1. 目覚めると夜明け前の闇は息をひそめて 静けさが追いつめる

Romaji: Mezameru to yoake mae no yami wa iki o hisomete / shizukesa ga oitsumeru

Cultural Nuance: Upon waking, the deep darkness just before dawn holds its breath as if it has a will of its own, watching me. The profound silence corners my wavering heart and anxiety, leaving no room for escape.

🗣 Japanese Insight: Here, the abstract concepts of "darkness" and "silence" are depicted as living entities through Personification.

"Iki o hisomete" (息をひそめて) describes the act of quietening one's breath to avoid being noticed by an enemy or prey; in this context, it creates a tension as if the darkness itself is observing the protagonist. Furthermore, the strong verb "Oitsumeru" (追いつめる - to corner) carries an aggressive nuance of leaving no room for escape. While silence usually brings peace, in the solitude of 4:00 AM, it attacks as a "pressure" that forces one to confront themselves.

2. Lord give me one more chance これが最後かしら

Romaji: Lord give me one more chance / kore ga saigo kashira

Cultural Nuance: Lord, please give me just one more chance. I wonder if this will be the very last opportunity for me.

🗣 Japanese Insight: In the Japanese pop scene of the late '70s, placing an English phrase at the core of the chorus was a very modern and stylish choice.

Note the sentence-ending particle "Kashira" (かしら). Primarily used by women, it carries a soft, soliloquy-like ring of doubt or anxiety. However, in Taeko Onuki’s voice, it sounds less like "weakness" and more like the "dignified stance of a mature woman" coolly observing reality. Sakamoto's sophisticated arrangement elevates this prayer into a stylish urban sorrow.

3. Lord give me one more chance どうにかしたいの

Romaji: Lord give me one more chance / dounika shitai no

Cultural Nuance: Lord, give me one more chance. I want to do something—somehow—to change this situation.

🗣 Japanese Insight: "Dounika shitai" (どうにかしたい) expresses a strong will to break through or solve a bad situation or problem through some kind of effort or method.

Even if a concrete solution hasn't been found yet, it is used to convey a desperate state of mind—an "urgent desire to turn things in a better direction"—often accompanied by a sense of impatience. In the extreme silence of 4:00 AM, this phrase captures a moment where raw emotion outruns logic.

4. 今を逃がしたなら すれちがう このままでもう出逢えない

Romaji: Ima o nogashita nara / surechigau / kono mama de mou deaenai

Cultural Nuance: If I miss this moment, if I don't seize this chance, we will pass each other by and never meet again.

🗣 Japanese Insight: "Surechigau" (すれちがう) is a vital keyword in J-Pop. It means more than just physically passing someone; it symbolizes the sadness of drifting apart because of mismatched timing.

Within the vast maze of a city, "encountering" the same person again is a miracle. This line portrays the urgent sense of loss felt by an adult who understands this reality. The definitive tone of "Mou deaenai" (We can never meet again) echoes heavily in the pre-dawn stillness.

5. これ以上 おたがいに ごまかしあうのはいや

Romaji: Kore ijou / otagai ni / gomakashiau no wa iya

Cultural Nuance: I can't stand it anymore—this state where we both hide our true feelings for each other and keep acting vaguely.

🗣 Japanese Insight: "Gomakashiau" (ごまかしあう) typically means to hide inconvenient truths from each other or to gloss over problems with temporary lies.

In the context of this song, it can be interpreted as "the state where both parties know they are attracted to each other, but avoid putting it into words." It captures the frustrating psychological standoff between adults. Before they "pass each other by" while hiding their true hearts, she wants to finally reveal the truth. This phrase is the heart of the song's palpable tension.

6. ふりかえり思うたび 答えが見つからない

Romaji: Furikaeri omou tabi / kotae ga mitsukaranai

Cultural Nuance: Every time I look back and reflect on the past, I cannot find the answer as to where we went wrong or what the right choice was.

🗣 Japanese Insight: "Furikaeri" (ふりかえり) means to reflect on the past. 4:00 AM is the boundary time where yesterday (the past) and today (the future) intersect.

No matter how many times one retraces the past, a satisfying answer remains elusive. To embrace this "lack of answers" while still praying for "One more chance" and surrendering to a funky groove—this ambivalent emotion is exactly why listeners worldwide feel a "timeless urban sentiment" in this song.

🎤 Emotional Summary

Taeko Onuki’s "4:00 AM" is a masterpiece that depicts the solitude and honesty of an urban adult with a crystalline sound free of impurities.

While being cornered by "darkness" and "silence," Onuki refuses to "deceive" (gomakasu) her heart and waits for the new morning with a desperate desire to "do something" (dounika shitai). Listening to this song in the cold air of 4:00 AM, one feels deeply moved by the realization that this breathless urban tension has continued to color nights around the world for over 40 years.