ステレオポニー Stereopony - stand by me

Stand by me is the ending song of Eureka Seven AO.
It is written and performed by Stereopony, a 3 member all-girl rock band. They have been contributing songs to animes like Gundam 00, Darker than Black etc.
I have been following Stereopony since I heard their song Namida no Mukou from Gundam 00. They tend to write really catchy songs that are easy to sing along. As such, they have many collaborations with animes, dramas and even television advertisements.
Stereopony's lyrics tend to be simple and straight to the point so their songs are a good resource to pick up Japanese.
Stand by me talks about how even though separated physically, people are still connected.

高鳴る心臓の声は
いつしか心地良く馴染んでいて

風が強く吹いていても
目をつむらないで　いつだって前を向くよ

泣きたくなったら　思い出して
黙って誓い合った約束を

旅立つひな鳥の唄
今もまだ上手く飛べないけれど
巡り巡る時を越え　ひたすらに
繋いだ手をたどってく

重なる感情の波を
紡いで　きつく結びつけた

気付かぬまま向けられてた
やさしい眼差しが　今だって胸を突くよ

かばい合ったから　見失った
自分だけが知り得る目的地

旅立つひな鳥たちは
群れることなく　それぞれの場所へ
孤独の意味を知ったら　なおさらに
繋がれると信じてる

隣にいてよ
君の温もりが
伝わるよ　今

旅立つひな鳥の唄
今もまだ上手く飛べないけれど
巡り巡る時を越え　ひたすらに
繋いだ手をたどって

So I never let you go!!言葉は
空に消えてくばかりだとしても
散らばる光の中で　迷わずに
君を探し出せるから
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takanaru shinzou no koe wa
itsushika kokochi yoku najinde ite

kaze ga tsuyoku fuiteitemo
me wo tsumuranaide itsu datte mae wo muku yo

nakitakunattara omoidashite
damatte chikai atta yakusoku wo

tabidatsu hinadori no uta
ima mo mada umaku tobenai keredo
meguri meguru toki wo koe hitasura ni
tsunaida te wo tadotteku

kasanaru kanjyou no nami wo
tsumuide kitsuku musubi tsuketa

kizukanu mama mukerareteta
yasashii manazashi ga ima datte mune wo tsuku yo

kabai atta kara miushinatta
jibun dake ga shirieru mokutekichi

tabidatsu hinadori tachi wa
mureru koto naku sorezore no basho e
kodoku no imi wo shittara naosara ni
tsunagareru to shinjiteru

tonari ni ite yo
kimi no nukumori ga
tsutawaru yo ima

tabidatsu hinadori no uta
ima mo mada umaku tobenai keredo
meguri meguru toki wo koe hitasura ni
tsunaida te wo tadotte

So I never let you go!! kotoba wa
sora ni kieteku bakari datoshitemo
chirabaru hikari no naka de mayowazu ni
kimi wo sagashidaseru kara
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The sound of my heart throbbing
Unaware, I became familiar with this pleasant feeling

Even when the wind is strong
Don't close your eyes and keep facing forward

When you feel like crying
Remember the promise we silently swore to

The song of baby birds beginning their journeys
Even though they still cannot fly properly yet
Overcome these cyclic times and earnestly
follow the hand you held

The waves of overlapping emotions
are being spun and tied in a tight knot

Before I noticed, I was facing this direction
That tender look of yours still pierces my heart even now

I lost sight of where I wanted to go
because we covered each other

The baby birds beginning their journeys
Each flying towards their individual goal
Knowing loneliness, there is all the more reason
to believe they are connected

Stand by me
I can feel your warmth
even now

The song of baby birds beginning their journeys
Even though they still cannot fly properly yet
Overcome these cyclic times and earnestly
follow the hand you held

So I never let you go!! even if these words
keep dissipating into the skies
I will find you
in this scattered light

Hemenway - Escape

This time, it's the opening song for Eureka Seven AO. I didn't watch the original Eureka Seven (and am too lazy to start it) so there are a lot of unfamiliar terms in AO. The animation is top-notch though and hey I'm a mecha person so the IFOs in the series really attract me. The plot seems to be picking up speed with the appearance of Truth who is supposed to be an alien as I understand from comments I read.
Pardon my little knowledge of the series and let's move on to the song. This song is written and performed by Hemenway, a 4-man band. All 4 of them studied in the same music college in Boston and Hemenway is the name of a street there where they shared many memories. The interesting thing is that 2 of them are Korean-Americans with great interest in Japanese culture. As such, the band can freely write between 3 languages.
The song is based around the feeling of escaping. Not really running away but more like the feeling of soaring into the skies and away from worry. Personally, I really like the guitar in this song and there is even a Lightning Guitar Version of Escape in the single where the guitar take over the vocals part.

Escape
この風に、涙を乗せ
涸（か）れるまでスピードあげて
飛び越えて行ける
きっと答えは
遥かなあの空の向こう

答えが見つからないここでは
ため息をついて空を見る
青く染められた瞳の奥で
輝いてるのは
どこでも行ける、夢を見てる
自分なのさ

Escape
この風に、心乗せて
今すぐ君に届け
言葉尽きるまで
歌うことが
僕でいられる証だから

心が涸（か）れてしまうほどに
涙を流した夜もある
一人で背負うべき夢がいつも重すぎて
諦めたい時は
何を、歌えばいい？

Escape
Escape
ほら、輝く空へ
両手を伸ばして

そう、もう泣かないよ
きっと答えは自分だからさ

Escape
この風に、願いを乗せて
伸ばした手は未来（あす）を描く
もう怖くなどない
涙の跡
虹色に染まって飛んでゆく
あの空の向こう
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Escape
kono kaze, namida wo nose
kareru made supi-do agete
tobi koete yukeru
kitto kotae wa
harukana ano sora no mukou

kotae ga mitsukaranai koko de wa
tameiki wo tsuite sora wo miru
aoku somerareta hitomi no oku de
kagayaiteru no wa
doko mademo yukeru, yume wo miteru
jibun nanosa

Escape
kono kaze ni, kokoro nosete
ima sugu kimi ni todoke
kotoba tsukiru made
utau koto ga
boku de irareru akashi dakara

kokoro ga kareteshimau hodo ni
namida wo nagashita yoru mo aru
hitori de seou beki yume ga itsumo omosugite
akirametai toki wa
nani wo, utaeba ii?

Escape
Escape
hora, kagayaku sora e
ryoute wo nobashite

sou, mou nakanai yo
kitto kotae wa jibun dakara sa

Escape
kono kaze ni, negai wo nosete
nobashita te wa asu wo egaku
mou kowaku nado nai
namida no ato
nijiiro ni somatte tondeyuku
ano sora no mukou
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Escape
Let your tears ride on the wind
Keep accelerating until you run out of energy
We can overcome everything
The answer is definitely
in the far horizon

In this place where I cannot find the answer
I sighed and looked up at the sky
What is sparkling
in those ocean blue eyes
Following their dreams to the ends of the Earth
It's us

Escape
Let your heart ride on the wind
I will reach you this instant
Until i run out of words
because singing is proof
that I can stay myself

The more your heart dries up
the more nights spent crying
It will always be too heavy for one person to shoulder his dream
When I feel like giving up
What should I sing?

Escape
Escape
Let's head towards the shining sky
with our hands outstretched

That's right, there is no need to cry anymore
because the answer is us

Escape
Let your wishes ride on the wind
Our outstretched hands will paint our futures
There is no need to be afraid anymore
Our shed tears
will dye us in the colors of the rainbow
as we fly into the far horizon