★ The English lyrics are below the Japanese one ★
小学生の時、お家の近所に
ちいさなクリーニング屋さんがあった
パパのスーツもママのジーンズも
評判の仕上げでぴっかぴかさ
戦争で旦那さんが死んでから
お婆さん一人でお店 切り盛り
四人の子供 立派に育て上げ
皆に「ふなばー」って呼ばれてた
僕がお使いにいくといつも
カサカサの手で頭 撫でてくれて
でかいマスカットの飴玉一個
くしゃっと笑う、大好きなお婆さん
ふなばーはお店で一人暮らし
裏にはちっちゃい川が流れてる
台所の勝手口 開いてて
上から蠅取り紙がぷらぷら
昔この辺に蛍が沢山いたけど
もう一匹もいなくなったって
この前パパが言ってた！
今日も店の裏のビニイルパイプは
ものすごく黒い水を垂れ流す
今日も店の裏のあの川からは
ものすごく嫌な臭いがしてる
六月のある日「夜、店の前においで」
って言われて行ってみたら
店は真っ暗 不安定に光る電灯の下
あのいつもの笑顔
「山に行って採って来たんだけど
一匹ばっかしでごめんね」
柔らかく合わせていた両手 開き
ぱっと、何かを暗がりに放った
Ah～ Beautiful firefly, beautiful firefly, come over here
The water over there is bitter, the water over here is sweet
Ah～ Beautiful firefly, beautiful firefly, come over here
The water over there is bitter, the water over here is sweet
急にぐんっと上の方に舞い上がり
チカチカ電灯のあかりに重なり
瞬間、二人ともホタル見失い
しばらく探して もうそれはいない
ふなばーは残念そうな僕に
「はい、きょうはもうおしまーい
あらちょっとまってて、飴ちゃんそこに」
そう言って電気ついてない勝手口
YO！
ゆっくり歩く曲がった背中の先に目をやると
暗い台所の天井で黄緑の光がちょっと
それさっきまで外、飛び回ってたやつじゃんかーきっと
元気に点滅するそれはじっとじっとじっとじっとずっと
…動かないまま（いらない…）
僕は家に向かい全力で走った
とにかく悲しくって、悲しくって
なんだか恐ろしくなった
きのうはごめんなさい、というと
「ええよ」
カサカサの手で頭 撫でてくれて
でかいマスカットの飴玉一個
くしゃっと笑う、大好きなお婆さん
ふなばーはお店で一人暮らし
裏にはちっちゃい川が流れてる
台所の勝手口 開いてて
上からは「新しい」蠅取り紙！
昔この辺に蛍が沢山いたけど
もう一匹もいなくなったって
この前パパが言ってた！
今日も店の裏のビニイルパイプは
ものすごく黒い水を垂れ流す
今日も店の裏のあの川からは
ものすごく嫌な臭いがしてる
Ah～ Beautiful firefly, beautiful firefly, come over here
The water over there is bitter, the water over here is sweet
Ah～ Beautiful firefly, beautiful firefly, come over here
The water over there is bitter, the water over here is sweet
…どっちの水も●ー●●●
▼▼▼▼ English ▼▼▼▼
When I was in elementary school
There was a small dry cleaning shop near my house
My dad’s suits and my mom’s jeans were kept shiny
With perfect cleaning skills of the shop
After her husband died in the war
Elderly madam ran the shop by herself
She raised four children
And everyone called her “Funa-bah”
When I went to the store to help my mom
My beloved old madam would always stroke my head with her dry hands
Gave me a big Muscat candy
And smiled crumpling her wrinkled face
Funa-bah lived alone in the shop
There was a small river flowing behind it
The kitchen back door was open
And a fly catcher was placed on top and dangling
The other day my dad said there used to be a lot of fireflies
But there aren’t any left in this area！
Today, the vinyl pipe behind the store is still letting out very black water
Today, the river behind the store is still smelling very bad
One day in June, I was told to come to the store at night
And when I went
The store was pitch black, and under the unsteady light
There was her usual smile
She said, “I went to the mountains to catch some
but I’m sorry I only caught one.”
He opened his hands, which had been clasped together gently
And suddenly threw something into the darkness
Ah- Beautiful firefly, beautiful firefly, come over here
The water over there is bitter, the water over here is sweet
Ah- Beautiful firefly, beautiful firefly, come over here
The water over there is bitter, the water over here is sweet
Suddenly it flew up high
It overlapped with the flickering light of the electric lamp
In an instant, both of us lost sight of the firefly
We searched for a while, but it was gone
Funa-bah said to me with a disappointed look
“Yes, that’s it for today, wait a bit…candy…”
And with that, we headed to the back door
Where the lights were not on
I looked over at the tip of its curved back as it walked slowly
A yellow-green light was shining on the ceiling of the dark kitchen
That must be the one that was flying around outside just a moment ago
It was blinking energetically, still and still and still
…Still motionless！（I don’t want a candy!）
I ran as fast as I could towards my house
Anyway, I was so sad, so sad
That I was kind of scared
I said I was sorry about yesterday
“It’s okay”
She replied and stroked my head with her dry hands
Gave me a big Muscat candy
And smiled crumpling her wrinkled face
Funa-bah lived alone in the shop
There was a small river flowing behind it
The kitchen back door was open
“New” flypaper is hanging from above
The other day my dad said there used to be a lot of fireflies
But there aren’t any left in this area！
Today, the vinyl pipe behind the store is still letting out very black water
Today, the river behind the store is still smelling very bad
Ah- Beautiful firefly, beautiful firefly, come over here
The water over there is bitter, the water over here is sweet
Ah- Beautiful firefly, beautiful firefly, come over here
The water over there is bitter, the water over here is sweet
…both waters are ●ー●●●
▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲