Big difference in lyric translations

[SunshineSlayer]

Originally Posted by hanabiwings

I used to think that literal translations were best, but I no longer think this. Also, while more objective texts can be translated rather well (e.g. technical material, non-fiction, etc.), fiction, poetry, lyrics, and the like cannot be "translated" so much as "interpreted." Obviously, we could translate directly, but the nuances would be lost. So it's often the translator's job to choose expressions that interpret properly the sentiments, register (e.g. politeness, formality, etc.), and idioms in a way that makes sense in the target language.

Exactly. Its not like Japanese fans read Ayu lyrics and go "these are so great and so literal" lol. No, in the native language they are much more poetic than they are literal (usually). So its the translators job to take that same sentiment and interpret it into another language.