[Translation] A song I just couldn't help but translate [Dr. STONE]

Good evening 🌙 It's Myu!

I am studying every day for the Customs Specialist exam coming up next month.
I took some past exams feeling quite confident, but I was pretty shocked at the end of last month when I scored below the passing grade.

I'm studying desperately in the limited time I have left,
but I can't keep studying without some entertainment,
so I never miss watching the anime "Dr. STONE" every week.

This time, I've translated Lillian Weinberg's
"One Small Step" from Dr. STONE into Japanese.

It was such a wonderful song that I just
had to do it.

Dr. STONE is an anime where, one day in the 20th century, all of humanity was turned to stone by a petrification beam. Many years later, in the year 5738, the protagonist and scientist Senku Ishigami awakens from petrification and struggles to revive all of humanity while developing scientific civilization.

It's a truly god-tier anime that is both educational and moving, so please
everyone, give it a watch!!

So, let's get right into it!

Back numbers can be found here ⬇️

English translations can be found here ⬇️

〇 Self-Introduction
Myu
2018 ▶︎▷ Enrolled in a public university's English and American Literature department as a regular student
Sept 2019 - March 2020 ▶︎▷ Study abroad in the UK
April 2021 - Sept 2021 ▶︎▷ Study abroad in Ireland (online)
Dec 2021 ▶︎▷ Achieved TOEIC score of 825
March 2023 ▶︎▷ Graduated after submitting a thesis on Japanese-English translation
April 2023 - Aug 2024 ▶︎▷ In charge of all English-related tasks at a commercial facility's information desk
→ English translation of in-house announcements, interpretation for inbound tourists, document creation, English translation of emails, etc.
Aug 2024 - present ▶︎▷ Working as a temporary trade administrator, handling correspondence with foreign customers and shipping agents via email, etc.

If you haven't heard the song, please check it out here ⬇️

https://youtu.be/DwrBN5gNGXo?si=D9MFHJk8etaAOvCs

Cited from the TOHO animation channel

No where to turn
(There is nowhere to go back to)
No where to hide
(There is nowhere to hide)
Between a rock and a hard place
(Between a rock and a harsh place)
Someone to find
(Someone has found it)
I know that times are tough,
(I know. The times are difficult,)
just down and out putting my faith in tomorrow
(and even if I'm beaten down, I'm just struggling, believing that there is a tomorrow.)
I'm ready to go but I don’t know where to start
(I'm ready, but I have no idea where to start.)
Each and every road seems to be calling to me
(Every road I look at seems to be calling to me)
Pulled in every which way, so I made my own path
(I'm drawn to every path. That's it. I should just make my own path.)
A deep breath and my best foot forward
(Take a deep breath and move forward with all my might)
One small step from zero
(A small step from nothingness)
I'm not afraid
(I'm not afraid)
cuz the world that we want is right here for us to make
(Because the world we want is right here. It exists for us to create with our own power.)
Just taking one small step to hero
(Taking a small step toward becoming a hero,)
I'll take the chance
(I'll seize the chance)
And when I do
(When I take action)
I'll be thinking of the same thing I always do
(I'll probably be thinking the same thing I always do)
It's always you
(It's always about you.)

What do you think?

When I translate, I search online to see how others have translated it.
I was doing that as usual this time, too,
and there were people who translated it differently from my initial interpretation,
or people who reflected the anime too much, adding words
that weren't in the lyrics at all,
and everyone's individuality shone through.

As for me, I thought about the anime and tried to translate it with the image of
"Byakuya thinking about Senku from Lillian's perspective,"
being careful not to add any extra words.

Is my interpretation of the English correct?
Did I add too many words?

I often think about things like this when I translate.
The act of translation is the work of understanding the author's feelings as close to 100% as possible and converting them into another language.

So, while I think it's wrong to include too much of my own interpretation,
I also feel like adding certain words would make it feel more vivid.
It's full of conflicts.

Even in Japanese, when you see the phrase "A, B unnecessary,"
there is a possibility of two interpretations:
"A is necessary and only B is unnecessary," or "Both A and B are unnecessary."
However, just by adding the word "both" here, the meaning is fixed to only the latter.
This single word changes the meaning.
It's really tough, the work of translation.

I love the time I spend repeating these conflicts.
I really enjoyed it this time, too.

What do you all think?

I, a curious and inquisitive writer,
will continue to post interesting things about English and translation at my own pace♡
If you want to know more about English,

please like and follow me and stay tuned ☺️
Have a good night 👋