Discussion topic for Track 6 of Love Song: Bokura no Koi (Our Love). Please support the official release by purchasing the album from iTunes! You can find a translation of the lyrics on ShiraneHito’s blog.
Please tag references to later songs or outside works with the [spoiler] tag, providing adequate context in parenthesis.
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Cool, this shit I can deal with. There’s a slew of symbolism, but there’s no eldritch sentence structure going on. To summarize, a boy starts painting the ocean on a wall. This first attracts a young girl then more people join in. Eventually, “something” breaks, and the boy couldn’t stop it. After a long time, the boy finishes the painting alone in tears. I’m most interested in the painting and the ocean depicted in it. There’s also some smaller lines too.
The painting may be a symbol of something, but to me it seems mostly like a project the two shared. It’s interesting to me that they make the painting their “challenge.” The word used is 課題(kadai), and I most strongly relate this to home work because that’s where I’ve heard it used the most. So if we assume that they’re making this painting as home work for school over summer, that gives me a heavy feel of childhood. The girl was already described as a child, but there are more people involved. All people in that place are said to have experienced loss, so maybe this is some facility for children, maybe an orphanage or hospital. I also noticed the image for this song seems to be a painting on a cracked wall with an ocean. THe image has a clear divide between the two children that the boy is trying to cross seemingly unsuccessfully. Behind the girl, who is bandaged, is also a red blob like how the song describes her brushstrokes. Everything points to her being dead and the boy finished the painting for her sake.
The ocean in the painting has numerous meanings, I think. Twice is it said that they’re trying to broaden the ocean. I feel like this is a symbol of their life and sphere of influence. The first time they broaden the ocean, more people appear to help them; however, the boy, encouraged by the girl’s smile, wants to go further and this is when it falls apart. The ending line is very curious. The complete ocean is one where there is no longer anyone around. Also to point out, 君と means “with you,” so it wasn’t just the girl who was aiming for that ocean. Now was it intended for there to not be anyone in the picture, or is this a symbol of the painters having left/died?
Summer is another important word. In the beginning, the summer has just started. In the end, even though several seasons have passed, the painting’s completion is equated to the end of summer. More specifically, 君を好きでいた夏. Translated literally, this means “The summer when I was in love with you.” It’s possible these two were only together for a single summer.
Finally, the narrator claims twice that he can’t love people. Due to when it’s first said, I believe this relates to why he is in this place of loss.
Edit: I forgot the background noise. Biz pointed out that tracks 5 and 6 are linked by the sound of waves or the ocean. This song also ends with a similar sound, but I think it sounds more like the rustling of leaves. It doesn’t have the back and forth of waves.
I really like the hospital / orphanage idea. The image of the sea always conjures up feelings of freedom and endless possibilities. For these kids, perhaps freedom feels like such a distant concept to them. Indeed, the sea is described as being distant, “away from this place”, something unreachable. Perhaps these children feel bound by their fate, and wish for greater things. And yet, in reaching for that dream, everything breaks nonetheless.
@Bizkitdoh did bring something to mind though. Perhaps the sea reflects back to the dream of blue, Ao no Yume.
So, I’m not sure, but it seems like the boy’s inability to love might be tied to 2 things. 1., his circumstances. He says in the song, “Even though I know from the very beginning that we live to be broken, to be hurt, and to lose,”. It would appear to him that he is so certain of this fact that he has trouble imagining a world beyond it. 2., even when he decides to have a form of ambition, I interpret that perhaps he failed to understand the girl’s dream, and in his presumptuousness, began to lose sight of everyone. What really makes this seem plausible to me is the last line of the last stanza. “The drawing of a sea with no one in it. The sea you were aiming for.” Perhaps, in his eagerness, his dream began to diverge from what the others wanted. Or, in his affection for the girl, he started to drive everyone else away as his focus became increasingly narrow. It’s possible these two thoughts aren’t connected. However, if they are, I’m curious as to why the girl would have desired such a drawing if she also wanted to leave the island.
I find it interesting that at the beginning of the song, he clarifies that he’s drawing the picture, “as this summer had just started”. I take that as the boy, desperate for some kind of escape from the life he currently has that the endless free time of summer doesn’t grant him, looks for a solace in a painting of the sea.
To me, the sea represents the hope and opportunity no one on the island has but would love to obtain. In their present circumstances, they don’t seem to have anything. But bonding together as a community in their common desire to be somewhere better is enough to get them to contribute to this painting. Initially, I assumed that the characters lived near the beach, but I realize now that is not the case. Likely, the area they live is far removed from anything that’s close to as naturally beautiful.
A nice detail I like in the drawing is the seagulls on the boy’s shirt. Could this be another reference to his desire to escape?
I adore the imagery of “expanding the ocean” specifically “their” It seems to be symbolic mostly of their connection and life.
So of course it turns red right away. Not that anyone is surprised by knowing it has a Bad End. But geez, with how pretty the idea of painting together was I felt particularly punched in the gut by this one.
The second chorus gave me CLANNAD vibes with how it brought in a sense of community.The ocean that had been just theirs was then something that the whole community helped make. And the singer felt empowered by working together with everyone.
But then tragedy strikes, before that summer is over and the girl dies. And the singer is now painting alone. I take the fact that he is in the same spot, still working on the same drawing and his repeated assertions that “he can’t love anyone” as the singer being unable to move on from that spot, despite how much time has passed.
In the final stanza the lyrics reference that he just finished drawing a sky, before talking again about the drawing of the ocean - only now specifically the “ocean with no one in it” - I’m guessing that this means the drawing that had been an ocean became one of the sky. Symbolically we have two vast, usually blue, expanses. The ocean is usually kind of seen as a place of life and energy, while the sky is empty. And the empty ocean is where the girl aiming. This makes me wonder if she committed suicide? At any rate it makes her seem very dead.
I was curious for a bit about what exactly “red” represented when it came to the painting. Looking back on it, the mention comes right after a line about the sea they’ve created continuing endlessly. So, I’d agree it makes sense that it would potentially represent her death. I wasn’t sure how at first, though. I came up with the possibility that since they’re painting a sea, and there’s later a reference to the sky, perhaps the color red represents sunset? In the real world, day always comes to an end and night follows. The transition period is called sunset, and the sun and the sky often look red when it happens. Since he referred to their painting as lasting forever, perhaps it’s illustrating a contrast where, because it’s dyed red, because it’s sunset, there is an end, unlike his expectations of it being eternal.
Red is kind of symbolically burdened with more meanings than any single color should probably have to carry, but for me the image of an ocean turning red makes me think of blood and death. I do acknowledge the very real possibility that this is confirmation bias on part because I know who wrote the music and at this point his name puts you on high alert for tragedy.
The sunset imagery is pretty cool link - the boy at the end is left having just finished painting the sky. So if the ocean turned red and and thus the ocean transited to being a sky (sky at sunset) that would tie that all up pretty neatly.
This is my favorite song in the album so far~ The lyrics make up a really nice, vivid picture of bonds and loneliness. It makes me wonder if the singer is immortal as everyone he knows disappear or pass away, leaving him alone. That could be the reason why he is unable to love anyone because he understands that everything ends eventually. What it appears to me, the boy is painting a picture of himself and the people who contributed a piece of the sky might as well adding life to his lonely picture. What only remained in his endless lifetime is the endless sky.
Bokura no Koi, like many of the love songs before, is about a love that was never meant to be. In the beginning, we start with a boy in front of a wall. He decides to create graffiti on said wall. The graffiti could possibly be covering something else up or it could be that the wall is just a blank space. Either way, the singer starts to paint a distant sea. I interpret the sea as being a symbol of the titular love while the fact that it is distant suggests that it simply is not meant to be.
In the next part, the girl appears and paints with the singer. As the song progresses, the two expand the sea in hopes of it continuing forever. However, their love cannot continue forever as the graffiti can only extend as long as the wall is. It must end at some point. Then, the sea becomes dyed in red. I avoid the darker interpretations and death flags and instead interpret this as just a disagreement. The color represents how the two differ in their interpretations of the love they share.
In the next few lines… my interpretation kinda falls apart. I was writing this in Japanese class and kinda just went toward analyzing whatever I could during class. But anyways skipping to near the end.
The seasons passed and the singer became alone. He again turns to the wall and creates graffiti, this time he must be painting over the sea that was there before. He is covering up his memories which kinda goes to show why hes crying so much.
In the end, he finishes the sea all by himself, but its a lonely sea with no one in it. It was the sea she too was aiming for as they decided to separate, and go through their lives alone.
Based on the translation provided in the topic, because I don’t know Japanese.
Title
“Our Love” is an interesting title choice, considering some of the lyrics (and Ao no Yume as a whole). One sided love is relevant across Love Song, and this is no exception. Based on the title, the singer implies that the love is mutual. This plays further into the mindset of the singer, them thinking that their love is reciprocated.
Summary and Interpretation
The song begins with the singer deciding to “create graffiti” on a wall. They draw a “distant sea” while noting that the summer has just started. It’s interesting that the summer had just started, as in the last song (Hyaku nen no Natsu) the summer had already been underway. This leads me to believe that those two songs carry a similar message, occupying the same “time” (time being a lesson the singer learns about love).
The very next day, a girl is there, wanting to “create graffiti” together. The word choice is interesting here, the singer saying “my picture” to invoke the sense of ownership, but also “together” and “with me” to include the other person. I see this “picture” (and by extension, the sea they are painting) as the future they want to share together. The ocean is vast and mysterious, and is known to represent a person’s innermost thoughts. As they paint this picture, their minds align and they fall in love. The singer wants to be closer to the girl, saying “let’s expand the sea both of us created.” Notice how it’s no longer “my picture/my sea,” but one they share. They want it to go on forever. But no love is perfect. After the girl paints, the sea is “all dyed in red.” Red symbolizes many negative aspects of human nature. This points to two things: the girl is crazy/dangerous, or impending doom(like breakup or something) for the singer is near. The stark change in attitude follows in the next line, “All the people gathered here are the same./ They kept losing something./ While I am unable to love anyone.” The easy answer is “the singer has lost their ability to love.” Everyone there has lost something, and the singer is no exception.
Yet, as most people with something in common do, the group of people get along. The singer, on the other hand, struggles to fit in. There is a consistent guilt weighing down on them, and it eventually overtakes them. As the group bonds, they laugh and paint in “various color[s].” The use of “various colors” shows how they try to accept everyone. By “expanding the sea all of us created,” they deepen their connections with each other. The singer, has eyes for the girl. “That’s what I thought every time I see you smiling beside me” suggests they only want to be part of the group to get closer to the girl. Motivations skew, the singer realizes again that deep down, they are flawed.
The next stanza shows the singer’s effort put into trying to make it work with the girl. The singer blames themselves, on the fact that “we live to be broken.” Because of this attitude, they aren’t able to “protect” the girl. Here, I assume protect means love because of how often Key works define love as “the feeling of wanting to protect something. Even saying “I can’t protect anything,” along with earlier lines, makes it clear that the singer believes that they have lost their ability to love.
In the last stanza, the singer states that they have finished drawing a “sky.” The sky and the sea are closely intertwined, so changing the sea to a sky is not a large leap. The singer is crying, having finished drawing the picture. They are sad to see their summer project complete, not simply because it’s over, but because everyone has left, including the girl. A chapter in the singer’s life is complete. It ends with a drawing of the sea, one the girl was “aiming for.”
Wait, this flips the song on its head!
The girl never wanted to be with anyone, she just wanted to be alone, isolated at sea. She led the singer into thinking that they were inherently flawed, but it was actually her all along, not wanting to be with the singer. The sea “dyed red” foreshadowed this, the girl has a different, more sinister(at least to the singer) thought process. As the ocean symbolizes the girls deepest thoughts, it shows how she wants nothing to do with the singer. The internal turmoil the singer went through was because they never considered that they weren’t the problem. When they had finished drawing the sea, nothing left in their mind to figure out why the relationship didn’t work out, all they could do is release their emotions through their tears. The girl was as out of reach as the sky. Yet, the sea is only blue because it reflects the sky. The singer is only happy when the girl is there. Without her, the waves are just grey. The singer put themselves on a chase that never started.
Musical Analysis
The song begins with a noise in the background.
To me, it sounds like the tide rolling out: swelling once, then fading into the piano. The ending makes it a bit more clear, where the sounds of the sea comes back (along with what sounds like birds faintly cawing? Can’t really tell).
The piano plays the same set of notes over and over while the singer sings. This repetition is present throughout a large portion of the song, accompanied by other instruments or not. In the third stanza, the melody changes, but the pattern is still present: repeating a set of notes. Here, the singer gets their first red flag about the girl. Afterwards, it returns to the same one from before.
I believe the rolling piano notes to represent the inner thoughts of the singer. They back the singer, and in the presence of other instruments, changes and softens. This shows a social pattern the singer experiences. The singer initially feels strong, but in the presence of others feels that they have to fade away. This is a reflection of the events of the song; the singer initially is alone, then is joined by more people. As the group grows, the singer feels more and more isolated, forcing them to question if they are at fault. The swings in the piano melody represent that.
Picture
The picture appears to be in the style of the picture of the sea drawn on a wall, as indicated by the pipe and cracks and window thing. What’s interesting is that the girl doesn’t appear to have a shadow, while the guy does. This leads me to believe that the girl shown is drawn on, while the guy is standing in front of it. I believe that this is the picture from the final line “the sea the girl was aiming for.” There is some red paint near her head, from the sea “dyed all red.” A few other things to notice are the crack in the wall through the girl and the cloth/bandage on her wrist(I think that’s what that is). These all seem to be red flags that the girl is not mentally stable, being “cracked” figuratively and actually. The bandages might allude to the fact that she cuts herself, playing deeper into her character. The bottom half of her dress seems to blend into the sea, furthering the connection between her and the sea she was aiming for.
One Sentence Summary
Being lonely is hard, so the two of us joined hands; two people is lonely, so a circle of us joined hands
With only their own actions to reflect on, a person blames themselves for a love lost to them.
Final Thoughts
The song sounds like a beautiful way of portraying the feeling of someone left behind. Here’s a scenario: two people are friends. Then, more people join the friend group and everyone becomes buddy buddy with each other. But as time goes on, one of the two friends gets left behind, and distances themselves from the group–eventually only being able to be friends with one person…
hey
I’ve heard something like that before
Yeah I’m sitting on a lot of LB vibes from this song, like (LB)[spoiler] lines like “we live to lose” and everyone with one tragic thing in common becoming friends and having to be alone and
jeez the ending to this song is sad.
Good thing LB has a happier end right [/spoiler]
Bokura no Koi definitely takes the love part of Love Song in a different direction. Now we see a little more about the people the singer loves. I’m interested to see how it changes in later songs.
Speaking of LB… Mio is that you?! gdi Maeda…
Yeah, I noticed this as well when I saw the pic. It does appear like the girl is a part of the painting than a real person looking at the way her dress fades with the scenery behind. It suggests that the boy’s selfish and isolated dream of the sea became a dream he could share with someone, specifically the girl and eventually, the people he met along the way. Of course, the girl dies and his dream became her. He stopped drawing for himself, and instead, drew the sea for her.
I’ve fallen absolutely in love with this song. Hearing the waves in the background, accompanied by the mellow piano repeating itself, and the occassional guitar riff giving an amazing appeal to it… man i could listen to this song for hours and not get tired. 5/5 song and my favorite so far.
As for the meaning, I have a fairly different interpretation of this song, so bear with me, if you will.
The song starts with the story of a boy who stats making graffiti on a wall. Naturally this painting isn’t literally painting, but I see it more as a representation of living life. A girl appears by the wall, rather, in his life, and asks to be with him in it. This is his first love. It was a mutual love that endes all too abruptly. Perhaps misfortune attacked the girl, or perhaps it didn’t work out. Either way, the boy is left alone.
Time passes and the boy continues painting (living life) but with more people in it. He finds solace in this group and is able to enjoy continuing life. But, because of his traumatic experience with his first love, he remains unable to love. Thus, with his group, despite finding somebody to love, he is constantly dragged down by the trauma of his first love. He is unable to satisfy her and, of course, this new girl being broken herself, finds no use on him, and their relationship falls to shambles.
Yet another failure, the boy continues on his own. Continues painting and continues living, with tears on his eyes. All of that until he finally decides to finish the painting that he believes everyone else wanted: the painting without him in it. The life where he no longer exists.
Yes, my friends, this is the story of a man broken by loving and losing, becoming unable to fix himself because of that, and deciding that life would be better without a broken person like him in it. This is probably the song where I got the most suicidal tendency in it, and that power in the lyrics pushed the impact on to me even further. A wonderfully sad, sad song, and I love it.
