lyrics translation. 'Leeca' by Gackt

As far as I could understand, I was not the only one who thought that 'leeca' would probably stand for the Leica photo camera. Therefore, it might be useful to think that a photo is an important element of this song.

lyrics

木漏れ日の中で君は微笑ってた
膝の上で眠る子犬もやすらかな顔をして…
小さな本を手の平に広げて
綺麗な指でそっと言葉をなぞる

その笑顔で何もかも救われると思ってた

限られた空の下で消えた
あの頃の君を思い出には…
造られた夢の中で見てた
あの空は、もう…

透き通る風の中、儚くて抱きよせた
振り返る姿は今もまだ
離れなくて

限られた空の下でそっと
ささやいた言葉を繰り返して
閉ざされた胸の中で今も
あの頃と同じように微笑っている…

夕暮れに響くこどもたちの声は
笑顔を連れて消えていく…

translation

Under the sunlight coming down through tree branches you were sitting with a smile on your face
And a puppy was sleeping so calmly in your lap
You opened a small book and were holding it with your hand
Gently tracing the words with your beautiful fingers

I thought your smile would mend everything

And then, you disappeared under that fragment of sky
But I can’t think of you only as a memory
That dream was artificial
And the sky I saw in it no longer exists

I held you close in the transparent wind, since you were so fragile
The image of you looking back over your shoulder
Doesn’t leave my mind even now

The words I whispered to you softly under that fragment of sky
I repeat them again
And in my heart, which remains closed since then
Even now we are smiling, just like then

The voices of children resonating in the twilight
Gradually die down, taking smiles with them

_____

Oh, the things I read in different translations of this song... First, the 'limited' sky is a very nice literal translation of 'kagirareta sora', but then, if you can give me an example of a limited sky... Considering the title, it's possible that He remembers only a certain part of the sky they were sitting under, probably the one that was captured on a photo, supposing there were at least a few of them. Also, the 'memories' did not disappear, only She did, which is pretty obvious from 'omoide ni wa', as opposed to 'omoide wa'. It should be also pretty obvious that 'omoide ni wa' is a typical unfinished phrase so common in Japanese, which needs to be properly finished by the reader themselves, and it's most probable this phrase would end in 'dekinai'. The same goes for the 'sky' He saw in the artificial dream, which is not simply 'already', but already gone. Though leaving the unfinished as unfinished is also a way to translate, I went for a full sentence.

Translating literally 'I thought everything would be saved by your smile' is also okay, but then, it feels like He hoped not that the world would find its salvation, but rather that everything will be well and  in order again.

It's highly confusing who was actually smiling in His heart when He whispered the words, and it would really make sense if He remembered Her smile because it was so elaborately explained in the first verse, but still, I do believe that in the second He is smiling as well, because if it were only Her smile, it would need an explicit mentioning of Her - this time, yes, I think it would.

The last line, however, changes the smiling from 'warau' to 'egao'. It is again unclear as to whose smile it is, but it might be possible that when the image of Her smile dissolved, He stops smiling, too, which is why 'smiles' is the words.