Understanding 気分任せの足跡


I'm translating the song “はだしの軌跡” from **Final Fantasy X-2: Vocal Collection -
Rikku**.

> 気分まかせの足跡つけて新しい地図 描こう

I’m translating this lyric from right to left, reading as “Let’s draw a new
map by...” 気分まかせの足跡つけて seems to mean something about making footprints of some
kind. まかせ appears to either be the stem form of 任せる or act like a suffix to
気分, but I don't know what the ‘no’ particle is for if anything.




Here まかせ seems to act as the suffix meaning "leave it up to someone or
something else". In this case it's being applied to 気分 (the feeling / mood).
Giving 気分まかせ a meaning of "left up to the feeling / mood".

As for the の particle, it's being used in the traditional sense to connect and
modify 足跡 (footprints) using 気分まかせ. So with this の particle we get 気分まかせの足跡
meaning something like "the feeling / mood's footprints", "the footprints
based on the mood", or etc.

Also for extra clarification, 足跡つけて (足跡をつける) means to "leave behind / make
footprints".

So altogether reading from left to right we have something like:

> 気分まかせの足跡つけて新しい地図描こう
>
> Leaving behind footprints based on the mood, let's draw a new map

Or reading from right to left

> Let's draw a new map using the footprints left behind by the mood.

