Laughter by Official髭男dism | Lyrics, Translation, Song Review, Interpretation

Today, I'd like to celebrate the song Laughter by Official髭男dism (often referred to as HIGEDAN). The song is the soundtrack of Confidence Man JP: Princess Hen. The band premiered the official music video on July 17, 2020.

The Band

HIGEDAN is one of the most sensational Japanese bands in the past few years. The band took Japan and the world by surprise, with their wonderful songs such as Pretender (The Confidence Man JP OST, peaked at Top 9 of Oricon and Top 1 for seven weeks in Billboard Japan Hot 100 ), Yesterday (Hello World OST), Shukumei (official soundtrack in 2019 for Netto Koushien, the highlights of National High School Baseball Championship), and No Doubt (2018 Best New Artist Video for MTV Video Music Awards Japan), among others.

As of writing, the band has at least five music videos in the top 100 most viewed Youtube videos, and at least nine in the Billboard Hot 100 Japan.

HIGEDAN comes from the word hige 髭 meaning mustache, and dan 男 meaning man.

The Song (Technicals)

LAUGHTER is the third song released by the band in 2020, "I LOVE..." and "Parabola" being the first and second, respectively. The song is almost six minutes long. Personally, I only noticed the length when I read a song review blog. Although the song is technically long, it is that good, that I would never cut any of it. The song features the band's classic instruments guitar, bass, drums and piano. Lead vocals was performed by Fujihara Satoshi, with main instrumentals and chorus performed by Ozasa Daisuka, Narazaki Makoto and Masaki Matsuura. The song has two distinct verses, two distinct pre-chorus, two distinct chorus, and one coda.

The Lyrics

The overall theme of the song are freedom, choices and self-worth. The song also talks about ambitions and dreams of discovering the world.

The singer discusses that, after a long time weighing out factors, he has decided to leave. Thus, he says he can only emphatize and thank those people who wants him to stay, but he will not change his decision anymore. He then sets forth on a journey where he knows there is no turning back.

He also talks about uncertainty. Although his decision is firm, he is not sure if he can really make it. But, he has chosen himself over everything else, so asking "yes" or "no" has become futile—he has no choice but to move forward. He wants to decide what is right or wrong for his life, and not to be dictated by anyone else. Even if the journey up ahead is vague, he wants to walk on his own and cherish the journey.

He describes himself as an ordinary person with no great background, but his ultimate dream is just to be happy and become someone he is proud of, as he decides to never give up. There is that feeling that the singer is saying, "If only I noticed the light before, I wouldn't have settled in the loneliness I felt." Yet, he tells that he can only move forward while it is not too late, with his burning passion and desire.

He likens freedom to a bird, and he names that bird "Laughter". The song repeats the first chorus, and ends with the lines (in English), "Laughter... continues to sing a song which tells me that I won today."

The lyrics and translation can be found below. (Sorry, it's just my translation.)

The Video

One thing that struck me regarding the music video is that the band never appeared in the whole video. That alone spells volume and weight—that the theme is serious and important.

The whole video features two girls living together a humble but happy life. At the beginning, one of the girls sews a long red fabric which looks like a curtain, but at the end it is revealed that it is a hot air balloon. The girls live in a rather wide but messy place, which indicate the wild imagination of a person. The girls play and admire a motion picture from a projector, as one of them releases a red helium balloon and watch it float to the ceiling.

Next thing, they explore an abandoned dump site and find weird things, such as a key which they include as a pendant in a chain they made into a necklace. This hints that the song depicts, "How beautiful freedom would be." They even admire that specific key. Then, the two girls play in the water and hung their wet dresses as they ate canned food (straight from the can). It gives the feeling of happiness and contentment from a simple life. Afterwards, the girls ride their scooter. Both of them are smiling, while one of the girls play with a cardboard plane as they traverse the wind, but the plane was later disentangled.

As the song enters the second half, the girls complete the hot air balloon torch, and rejoice at their success. This relates to the lyrics about a searchlight, that there is always hope and light in the darkness, and if there is none, you can make it yourself.

The garden of flowers showed in the first half was kind of gloomy and forest-y. In the second half, the girls are sitting in the same garden, but the garden is depicted as bright. One of the girls paint the other girl's face with vibrant paint. That turnaround is very noticeable and important.

There are a lot of montage of the girls' mundane activities, such as reading, brushing teeth, admiring the sea, and lying on the floor. They discover life together, and are often running or walking together, watching the sky together, dreaming of being free together.

Lastly, they tread the meadows to set up their hot air balloon. They finally floated, as they admire the sky and ground below, and let out a confetti. The confetti (which look like coated ) doesn't look important, but it depicts that "We are leaving marks to the ground from up above, which tells that this is the mark of the path we chose."

Interpretations

Everyone would agree that the song talks about freedom, choices, uncertainty and courage, as first described above. The video bounces between blue hues and vibrant colors, which highlights the two sides of solitude. Sometimes, solitude means loneliness or meekness, and sometimes it means freedom and courage. It is also very evident that the house of the girls is very broad, both in surface area and height (they even have a garden), but they are the only ones there. There was no neighborhood around. This connotes that the whole video represents an imagination.

On another note, I can't help but think that, with the music video paired with the lyrics, the song celebrates relationship between two girls. The girls in the video can be interpreted as best friends, or a couple which is not yet fully accepted by the society. In the case of the latter, the vibrant colors in the video supports the interpretation. The theme of silence and breaking out of the song, too. Whether it's platonic or romantic love, I'd like to celebrate the importance of having someone who makes you think life is worth living, no matter how hard it may be. There is a distinct and irreplaceable happiness of having someone who enjoys mundane things with you, admires you for who you are, and willing to go distances just to be with you. And, what joy it is to be finally be able to surface out and be accepted for who you are and what you want to be.

The song talks about all kinds of freedom, which can be gender expression, emotional independence, financial freedom, career choices, among others. Anyway, the explicit message of the song is to break free and be happy. Always choose yourself and your happiness. There are many things that you will lose and gain along the way, and it might be scary to fly, but it will all be worth in the end.

Laughter

Official髭男dism

鏡の中を覗いても　羽根ひとつも見つからないけど

kagami no naka o nozoite mo　hane hitotsu mo mitsukaranai kedo

Even if I peek into the mirror, I cannot find a single feather

空を待ち焦がれた　鳥の急かすような囀りが聞こえる

sora o machikogareta tori no sekasu you na saezuri ga kikoeru

Longing for the sky, birds’ hurrying and chirping, I can hear them

鉄格子みたいな街を抜け出す事に決めたよ

tetsugoushi mitaina machi o nukedasu koto ni kimeta yo

I have decided that I will break out of this iron-barred city

今　それを引き留める言葉も　気持ちだけ受け取るよ

Ima sore o hikitomeru kotoba mo　kimochi dake uketoru yo

Now, I will only acknowledge the feelings in these words that hold me back

どうも有難う

doumo arigatou

Thank you very much

失うものや　諦めるものは

ushinau mono ya akirameru mono wa

The things I lost, the things I gave up

確かにどれも輝いて見えるけど

tashika ni dore mo kagayaite mierukedo

They certainly seem to shine

秤にかけた　自分で選んだ

hakari ni kaketa　jibun de eranda

I weighed them, I chose myself

悔やむ権利も捨て去ってた

kuyamu kenri o sutesatteta

I have abandoned my right to regret my decision

翼は動きますか？　本当に飛べますか？

tsubasa wa ugokimasu ka hontouni tobemasu ka

Will my wings move? Will I really fly?

YesもNoも言わずに真っ直ぐに空を見てた

Yes mo No mo iwazu ni massugu ni sora o miteta

I looked to the sky straight ahead without saying “Yes” or “No”

鳥の名前はラフター　ケージを壊した

tori no namae wa RAFUTAA　keeji o kowashita

The name of the bird is Laughter, and its cage was broken

YesでもNoでもなくて　飛びたいとはしゃいでる声だけで

Yes demo No demo nakute tobitai to hashai deru koe dake de

It’s not about “Yes” or “No”, I want to be shout “I want to fly” in a merry voice

膝を抱えた昨日までの自分を

hiza o kakaeta kinou made no jibun o

Up until yesterday, I curled up (held my knee)

乗り越えたラフター　今日も歌い続けた

norikoeta RAFUTAA 　kyou mo utaitsuzuketa

But Laughter got over that, and it continues to sing today

自分自身に勝利を告げるための歌

jibun jishin ni shouri o tsugeru tame no uta

Of a song to remind me of my victory

本当の正しさってものを　風の強さに問い詰められて

hontou no tadashisa tte mono o kaze no tsuyosa ni toitsumerarete

The strength of the wind pressed a question on what is really correct

行くべき道を逸れて　他の鳥の航路へ迷い込むこともある

iukubeki michi wo sorete hoka no tori no kouro e mayoikomu koto mo aru

Sometimes I stray away from the town I should go and lose my way to other’s bird’s course

乱気流の中でさざめく　光の粒を探して

rankiryuu no naka de sazameku hikari no tsubu o sagashite

Shouting inside the turbulent air, looking for a grain of light

ほら　たとえ紛い物だったとしても　自分にとっての正しさを

hora 　tatoe magaimono datta toshite mo 　jibun nitotte no tadashisa o

Look, even if it’s a fake, what is right for myself

創造してみるよ　大事にするよ

souzou shite miru yo daiji ni suru yo

I will imagine it, and I will treasure it

人格者ではなく　成功者でもなく

jinkakusha de wa naku seikousha de mo naku

Not a person of character, not a person of success

いつでも今を誇れる人で在りたい

itsudemo ima o hokoreru hito de aritai

I want to become someone I can always be proud of

そんな希望抱き　未来図を描き

sonna kibou idaki miraizu o egaki

Embracing that hope, drawing the map of the future

手放さず生きていたいだけ

tebanasazu ikiteitai dake

I just want to live without letting go

現実は見えますか？　保証は出来ますか？

genjitsu wa miemasu ka　hoshou wa dekimasu ka

Can you see the reality? Can you guarantee it?

YesもNoも言えずに答えに詰まっていた過去を

Yes mo No mo iezu ni kotae ni tsumatteta kako o

Without saying “Yes” or “No”, the past was packed with answers

背に乗せたラフター　予想を覆した

se ni noseta RAFUTAA 　yosou o kutsugaeshita

Placed in Laughter’s back, expectations were overturned

ゴールや距離ではなくて　絶えず響いてた声こそが

gouru ya kyori de wa nakute taezu hibiiteta koe koso ga

It’s not about the goal or distance, but the always-resounding voice

孤独な夜にサーチライトにしてた

kodokuna yoru ni saachiraito ni shiteta

There was a searchlight in the solitary night

あの光だった　今やっと気付いた

ano hikari datta ima yatto kidzuita

It was that light, I noticed now at last

前例のない大雨に　傘も意味を為さない

zenrei no nai ooame ni kasa no imi o nasanai

There was no warning for the heavy rain, made an umbrella meaningless

それでも胸は熱くなって

soredemo mune wa atsuku natte

But still, my chest is fervent

海鳴りよりも強く　稲妻よりも速く

uminari yori mo tsuyoku inazuma yori mo hayaku

Stronger than the rumbling of the sea, faster than the flash of lightning

羽ばたいて前途を目指して

habataite zento o mezashite

Flapping wings and aiming straight ahead