68953
I am trying to translate lyrics of 「涙をふいて」a song by 三好鉄生 for fun.

This might be a silly question but I wanted to confirm its meaning.

I understand the line as

> あの日のお前に 戻れるはずさ

You might (should be able to) return to that old you (from that day)

Would this be the correct translation here based on the context ?

Here's the context:

> ぬれた まつ毛 ふきなよ  
>  あれからつらい 暮しをしたね  
>  やせた お前の肩を  
>  この手に抱けば  
>  すべてがわかる  
>  涙をふいて  
>  抱きしめ合えたら  
>  **あの日のお前に  
>  戻れるはずさ**  
>  涙をふいて  
>  ほほえみ合えたら  
>  遠い倖せ きっとふたりで

Link to the song : <https://youtu.be/0mHvgPZf4LA?t=81> (starts one line before
the line in bold)
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-20T02:49:01.417
68945
2019-06-20T11:01:13.267
18021
question
translation music
What does 「あの日のお前に 戻れるはずさ」 mean?
I think your understanding is spot on :)

In terms of whether it’s a ‘correct’ translation (if such a thing does exist),
you should think about the **purpose** of the translation. I know you said you
were doing this for fun, but I think it’s worthwhile to think about it in any
case!

_(Without going into it, there are other approaches/paradigms/theories of
translation, but I personally think translating for purpose makes a great deal
of sense. Take a look at[Skopos
Theory](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skopos_theory), for example, if you
are interested to learn more!)_

The major question in this case, apart from who your audience is, would be:

> Is this to be printed (e.g. in a lyrics booklet accompanying a CD), or to be
> sung in translation?

If the former, your suggestion is probably good as is.

If the latter, you need to consider how the text fits the music, e.g.
stress/vowel length/number of syllables in the phrase etc. Something like:

> “You should be able to-oo return / to your o-old se-elf”

might for instance fit the music better than your original suggestion, as the
number of syllables in your translation seems to me to be too few to match
that musical phrase.

Of course, there will be many valid and effective translations for a given
purpose, and other translations which are valid for other purposes (just a
recipe in a children’s cookery book is different from one in a typical cookery
books, which is again different from recipe instructions for those training in
the catering industry), so have fun with it, but also be clear on your purpose
to get the most out of it. That there is so much scope is what makes
‘practical’ / ‘advanced’ / ‘stylistic’ translation so very challenging and
interesting! :)
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-20T10:30:23.730
68953
2019-06-20T11:01:13.267
2019-06-20T11:01:13.267
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answer