世界に一つだけの花
Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana
The One and Only Flower in the World (*)
performed by SMAP

花屋の店先に並んだ
hanaya no mise saki ni naranda
lined up in front of a flower shop
いろんな花を見ていた
iron na hana wo mite ita
all kinds of flowers did I see
人それぞれ好みはあるけど
hito sorezore konomi wa aru kedo
although everybody has his own taste
どれもみんなきれいだね
dore mo minna kirei da ne
all of them are pretty

この中で誰が一番だなんて
kono naka de dare ga ichiban da nante
but there, they don't fight
争うこともしないで
arasou koto mo shinaide
over which one is the best
バケツの中誇らしげに
baketsu no naka hokorashige ni
in their bucket, each proudly
しゃんと胸を張っている
shanto mune wo hatte iru
puffs up its chest

それなのに僕ら人間は
sore na no ni bokura ningen wa
with that in mind, why do we people
どうしてこうも比べたがる
doushite kou mo kurabetagaru
want to compare [ourselves to one another]?
一人一人違うのにその中で
hitori hitori chigau no ni sono naka de
each of us individuals are different
一番になりたがる
ichiban ni naritagaru
so why do we all want to be number one?

そうさ僕らは
sou sa bokura wa
that's right, we're
世界に一つだけの花
sekai ni hitotsu dake no hana
each a one-of-a-kind flower in the world
一人一人違う種を持つ
hitori hitori chigau tane wo motsu
each person carries his own seed
その花を咲かせることだけに
sono hana wo sakaseru koto dake ni
we should do our best
一生懸命になればいい
isshou kenmei ni nareba ii
to only make that flower bloom

困ったように笑いながら
komatta you ni warai nagara
there are people laughing confusedly
ずっと迷ってる人がいる
zutto mayotteru hito ga iru
taking forever to decide
がんばって咲いた花はどれも
ganbatte saita hana wa dore mo
but that's still okay, because every flower
きれいだから仕方ないね
kirei dakara shikata nai ne
which has tried to hard to bloom, is still pretty (†)

やっと店から出てきた
yatto mise kara dete kita
by and by, somebody left the store
その人が抱えていた
sono hito ga kakaete ita
that person was holding
色とりどりの花束と
iro toridori no hanataba to
a bouquet of many colors
うれしそうな横顔
ureshi sou na yokogao
and a face that was truly happy

名前も知らなかったけれど
namae mo shiranakatta keredo
even though I don't know her name
あの日僕に笑顔をくれた
ano hi boku ni egao wo kureta
on that day she gave me a smile
誰も気付かないような場所で
dare mo kidzukanai you na basho de
just like a flower that was blooming
咲いてた花のように
saiteta hana no you ni
in a place nobody has noticed yet

そうさ僕らは
sou sa bokura wa
that's right, we're
世界に一つだけの花
sekai ni hitotsu dake no hana
each a one-of-a-kind flower in the world
一人一人違う種を持つ
hitori hitori chigau tane wo motsu
each person carries his own seed
その花を咲かせることだけに
sono hana wo sakaseru koto dake ni
we should do our best
一生懸命になればいい
isshou kenmei ni nareba ii
to only make that flower bloom

小さい花や大きな花
chiisai hana ya ooki na hana
small flowers and big flowers
一つとして同じものはないから
hitotsu toshite onaji mono wa nai kara
because there isn't one that's the same [as the others]
No. 1 にならなくてもいい
nambaa wan ni naranakute mo ii
if you're not number one, it's still okay
もともと特別な only one
motomoto tokubetsu na onrii wan
you're a one-time special only one (‡)
la la la la...

*this song has tremendous meaning to me and i think to the volunteers at this year's yokohama exchange and perhaps even the students and teachers involved in the exchange programme. the local volunteers were supposed to perform at the thank-you party. we did a simple fashion show and then sang this song. we weren't very good, cos we had very little time to practise. we were singing and holding the lyrics. half-way through, the japanese students started coming up to sing together with us!! :) very touched by the gesture! :) i m proud to say that my group was the one which started coming up 1st! :) :)