Sung to the tune of Akino Arai's Hiru no Tsuki ("Daytime Moon"), the first ending song from the animated series Outlaw Star, this song was used in episodes 22 and 26 of the dubbed version. I'm fairly sure it was sung by Emily Brown, Melfina's second English voice actor - the singing voice is very much like Melfina's dubbed normal speaking voice, and since the character is meant to be singing it, it fits perfectly. I assume Hiru no Tsuki was used in this place in the original, though I don't know if it was the normal version with music or a new version, or whether it was sung by Akino Arai, Ayako Kawasumi (Melfina's original Japanese voice actor), or someone else.
The song is not exactly a translation of Hiru no Tsuki, and it cuts out the original's somber arrangement of violins and synth strings over a martial-sounding drumbeat (though Brown's pleading tone over silence might be even more somber). However, the lyrics are clearly meant to be the same song - though it's shorter overall and more lines were added to each verse to keep the number of syllables and vocal rhythm in each part the same, there are numerous paraphrases of the original lyrics. In fact, Melfina's Song in English seems to be a reconstruction of Hiru no Tsuki's first verse:
"One soundless mid-day, the wind was so cheerful
Flower petals sway in the breeze as if they were sleepy
This serene feeling...
Tell me, what's the word people use for it?"*
However, all references to the "white-sand moon"* of the song's title are absent, as are the following lines, which reflect Melfina's constant struggle to make Gene Starwind realize she cares about him:
"Will the time come when you will know the pain in my heart?
Then you'd be able to be gentler than you are now."*
Instead, the English song seems to reflect just Melfina's inner struggle, her wondering who and what she is. The second time it appears in the series, Melfina knows why she was created - an android who is also a computer navigation system, her purpose in existing was to locate the "Galactic Ley Line," an enormous artifact with a power beyond the understanding of human science. At the end of one episode, she enters the Ley Line, and at the start of the next we see what seems to be a montage of Melfina's memories and dreams as the song plays. As she enters, temporarily leaving our world into an utterly alien existence, she knows she can finally see the purpose behind her short, artificial life, and perhaps understand what she is and what she should be.
Of course, the original Japanese version has even more relevance here, since once Melfina's gone, Gene realizes exactly how much he cares and how he should be protecting her... but that's another story.
Length: 1:28
*Thanks to Allen Tyner for transcription and Takayama Miyuki for translation of the lyrics to Hiru no Tsuki, found through animelyrics.com.
Lyrics:
I don't know
What words I can say
The wind has a way
To talk to me
Flowers sleep
A silent lullaby
I pray for reply
I'm ready
Quiet - day - calms me
Oh, serenity
Someone - please - tell - me
Ahh, mmm, what is it they say?
Maybe I'll know one day
I don't know
What words I can say
The wind has a way
To talk to me
Flowers sleep
A silent lullaby
I pray for reply
I'm ready