#Composer: BASEMINT

[redfreesias03]

Dareka no Mimi (“A Certain Someone’s Ears”)

“If you can’t say it to someone’s face, go post it in advance on the internet! Whether it’s true or a lie, someone will spread the story around yet again today as well: the king has donkey ears!”

OR: Rumors often spread not because they’re true, but because people are spiteful.

surechigatta dare mo kare mo ga mayu wo hisome    ushiroyubi wo sasu sou jibun ga nanka shita ka? fuan ni natte kuru darou

Every single person who walks by Scowls at me, pointing and whispering behind my back Wait, what did I do? Of course it’d make me anxious, right?

hi no nai (hi no nai) uwasa ga (uwasa ga) kemuri wo (kemuri wo) tateteru (tateteru) akui wa itsudatte    rensa surun da omoshiro hanbun no uso ni ohire ga tsuite itsushika jijitsu ni naru

Rumors raise (rumors raise) smoke (smoke) Even where (even where) there’s no fire (fire). Spite will always form a chain Lies made up “just for fun” Get embellished and Before you know it, they become “the truth”

AH    hyouban nante doudemo ii jan dareka ga nanka itte mo ii jan nan no konkyo mo nai hanashi aa da kou da to katte ni tooku de hoeteru dake darou men to mukatte ienai nara NETTO ni demo kaite oke! shinjitsu demo itsuwari demo kyou mo dareka ga kakusan shiteru ousama no mimi wa    ROBA no mimi da

AH, I don’t care about silly things like “reputation” It’s okay if someone says something about me They’re stories with no basis in anything Running their mouths about this and that, They’re just howling what they want from a safe distance, right? If you can’t say it to someone’s face, Go post it in advance on the internet! Whether it’s true or a lie Someone will spread the story around yet again today as well The king has donkey ears!¹

shokudou de guuzen atta naka ga ii to omotteta KO made gikochinai tsukuriwarai de kyuu ni seki wo tatta yo

Even the girl I thought of as a friend— When I came across her in the cafeteria, She gave me an awkward, forced smile and Suddenly got up to leave

ijime wa (ijime wa) UIRUSU da (UIRUSU da) kansen (kansen) yobou wa (yobou wa) sesshoku shinai no ga kenmei datte sa shikkari te wo arae jibun ga utsusarenakya hotto mune wo nadeorosu

Bullying (bullying) is a virus (virus) To prevent (prevent) being infected (infected) It’s wisest not to come into contact with the person Wash your hands of it thoroughly And if you yourself aren’t infected, Then you can breathe easily

AH   seigi nante doudemo ii jan sore ga tatemae to ka demo ii jan dare mo toku wo shinai hanashi tada nantonaku dareka no ashi de mo hipparitai dake da kao mo namae mo kakushinagara tsuba wo haite tanoshii ka? waruguchi to ka kageguchi to ka hito no fukou wa mitsu no aji kai? ousama no mimi wa    ROBA no mimi da

Ah, I don’t care about silly things like “justice” They can go ahead and use that word    as an excuse for their actions Talk that no one gains anything from— Just because they want to keep Someone else from success, that’s all. Is it that fun to spit on others While hiding your name and face? Insults and malicious slander, Does the unhappiness of others    taste sweet as honey? The king has donkey ears!

iitai koto nara nandemo ieba ii KOSOKOSO    hanashite mo itsuka BUUMERAN

If you have something to say, then say it Even if you’re trying to whisper behind my back Someday it’ll boomerang

AH    hyouban nante doudemo ii jan dareka ga nanka itte mo ii jan nan no konkyo mo nai hanashi aa da kou da to katte ni tooku de hoeteru dake darou men to mukatte ienai nara NETTO ni demo kaite oke! shinjitsu demo itsuwari demo kyou mo dareka ga kakusan shiteru ousama no mimi wa    ROBA no mimi da

AH, I don’t care about silly things like “reputation” It’s okay if someone says something about me They’re stories with no basis in anything Running their mouths about this and that, They’re just howling what they want from a safe distance, right? If you can’t say it to someone’s face, Go post it in advance on the internet! Whether it’s true or a lie Someone will spread the story around yet again today as well The king has donkey ears!

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¹ The story about a ruler with animal ears who tries in vain to keep it a secret is a worldwide tale with many variations: in Korea, it’s King Gyeongmun, in Ireland it’s King Breas, in Serbia it’s the Emperor Trojan, in Wales it’s Lord March ab Meirchion, and of course, the most famous is Greece’s King Midas.

While the original tale is often more about the truth slipping out no matter what you do to hide it (portraying the king as wrong), this song focuses on our seeming obsession as humans with sharing humiliating stories about others (both the barber and, judging by the many global variations of the tale, people as a whole).

The barber’s “low key” sharing of the gossip by talking to an inanimate hole/tree/bamboo grove (to avoid getting caught or feeling guilty) becomes spreading rumors online or behind someone’s back, with equally toxic results.