残酷な天使のように 少年よ神話になれ
zankoku na tenshi no you ni shounen yo shinwa ni nare
just like a cruel angel, oh, young man, become a legend! [♥]
蒼い風がいま 胸のドアを叩いても
私だけをただ見つめて微笑んでるあなた
そっとふれるもの もとめることに夢中で
運命さえまだ知らない いたいけな瞳
aoi kaze ga ima mune no DOA wo tataite mo watashi dake wo tada mitsumete hohoenderu anata sotto fureru mono motomeru koto ni muchuu de unmei sae mada shiranai itaike na hitomi
now as blue winds beat upon the door of your heart
your smiling self is still staring only at me
searching wildly in a daze for something to cling to gently [♣]
even your fate is still unknown in your hopeless eyes
だけどいつか気付くでしょう その背中には
遥か未来めざすための羽根があること
dakedo itsuka kizuku deshou sono senaka ni wa haruka mirai mezasu tame no hane ga aru koto
however, I think that one day you'll realise that on that back of yours
you have wings for aiming towards a distant future
残酷な天使のテーゼ 窓辺からやがて飛び立つ
ほとばしる熱いパトスで 思い出を裏切るなら
この宇宙を抱いて輝く 少年よ神話になれ
zankoku na tenshi no TEEZE madobe kara yagate tobitatsu hoto bashiru atsui PATOSU de omoide wo uragiru nara kono sora wo daite kagayaku shounen yo shinwa ni nare
the cruel angel's thesis soon leaps away from by the window
don't let the surging, feverish pathos betray your memories!
embrace these stars and shine -- oh young man, become a legend! [♦]
ずっと眠ってる 私の愛の揺りかご
あなただけが夢の使者に呼ばれる朝がくる
細い首筋を 月あかりが映してる
世界中の時を止めて閉じこめたいけど
zutto nemutteru watashi no ai no yurikago anata dake ga yume no shisha ni yobareru asa ga kuru hosoi kubisuji wo tsukiakari ga utsu shiteru sekaijyuu no toki wo tomete tojikometai kedo
forever sleeping in the cradle of my love
only you are called by a dream messenge as the morning comes
the moonlight casts shadows upon the back of your slender neck
even if I stop all the time in the world, I still want to lock you away
もしもふたり逢えたことに意味があるなら
私はそう 自由を知るためのバイブル
moshimo futari aeta koto ni imi ga aru nara watashi wa sou jiyuu wo shiru tame no baiburu
but, if there was a meaning to the two us having met
even I could understand the bible of freedom
残酷な天使のテーゼ 悲しみがそしてはじまる
抱きしめた命のかたち その夢に目覚めたとき
誰よりも光を放つ 少年よ神話になれ
zankoku na tenshi no TEEZE kanashimi ga soshite hajimaru dakishimeta inochi no katachi sono yume ni mezameta toki dare yori mo hikari wo hanatsu shounen yo shinwa ni nare
the cruel angel's thesis thusly begins the misery
in the shape of life that I held close at the time I awoke from that dream
you shine more brightly than anyone else -- oh young man, become a legend!
人は愛をつむぎながら歴史をつくる
女神なんてなれないまま 私は生きる
hito wa ai wo tsumugi nagara rekishi wo tsukuru megami nante narenai mama watashi wa ikiru
as people are spinning stories of love, history is being created [♠]
I could never become something like a goddess, but I can still exist!
残酷な天使のテーゼ 窓辺からやがて飛び立つ
ほとばしる熱いパトスで 思い出を裏切るなら
この宇宙を抱いて輝く 少年よ神話になれ
zankoku na tenshi no TEEZE madobe kara yagate tobitatsu hoto bashiru atsui PATOSU de omoide wo uragiru nara kono sora wo daite kagayaku shounen yo shinwa ni nare
the cruel angel's thesis soon leaps away from by the window
don't let the surging, feverish pathos betray your memories!
embrace these stars and shine -- oh young man, become a legend!
[♥] 少年 "shounen" is often translated as boy, young boy, etc, but I chose "young man" because...well, that's essentially what Shinji is, a young adult, as seeing as NGE is a (very, very twisted) bildungsroman of sorts, I think it works better than "boy".
[♦] sung as そら "sora" (sky), but given in the lyrics as 宇宙 "uchuu" (universe, cosmos) -- so I've glossed this in the translation as "the stars" to keep the poetry.
[♣] ふれる "fureru" isn't given with any kanji in the lyrics sheet, so it could mean a number of things -- to touch, to feel, to experience (emotionally), to perceive, to allude to, to be in conflict with, to swing, to shake, to deflect, to lean towards...and probably a few others. I smushed together those that made sense in this context to reach "cling to".
[♠] つむぎ "tsumugi" is given with no kanji in the lyrics sheet, but refers to spinning (wool or yarn). I took licence from the lack of kanji to be freer than I usually would with this translation, and sort of took the idea of "spinning" love stories (or "yarns"). It's quite liberal, but I think it fits with the general feeling of the song.