Kimi ga yo no Nagara no yama no kai ari to nodokeki kumo no iru toki zo miru - Shui Wakashu(English Translation & Meaning)

君が代のながらの山のかひありと
のどけき雲のゐる時ぞ見る

Roma-ji: Kimi ga yo no Nagara no yama no kai ari to nodokeki kumo no iru toki zo miru
English Translation: That the sovereign's reign
long as Nagara Mountain
bears its name's true worth,
I see when the tranquil clouds
come to rest upon its slopes.
Meaning: When peaceful clouds rest upon Mount Nagara, I see that its name, promising the long life of our sovereign's reign, is not in vain.
Commentary: Book Ten Kagura Songs 598

Headnote: "Fūzoku songs for the Great Thanksgiving Festival of the first year of Anna: Mount Nagara"
The poem says that when peaceful clouds rest on Mount Nagara, the poet sees that the name of the mountain, promising a long reign, is borne out. Pivoting the place name Nagara on "nagara," lasting long, it sees in the calm scene of tranquil clouds on the mountain a sign that the peaceful reign will long endure. It takes the same Mount Nagara as its topic as the next poem, 599.
The headnote, "Fūzoku songs for the Great Thanksgiving Festival of the first year of Anna," shows that the poem was offered at the Great Thanksgiving Festival held in the first year of Anna upon the accession of Emperor Reizei. At this festival, poems working in the place names of the provinces chosen as Yuki and Suki were offered, and from here to 608 poems follow whose topics are the names of mountains and shores in those provinces.
The author, Ōnakatomi no Yoshinobu, served as chief priest of the Ise Shrine and, as one of the Five Men of the Pear Chamber, took part in compiling the Gosenshū. He is counted among the Thirty-Six Immortal Poets.

First line, "kimi ga yo no," means "of our sovereign's reign," speaking of the emperor's rule.
Second line, "Nagara no yama no," is a pivot word: "Nagara" means Mount Nagara in Ōmi and "lasting long." It sings of the same mountain as the second line of the next poem, 599, "Nagara no yama no."
Third line, "kai ari to," is a pivot word: "kai" means a mountain "valley" and "worth." The third line of 611, "kai shi areba," uses the same pivot.
Fourth line, "nodokeki kumo no," means "tranquil clouds," suggesting a peaceful reign.
Final line, "iru toki zo miru," means "I see when they rest," with the binding particle "zo" resolved by the attributive "miru."
Author: Onakatomi no Yoshinobu
Source: Shui Wakashu
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