あなたがいるから: "will to kneel" or "kneeling stone"? (And probably the debunking of a wrong translation of that couplet)

Question

Part 1    Part 2    Part 3    Part 4

This is part four of what was mostly a cross-post of this Quora post.

The song is this one, and the lyrics go:

もしもこの世に汚れがなければ
姿を変えずに愛し合えたのに
どうして時は衆を分つの
ねえそばにいて今だけ

あなたがいるから私は強くなる
誓いの指輪きらきらきれいね
You will realize 小さな夢も
You are the one 心満たされる

夜のハイウエイバイクを飛ばして
はしゃいだ自由を持て余すくらい
この目で見て触れて分かる
確かなものがあったね

あの日の二人にすべて戻らせるなら
ひざまづく意志になるまでに祈るよ
We can still be free 百まで数えて
Never wanna stop 心解き放つ

あなたがいるから私は強くなる
誓いの指輪きらきらきれいね
You will realize 小さな夢も
You are the one いつか叶えられる

In transliteration:

Moshi mo kono yo ni kegare ga nakereba
Sugata wo kaezu ni aishiaeta noni
Doushite toki wa shū wo wakatsu no?
Nee, soba ni ite ima dake

Anata ga iru kara watashi wa tsuyoku naru
Chikai no yubiwa kirakira kirei ne
You will relize chiisa na yume mo
You are the one kokoro mitasareru

Yoru no haiuei baiku o tobashite
Hashaida jiyuu o moteamasu kurai
Kono me de mite furete wakaru
Tashika na mono ga atta ne

Ano hi no futari ni subete modoserunara
Hizamazuki ishi ni naru made inoru you
We can still be free hyaku made kazoete
Never wanna stop kokoro tokihanatsu

Anata ga iru kara watashi wa tsuyoku naru
Chikai no yubiwa kirakira kirei ne
You will realize chiisa na yume mo
You are the one itsuka kannaerareru

And this is the translation attempt I posted to lyricstranslate, with one or two edits:

Even if there were no impurity* in this world    LT has "contamination"
So that [we] could've loved each other without having to change our looks…
Why does time separate [simple] people?    "simple" was added here.
Hey, be by [my] side, at least now

Since you're there, I get stronger
The ring of [my] promise is sparkling, beautiful isn't it?
You will realize even [my] small dreams
You are the one, [my] heart is satisfied

On the highway at night riding a motorbike
Till [I] don't know what to do with the freedom of making merry
[I'll] see with these eyes and touch, and understand
That this has been real    [lit. That there has been a real thing [between us]]

If it will let everything return to [how it was] in the days of us two,
[I] will pray till [I] want to fall on [my] knees
We can still be free, count till a hundred
Never wanna stop, I will set my heart loose

Since you're there, I get stronger
The ring of [my] promise is sparkling, beautiful isn't it?
You will realize even [my] small dreams
You are the one, [my] heart is satisfied

I also asked a question on Quora about this attempt.

The last question is about the following lines:

あの日の二人にすべて戻らせるなら
ひざまづく意志になるまでに祈るよ

Animelyrics:

If only we could return everything to that day
I would pray till I fall on my knees

Word by word:

• Ano: that/those;
• hi: day(s);
• no: possessive;
• futari two people;
• ni: to;
• subete: everything;
• modoraseru: causative of modoru “return” (come/go back);
• nara: if (indicates that the if-clause happens after the main clause);
• hizamazuku: kneel;
• ishi: intention, intent, volition;
• ni naru: get into, become;
• made: until;
• inoru: pray;
• yo: !

So «If [it] will let everything return to [how] the two of us [were] that/those day(s), / I will pray until I wish to kneel» (lit. “get into a kneeling mood”).

I guess I’m mentioning this just because my conclusion is different from animelyrics, but also because for some reason both the Thai… wait a second. The Thai has a different text:

あの日の二人に　すべて戻せるなら
跪き　石になるまで祈るよ

So now we have modoseru (not modoraseru), which is potential: “if [in that case] everything can return to etc etc”. Also, “hizamazuku ishi” is now “hizamazuki ishi”, where ishi is spelled differently and now means “stone”. And I finally understand the “turning to stone” found in both Thai («ถ้าเกิดย้อนไปในวันนั้นของเราสองคนได้ล่ะก็ / ฉันจะคุกเข่าลง แล้วนั่งภาวนาไปจนกว่าจะกลายเป็นหินเลย» aka «If we could go back to those days of the two of us / I'll get down on my knees and sit and pray until they turn to stone») and Chinese («如果能完完全全回到那时候的你和我的话 / 我会跪着许愿 直到化为石头» aka «If we can completely go back to the you and me of that time / I will kneel and make vows till I turn to stone»). Except I’m pretty sure that’s a typo, and 意志 “volition, intent” was meant. The potential matches the video, so «If everything can go back to how we were back then» is correct, and I can’t tell if the video says -ku or -ki (it gobbles up the vowel essentially), but I don’t think -ki fits here. What do you think? -ki or -ku, and stone or volition?

Answer 1

It cannot be 跪く意志になる for two reasons: first, 意志 isn't a corporeal, physical object; and second, it would mean becoming that object, which is itself kneeling. Becoming willing (to do something) isn't at all like becoming will (incarnate).

However, becoming (metaphorically, in context) 石 is a perfectly sensible concept. A stone cannot meaningfully 跪く (and using the plain form would force it to modify 石), so that's ruled out. 跪き, on the other hand, makes perfect sense. Using the i-stem (i.e. masu-stem) of the verb creates something like an English gerund - except that in Japanese, it would only attach to a following noun in specific cases (basically for set compounds, like [欠]{か}き[氷]{ごおり}). So here, it would be modifying something else instead (perhaps 祈る). The 跪き reading is also corroborated by every other available source: the ones you found, as well as e.g. this one and this one and this one and this one.