- Lyrics & Music: Kazuya Yoshii
- Arrangement: The Yellow Monkey
Original Lyrics
景色よ色褪せてゆけ カラカラにのどは渇いて
運び込む恋人達は僕だけの物だよ Forever
キスをすれば甘くGood taste 服を脱がし今確かめよう
パパやママには内緒だよ いずれ分る時が来るから
I feel so good inside
I feel so good inside
Tonight songs sing a song
Dissonance boogie
Tonight songs sing a song
Dissonance boogie
めくるめく溺愛の歌は不協和音のブギーで
あなたにもあげたい 欲望が殺意へと変われば
I feel so good inside
I feel so good inside
Tonight songs sing a song
Dissonance boogie
Tonight songs sing a song
Dissonance boogie
Tonight songs sing a song
Dissonance boogie
Tonight songs sing a song
Dissonance boogie
夜よこの破廉恥な想像を綺麗に包んでよ
Criminal dreaming, you’re Chelsea girl
甘く鋭利な瞬間小生意気な君の目にも
Criminal dreaming, you’re Chelsea girl
Ah…
Romanized Lyrics
keshiki yo iroasete yuke kara kara ni nodo wa kawaite
hakobikonda koibito tachi wa boku dake no mono da yo Forever
kiss wo sureba amaku Good taste fuku wo nogashi ima tashikameyou
papa ya mama ni wa naisho da yo izure wakaru toki ga kuru kara
I feel so good inside
I feel so good inside
Tonight songs sing a song
Dissonance boogie
Tonight songs sing a song
Dissonance boogie
mekurumeku dekiai no uta wa fukyouwaon no boogie de
anata ni mo agetai yokubou ga satsui e to kawareba
I feel so good inside
I feel so good inside
Tonight songs sing a song
Dissonance boogie
Tonight songs sing a song
Dissonance boogie
Tonight songs sing a song
Dissonance boogie
Tonight songs sing a song
Dissonance boogie
yoru yo kono harenchi na souzou wo kirei ni tsutsunde yo
Criminal dreaming, you’re Chelsea girl
amaku eiri na shunkan konamaiki na kimi no me ni mo
Criminal dreaming, you’re Chelsea girl
Ah…
Translated Lyrics
Let the scenery fade, my throat is so dry
The lovers that I bring in here are all mine, forever
When we kiss, it makes for a sweet and good taste; Let’s confirm that right now, I’ll help you with your clothes
Keep it a secret from your papa and mama, one day you’ll understand why
I feel so good inside
I feel so good inside
Tonight songs sing a song
Dissonance boogie
Tonight songs sing a song
Dissonance boogie
A dazzling song of doting love set to a dissonance boogie
That’s what I want to give to you, when my desire changes to murderous impulse
I feel so good inside
I feel so good inside
Tonight songs sing a song
Dissonance boogie
Tonight songs sing a song
Dissonance boogie
Tonight songs sing a song
Dissonance boogie
Tonight songs sing a song
Dissonance boogie
Oh night, wrap up my shameless imagination ever so beautifully
Criminal dreaming, you’re Chelsea girl
That sweet and sharp moment is reflected in your impudent eyes
Criminal dreaming, you’re Chelsea girl
Ah…
Notes
Chelsea Girl is a very deceptive song. Its style of backing vocals and all English chorus make it come off as pop-y and maybe throw-away. But beneath all that, the verses hold some very interesting turns of phrase and kind of messed up lyrics. The way this is presented reminds me of something like The Beatles’ “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer”, since this is very clearly a song about a killer. In this case it’s about one who either purposefully has what seems to be consensual sex with his victims first, or that sex turns to murder as the result of some sort of mental imbalance.
For starters, I love the phrase “dissonance boogie”. If you were going to be all proper English grammar about it, it should probably be “dissonant boogie”. But in this case I think there’s something to be said for going with what feels better instead of what’s grammatically correct, even if it wasn’t intentional. It’s a particularly interesting phrase because while “dissonance” does have a definition that is musical in nature (a mingling of sounds that are harsh on the ears), it also has the double meaning of an inconsistency between one’s actions and one’s beliefs. For a conflicted killer (though these lyrics don’t seem to betray much conflict) that second meaning is particularly resonant, though again, I don’t know that Yoshii intended this double meaning. I choose to think that he did though!
And actually the use of English words as an accent in the verses works well: “boku dake no mono da yo forever” (“are all mine, forever”) makes for a pretty affecting lyric when describing the “lovers” that the speaker brings in. The lyric about keeping it a secret from mama and papa also has a very odd ring to it, but even then it sounds like we could just be dealing with someone who, while very possessive and slightly creepy, still only wants sex. It isn’t until the next verse when we hear about desire changing into murderous impulse that it all comes out. Only after that do you get lyrics like “Criminal dreaming” and actually calling the subject “impudent”. The fact that the lyrics are set up to be a reveal is pretty good and clever. This is a very good song, particularly for Yemon’s earlier work, that often gets overlooked. It’s very indicative of the dark lyrics wrapped in a light and pop-y shell that they often produced in their early days.
This title was probably derived from the 1966 experimental underground film called Chelsea Girls, directed by Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey. Nico (of Velvet Underground) starred in the movie, and also performed a song by the song name that was featured in the film. Chelsea Girl was also the name of her subsequent solo album that contained said song. Another song with the title Chelsea Girl was released in 1979 by new wave group Simple Minds.
Chelsea Girl hasn’t been included in too many set lists over the years. Post indie days it’s shown up during the Four Seasons tour in 1996, and the beginning of the 2016 reunion Super Japan tour. Keep in mind that by the time they got to their show at Saitama Super Arena on July 19th (the show that was released to DVD/Blu-ray for that tour), they had replaced it on the set list with Love is Zoophilia. I only know it was originally a part of their set from being at the first show of that tour, in Tokyo on May 11th. This is also a song that sounds significantly better than the recorded version when it’s performed live, every time.