Can te-form be used to modify a noun?


I encountered the te-form before a noun in the lyrics below:

> 見つめあなたの表情 (Staring at your expression)  
>  隠して明星ギャラクティカ (Hide the Morning Star Galactica)  
>  そのときめいた気持ちが未知だって  
>  手探りでいいから

(full lyrics available [here](https://www5.atwiki.jp/hmiku/pages/37300.html))

I'm not sure if the 隠して is:

a. modifying the noun after it (hiding)

b. a request (hide)

c. modifying the noun 表情 from the previous line (Morning Star Galactica,
hiding your expression)

I'm leaning towards b or c, because I've never seen gerund form modify a noun
like that before. Help is appreciated -- thanks.




In general, te-form does not directly modify the following noun like an
ordinary relative clause. If you did find "te-form + noun" in lyrics, patterns
I often see are:

  1. The noun is a vocative expression 
    * 教えて先生 (≒先生、教えて！)
    * 助けて神様 (≒神様、助けて！)
  2. The noun modifies the verb (as an object or an adverbial expression) rather than the verb modifying the noun. [Hyperbaton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbaton). 
    * 聞いてこの話 (≒この話 **を** 聞いて)
    * [呼んでマイネーム](http://j-lyric.net/artist/a04d1f0/l00b122.html) (≒マイネーム **を** 呼んで)
    * [来て来てサンタモニカ](http://j-lyric.net/artist/a0009b5/l0031c3.html) (≒サンタモニカ **に** 来て)
  3. The noun appears totally independent from the verb. The ["sentence" ends with the te-form](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/11950/5010). 
    * [追いかけて雪国](http://j-lyric.net/artist/a000457/l005d96.html)
    * [泣いて港町](http://j-lyric.net/artist/a001ec6/l0034cc.html)
    * [咲いてジュエル](http://j-lyric.net/artist/a05b73b/l03b292.html)

So, we have to examine the context carefully to determine whether 明星ギャラクティカ is
a subject or an object of 隠して. In your case, I feel this 隠して明星ギャラクティカ is
pattern 1 or 3 above. "Morning Galactica, hide your face/expression!"

Reasons:

  * In this context, 表情を隠して makes more sense than 明星を隠して, because the following line is "even if your feeling is unknown...".

  * There is a similar pattern in this song, which I think is easier to understand:

> 見つめあなたの表情／照らして明星ギャラクティカ  
>  見上げたあなたの 瞳が 宇宙が／キラキラって光る

Obviously the star is lighting the face, not the other way around.




In general, te-form does not directly modify the following noun like an
ordinary relative clause. If you did find "te-form + noun" in lyrics, patterns
I often see are:

  1. The noun is a vocative expression 
    * 教えて先生 (≒先生、教えて！)
    * 助けて神様 (≒神様、助けて！)
  2. The noun modifies the verb (as an object or an adverbial expression) rather than the verb modifying the noun. [Hyperbaton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperbaton). 
    * 聞いてこの話 (≒この話 **を** 聞いて)
    * [呼んでマイネーム](http://j-lyric.net/artist/a04d1f0/l00b122.html) (≒マイネーム **を** 呼んで)
    * [来て来てサンタモニカ](http://j-lyric.net/artist/a0009b5/l0031c3.html) (≒サンタモニカ **に** 来て)
  3. The noun appears totally independent from the verb. The ["sentence" ends with the te-form](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/11950/5010). 
    * [追いかけて雪国](http://j-lyric.net/artist/a000457/l005d96.html)
    * [泣いて港町](http://j-lyric.net/artist/a001ec6/l0034cc.html)
    * [咲いてジュエル](http://j-lyric.net/artist/a05b73b/l03b292.html)

So, we have to examine the context carefully to determine whether 明星ギャラクティカ is
a subject or an object of 隠して. In your case, I feel this 隠して明星ギャラクティカ is
pattern 1 or 3 above. "Morning Galactica, hide your face/expression!"

Reasons:

  * In this context, 表情を隠して makes more sense than 明星を隠して, because the following line is "even if your feeling is unknown...".

  * There is a similar pattern in this song, which I think is easier to understand:

> 見つめあなたの表情／照らして明星ギャラクティカ  
>  見上げたあなたの 瞳が 宇宙が／キラキラって光る

Obviously the star is lighting the face, not the other way around.

