Ride on Time – Tatsuro Yamashita | 1980

RIDE ON TIME [RIDE ON TIME]
山下達郎 [YAMASHITA Tatsurō]
Words & Music : 山下達郎 [YAMASHITA Tatsurō]

YouTube Search “Ride on Time – Tatsuro Yamashita”

Tatsurō Yamashita is the husband of Mariya Takeuchi, who sang “Plastic Love“, the first song featured on this Words in Japanese Song blog. He also arranged that song. You could say he is one of the key figures behind the boom of Vaporwave and City Pop.

“Ride on Time” is Tatsurō Yamashita’s sixth single, released in 1980, and it was his first commercially successful song. It was written as the tie-in song for a TV commercial for Maxell cassette tapes. In 2003, it was used as the theme song for a TV drama about airplane pilots.

青い水平線をいま駆け抜けてく
aoi suiheisen o ima kakenuketeku
とぎすまされた時の流れ感じて
togisumasareta toki no nagare kanjite

青い（あおい） [aoi] : blue
水平線（すいへいせん） [suiheisen] : horizon
今（いま） [ima] : now
駆け抜ける（かけぬける） [kakenukeru] : run through
研ぎ澄ます（とぎすます） [togisumasu] : sharpen
時（とき） [toki] : time
流れ（ながれ） [nagare] : flow
感じる（かんじる） [kanjiru] : feel

(translation) “Running through the blue horizon now,
I feel the sharpened flow of time.”

“水平線 / suiheisen” refers to the line that forms the boundary between the sea and the sky, distinguishing it from “地平線 / chiheisen,” which denotes the boundary between the land and the sky.

アアときめきへと動き出す世界は
aa tokimeki e to ugokidasu sekai wa
忘れかけてた遠い夢の訪れ
wasurekaketeta tōi yume no otozure

ときめき [tokimeki] : excitement
動きだす（うごきだす） [ugokidasu] : start to move
世界（せかい） [sekai] : world
忘れる（わすれる） [wasureru] : forget
遠い（とおい） [tōi] : distant
夢（ゆめ） [yume] : dream
訪れ（おとずれ） [otozure] : arrival

(translation) “The world begins to move toward excitement,
as the distant dream I almost forgot arrives.”

Ride On Time さまよう想いなら
ride on time samayou omoi nara
やさしく受け止めてそっと包んで
yasashiku uketomete sotto tsutsunde

さまよう [samayou] : wander
思い・想い（おもい） [omoi] : thought
やさしく [yasashiku] : gently
受け止める（うけとめる） [uketomeru] : accept
そっと [sotto] : softly
包む（つつむ） [tsutsumu] : wrap

(translation)”Ride On Time, if your thoughts are wandering,
gently accept them and wrap them softly.”

“Ride on time” likely conveys the idea of going with the flow of time or moving forward without missing the moment.
Additionally, “on time” means something like punctual, and Japan’s trains and other forms of public transportation are famous for arriving almost perfectly on time.

Ride On Time 心に火を点けて
ride on time kokoro ni hi o tsukete
あふれる喜びに拡がれ Ride On Time
afureru yorokobi ni hirogare ride on time

心（こころ） [kokoro] : heart
火をつける（ひをつける） [hi o tsukeru] : light a fire
あふれる [afureru] : overflow
喜び（よろこび） [yorokobi] : joy
広がる（ひろがる） [hirogaru] : spread

(translation) “Ride on time, light a fire in your heart,
let the overflowing joy spread, ride on time.”

The phrase “火をつける / hi o tsukeru” can mean to spark or ignite an incident or event, as well as to stimulate and heighten emotions. The Japanese title of The Doors’ “Light My Fire” is translated as “ハートに火をつけて / Heart ni Hi o Tsukete.”

僕の輝く未来さあ回りハジメて
boku no kagayaku mirai sā mawari hajimete
虚ろな日々も全て愛に溶け込む
utsuro na hibi mo subete ai ni tokekomu

僕（ぼく） [boku] : I
輝く（かがやく） [kagayaku] : shine
未来（みらい） [mirai] : future
回り始める（まわりはじめる） [mawari hajimeru] : start to turn
うつろ [utsuro] : empty
日々（ひび） [hibi] : days
全て（すべて） [subete] : everything
愛（あい） [ai] : love
溶け込む（とけこむ） [tokekomu] : melt into

(translation) “My shining future begins to turn,
as all the empty days melt into love.”

アア何という朝今すぐ君のもと
aa nantoiu asa ima sugu kimi no moto
届けに行こう燃える心迷わず
todoke ni ikō moeru kokoro mayowazu

なんという [nantoiu] : what a
朝（あさ） [asa] : morning
すぐ [sugu] : immediately
君（きみ） [kimi] : you
もと [moto] : presence
届ける（とどける） [todokeru] : deliver
行く（いく） [iku] : go
燃える（もえる） [moeru] : burn
迷う（まよう） [mayou] : hesitate

(translation) “What a morning! I’ll go to your side immediately,
delivering my burning heart without hesitation.”

Ride On Time 時よ走り出せ
ride on time toki yo hashiridase
愛よ光り出せ目もくらむ程
ai yo hikaridase me mo kuramu hodo

走りだす（はしりだす） [hashiridasu] : start to run
愛（あい） [ai] : love
光りだす（ひかりだす） [hikaridasu] : start to shine
目がくらむ（めがくらむ） [me ga kuramu] : dazzle
程（ほど） [hodo] : to the extent

(translation) “Ride on time, time, start running. Love,
start shining to the point of dazzling.”

In this song’s lyrics, the word “..だす / ..dasu” is frequently used, adding the meaning of “beginning” as in “ugoku | ugokidasu” (move | start to move) or “hashiru | hashiridasu” (run | start to run). It’s a perfect verb for expressing the movement of time in “Ride on Time”.

Ride On Time 心に火を点けて
ride on time kokoro ni hi o tsukete
飛び立つ魂に送るよ Ride On Time
tobitatsu tamashī ni okuru yo ride on time

飛び立つ（とびたつ） [tobitatsu] : take off
魂（たましい） [tamashī] : soul
送る（おくる） [okuru] : send

(translation) “Ride on time, light a fire in your heart.
Send it to the soul that’s taking off, ride on time.”

届けに行こう燃える心今こそ
todoke ni ikō moeru kokoro ima koso

今こそ（いまこそ） [ima koso] : now more than ever

(translation) “Let’s go deliver it, my burning heart, now more than ever.”

Tatsurō Yamashita hates the internet, so he doesn’t offer his music on streaming services, but you can listen to some of it on his official YouTube channel ^YT. He loves old analog media like vinyl records and cassette tapes.

For those who use Spotify, here’s a link to Noriyuki Makihara’s cover version.