80761
「恋するカレン」is a song by 大滝詠一 from his 1981 album A Long Vacation.
[Lyrics](http://www.utamap.com/showkasi.php?surl=36810) for reference.

The part I am confused about is, who exactly is the actor i.e., person doing
恋する and who is it directed towards?

Possible translations I could think of

  1. Love Karen
  2. I love you Karen
  3. Karen in Love

1.Sounds too vague in my opinion. 2. doesn't seem like it because he could
have used 恋しているカレン or maybe 愛しているよカレン instead to make it more obvious (I might
be wrong here). 3. seems to be the closest translation when I eliminate 1 and
2
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2020-09-21T16:50:11.320
80750
2020-09-22T03:59:59.700
18021
question
translation word-usage song-lyrics
What exactly does the song title 「恋するカレン」 mean?
If my interpretation of the lyrics is correct, I would say it has a double
meaning.

The first would be "Karen, my love" (or "Karen whom I love"). This is obvious
from how he talks about her:

>   * 誰か話しかけてもぼくの眼は上の空 君に釘づけさ → No matter how much others (women) talk to me,
> my eyes are (absent-mindedly) fixated on you
>   * OH! KAREN 誰より君を愛していた → Oh Karen, I loved you more than anyone
>   * OH! KAREN 振られたぼくより哀しいそうさ哀しい女だね君は → Oh Karen, you are sadder than me (who
> was rejected), Truly you are a sad woman
>

The other meaning is "Karen in love". He sings about how he's watching her
with this other man, but the other man doesn't really love her

>   * 君が彼の背中に手をまわし踊るのを壁で見ていたよ → I was watching you (from the wall/side of the
> dance floor) (slow) dance with him; your hand (rubbing) his back
>   * Oh! KAREN 淋しい片想いだけが今も淋しいこの胸を責めるよ → Oh Karen, only (the sight of) a/your
> lonely unrequited love could torture this lonely heart of mine
>   * ふと眼があうたびせつない色のまぶたを伏せて頬は彼の肩の上 → Every time our eyes meet (presumably as
> she dances with the guy, and the singer is watching her from the side), your
> lonely/painful eyes lower while you rest your head on his shoulder
>   * かたちのない優しさそれよりも見せかけの魅力を選んだ → You've chosen a fake type of charm over a/my
> formless affection (sorry, I can't think of a good way to translate this)
>
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-21T19:02:08.713
80752
2020-09-21T19:02:08.713
78
80750
answer
I think it's "Karen in Love", or more verbosely, "Karen who is in love ( _with
someone else_ )". In a longer phrase with enough contexts, 恋するカレン could also
mean "Karen who I love" (e.g., 僕が恋するカレン definitely means this). However, the
title has to make sense on its own, and "Karen in love" is the only possible
interpretation if seen in isolation.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-09-22T03:59:59.700
80761
2020-09-22T03:59:59.700
5010
80750
answer