I love that when I try to create a schedule for my pieces, I end up losing motivation—explaining why this is a little late. I'm going to keep with it and try again for the next ones.
So, today's post is on the first Visual Kei (imagine glam rock) band I ever listened to, Diaura. Lily is a beautiful song. Yoka's voice is well suited for the rock style; I find his voice calming, as well as all of the members having such talent for their instruments. I feel like they are an excellent introduction to Visual Kei, as they are quite subtle in this and Lost November. They are also a lot more subtle than bands such as Smileberry (who I also love). They have a lot of gothic vibes within their music and clothes. I find that, for me, a lot of the Visual Kei songs I hear, sound like they have taken inspiration from the 80s. There are some fantastic and exciting guitar riffs in the song as well.
I'm not sure whether this song is about a break-up or the person's partner has died (you'll see why later on). I am leaning more towards a break-up with the first line. '白い花束を抱えて笑ってる' (I laugh while holding a white bouquet). I have also seen it translated to I smile, so it feels more like a break-up that wasn't expected. This song is fascinating to me, as Yoka (I'll say Yoka to make it easier) talks as if he wishes he never fell in love. '愛される喜びを知り僕はこんなに弱くなってしまったよ' (knowing the happiness of being loved, I became so weak), this is very odd to me as most people often say 'it is better to love once than never to be loved at all.' But it adds to the feeling of loss throughout the rest of the song. Due to the sense of 'if I can't have you, I don't want anyone else' with his whole world falling apart now that he is not with them. He also feels as though his final farewell hasn't been fulfilled, as it is drowned out by the rain.
The chorus has one of my favourite lines in it. '孤独よりも怖いのは君を忘れてしまう朝' (Even more terrible than being lonely, is the morning that I am going to forget you). This song has a lot of emphasis on life moving on; we all move on with our lives, often forgetting people and memories as we do. Yet these are the things Yoka dreads. Another of my favourite lines is right after this, '限られた時間の中で 人は出会い別れを繰り返す' ("In the limited time, people repeat encountering and parting"). Showing the continuous cycle of life, as All American Rejects say 'we move along'. With this in mind, Yoka asks whether this is the case for all the people we meet. There must be some ties we can't cut. We are later told that there will be an unchanging version of this person in him, within his memories and heart.
The part that made me think maybe their partner is dead is in the second chorus. '手繰り寄せた赤い糸 漂う過去 もう誰も触れさせない この世界' (If you wake up, I will hold out my hand. I want to meet you once again, with a peaceful smile that looks so sorrowful) The bit about if you wake up, just made me think they were dead, I have also seen it translated as If you open your eyes. I'm going to stick with the break-up for this case though. I love that the red string of fate is incorporated into the song. I love the whole belief of soulmates and stuff; I believe the Red string of fate comes from Chinese mythology. But I have seen it used a lot in other East Asian media. So this line: '夜が手を伸ばすから僕は目を逸らしてた' (The red string of fate hauled in my hand) shows that he realises that perhaps this person wasn't in his future, even though he loves them so much. Yoka is possibly questioning the earlier line of whether their ties are meant to be cut.
Overall, I love this song, like many of the ones I write about, as I find it hard to talk about music I don't like. I am so glad they got me into the beautiful world of Visual Kei. I hope you might give it a try too. I wish you the best for the week ahead, and I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for reading
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