Does the moon command me to grieve, forcing these thoughts upon me? No — and yet my tears keep falling, as if to blame the moon.
Saigyō (secular name Satō Norikiyo) abandoned the elite path of a warrior in the Northern Guard of Retired Emperor Toba and took Buddhist vows at twenty-three. His reasons remain a mystery; one tradition holds that it was an impossible love. He went on writing of the moon and blossoms all his life and was called "the poet of the moon."
A love that cannot be cut off even after taking vows. He sings, with self-mockery, of the self-contradiction of seeking an excuse for his tears in the moon.
The "reproachful face" that all but says "it's the moon's fault" we layered onto a man's bravado on the night road home from the convenience store. To admit the sadness would be to admit that it's over—so he pins the blame for the tears on the moon. The heart of the chorus is "These tears aren't the moon's fault; I just can't say they're yours." And yet this song doesn't scold the bravado. People have needed an excuse to cry since a thousand years ago—it's a song that forgives: "just for tonight, blame it on the moon."
嘆けとて（千載和歌集・百人一首86番）Garu JP
コンビニ帰りの 夜道の途中
やけに月が きれいな夜
泣いてないよ 泣いてないってば
ただ月が まぶしいだけ
消せない写真 見なきゃいいのに
親指が 勝手に動く
嘆けとて 月が言うのかよ
違うだろ ほんとは知ってる
この涙は 月のせいじゃない
君のせいだと 言えないだけ
今夜は月の せいにさせて
すれ違う人は 誰も知らない
昨日までの 僕らのこと
「元気でね」って 笑ったくせに
帰り道は このざまだ
強がりの数だけ 涙は重い
月だけが 黙って見てる
嘆けとて 月やはものを
思はするなんて 八つ当たりさ
かこち顔で 涙が落ちる
君のせいだと 認めたくなくて
今夜も月を にらんでる
千年前の 夜もきっと
誰かがここで 月を見上げて
同じ言い訳 していたんだろう
涙は月に 預けておけ
嘆けとて 月やはものを 思はする
かこち顔なる わが涙かな
嘆けとて 月は何も言わず
ただ黙って 照らすだけ
この涙が 乾くまでは
月のせいに しておくよ
今夜だけは 月のせいで
かこち顔なる……
わが涙かな
Nageke tote (Senzai Wakashu / Hyakunin Isshu No.86) Garu JP
On my way home from the convenience store
The moon is strangely beautiful tonight
I'm not crying — I said I'm not crying
The moon is just too bright, that's all
The photos I can't delete — I know I shouldn't look
But my thumb moves on its own
"Grieve," you say — is that you, moon?
No, that's wrong. I know the truth
These tears are not the moon's fault
I just can't say they're because of you
So tonight, let me blame the moon
The people passing by know nothing
Of what we were until yesterday
You smiled and said "take care"
And look at me now, on my way home
The more I act strong, the heavier the tears
Only the moon watches in silence
"Grieve," you say — does the moon
Make me feel this way? What a thing to blame
With a reproachful face, my tears fall
I can't admit that they're because of you
So tonight again, I glare at the moon
A thousand years ago, surely
Someone stood here beneath the moon
Making the same excuse as me
Leave your tears with the moon
"Grieve," you say — is it the moon that makes me feel this way?
No — yet how reproachful they look, these tears of mine
"Grieve," you say — but the moon says nothing
It only shines on me in silence
Until these tears have dried
I'll keep blaming the moon
Just for tonight, it's the moon's fault
How reproachful they look......
These tears of mine