[Intro] [Verse 1] First snow on the ginkgo, and the whole street holds its breath, every sound gets a blanket, and the city sounds like rest. I stood out on the balcony and watched it fill the lane — yuki, yuki, falling... and it won't be here again. [Chorus] Nothing this beautiful stays, and it never meant to — that's the whole of why it's beautiful, mono no ah-wah-ray,, it's true. Catch it on your sleeve a second, watch it turn to rain — first snow, first snow... and it won't come back the same. [Verse 2] There's a teahouse down on Sanjō where we watched it years ago, your hands around the little cup, your breath a cloud of smoke and snow. I still walk that street in winter when the first flakes come to stay — and I let it fall a while on me... before I brush it away. [Chorus] Nothing this beautiful stays, and it never meant to — that's the whole of why it's beautiful, mono no ah-wah-ray,, it's true. Catch it on your sleeve a second, watch it turn to rain — first snow, first snow... and it won't come back the same. [Bridge] They say the One who paints it never paints the same flake twice — a billion falling, every one its own design tonight. If He spends that on the snow that's gone by noon... (soft) I wonder what He spent on you. [Instrumental] [Final Chorus] Nothing this beautiful stays, and it never meant to — that's the whole of why it's beautiful, mono no ah-wah-ray,, it's true. Catch it on your sleeve a second, watch it turn to rain — first snow, first snow... and it won't come back the same. [Outro] (soft) Yuki... furu. (spoken, warm) Let it fall a while.
