'story of ascent' that is a bit precocious but contains the sparkle of youth. However, this countdown meets a cruel end.
Little by little, I learned to sigh at Eighteen
Eighteen. At an age that should be full of hope for adulthood, what they learned was how to 'sigh.'
In just five years, they plummet from the euphoria of meeting to the weight of reality (=sighs). This sense of speed vividly depicts the frustration of young people with nowhere to go. Just one step away from entering society, they are already exhausted.
The painful cry of 'If I were a hero'
The phrase that pierces the heart the most in this song, and can be called the core of the track, is the lyric in the chorus.
'If I were a hero,
I wouldn't let sadness come near you'
Since the first-person pronoun here is 'ore' (a masculine 'I') rather than 'watashi,' we know this is his (the partner's) words, or words that speak for his feelings.
He wishes to make her happy. But in reality, he is neither a hero from a tokusatsu movie nor a prince from a fairy tale. He is a 'broken-winged angel' who can only stand in the rain within the system of society.
There is a reality that the platitude 'all you need is love' cannot reach.
The despair of the moment when the omnipotence of youth crumbles and one realizes, 'I cannot be a hero.' The paradox of 'male helplessness' and 'kindness' in these lyrics is what makes this song more than just a rock number.
The 'I love you' that doesn't reach
The opening lyrics are also very cinematic and symbolic.
Driving rain hitting the driver's seat
A hurricane at night where the wipers don't work
'I love you' couldn't be heard, so I leaned my ear to your lips
The torrential rain, so heavy that the wipers are useless, is likely a metaphor for the harsh environment surrounding them.
And above all, what is heartbreaking is the description of the most important words, 'I love you,' being drowned out by noise (the sound of rain) and failing to reach.
They are trying desperately to convey it, but the environment does not allow it.
A faint love that can only be heard by leaning in close.
This 'failure to reach' becomes foreshadowing for the later 'learned to sigh at eighteen,' hinting at the difficulties in their future.
Conclusion: We are all broken-winged angels
When you become an adult, you learn the limits of what you can do.
You experience the frustration of wanting to protect someone important but being unable to, and the experience of being hit by the unreasonable 'rain' of society.
At the time of its hit in 1985, this song might have been heard as a 'song for drop-out youth.'
However, listening to it now, after time has passed, I realize that this is 'a song for everyone who struggles to love someone while facing their own helplessness.'
I couldn't become a hero.
But perhaps because we know that pain, this husky singing voice continues to stay close to our hearts even now.