【Touhou Lyrics】 Bloom Nobly ~ Border of Life

"Vehement yet elegant, powerful but ephemeral," are ZUN's own words about the feeling of this song. She is a noble ghost who finds great strength in fleeting transience, like a butterfly floating on the wind. Her lyrics are a somber yet empowering message of embracing the inevitability of death.

Touhou Project 07, Perfect Cherry Blossom
Yuyuko Saigyouji: "Bloom Nobly, Cherry Blossoms of Sumizome ~ Border of Life"
Original music by ZUN.
English lyrics and fandub vocals by me.
Art from the official art book, The Grimoire of Marisa.

---

When I should die, let me die while laid at ease
by full spring moon, underneath the blooming trees.

So to these cherry boughs I shall give my soul to keep.
Petals my shroud, gently carry me to sleep,
For the buds we regard in their coats of palest pink,
In sweet memoriam, bloom as black as ink.

Like the little one who rides this wind
As all and nothing and free,
Filling empty space, and full of empty space—
What more is there to be?

The worlds are broad, the border thin.
A single step is but the distance within.
The path extends through the ledge;
Let it lead me lightly over the edge.

A life returned, and at what cost?
Only a body, nothing else, ever lost.
Through fleeting time, cast off pain;
Last forever then in noblest reign.

Fly…and fall…and fly,
Upon a delicate yet boldly-patterned wing,
Unknown to the course of coming spring.

In a flash…in a ring…
There is strength in transience, the unpinned essence of a thing,
With a heart open to what next a dream will bring.

[sonnywijaya]

Poor Yuyuko, killed herself then tried to resurrect her own body

[zchen]

Now I can totally imagine Tohou bosses as Metal Gear Rising-style boss battles. You just hear the normal instrumentals as the fight begins, but then the vocals come on, and you realize how deep in the shit you actually are.

[zhero]

this is amazing and so beautiful but her story is sad

[CannedPsycho-]

Yuyuko is a ghost. Lyrica is a phantom. Youmu is half Phantom. Does it feel different when you manage to touch one one them or do they all feel the same?

[GrahamChapman]

"Let me tell you a story... As tends to be the case when powers manifest themselves, I did not have any control over my ability when it first surfaced. As a consequence, the people closest to me became my first victims... and, as luck would have it, my power just so happened to be pretty irrevocable... my family... they were the first ones my power of death took... Perhaps it was to teach me how serious the power to control death actually is? Or maybe it was a warning? Or perhaps it was some karma from my previous life that had to be repaid? Or maybe it was a sign that I should've ended it all right there... Whatever the case may be, from that day on, I decided that I would not let my power claim another life ever again... ... ...if only things were ever that easy, huh?

As I grew, my powers grew also... and as they grew, they began to outgrow me... The first sign was the sudden deaths of a couple of elderly but still spry people living in my village... soon after that a couple of sickly people followed... and then the piles of dead mice and rats started popping up... One night, the villagers came to me. They were angry and sad. They accused me of being the one behind all of these deaths... and, at first, I tried to deny my involvement in it... I tried to explain it away, you know... 'They were old, it was their time.' 'Illnesses claim many lives.' 'Maybe the death of the vermin is a blessing, an act of god?' Most of all, I guess I told those lies to myself. I may have even imagined myself the victim of a mob who unjustly attacked that which frightened them... but they were right... and I refused to accept it, even when the birds wouldn't sing that spring, even as the cicadas would not play in the forest that summer and... all the stillbirths... the world around me was dying and yet... I refused to believe that I was the one responsible for it all...

Everyone else knew, though... the shrine maiden from up the hill... the monks from the temple... even the butterflies knew... and when the villagers followed the butterflies to my house, with their sickles and torches and spears, I panicked... I didn't want to die... not yet... I didn't want to die yet... ... ...but I didn't want them to die, either... I didn't mean for it to happen... and if I could change the events of that day, I would gladly let them take my life... my life in exchange for theirs... yes, I would gladly make that trade today...

After that event, I started isolating myself, I cut myself off from the rest of the village... and they tried to cut me off, too... I only had one visitor at that time, you know... a strange and beautiful woman who sometimes came to me just as the sun setted and the world was bathed in twilight... She brought me good food and drinks. She talked with me. She didn't fear me... Even when I warned her about how dangerous it was for her to come visit me, she just laughed and said that the boundary of life and death didn't mean anything to her... We spent a lot of time together, she and I. Sometimes she'd even spend the night at my house... but she was always gone again before the light of dawn rose above the hills... then, one day, I noticed that she didn't look so well... and I knew that it was my power-- no, that it was _me, _ that _I_ was slowly killing her, too... It wasn't all just me, though... It was you, too... Though saying that is just passing the blame, isn't it?

The people that died because of me were not buried at our cemetery. Instead, they were all buried under the roots of a beautiful cherry blossom tree a bit outside of the village... at first it had just been the villagers respecting my father's wish of being buried under its boughs, but it quickly became a 'tradition' of sorts... Maybe the villagers were scared of burying my victims anywhere else in case they were cursed or something... to be fair, maybe they were, because that's where you entered the picture... My family, my friends, my neighbours, all of those bodies made a rich soil for you to grow big, strong and beautiful upon. And as you feasted upon the bodies of my victims, you also somehow took into yourself my power -- the power that had claimed their lives... as you grew, my powers grew within you, and you started thirsting for more... You called upon the souls of the living, made them come to you, just like how the butterflies had come to me. You compelled them to lie down by your roots and surrender themselves to their early graves... and here you are now, feeding off of your own victims, and you're growing ever bigger, ever stronger, ever more beautiful... ever more powerful... ever more _evil..._

It's a bit funny in a way, isn't it? That the murderous tree that I, in a sense, gave birth to should be the one to hear my life story... and my last words... But there is a reason why I'm telling you all of this: You see, much like my powers, you are my responsibility. And much like how I failed to take proper responsibility for my powers, I have failed to uphold my responsibility in regards to you... but I have finally decided to make amends... I told you my story because I want you to know that though I'm responsible for many lives coming to an early end, I've never even once intentionally killed anyone... But I am going to _murder_ you. And I do not intend to make it out of this fight alive."

[arcticphoenix]

Yuyuko is a tragic yet wholesome character in the Touhou Universe. You just can not hate Yuyuko.

[patrikcath]

"A life returned, and at what cost?"
Everything...

[HypNoel]

"In a flash…in a ring…
There is strength in transience, the unpinned essence of a thing,
With a heart open to what next a dream will bring."

Absolutely gorgeous. All of it, but especially this line. Your lyrics constantly blow me away. Thank you so much for making these beautiful covers.

[junioradamsaalihayes]

Yuyuko, killed herself, tried to resurrect herself, and soon, came back to life, but still, dead and gone. Her soul was gone, yet her body was still there. Poor Yuyuko. God forbid what she had done.

[gobaoscar]

everybody gangsta till the ghost starts to sing

[steweygrrr]

I sincerely hope that ZUN is aware of what you are doing with this music Lyrica...







BECAUSE IT IS ABSOFUCKINGLUTELY AMAZING! Seriously, the way you capture each of the personalities and their idiosyncrasies is...ugh....I lack words to describe properly so the best I can say is 'spot on'. I especially love how you are in keeping with the original thoughts and feelings behind the music, such as with your version of Cosmic Mind how you have Byakuren's followers joining in because it's one of those big, uplifting pieces that plays when the hero is about to undertake some huge challenge and everyone comes together...

gah....rambling.... anyways, yes thank you for these songs!

[creamlydogeestus]

I love this I got so addicted whenever I just hear the bgm original the lyrics automatically pop into my head and then i start singing same goes to the other lyrical songs of Lyrica Live :)

[ZeromusHarvey]

Let it be known that Border of Life is my favorite song in the entire Touhou Series, and you have treated it insanely well! This is beautiful.

[死人勿扰]

Yuyuko and Ghost Band's theme always let me feel sentimental.

[cataleptickraken]

"there is strenght in transience, the unpinned essence of a thing..."
this is possibly one of my favourite lines, ever.

[dmitriyn]

Ничего не понял. Узнаю тебя, Ююко. :)

Коль суждено умереть, дай мне умереть в безмятежности
полной весенней луны, под цветущими деревьями.

Так, чтобы вишнёвые ветки оберегали мою душу.
Лепестки, спеленав меня, нежно отнесли ко сну.
В бутонах с их бледно-розовом облачением,
К светлой памяти, цветущих чёрным как чернила.

Сродни малютке (бабочке?), что оседлала этот ветер,
Как всё и ничто, свободна…
Заполняя пустоту и заполнена пустотой…
И что же дальше?

Миры обширны, границы тонки,
Один лишь шаг, но направленный во внутрь (себя).
Путь тянущийся через порог,
Пусть мягко приведёт меня за грань.

Жизнь вернулась, и какова ж цена?
Только тело, ничего больше не потеряно.
Сквозь мгновенья, отбросив боль,
В длящееся вечно царство.

Лететь… и падать… и лететь,
На изящных узорчатых крыльях,
Неизвестным путём к наступающей весне.

Молниеносно… по кругу…
С силой мимолётности, раскрепощённой сутью вещей,
С сердцем, открытом тому, что следующая мечта принесёт.

[TheEpicNo]

personal i feel you have three really good songs Mima's reincarnation, U. N. owen was her and this 

mima because who doesn't love a good mima theme
same with flan 
this because you killed this song and theme you just have a voice fit more for yuyuko in general then any other character still great channal dont stop being awsome i'm sure people love more of you thmes its just these are the three best

[emeraldarwyn]

I swear I was singing this as I fought yuyuko when I beat pcb today.

[gamerpl]

The only soundtrack which makes me feel creeps on the back of my head.

[SkyenNovaA]

You create some of the most beautiful poetry in lyrics I've ever heard.