CLOSER

COVER SONG

Music, lyrics, images used in this clip, and all other credits are copyright properties of their respective owners. I do not own any part of them except for my own vocals of course :)

SONG INFORMATIONS

Original Artist: Joe Inoue
Lyrics & Music: Joe Inoue
Available on: CLOSER (Single), Naruto: Best Hit Collection (Album)
Taken From: Naruto Shippuden (4th Opening Theme)
Copyright Property: Ki/oon Records
Cover Recording Date: 2012-01-16 18:57
MORE INFO ABOUT THIS SONG

LYRICS

Mijika ni aru mono tsune ni ki wo tsuketeinai to
Amari ni chikasugite miushinatte shimaisou

If you don’t always pay attention to the things near and dear to you
They’ll get too close and you’ll seem to lose sight of them

Anata ga saikin taiken shita shiawase wa ittai nandesuka
Megumare sugiteite omoidasenai kamo
Ima koko ni iru koto iki wo shiteiru koto
Tada sore dake-no koto ga kiseki dato kizuku

What in the world was the happiness that you experienced just now by my side?
You just might be feeling too blessed and unable to recall it!

The fact that I’m here the fact that I’m breathing
With just those facts alone you'd realize that they’re indeed miracles

Mijika ni aru mono tsune ni ki wo tsuketeinai to
Amari ni chikasugite miushinatte shimaisou
YOU KNOW THE CLOSER YOU GET TO SOMETHING
THE TOUGHER IT IS TO SEE IT
AND I'LL NEVER TAKE IT FOR GRANTED, LET'S GO!

If you don’t always pay attention to the things near and dear to you
They’ll get too close and you’ll seem to lose sight of them

You know the closer you get to something
The tougher it is to see it
And I’ll never take it for granted, Let’s Go!

Hitodasuke wo gizen to yobu yatsura mo iru kedo
Shinjiru no mo utagau no mo hito sorezore dakara
Tatoe kari ni sore ga gizen deatta toshite mo
Dareka wo sukueta nara soryamushiro nani yori mo zutto

There are those who call helping others as hypocrisy
But it’s up to each person to believe or to doubt that

Even if it were to be hypocrisy
If you could save someone then it’d be more realistic than anything

Oitsuzuketekita yume akiramezuni susumeyo nante
Kirei koto wo ieru hodo nani mo dekicha inai kedo
Hitonigiri no yuuki wo mune ni ashita wo ikinuku tame ni
AND I'LL NEVER TAKE IT FOR GRANTED, LET'S GO!

It’s a dream that you kept on chasing, you can say a pretty thing like

“Move forward without giving up” but you can’t do it

I'll have a handful of courage in my chest so I can survive tomorrow
And I’ll never take it for granted, Let's Go!

Mijika ni arumono tsune ni ki wo tsuketeinai to
Amari ni chikasugite miushinatte shimaisou
YOU KNOW THE CLOSER YOU GET TO SOMETHING
THE TOUGHER IT IS TO SEE IT
AND I'LL NEVER TAKE IT FOR GRANTED
Oitsuzuketekita yume akiramezuni susumeyou nante
Kirei koto wo ieru hodo nani mo dekicha inai kedo
Hitonigiri no yuuki wo mune ni ashita wo ikinuku tame ni
AND I'LL NEVER TAKE IT FOR GRANTED, LET'S GO!

If you don’t always pay attention to the things near and dear to you
They’ll get too close and you’ll seem to lose sight of them

You know the closer you get to something
The tougher it is to see it
And I’ll never take it for granted 

It’s a dream that you kept on chasing, you can say a pretty thing like

“Move forward without giving up” but you can’t do it

I'll have a handful of courage in my chest so I can survive tomorrow
And I’ll never take it for granted, Let's Go!

NOTE: Lyrics can be found on Naruto Clone, and I mixed the translation from the site and Words of Songs for a clearer understanding of the song. NarutoWiki also has the English Language version.


PERSONAL THOUGHTS

MARCH! Meaning I'm officially an alumni for 1 year... and what have I accomplished for the past twelve months?.... Woops, never mind that! XD Hey... it's the 3rd month of the year already! Horraay! So what do I have to start the month?

It would be weird to have a theme about Shounen Anime/Shows without this particular series. Simply because it's OBVIOUSLY the most well-known shounen show that is still breathing and airing beside Bleach (which btw, unfortunately is officially going to end airing this month). Should I even say the title of this Nine-Tailed Demon Fox Ninja adventures? I'm not doing the song from the original series though, but from the teenage version/sequel of that Anime/Manga. Yup... new adventures, the 2nd part of the manga story (that occured 2,5 years after the original child-ninja arc) that had spawned 12 season on its own. Yeah... and I haven't watched any of them XD. Teenage Naruto for the win though! Cause the 1st part only manage to have 5 seasons Hahaha... O_o

The story revolves around Naruto and the other konoha ninja kids who are now adult member of the... Hmmm, I don't think I need to explain about this series do I? It's not like noone haven't heard or watch it for all these time (unless you're living in a cave or something like your mom banned you from mainstream shows). Since I only watched less than 10 episode of the 1st arc (and only several chapter of the manga), I don't think I have high credibility to write about it anyway. Well, that's nothing new to my Shounen Shows treatment though (watch only several episodes, then ditch them, and forgot all about it). Let's focus on the song instead!

The song was released in 2008 and was sung by a young Japanese-American musician Joe Inoue. His music style is a somewhat rock-ish with a boyband voice, but the best part is he writes and produces this song alone: a talented young man indeed. Since he was raised in the US, his Japanese sound a bit different, gaijin-sound/foreigner, so you would notice that the way he pronounced his words didn't sound like daily Japanese average-joes (pun intended). I heard that he even had to learn speaking Japanese before his Japanese debut. This comes from his 2nd single, and was used as the 4th opening theme to Shippuden. Oh, have I told you that I have an ill-feel-ness for the color Pink, especially when it is wore by a guy? I just want to note that up so you can guess how I feel about Joe's appearance there on the single front cover (right beside this paragraph)... XD. I really appreciate the song though, because it's... NICE. Not the best song ever, but a nicely done number that fits the atmosphere of Naruto so much.

The lyrics on the other hand, is much better than the actual song and music. That is the main reason why I decided to cover this song. It's a blatant reminder, a strong message about a fact, that most people tends to take other people for granted. Joe said, the closer people are to something, or someone, the less likely they will be able to see it fully, thus you'll end up paying attention to some parts only. It means, that sometimes, people start losing their care when they got closer to others. Yes, it's speaking about human relationship, and unfortunately I've been through lots of that experiences.

As a person, I never take others for granted, and respected them wholly as human being, even when it comes to caring for them. A brother even told me that I've always been TOO kind on that. However, many people around me -as I observed- have a different point of view, that they usually get closer and closer and care for others, when they need them for something they need. Similar to a leech? It's hard to explain, but Joe describe it as hypocrisy, which I totally agree. For me, being untrue, pretending that you care for, and deceiving others to get what you need is a terrible SIN. Unfortunately, as I said, lots and lots of people are doing the exact way now, and that irritates me so much. The virtue of the past, of respecting and valuing others like you value your life, is deteriorating day by day as we come to the present day. I'm afraid what will happen in the future if it continues like this, a future full of profit-oriented self-centered individuals.

So the whole lyric, is meant to be a punch in the face for those people. Hey, start paying attention to those who are close to you, otherwise you'd lose clear sight of them any minute. Stop being a hypocryte, if you need something from someone, don't pretend or act nice just for it. Show an honest care for them if you said that you care for them with your mouth. Stop saying pretty things with decorated fake words of encouragement if you don't even meant it. And the biggest lesson of all, is to NEVER TAKE OTHERS FOR GRANTED! Be thankful, respect others, don't just use them for your benefit... be grateful for their presence in your life!    

The official English version, that Joe had released later on 2010 is speaking about the same message. However it featured a much compact lines, which somehow couldn't grab the essence of the full original Japanese translation, so I opted it out of this discussion. It just felt... OFF... in a way. I guess most Japanese songs are truly meant to stay in their home language. I might do the cover to that English version later on, but only when I had my mood for the job. His vocal on the other hand, sounds better in his English version.

Two challenges upon completing this cover. The recording session was a bit tricky, because Joe's vocal range is a tad (a.k.a. not too much) higher than mine. I somehow nailed it though, but it does sounded a bit forced here and there hahaha. The mixing is the most difficult task, as in the problem I had with ROCK songs. Yup, the volume of the music is usually so loud, that it drown away my vocals. That alone, had made me feel butt lazy, and didn't even bother to have the sound editing done faster than I could've or even should've. Hey, I've recorded my vocal mid January, but finally got the will and spirit to edit+mix the final song yesterday. If it's not for the fact, that yesterday was the last day of February, I think it would still remain as RAW until God knows when XD. So, I kinda forced the editing because I'm unable to do a retake thanks to my flu. The result is okay, but could've been better a.k.a. not as wonderful as I hoped to be. I wish I could re-record it in a proper studio, so the obstacle with the loud music can be overcome. Damn, I even had a dream of doing a professional recording before I woke up just now. I hope it's a premonition!

So, yeah... not the best result from me... but it's still okay and enjoyable. You might notice some visible noises here and there, especially during the final chorus, but that is unavoidable in order to maintain the visibility of the vocal volume visible. I might take an extra time to do a deeper editing in the future, but for today's upload... well... I think this will do fine.

This goes to all those Naruto fans out there, millions of them... and also to deliver its strong message to remind you to be a better person. Hey, don't ever take someone else for granted! Respect others, show honest care and when you're getting more closer to them... pay attention for them, because this world is definitely NOT all about yourself, but about others around you as well. Sincerety is a YES YES, and hypocrisy is definitely a NO NO...

Hope you enjoy it! Thanks for listening, bye now!   

~Furede Riko

"Every man alone is sincere. At the entrance of a second person, hypocrisy begins..." (Ralph Ealdo Emerson)

"How inexpressible is the meanness of being a hypocrite! How horrible is it to be a mischievous and malignant hypocrite..." (Voltaire)

"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around..." (Leo F. Buscaglia)

ORIGINAL SONG

Here's the official PV of the song along with the TV Animation version....

Joe Inoue - Closer
Naruto Shippuden 4th Opening

Hmmm.... the PV kinda made me feel bad for Joe. Considering that he wrote, compose, produce this song by himself, in the PV he played all 3 instruments and sang by HIMSELF as well. All I can catch is a pure lonesome vibe indeed. Eventhough it's probably just the way I see it, but I really just want to pat his shoulder and tell him "Ganbarou Joe!" T_T
Anyway... Enjoy! ^^

-oOo-

What's Next?
- ... a not so-Shounen song... a special tribute for an 'irreplacable' person who will always remain in my sweetest memory...