LYRICS:
Verse 1
Yuki no Shingun, Koori wo funde
Dore ga Kawa yara Michi-sae shirezu
Uma wa taoreru, sutete mo okezu
Koko wa izuku zo, Mina Teki no Kuni
Ma-ma yo, Daitan Ippuku yareba
Tanomi sukunaya, Tabako ga Nihon
The snow march, stepping on ice
We can't even tell road from river
The horses are beaten, but we can't leave them
Just what is this place? It's all enemy country
Oh well, if we breath a little bravery
I'll only ask for little: a couple ciggies.
Verse 2
Yakanu Himono ni Han-nie Meshi ni
Namaji Inochi no aru sono uchi wa
Korae-kirenai Samusa no Takibi
Kemui hazu da yo Nama-ki ga iburu
Shibui Kao shite Kōmyō Hanashi
« Sui » to iu no wa Umeboshi hitotsu
Dried fish that won't cook becomes our half-boiled meals
It's not long before we're living half-boiled days
For this cold that can't be endured, a bonfire
Surely it will smoke, chaps! The green wood smoulders
Putting on a bitter face, a skilful speech:
The "sour" thing here's a pickled plum.
Verse 3
Ki-no-mi-ki no mama Kiraku na Fushido
Hainō-Makura ni Gaitō kaburya
Sena [?] no Nukumi de Yuki-doke kakaru
Yagu no Kibi-gara shippori nurete
Musubi kanetaru Roei no yume wo
Tsuki wa tsumetaku Kao nozokikomu
The clothes we wear are our carefree beds
We cover under our overcoats on knapsack pillows
With the warmth of our backs, the snow thaws,
Soaking wet our millet-husk bedding.
In bivouacs that won't tie, there are dreams
That the moon peeks into, coldly.²
Verse 4
Inochi sasagete detekita Mi yue
Shinuru Kakugo de Tokkan suredo
Buun tsutanaku Uchijini ni seneba
Giri ni karameta Jūppei Mawata
Sorori-sorori to Kubi shime-kakaru
Dōse ikashite kaesanu Tsumori
Because we came here offering our lives,
With a death resolution, even as we charge shouting,
If the fortunes of war so wish, we must die in battle.
The donated padded clothes, entwined in duty,
Slowly, slowly, fasten upon our necks.
Anyhow, the intention wasn't to let us return alive.
