潮来舟
大月みやこ Lyrics

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こんな悲しい涙の恋を
知っているやら利根の月
真菰(まこも)がくれに人目をさけて
今日も棹(さお)さす潮来舟

うわさばかりで帰らぬ人を
待てば十九の春がくる
呼んでみましょか水竿(みざお)を止めて

あやめ祭りのあの夜を

潮来お前は十二の橋を
もっていながら何を泣く

わたしゃひとつの思い出さえも
消えてはかない捨て小舟(おぶね)

The lyrics of the song “潮来舟” by 大月みやこ depicts a sorrowful love filled with tears. The singer compares her love to the moon shining over the Tone River. Being under a cloud of sadness, she tries to hide her tears and row the boat towards the flow of the tide. She talks about waiting for someone who never returned, and now it has been nineteen springs since. She suggests stopping the boat and calling out using a fishing pole to reminisce about the night when they witnessed the iris festival together.

Towards the end of the song, the singer asks the boat why it cries despite having twelve bridges under its ownership. She feels sadness for herself, as she has lost even one memory of her love, unlike the boat that has memories with each bridge. The song captures the essence of the transience of relationships and how memories fade away with time, leaving only a fragment of pain behind.

Line by Line Meaning

こんな悲しい涙の恋を
This kind of sad, tearful love

知っているやら利根の月
Does (even) the moon over Tone River know of it?

真菰(まこも)がくれに人目をさけて
Avoiding people's gaze to hide behind the pampas grass

今日も棹(さお)さす潮来舟
Rowing the Chikaraibune boat again today

うわさばかりで帰らぬ人を
Only hearsay about the person who hasn't returned

待てば十九の春がくる
Waiting for the nineteenth spring to come

呼んでみましょか水竿(みざお)を止めて
Shall we call out and stop lowering the fishing poles?

あやめ祭りのあの夜を
Let's remember that night of the iris festival

潮来お前は十二の橋を
Chikara, you cry out while holding the twelfth bridge

もっていながら何を泣く
What is there to cry about when you have (that)?

わたしゃひとつの思い出さえも
I have not even one memory