Ayu and her "Lyriclifting"
 

So, I was listening to Heartplace and a phrase stuck out. So.. thread time!

This is where we'll document when Ayu uses lyrics from other songs in another track! And to be honest, it's happened for a while now.. but of course, they're simply sentences, but still..

Heartplace -> NEXT LEVEL
fui ni namida afuredashita yo -> fui ni namida ga koboreta yo

too late -> rollin' (the translations of the lines are much.. more similar..)
sekai ga gyaku ni mawari hajimeteru -> sekai ga mawaru umare kawaru speed de

Catcher in the Light -> Sparkle
nagamete iru dake ja kimi no mono ni wa naranai -> nagameru dake ja hajiman nai kimi no mono ni wa nara nai

For My Dear -> Curtain call
ichiban ni iitai kotoba dake ienakute - > ima demo ichiban ni ii tai kotoba dake ga jouzu ni


Post any other lyriclifting you find/know of!

I've always thought that Sparkle is Catcher in the Light all over again :P

Uh, just about any line from Close to you and Together When... I swear those two songs are like, the Alpha and Omega of each other lol. Close to you is when the relationship starts out, Together When... is when it ends.

I picked up on Catcher/Sparkle and too late/rollin'. But nothing else.

RAINBOW -> JEWEL

taisetsu na boku no takaramono yo
taisetsu na boku no takaramono yo
=
boku no taisetsu na takaramono
boku no taisetsu na takaramono

I feel like I had to type them twice, cause NOT ONLY are the lyrics alike, BUT she sings those lines twice, AND at the end of both songs.

^I like that one...I like those lines.


The Close to You and Together When thing is interesting.

Yeah, the one that always stuck out to me was Close to you/Together When...

There's another "lyriclifting" but I can't really think of it at this moment.

I just watched Ayu's CNN talkAsia interview again, and I think the repetition of lyrics is just her being ~honest~ with her feelings, and rather than fabricate a load of crap, we get emotions she feels in terms that she's familiar with. Wooo~

^ I think youre right.
Sometimes I think when she reuses a theme or even a sentence, she wants to tell us that she still feels the same about it and/or how important the feeling to her is.

Every artist uses the same themes over and over again... cause those themes are what this person is... Some themes are added over the years, and some are left behind, but in the end there will be those that will aways be reused by this or those artist (not only in music, in any form of art)

Ayu is awaying singing about self-doubt, doubt, female power, fame, love, etc. And she is ways using circus, military, religion, china, america, deserts and snow as visual themes...

The same way, Madonna for example is aways singing about religion, politic, love, sex, society, etc. and using military, religion, sex, japan, america, mid-east, etc. as visual themes.

Ayu's case seens worst cause she releases an album and a tour every year, so we see she re-using her themes a lot more than most artists...

Who... & Replace, possibly?

kore kara mo zutto kono utagoe ga
anata ni todokimasu you ni to

->

kimi ni todoku you ni to
koushite utaitsudzukete iru yo

I don't mind lyriclifting too much, because it kind of let's us see how her songs interlink with each other like rollin' is the sequel to too late. :)

I think Ayu often has similar themes or words in her lyrics, but I do not mind at all.

To me, she's expression a very strong feeling she has, and she wants to express it in multiple songs.

wow... nice finding ... i didnt notice them~

oh my.. tat is an interesting finding!! I onli thought the last 2 lines in RAINBOW and JEWEL are similar. thats's all. didn't think that there were so many.

A song for XX
Mou hi ga noboru ne sorosoro ikanakya
Itsumademo onaji tokoro ni wa irarenai

And Then
Itsumademo onaji you na tokoro ni wa
Irarenai to itte ita deshou
Hi ga noboru sono mae ni futari shite
Kono machi wo dete miyou

But I really love the link between those songs!

Ayu is a VERY prolific lyricist, all things considered. It's no wonder she does this. Stevie Nicks does the same thing.

Aren't every song-write use similar Phrases in Song?
I think, it's normal.

The most powerful 'lyriclifting' imo are

1) Close to you x Together When...
2) A Song For xx x And Then

They have extremely similar phrases because it's sort of like a question-and-answer situation... really beautiful.

OMG. only a crazy ayu fan can do that.. but i must say the similarity is pretty amazing!

I thought someone here said that they are definitely connected songs.. like beginning and end.
And Then is not a lyric lifting directly.. it is quoting herself in A Song for xx~~
I really love that part.. **)

I think Ayu repeat same meaning lines because that is what she feels the moment she was writing the song, i guess.

Good point but I like how fans are beginning to say that she is not recycling lyrics, but instead that her lyrics serve a purpose. In some case they (lyrics) are probably meant to complete a song, Talkin 2 Myself and Decision or in other cases the connection is up for interperation, I read one review of My Story and the critic commentated on HOPE or PAIN and Happy Ending as one song completeing the other (which makes sense why they would sound the same and the idea is nice because both songs have very abrupt ending). Also I do think that Ayu has been attempting to "bring home a few ideas", lack of better words. So yeah I agree with your statement. And your last statement is very logical, at least I think.

I've never thought about any of those before... The only thing that sticks out in my mind is takaramono in Days and TO BE. They aren't related at all but I just always think about those when I hear either song.

A little late to the party, and this isn't as straightforward as in the other examples but I thought I'd add this:

Connected:
Rule:

Just came here to say that making a playlist with these songs is awesome~ some of them blend so nicely together.

Btw here's the parts of Close to you and Together when... that blend:

Close to you
Together when...
Seriously.. the same thing. Even if I'm reborn, I'll come find you (is the basic message).

Koumori: I think I know what you mean, but I can't remember it clearly either... Voyage sorta reminds me of criminal, but then it also reminds me of It was. Gah @_@

^ Saying the same thing using different lyrics isn't really Lyric lifting.

TW... says she will start a search for you in another lifetime.

Close to you says more or less they will meet up in another lifetime for sure.

(haha my Jpn sucks)

Can't you see the difference? One is on a journey to seek, while the other is more or less, we will see each other next time~ Which matches with their respective songs.

You forgot that most of this is translated, so the meaning is lost in the translation. Most of the time it's simplified, but the message might be similar but subtle differences can alter the message alot.

On the theme of rebirth, she hinted it in Part of Me. There are many themes that she continues over and over, I'm just glad it's not about sex, drugs, and sex. Haha

Of course I can see the difference. The fact that the last lines didn't match up didn't escape me O_o. Admittedly I was relying more on the translation of the lyrics by masa than by the lines themselves--but I trust masa knows what he's saying and what he's translating since.. he speaks Japanese.

I guess it's a matter of what you consider lyric lifting or not. To me these are similar lyrics. Sorry that it doesn't match up with the others in here.

Ayu's songs I think are related to each other.

I agree. That can do only someone who is able to read all her lyrics again and compare them, or just someone who really knows her lyrics / japanese, and can remember some similar lines.

I've noticed a lot of these over the years (probably because I spend too much time analysing Ayu's lyrics). Some of the ones not mentioned yet:

MOMENTS
"Soshite kizu o otta sono se ni
boku no hane o sashidasu deshou"
(ENG: And I would offer my own wings to your wounded back)

BLUEBIRD
"Moshimo kizu o otta sono toki wa
Boku no tsubasa o kimi ni ageru"
(ENG: If you get wounded, then I would give you my own wings)

Also, in Memorial Address she says: "The sorrow that I thought to be endless came to an end...", which always reminded me of Endless Sorrow.

I can't remember the others... Hmm... I'll post if I remember.

Will and SURREAL seem related to me:

SURREAL:
In a non existent place, I stand as I am.
Be as you are, that's how I want you to be.

Will:
I believe in scenery that no one has ever seen.
And I wish next to you, staying in the place that doesn't exist.

I don't have really a new one to add to this list however there is a related topic to this that makes its rounds on Japanese message boards (especially 2ch). Basically as far back as her debut people have been saying that many of her lyrics are very similar to lines from other artists. (that's what I thought this topic was about when I saw "lyriclifting") They go on for pages and pages citing examples. (some they really stretch to make a connection and some are more obvious) I'm not saying that she took lines from other people (I love her lyrics, they are my favorite part) I'm sure that most of the examples are coincidence, but its still an interesting topic to look into.

I agree, SunshineSlayer, that'd be interesting to look into, but as an amature poet/lyricist, I know how hard it is to make sure that everything you write is completely original, sometimes you even do it unconciously. Plus Ayumi's lyrics sometimes have classic clichés in them which have to have been used before. But...I bet 2ch are all..."OMFG HAMASAKI AYUMI PLAGARISM!!!!"

But yeah...that would be interesting I suppose. :)

^ Yeah, its like that basically. :)

I forgot to add that I actually love the connection between a song for xx and And Then. That one I don't really see as lyric lifting though - And Then was more like an answer to and an expansion upon a song for xx. These days though I see more examples in her writing that seems she just took something she already said before - I'm sure its hard to come up with new stuff though unless she totally changes her lyric writing style.

"Please tell me this is only the story of the continuing dream
And that I'm not yet awake"

- Memorial address

"I wished I wouldn't wake up, if it were a dream"

- fated

I think the dream thingy is to like emphasize her sadness in the songs... they're sad songs.

I noticed this one yesterday:

Rule:
(translation by masa:)
"Because I was taught by you on that day that everything happens necessarily, not casually"

Daybreak:
(translation by wataru:)
"Things aren't random;
Maybe everything is
inevitable."

Very interesting the fact that And Then is a continuation (or maybe an answer) to A Song For xx.Never really took it this way although it makes sense.Both songs are great,especially And Then.

Yep, this always stuck out to me too.

November in general reminds me of Moments. Check it out ^^.