1874 [jat1 baat3 cat1 sei3] [English translation]

Still have not chanced upon that one true lover of mine;

have you not yet appeared, or have you already passed?

I suspect, in some realm, in some year

on some day before I was brought to this world,

there existed someone waiting for my love

sleepless for me every night

We never got to know each other, and you were gone

This person truly exists, but is like a fictional character

Could they* be destined to come with me

but went to the wrong era?

If my lover was born lonesomely in 1874

exactly 100 years early, a century

Then if they had stubbornly waited a whole life,

would the rainy season arrive at the barren land?

Why was I not born on time in 1874

to stumble upon you, guard you, grow old with you?

If we had not met but had lived in the same age

we still could live and die together

We never got to know each other, and you were gone

This person truly exists, but is like a fictional character

Could they be destined to come with me

but went to the wrong era?

If my lover was born lonesomely in 1874

exactly 100 years early, a century

Then if they had stubbornly waited a whole life,

would the rainy season befall the barren land?

Why was I not born on time in 1874

to stumble upon you, guard you, grow old with you?

Even if we could not meet somewhere of peace

with you, we could journey the war-torn lands

Why was I not born on time in 1874

to hold your arm and escape all night?

If we were separated under the warring sky in the same age

we still could live and die together