“Uraniwa ni Zombies ga!” lyrics

July 21, 2009 at 1:37 am | Posted in Uncategorized | 45 Comments
Tags: plants vs zombies, uraniwa ni zombies ga

Hi everyone… I’ve got something for you today… I’ve been receiving a lot of requests for the lyrics to the Japanese version of the Plants vs. Zombies song (“Uraniwa ni Zombies ga!”), so I decided to post them here for you   I also wanted to try and answer some of the questions I’ve been receiving about the song since it was first released:

What came first, the Japanese or the English version?
The English version came first. I decided to make a Japanese version afterwards because I thought it would be fun, and being half-Japanese, I always look forward to the chance to represent both sides.

How did you come up with the tune for this song?
When I was composing the music for the pool level in Plants vs. Zombies, I found that I was really partial to one of the subtle background melodies… I thought it would be cool to take that melody and spin it into its own song.

Why do the English and Japanese lyrics have slightly different meanings?
When I set out to make the Japanese version, my goal was to try as best I could to maintain the original melody and meaning behind the lyrics in the English version, but give it its own flavor as well. For those of you who speak both English and Japanese, you know that one sentence in Japanese is quite a bit longer than its English equivalent (which is one of the reasons those old Godzilla dubs are so hilarious). So I worked with my Dad to come up with lyrics that fit a more “children’s song” style… that way the song felt like its own song (rather than just a translation), and it really matched the sunflower. It also solved the problem of matching the melody despite the disparity in sentence length (but as such, the meanings of some of the sentences were changed).

Who is voicing the Japanese zombies, and why do they not sound like typical zombies?
My Dad is the voice of the Japanese zombies (George is the voice of the English ones). Originally we were going to have the Japanese zombies just sound like regular zombies… but as I was reading through the lyrics, as a joke I started reading them as if I were one of those highly energetic Japanese gameshow hosts. It was such a weird combination that we all started laughing and decided to have my Dad use this kind of voice instead. I thought it was so hilarious, because you’re expecting growling-zombies, but instead you hear a voice like a Japanese gameshow host saying things like, “oh, please let me have your tricycle” which is so weird and awesome.

Are you the sunflower in both versions?
Yes

Can you please post the lyrics to the Japanese version?
No problem… here they are. Enjoy!

“Uraniwa ni Zombies ga!”
by Laura Shigihara

Himawari

(chorus)
Zombie ga yatte kita
Zombie ga yatte kita
Zombie ga yatte kita
Zombie wa dete ita

(verse 1)
Zombie wa kowai gaikotsu
Hanabira zenbu o toritagaru
Sono ato atama wo tabetagaru
Tadano Himawari
Dakedo watashi wa tsuyoi!
Noumiso ga suki
Zombie wa kirai

(pre-chorus 1)
Softball de asonda yo!
Helmetto wo kabutta zo!
Screen door wo motta zo!
Oretachi Zombie, Zombie, Zombie da!

(chorus)
Zombie ga yatte kita
Zombie ga yatte kita
Zombie ga yatte kita
Zombie wa dete ita

(verse 2)
Uraniwa de asobitai
Atama wo taberu no yamenasai
Noumiso niwa cholesterol ga ippai
Shinda node kankei nai kedo
Solar power de tatakau yo
Shokubutsu wo mamoru tame

(pre-chorus 2)
Sono sanrinsha choudai
Atama ni butter ga kuttsui jata
Noumiso taberu zo!
Oretachi Zombie, Zombie, Zombie da!

(chorus)
Zombie ga yatte kita
Zombie ga yatte kita
Zombie ga yatte kita
Zombie wa dete ita