Plastic Tree is an alternative rock band from Chiba, Japan that was forme… Read Full Bio ↴Plastic Tree is an alternative rock band from Chiba, Japan that was formed in December 1993 by 有村竜太朗 (Arimura Ryutaro) and Hasegawa Tadashi. Since then, the line-up has changed a few times before settling on Ryutaro on vocals, Tadashi on bass, Nakayama Akira on guitar and Satou Kenken on drums. Tadashi is the leader but most decisions are made as a group.

Ryutaro and Tadashi wanted to combine two words to form the band name; something artificial and something natural. After trying a few combinations, they decided on ‘Plastic Tree’. Formerly, there were rumours floating around the web about the band’s name coming from Fake Plastic Trees but this was always disputed due to timing inconsistencies.

In the beginning, Plastic Tree were influenced greatly by The Cure. There was also a large britrock influence. Plastic Tree played a mix of indie rock, punk, and heavier grunge, characterized by Ryutaro’s generic Visual Kei voice and gloomy lyrics. They went through a period where they played more pop-rock and radio-style rock music, although they have recently returned from lighter music to their original roots.

In July 2006, Plastic Tree embarked on their first world tour that took them to Germany, France and Finland.

On the 23rd of February 2009, Sasabuchi Hiroshi left the band and was later replaced by Satou Kenken..

エーテルノート
Plastic Tree Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

僕だけがうつむき
言葉を選んで喋りだしてた
ふいに子供じみてる感覚
ミルクの甘さに溶けた
飲み干した瓶の中に
秘密をひとつ落として
砂糖とアルコールと檸檬を足して
「すこし自閉的な僕」が

いつか要らなくなるまで
地下室の棚に隠してしまったんだ

目隠しをしたまま
飛行機に乗ってる病気の天使
低く飛びはじめてる
景色に迫って途切れて消えた
ゆるやかなカーブ描き
フィルムの一コマになる
そこに立ち尽くして待っている僕が
カメラのレンズ覗いた
見飽きて閉じてしまった
瞼の裏側走るパルス
おかしくなるスピードで
連れていって
ぼやけてしまう日溜まりに
寝ころがって
希望的な言葉ノートに書きなぐる
悲しい僕は嘘つきの詩人になる

おかしくなるスピードで
連れていって
ぼやけてしまう日溜まりに
寝ころがって
希望的な言葉ノートに書きなぐる
悲しい僕は嘘つきの詩人になる
触れない光反射して壊れて
こぼれ落ちて僕に
いつまでも降りかかる
プラスティックの光の粒
散らかりだしてく

あのガラス瓶を地下室に
取りにいこう

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Plastic Tree's エーテルノート describes a sense of dissociation and the feeling of being lost. In the first verse, the singer describes picking their words carefully and speaking while looking downward, feeling a sudden childish sensation. They talk about adding sugar, alcohol and lemon to a bottle, which they then hide away in a basement shelf until they no longer need the side of themselves that is "slightly autistic." In the second verse, the singer is blindfolded on an airplane and feels like a sick angel. They describe looking out the window and seeing the world disappear as they fly lower. The singer then waits, watching and waiting for something through a camera lens before giving up and closing their eyes. They then describe feeling like a dishonest poet, writing hopeful words while lying on a blurry sunspot. The song continues with descriptions of light that the singer cannot touch and that reflects before breaking apart and coming back to them. Ultimately, the singer suggests going to search for a glass bottle in a basement, bringing the song back full circle.

Line by Line Meaning

僕だけがうつむき
I was the only one looking down

言葉を選んで喋りだしてた
I carefully chose my words as I spoke

ふいに子供じみてる感覚
Suddenly felt like a child again

ミルクの甘さに溶けた
Melted into the sweetness of milk

飲み干した瓶の中に
Inside the empty bottle

秘密をひとつ落として
I let go of one secret

砂糖とアルコールと檸檬を足して
Adding sugar, alcohol, and lemon

「すこし自閉的な僕」が
The somewhat autistic me

いつか要らなくなるまで
Until I'm no longer needed

地下室の棚に隠してしまったんだ
I hid it away on a shelf in the basement

目隠しをしたまま
Blindfolded