Chara earned her nickname as a schoolchild from her teacher (charachara means "scatterbrained") and has been called such ever since. She has always been musically involved, she began composing music in her later years of elementary school and played keyboard in a band from her second year of high school.
One of the things that defines Chara's music is her singing voice. It is often described as sweet and whispering like a child's, yet forceful and sincere. Despite her very distinctive singing voice, Chara considers herself a musician first and foremost; proficient with instruments such as the piano, drums, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, synthesizer and tambourine. There are common themes to a lot of her music, including motherhood, innocence, love, beauty, and cheerfulness.
She has appeared as one of the main characters in 'Swallowtail Butterfly' movie and sang all the songs. The album 'Montage' is actually a vocal collection from this movie, that's why it was released under the name of Yen Town Band - which is a fictional band from the story. She has also starred in 'PiCNiC' where she played the mental patient Coco. She would go on to marry her co-star Asano Tadanobu (浅野忠信) in 1995. Currently, the pair have two children, a daughter Sumire (born 1995) and later a son Himi (born 1999).
真夜中の約束
Chara Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
さまよった強がりよ
「意味探す」が 光るから 足りないんだ
重なって惹かれろ みつめて ゆっくりと
はぐれた世界の 片方さ
運ぶの
夢の王様約束よ
言えばきっと くれるの？
誠実さが埋もれたんだ あいたいんだ
重なってゆっくりと 見つめて 惹かれろ
はぐれた世界の 片方さ
運ぶの
はぐれた世界の はじの嘘 君を俟とう
内側に聴こえちゃえ 聴こえちゃえ 胸の奥の
この胸に響いちゃう 胸の奥の
いつの間にか超えちゃえ 聴こえちゃえ
でも無茶にさ 閉じ込めてさ
まだ光りさ
あなたは違う？ 私の都合
いつの間にか超えちゃう… 聴こえちゃう…？
いつの間にか超えちゃえ
無茶にあげるのは…
いつのまにか枯れちゃう… 枯れちゃう…
いっぱい泣いた事は
一瞬で呑み込んでね
内側に聴こえちゃえ 聴こえちゃえ
いつの間にか枯れちゃう？ 胸の奥の
いつの間にか超えちゃえ 超えちゃえ
集めない この胸の好都合
The lyrics of Chara's song 真夜中の約束 portray the story of two people who have been aimlessly wandering around with a facade of strength but ultimately end up calling out to each other. They feel that they are missing something although they have been constantly searching for the meaning behind their existence. The lines "重なって惹かれろ みつめて ゆっくりとはぐれた世界の 片方さ運ぶの," which roughly translate to "Overlap and be attracted to each other, slowly staring at the other, carrying one half of the world that has been separated," reflect the idea that two people coming together can bring a sense of completeness to their individual worlds.
The song speaks of the dream king’s promise and the hope that these promises will be fulfilled. However, the honesty and sincerity of their desires have been buried deep inside them, and they long to dig it up and express it. The lines "はぐれた世界の はじの嘘 君を俟とう内側に聴こえちゃえ 聴こえちゃえ 胸の奥の," which mean "We will wait for the lies from the edges of our separated worlds to come out, listen closely to your inner self, and let it be heard from deep within your heart," point towards the idea that they are not going to give up until their true selves are revealed to each other.
Overall, 真夜中の約束 is about two people's journey of recognizing their true selves and finding completeness in each other despite living in a world that might be pulling them apart.
Line by Line Meaning
呼び合うさ2人の さまよった強がりよ
Two people calling out to each other, pretending to be strong after wandering around lost
「意味探す」が 光るから 足りないんだ
Because "searching for meaning" is shining, it's not enough
重なって惹かれろ みつめて ゆっくりと はぐれた世界の 片方さ 運ぶの
Overlap and be drawn to each other, slowly gaze at each other, and carry one piece of the stray world
夢の王様約束よ 言えばきっと くれるの？
Oh, dream king, if I make a promise, will you surely give it to me?
誠実さが埋もれたんだ あいたいんだ
Sincerity is buried, I want to open it up
重なってゆっくりと 見つめて 惹かれろ はぐれた世界の 片方さ 運ぶの
Overlap and slowly gaze at each other and be attracted, and carry one piece of the stray world
はぐれた世界の はじの嘘 君を俟とう
I'll wait for you at the beginning of the lies of the stray world
内側に聴こえちゃえ 聴こえちゃえ 胸の奥の この胸に響いちゃう 胸の奥の いつの間にか超えちゃえ 聴こえちゃえ でも無茶にさ 閉じ込めてさ まだ光りさ あなたは違う？ 私の都合
Listen closely to the inside, it resonates with your heart, before you know it, cross over, listen closely, but recklessly, keep it locked up, there's still a light, are you different? From my suspicions
いつの間にか超えちゃう… 聴こえちゃう…？ いつの間にか超えちゃえ 無茶にあげるのは… いつのまにか枯れちゃう… 枯れちゃう… いっぱい泣いた事は 一瞬で呑み込んでね
Before you know it, you'll cross over... (can you) hear it...? Before you know it, cross over, giving recklessly... Before you realize it, (love) will wither... I'll swallow all the times I cried in a single moment
内側に聴こえちゃえ 聴こえちゃえ いつの間にか枯れちゃう？ 胸の奥の いつの間にか超えちゃえ 超えちゃえ
Listen closely to the inside, listen closely, before you know it, it withers? In the depths of my heart, before you know it, cross over
集めない この胸の好都合
It's convenient for this heart to not collect things
Contributed by Bailey H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.