Since most of the band's prolific output revolves around instrumental work, Seatbelts have no de facto lead singer but Steve Conte (from The Contes and Crown Jewels) and 山根麻以 (Mai Yamane) have contributed to and sung for several tracks. The lyrics of these songs are written mainly by Tim Jensen and Yoko Kanno. Singers Soichiro Otsuka and Gabriela Robin also provide the backing vocals on some songs.
After a few years of hiatus, Seatbelts regrouped in 2004 to compose the soundtrack of the Cowboy Bebop game, released in 2006. Many of the members of Seatbelts have also worked with Kanno and with each other on other projects, as well, and some have even gone on to compose their own work. For example, guitarist Tsuneo Imahori also played guitar on the soundtracks for Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Wolf's Rain (both of which were composed by Kanno), as well as composing the soundtracks for Trigun and Gungrave.
Butterfly
The Seatbelts Lyrics
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Only half-way sung
You're the knot that comes undone
You're the daylight
Dressed as darkest night
The flight of a stringless kite
The very vision
You're air in the palm of my hand
You're like catching
The day's sunset
O rain that's never wet
You're a butterfly in the mind
You're a butterfly before my eyes
You're a butterfly, a trick of time
Who leaves before he arrives
You're a butterfly in the mind
You're a butterfly before my eyes
You're a butterfly who says he's mine
Who leaves before he arrives
These lyrics are from The Seatbelts' song "Butterfly" and speak to the uncertainty and fleeting nature of love. The first verse describes the subject of the song as a "love song only half-way sung" - there is still more to be revealed, and the end is not yet known. The second line refers to the subject as "the knot that comes undone," pointing to a sense of insecurity or instability. The lyric continues by painting a paradoxical image of the subject: "you're the daylight dressed as darkest night." This person is both light and dark, both positive and negative. The final line of the verse describes the subject as "the flight of a stringless kite" - something that is free to float wherever the wind takes it, unencumbered by any tether.
The chorus repeats the image of the subject as a butterfly, first in the imagination ("butterfly in the mind") and then before the eyes ("butterfly before my eyes"). The "trick of time" mentioned in the final line could be interpreted in a few ways - maybe the subject seems too good to be true, or maybe they are elusive and difficult to pin down. The final line of the chorus - "who leaves before he arrives" - speaks to the impermanence of the relationship. This butterfly may be beautiful in the moment, but it is unlikely to stick around for long.
Taken as a whole, these lyrics are bittersweet and contemplative. They capture the sense of vulnerability and uncertainty that often comes with falling in love, coupled with a sense of awe at the beauty of the person in question. The butterfly image serves as a powerful metaphor for this transience, emphasizing the fleeting nature of the experience.
Line by Line Meaning
You're a love song
You are a beautiful melody that fills my heart with love
Only half-way sung
But your song is incomplete and yet to be fully expressed
You're the knot that comes undone
You are the problem that keeps unraveling as I try to solve it
You're the daylight
You are the brightness that illuminates my world
Dressed as darkest night
Yet, you also embody the darkness that surrounds me
The flight of a stringless kite
You are like a kite that flies without a string, unpredictable and free
The very vision
You are the very essence of what I see in my mind's eye
The mirage man
But at times, you appear to be an illusion, like a mirage in the desert
You're air in the palm of my hand
I hold you, yet you are intangible, like air that slips through my fingers
You're like catching
You are akin to capturing
The day's sunset
The fleeting beauty of the sun's descent below the horizon
O rain that's never wet
But you are also like rain that never falls, forever elusive
You're a butterfly in the mind
You are but a fleeting thought, like a butterfly in the recesses of my mind
You're a butterfly before my eyes
But you are also like a butterfly that flutters in front of me, within reach yet just out of grasp
You're a butterfly, a trick of time
You are like a butterfly that fades away with the passage of time, a fleeting moment
Who leaves before he arrives
A mere shadow that disappears before it has fully manifested
You're a butterfly who says he's mine
You are a butterfly that I claim as my own, but in truth, I cannot possess you
Who leaves before he arrives
You are but a fleeting moment, here and gone before I even realize it
Contributed by Camilla A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.