Passion (Sanctuary)

Lyrics

Original	Translation	Sanctuary
思い出せば遥か遥か 未来は どこまでも輝いてた きれいな青空の下で 僕らは 少しだけ怯えていた	If I remember, far, far back The future was shining everywhere Under the beautiful blue sky We... were only a little scared	In you and I, there's a new land Angels in flight My sanctuary, my sanctuary, yeah Where fears and lies melt away Music will tie What's left of me, what's left of me, now
懐かしい色に 窓が染まる	[It is] A nostalgic color [that] The window is dyed with	I watch you, fast asleep All I fear means nothing
前を向いてればまた会えますか 未来は どこへでも続いてるんだ 大きな看板の下で 時代の 移ろいを見ていたいな	If I move on, will we ever meet again? The future continues on everywhere Under the big signboard The times... I want to watch as they change	In you and I, there's a new land Angels in flight My sanctuary, my sanctuary, yeah Where fears and lies melt away Music will tie What's left of me, what's left of me
Opening version only: 人知れず My heart's a battleground (Noitome eurt deen I) (Wonk uoy noitceffa erom deen I) (Noitome eurt deen I)	Unbeknownst to others, My heart's a battleground (I need true emotion) (I need more affection than you know) (I need true emotion)	(Snwod dna spu ynam os) My heart's a battleground (Noitome eurt deen I) (Wonk uoy noitceffa erom deen I) (Noitome eurt deen I)
二度と会えぬ人に場所に 窓を開ける	I open the window to the people, the places that I won't be seeing again	You show me how to see that nothing is whole And nothing is broken
思い出せば遥か遥か 未来は どこまでも輝いてた きれいな青空の下で 僕らは いつまでも眠っていた。	If I remember, far, far back The future was shining everywhere Under the beautiful blue sky We... ...slept forever.	In you and I, there's a new land Angels in flight My sanctuary, my sanctuary, yeah Where fears and lies melt away Music will tie What's left of me, what's left of me, now
Single version only: ずっと前に好きだった人 (冬に子供が生まれるそうだ) 昔からの決まり事を (たまに疑いたくなるよ) ずっと忘れられなかったの (年賀状は写真付かな？) 私たちに出来なかったことを (とても懐かしく思うよ)	From a long time ago, that person who I liked (In winter, their child will be born) What I decided a long time ago (I would want to have doubts about it sometimes) The New Year's card that I could never forget (Is there a photograph attached to it?) I think very fondly of what we couldn't do (When I look back, it's a bit nostalgic)
My fears, my lies 青空の下	My fears, my lies Under the blue sky	My fears, my lies Melt away

Reversed lyrics

During the song, some reversed lyrics can be heard.

Lyrics

Wonk uoy noitceffa erom deen I	I need more affection than you know
Snwod dna spu ynam os	So many ups and downs
Noitome eurt deen I	I need true emotion

Other recordings

A music CD+DVD produced in Korea was sold, containing the music video of Passion ~single version~ in a slightly higher video quality than the current official YouTube upload.

Miscellaneous

These equally stand as my favorite songs to date, and I don't anticipate this changing within the foreseeable future. No aspect of them lack, from the ethereal instrumentation, to the passionate vocals, to the shamelessly vulnerable lyrics, and bilingual release. Passion's music video is also positively unique, allowing Hikaru to be the focus of their own realm and express themselves by choreographing their movements within the characters in the video. In Sanctuary, I think it's insane how perfectly the reversed lyrics phonetically fit alongside the tune of the lyric Angels in flight, while also fitting alongside the music at the same time.

The vocals are also impressively heartfelt. In Passion, I find the experience of Utada talking about everyday life, their memories, and ultimately wanting to simply rest alongside someone else adorably endearing. The ending of Passion is a full on paragraph of disconnected thoughts rushing in all at once. Many of Utada's songs, like Goodbye Happiness, One Last Kiss, and Passion, all have themes of not being able to forget the best memories with other people, despite an unknown future or rocky past. Collectively, they make me a bit more appreciative of time spent one-on-one with other people.

There is not a single aspect of either of these tracks that I dislike or even find mediocre, and I strongly appreciate the fact that they exist. They both define the alternative rock genre and are a personal respective standard for it.

Trivia

• The lyrics to Sanctuary were written before Passion.
• Many of the lyrics in Passion are synchronised to the events of the opening in Kingdom Hearts II. For example, the lines "We slept forever" is played over a scene of the main characters resting over a sunset on a beach at the end of a chaotic scene beforehand; "If I move on, will we ever meet again?" is shown while the main protagonist is being forcefully separated from his childhood friend and later love interest, with an unknown future ahead of them.