The Mermaid Trilogy
This song is but one element in the access era known as "三部作" or The Trilogy (I'll call it The Mermaid Trilogy on this site).
The Mermaid Trilogy mainly refers to 3 songs: Drastic Mermaid, Scandalous Blue, and Tear's Liberation, and their music videos/pvs released between August and November of 1994, shortly before access's infamous Silence hiatus. "Image-linked" to these songs is other content including a light novel series, photoshoots, a manga series, a short story, etc. It's not dissimilar to a kpop "era" where the photos, songs, music videos all follow a theme.
Access's Trilogy era was defined by its theme of "pure emotions". In interviews, access said that most listeners assume romantic songs are referring to the relationship between a man and a woman. They clarified that they wanted to specifically describe the "pure emotions" of 同性愛 or same-sex/homosexual love. Perhaps following the at-the-time-recent rise in popularity of yaoi, and definitely not deterred by the behavior of the two members of access, the themes were sensational and are considered ahead of their time.
This song is but one element in the access era known as "三部作" or The Trilogy (I'll call it The Mermaid Trilogy on this site).
The Mermaid Trilogy mainly refers to 3 songs: Drastic Mermaid, Scandalous Blue, and Tear's Liberation, and their music videos/pvs released between August and November of 1994, shortly before access's infamous Silence hiatus. "Image-linked" to these songs is other content including a light novel series, photoshoots, a manga series, a short story, etc. It's not dissimilar to a kpop "era" where the photos, songs, music videos all follow a theme.
Access's Trilogy era was defined by its theme of "pure emotions". In interviews, access said that most listeners assume romantic songs are referring to the relationship between a man and a woman. They clarified that they wanted to specifically describe the "pure emotions" of 同性愛 or same-sex/homosexual love. Perhaps following the at-the-time-recent rise in popularity of yaoi, and definitely not deterred by the behavior of the two members of access, the themes were sensational and are considered ahead of their time.
TEAR'S LIBERATION
Lyrics by: Asagiri Haruka (aka Inoue Akio)
Song released: 1994 December 7th
Highest Oricon Rank: 3rd on weekly, 124th overall year
TEAR'S LIBERATION is the final song in the trilogy. After having discovered and realized his affection towards another man,
our singer has come to terms with his sexuality. While our singer has committed to that affection, he realizes that,
even if his feelings for this man change in the future, he can no longer go back to the self he was before. He can no
longer return to Plato's Cave, as it were, and will now live his life liberated, no matter what happens.
| JAPANESE | ENGLISH |
|---|---|
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光の BREATH 窓に映る SHININ' RISE 夜明けが 僕を探している 闇に凍えた 君のいない街に もうすぐ 朝が訪れるよ 壊れそうな心を ふたりいつも抱えてた 同じ明日を見失って すれ違う恋人たち IT'S MY TEAR'S LIBERATION OPEN MY HEART 幾つかの夢の場面 想いは途切れても このまま立ち止まらない OPEN MY WINGS 傷ついた夢を抱いて もう一度歩き出せる 今は信じて 僕らだけが見つめた 永遠を越えてゆく 着慣れたシャツを ルーズに詰め込んで これから僕も 街を出よう いつかどこかで 君に会えるように その時 全部わかるように 君だけかもしれない あんな風に微笑えるのは 僕たちが出逢った理由を 哀しみで終らせない IT'S MY TEAR'S LIBERATION OPEN MY HEART せつなく揺れる夜にも 痛みを恐れずに 閉ざした壁を破ろう OPEN MY WINGS 手探りで知る未来に その手を伸ばしてみる 答えを求めて 甦る輝きが 淋しさを越えてゆく IT'S MY TEAR'S LIBERATION TELL ME NOW WHAT IS LOVE! OPEN MY HEART 幾つかの夢の場面 想いは途切れても このまま立ち止まらない OPEN MY WINGS 傷ついた夢を抱いて もう一度歩き出せる I BELIEVE… OPEN MY HEART せつなく揺れる夜にも 痛みを恐れずに 閉ざした壁を破ろう OPEN MY WINGS 手探りで知る未来に その手を伸ばしてみる 答えを求めて OPEN MY HEART… OPEN MY WINGS… |
A shining breath of light reflecting on the window The bright dawn is searching for me Frozen in darkness in this place without you The morning will surely come soon Always burdened by our fragile hearts Losing sight of our shared tomorrow Lovers passing each other by IT'S MY TEAR'S LIBERATION OPEN MY HEART My thoughts were rich with unwritten stories Even if these feelings wane, I will never stop moving ahead OPEN MY WINGS Carrying those wounded dreams I can start walking again I finally believe The dream that only we could see will transcend even eternity Stuffing worn-out shirts into a bag without care From this moment I too will leave this place behind So that someday, somewhere, I can find you And when that day comes, I can finally understand it all I'll never find another person who smiles like you And I'll never let the reason we came together end as sorrow IT'S MY TEAR'S LIBERATION OPEN MY HEART Even on nights trembling with longing No longer fearing pain Let's break down these walls OPEN MY WINGS Fumbling towards a brighter future I reach out my hand in search of a reply The resurrected brilliance ahead will transcend even loneliness IT'S MY TEAR'S LIBERATION TELL ME NOW WHAT IS LOVE! OPEN MY HEART My thoughts were rich with unwritten stories Even if these feelings wane, I will never stop moving ahead OPEN MY WINGS Carrying those wounded dreams I can start walking again I BELIEVE... OPEN MY HEART Even on nights trembling with longing No longer fearing pain Let's break down these walls OPEN MY WINGS Fumbling towards a brighter future I reach out my hand in search of a reply OPEN MY HEART... OPEN MY WINGS... |
- It actually surprised me that this song was not as triumphant as I had assumed. With the energy of the melody and the way Hiro sings it, I had assumed it would be more of a song about overcoming hurdles to be the person you want. And it definitely isn't not about that... But the parts about "even if these feelings wane" and "someday, somewhere, I can find you" do not imply a happy the-two-lovers-got-together ending. It seems more like the Mermaid acted as a closet key to the Singer and, now, the Singer can live his life liberated. Maybe they'll end up together in the end, but that's not the point. The point is LIBERATION not LOVING COUPLE.
- As usual, Inoue-sensei is deft with her sly homophones. For instance: in the line "幾つかの夢を場面”, 場面 is normally read as ばめん・BAMEN or "scenes", as in scenes from a play. BUT, Hiro sings it as かけら・KAKERA, which means "fragments". After much discussion, it was decided that this line was implying that Singer has had many "fragments of scenes (of dreams)" or snippets of daydreams of the two of them together that haven't yet manifested, so "unwritten stories".