Ryukyu Heartbeat

海沿いの道で育った私 Seawall dreams where the tide hit me

テトラポッドに座って描いた Ferries drifting like a memory

エイサーの太鼻が胸を搖らす Eisa drums shaking summer heat 国際通りに三線が鹹る Sanshin lines running down the

street

Mama calling from the izakaya door Salt on my skin,

sand on the floor Leaving home meant learning how to keep

Every island sound underneath the beat

東京は冷たい都市の波 Tokyo hit hard like a city wave

人混み中で名前も消えた Lost my voice in the crowded maze

でも詳りも声も捨てない I kept my accent,

kept my tone 「遠いね」と言われても Even when they said I sounded “too far

from home”

I’m a Ryukyu heartbeat,

Running through the city like a backbeat 沖縄の声と東京のリズム Okinawa in my voice,

Tokyo in my stride 琉球音階 × overdrive Ryukyu

scale crashing into overdrive 迷ってない、探してるだけ

I’m not lost,

just finding where I fit 屋上で食べたコンビニおにぎり Rooftop lunches with a cheap onigiri

下北沢の夜は本物だった Shimokita nights felt real to me

安いエフェクターで音を歪ませ Cheap pedal buzzing through my guitar

ホームシックを曲に変えた Turning homesick into who we are

Koenji basement, thirty in the crowd I sang Tetrapod soft,

then I sang it loud Kenji said,

“Don’t smooth out your sound,

It’s the crack in the mix that keeps you around.” 八月に帰る那霸空港 Naha

Airport hits me like a memory

湿った空気が胸を締める Humidity tightening around me 「うるさいね」と母は笑う

Mama laughs, “Your tracks are too loud to be sweet” でも三線が入ると微笑んで But

she smiles when the sanshin slips under the beat

Papa taps along

even when he’s tired Says,

“You made a sound that’s truly yours.”

I’m a Ryukyu heartbeat,

Running through the city like a backbeat 沖縄の声と東京のリズム Okinawa in my voice,

Tokyo in my stride 琉球音階 × overdrive Ryukyu scale crashing into overdrive

迷ってない、学んでるだけ I’m not lost,

just learning how to sit 二つの世界の真ん中で Right in the split between two

worlds