Song Lyrics in FFXIV: Compilation, Discussion, and Interpretation

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Originally Posted by twilitfall

Here you go: http://ffxiv.gamerescape.com/wiki/Under_the_Weight

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Thank you!

Hm, listening to the first part of Shiva's theme, I'm wondering if the choir is singing in the Dravanian language? It would certainly fit thematically with the lore behind her--both Iceheart's and the Ishgardian view of her.

I'm guessing so! Patiently waiting on a translation for the lyrics in the first half at this point, since we're not likely to get a whole lot from transcription at this point. (At least it's pretty straightforward to guess that "Ahk Afah" is a Dravanian term.)

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Originally Posted by Mysteltain

Also, Iceheart didn't want anymore deaths in the Ishgard/Dravanian war, so "beating death" could work as well, especially given how Death is referred to as a woman and the previous line talks about fighting her. Which also brings up the question of why death is referred to as a woman--it sounds like Shiva (in which case your interpretation is right), but that sounds too obvious...

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Oversimplification but, Halone (the Fury) is said to be one of the more...aggressive of the Twelve, if I'm not mistaken. If that IS the case, Iceheart may have come to see Halone as synonymous with Death.

So I was wondering, do we have any idea what the specific words in High Sylphic translate to? I was just kind of curious, or if we just know what the sentences mean.

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Originally Posted by Mirron

So I was wondering, do we have any idea what the specific words in High Sylphic translate to? I was just kind of curious, or if we just know what the sentences mean.

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This should answer your questions! http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...=1#post2372743

It did, thanks. Hope the other Beastmen get some sort of language bits, but I guess it's kind of doubtful.

The more I listen to Answers, the more I wonder if it could be sung between Hydealyn and the primals. They seek to escape their eternal existence in the aether, while she implores them to stay and help teach the races that worship them. But when they are summmoned, they are shaped (perhaps do to the Ascians training them how to summon them) by the wills of their followers, into what the races want them to be, rather then what they truly are.

I know, tin foil hat, but some of the verses could be referring to aether filling them for a short time, flowing from the land, the primals only 'living' for a brief moment before returning the aether.

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Originally Posted by MercuryD

Oversimplification but, Halone (the Fury) is said to be one of the more...aggressive of the Twelve, if I'm not mistaken. If that IS the case, Iceheart may have come to see Halone as synonymous with Death.

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Halone is the goddess of War, daughter of Rhalgr, god of destruction. She doesn't have much competition as a symbol of death (Nald'Thal rules the underworld(s?) but that's about it). More importantly, both Iceheart and presumably Shiva have a vested interest in ending the centuries of war. Naturally they would be opposed to a deity who stood for the very concept.

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Originally Posted by subteraneanbird

Halone is the goddess of War, daughter of Rhalgr, god of destruction. She doesn't have much competition as a symbol of death (Nald'Thal rules the underworld(s?) but that's about it). More importantly, both Iceheart and presumably Shiva have a vested interest in ending the centuries of war. Naturally they would be opposed to a deity who stood for the very concept.

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My point exactly. :)

Halone never even crossed my mind as who might be referred to in Oblivion, but I've gotta agree with you two's thinking. That definitely does turn this into much more of a "Holy War", then, if it's even more about the ideologies of their gods in conflict rather than just for the Holy See.

Also, two things (well, three!): first, I've made a few edits to Oblivion. After listening to the song a bunch more times, I'm changing the line "I'll clear my eyes now here I go" to "Open my eyes now here I come". I've also changed a few other bits, such as the second chorus, the first echo is "Please let it go..." rather than just "Let it all go...", and "...screaming back "No, no, no!" was changed to "...screaming back "Hell no, no!" Minor changes that don't really change much meaning behind the song.

Secondly, I'm adding the link Alenore provided to Ferne's "High Sylphic" thread to the OP for anyone else who wanders into this thread and is curious about it.

And lastly, it seems that there are some lyrics in Snowcloak's theme! There are only four lines in the 9-minute song, and they appear to be in Latin, although I'm not ruling out Dravanian, just in case =P. I'll update this post with what I've found once I've translated them. They're pretty simple, to be quite honest. The same last word seems to be repeated with each line.

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Originally Posted by Snowcloak Theme

Latin
Festum dius
Festum diu

Fatum dius
Sanctum dius

English
A divine festival
A long festival

A divine fate
A divine sanctuary

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I'm unsure of the last line. It sounds like "Disus', but I can't come up with a word that accurately translates to something (or a derivative of such). Still, I like the lyrics if this is what they are.

And fourthly (because there is a fourth out of three!) there are also lyrics present in Pharos Sirius BGM, "Through the Gloom", but it'll take some time to get an idea of what's being said. I'll try to work on it in my free time, but that'll rapidly disappear soon with finals fast on the horizon *gulp*.

Aaand Shiva's lyrics are up!

Oblivion

Staring at death, I take a breath, there's nothing left
Now close my eyes, for one last time, and say goodbye

Lying naked while the snow falls all around me
Drifting closer to the edge but She won't have me

Wake up in sweat, full of regret, try to forget
These memories, lurking beneath, lost in a dream

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Unchosen paths, a broken past, forespoken wrath
The pain won't cease, I'll find no peace, no sweet release

Fragile creatures, we are taught to fear the Reaper
Ever running, we are dead before we meet Her

These voices telling me let it go (let it all go)
I try and try but I can't say no (try and say no)
This endless nightmare has just begun (nowhere to run)
My heart is dragging me down into oblivion

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The endless lies, I've cast aside, locked them in ice
Steeled is my soul, my blood grown cold, I've gained control

Fearless creatures, we all learn to fight the Reaper
Can't defeat Her, so instead I'll have to be Her

These voices screaming to let it go (never let go)
This time I'm screaming back no no no (go on say no)
My mind's made up, yeah my fear is gone (Where have you gone?)
Open my eyes now here I come, oblivion

For the last time (I won't say goodbye)
For the last time (I won't say goodbye)
For the last time (I won't say goodbye)
For the last time

Nice! I'll get right to updating the main post once I get home. Now we just need those opening lyrics... Ferne! Appear before this thread and giveth us enlightenment! Or something like that!

The change of a single line (Can't defeat Her, so instead I'll have to be Her) sorta warps my perspective on the song.

My reinterpretation, staying in line with how Shiva is in-game, leads me to believe that Shiva (and by extension Iceheart?) believe that death/oblivion is the only salvation/end to the War and have taken it upon themselves to become the new Reaper.

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Originally Posted by subteraneanbird

The change of a single line (Can't defeat Her, so instead I'll have to be Her) sorta warps my perspective on the song.

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This also changes my interpretation of the fight (this is also brought on my Knee-High-Socks Soken's description of a "change" in Iceheart and Shiva, which is why the pre-Diamond and post are different themes.) I think that at the beginning od the encounter we are seeing Iceheart but as the battle progresses Saint Shiva is gaining control, until we ultimately dispel her essence.

You can get this from the battle quotes, I think...
(Iceheart) Those who have taken up the sword shall perish by the sword! // Iceheart speaking to the WoL or in regards to her mission.

(Iceheart-Shiva) Rise to join in the chorus, my brothers! // Shiva gaining control.

(Iceheart/Shiva) Embrace the serenity... Renounce the hatreds that consume you... And scatter them like dust in the wind... // Shiva's strength is growing, Iceheart's "breaking point". A reference to both Iceheart and Shiva's shared view of breaking the cycle of hatred.

(Shiva) Forgive them, my beloved... // Obviously Shiva, assumingly, speaking to the dragon with whom she laid.

(There will likely be more later but gtg for now...)

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Originally Posted by Masayoshi Soken

Sorry to burst your bubble, but there are no meanings behind the lyrics for the song. I utilized a random lyric generator that added in random Latin words from a database over the music

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After all that effort! LOL! Sneaky sneaky Soken.

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Originally Posted by Anonymoose

After all that effort! LOL! Sneaky sneaky Soken.

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And thus didst I shed many a tear... T_________T

Ah well, it was fun, regardless! I'll update the OP. I guess this means Penitus and Calamity Unbound are similarly lyricless.

Here's a question:

With what we know from Final Coil, should we go back and re-examine Answers?

If it was discussed here, I'm sorry, but I've missed it and a link would be nice

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Originally Posted by PArcher

With what we know from Final Coil, should we go back and re-examine Answers?

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We can (and might possibly get somewhere with it), but I, myself, will be waiting until Before the Fall (Patch 2.5) content is finished. Answers has been the theme since long before Tanaka departed; it was in some of the very first trailers. And now we know that Heavensward (FFXIV Season 2) will have a different main theme than 1.0 and ARR (FFXIV Season 1). Whatever the truth of the song is, it's related to the original story - Primals, Ascians, and the events surrounding the Fall of the Keeper. Considering that Lady Iceheart quoted the lyrics to Answers, I think we might get some info that will radically narrow down our interpretations.

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Originally Posted by Anonymoose

I'm thinking he may have.

BUT I don't think it's worth anybody getting bent out of shape over.

There's important context - this event was in London. Think of his audience; European FFXIV players have been playing on European servers that are European in the sense that Doctor Evil would /airquotes if he said it outloud. Think of the frustration that Titan must have caused for many of them. All anybody said was exactly what a lot of them were thinking, and they thought it was funny as hell.

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It was what we were all thinking and I shouted it last night after being Lagg Landslided off the platform in titan hard mode. (No lol Dragoon references please :P even my FC members said I was miles away from it and then just suddenly went sideways at speed!)However you must remember that the event was for age 16+ onlym (on the ticket) so in terms of language it was the norm of vocabulary that most kids in the Uk know this word and use it quite often at aged 10 and even lower. And the crowd cheer reaction was pure as in no one gave a .... about it.


On the subject of the songs, is there any chance of adding credits to them i.e. who wrote the lyrics, composed the music and sang the song, in my nerdism mind its info I would like to have, I know Nobuo Uematsu wrote the music for Answers and alot of the 1.0 soundtrack.

I can try my best to look those up (unless someone else knows, of course). I know Susan Calloway sang 'Answers', and I believe 'Good King Moggle Mog XII' was originally just a collection of people in the localization team who sang each part. Ferne sang 'Under the Weight' (and then got Soken to sing 'Through the Maelstrom'), but I forget who sang 'Fallen Angel' and I don't know the singer(s?) for 'Oblivion' or 'Thunder Rolls'. The Latin choirs for 'Rise of the White Raven', 'The Maker's Ruin', 'Dawn of a New Era', and 'Thunderer' I don't know. I believe all lyrics were by Fernehawles, and Soken composed all but 'Answers', but I'm not sure. I don't own the soundtrack, personally, to see if it has any of this info on it.

Just so I don't accidentally give credit or forget to give credit to certain people, I'll hold off on adding this info until I have confirmation.

Lets see.... *digs out Before Meteor and FFXIV ARR OSTs*

Sadly, the OSTs don't actually directly credit who was responsible for the vocals in most 'sung' tracks, but there are some exceptions to that:

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Originally Posted by Before Meteor Final Fantasy XIV Original Soundtrack inlay card

Main Theme - Answers
Vocals: Susan Calloway
Choir: Tomoko Kanda, Junko Menish, Haruhiko Azuma, Satofumi Suyama

Rise of the White Raven
Vocal: Music Creation

Good King Moggle Mog the XII
Vocal: Michael Christopher-Koji Fox, Yuriko Nagata

Fallen Angel
Vocal: Fukiko Sekine

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Originally Posted by Final Fantasy XIV A Realm Reborn Original Soundtrack inlay card

Thunderer
Vocal: Fukiko Sekine

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There's no vocal credits listed under The Maker's Ruin and Dawn of a New Era though - it just credits 'lyrics' to Michael Christopher-Koji Fox (Ferne) and Eva Kappeller.

Additionally, Thunder Rolls and Oblivion are not available legally on any album yet so I have no idea who sang the lyrics for those tracks.

Is it me or anything related to the Ultima Weapon theme song just disappered frome the internet?

I'unno about that, but it was just revealed that the lyrics to Ultima (and presumably a few other songs) were created using a Latin language generator, so I removed it and the other questionable songs from the list.

EDIT: I updated the main post with some of the credits (thanks a bunch, Enkidoh! =D). Unfortunately, it's not complete, but if anyone has any more information about who sang what, or who wrote the lyrics for what, then please feel free to post some additional information. I'd add Ferne as the writer for the lyrics to most of them, but given that both he and Eva Kappeller and credited for certain songs, I'd hate to give credit to one and not the other, or both when only one came up with them.

Does anyone have any clue about the vocals in t9? Looking the music up, you know without the risk of wiping to heavensfall..., the vocals seem VERY pronounced but I can't make them out...

I think the song that plays post-Heavensfall is Rise of the White Raven, the lyrics for which can be found here: http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/R...he_White_Raven

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Originally Posted by MercuryD

Does anyone have any clue about the vocals in t9? Looking the music up, you know without the risk of wiping to heavensfall..., the vocals seem VERY pronounced but I can't make them out...

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What Ibi said, but you can also find the lyrics on the first page of this thread, along with all other songs that contain vocals.

Sorry for the stupid question :x Thanks for the clarification!

Well, we have some new lyrics from the trailer, and some (what I'm hoping is) context regarding the original lyrics, now that we've gone through 2.55. Unfortunately, I believe at least some of the new lyrics are in Dravanian, or if not, they're drowned out by the other sounds, roars, explosions, etc. Still, it's something! =) The new lyrics I made out are bolded:

Heavensward
Beneath the gazing stars...
Vales deep and forest dark...
Betrayed by loyal hands,
our wrath stir.
Bound fast unto our fate...
One path, one burden great...
Yet ever do our aching souls point Heavensward!
And ever rings out our song...

Yes, ever do our aching souls march Heavensward!
As they've done for so long...

Dis an sô / Our slumber disturbed
Rus at hi / My brothers wake
Sal'jas afarr'a / Vengeance will be ours
Ma mor nâ, Eorzea! / The saviors must perish

Just as a heads up, major 2.55 spoilers below if you haven't finished the story:

I'm wondering who the betrayal refers to, particularly. My gut instinct would be us, the Scions, but I would hardly consider the Syndicate to be "loyal" to us in any way, and "hands" implies someone who aids or aided us. I also hesitate to consider it as Raubahn and Nanamo for the same reason, although Nanamo's maid would certainly be considered loyal. That pretty much leaves Ishgard and the Dravanians, so it seems like they may not have been enemies at first, as being betrayed would have implied, if not friendship, a mutual understanding between one another.

But the problem I find is that the phrases "souls point/march Heavensward" and "evers rings out our song" point to two different 'voices', if you will. The former is Ishgardian, as they view Halone's Hall as being among the heavens, the latter definitely sounds Dravanian with the use of "song". So, does this song refer to them both, such as the line "Bound fast unto our fate", speaking of how they are, or were, destined to war amongst one another? I really do wonder what the other lyrics are...

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Originally Posted by Mysteltain

I'm wondering who the betrayal refers to, particularly.

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I know who...

...I feel betrayed by. Merlwyb Bloefyswyn.

Seriously, though, these lyrics hold meaning no matter the lens through which you gaze. Ishgard, the WoL, Dravanians--we've all been betrayed, we all seek revenge. Fate has bade all our aching souls to carry our respective burdon down this one path Heavensward.

So the Dragonsong theme released today has lyrics sung by Susan again! Even though I'm skeptical of whether or not we ever found a true answer to Answers, it's always fun to speculate.

Children of the land, do you hear?
Echoes of truths that once rang clear
Two souls intertwined
One true love they did find
Bringing love and heavens near
But flames that burned full bright soon fell dark
Memories dim by shadowed hearts
In the waxing gloom did wane the lover's moon watching as their worlds drift apart
One soul's cry, a passion welling within
Sacrifice, a final plea to her kin
Yet this bond of hope by treachery was broke
Scattering her words to the wind
Swelling overlong seas of blood, our song
And death an afterthought to those who fight for naught
Alone, lying empty
A babe incomplete
Alone for eternity
A pain without cease
Children of the land answer this
Why must you turn to empty bliss?
Why break trust?
Why turn the past to dust?
Seeking solace in the abyss
Tell me why create a circle none can break
Why must you let go the life you were bestowed?
This I'll fear I'll never know
[Never know]
(OooOooOoooOooOooo)

Very likely errors :P

As soon as possible I'll have the main theme of Heavensward transcribed and on the first post. I, sadly, didn't have any pen or paper on hand when they showed that first trailer (which was both awesome and unexpected!), so it might take just a bit.

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Originally Posted by Mysteltain

As soon as possible I'll have the main theme of Heavensward transcribed and on the first post. I, sadly, didn't have any pen or paper on hand when they showed that first trailer (which was both awesome and unexpected!), so it might take just a bit.

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I had a friend make an mp3, I've since updated my post w/ what I think I heard haha

Thank you so much! I just listened to it and we had pretty much the same thing, so I just copy/pasted yours and made my changes to it. It was just a few words here and there, but I'll listen to the song again, shortly, and make any final changes.

Awesome, and yeah "pain" does make a lot more sense than "babe" hahaha but was working quickly on it! Now that they've released the video on youtube it's available to spend countless hours refining

I actually don't think it's pain, but I just used it due to the symmetry of the lines at that point. I've listened to the song twice more since, so I'm making very small edits here and there.

I will say, I love how the song progresses, echoing both Answers and a lot of the things talked about in the Dragoon quest--a sort of sadness that one feels when they bear the Eye and communicate with dragons. This song really makes it clear that, at some point, dragons and people were not hateful towards one another, but then something happened and that's how we've ended up where we are.

My transcription, from repeated listenings:

Children of the Land, do you hear
Echoes of truths that once rang clear
Two souls entertwined, true love they did find
Bringing land and heavens near

But flames that burned full-bright soon fell dark
Memories dimmed by shadowed hearts
In the waxing gloom, did wane the Lovers' Moon
Watching as their worlds drift apart

One soul's cry, a passion welling within
Sacrifice, a final plea to her kin
Yet this bond of hope
By treachery was broke
Scattering her words to the wind

Swelling overlong(?), seas of blood are (a song)
And death an afterthought to those who fight for (naught)
Alone, lying empty
(Her rain, in a cliff?)
Alone, for eternity
A pain, without cease

Children of the land, answer this:
Why must you turn to empty bliss?
Tell me why break trust?
Why turn the past to dust?
Seeking solace in the abyss

Tell me why create
A circle none can break
Why must you let go
The life you were bestowed
This I fear I'll never know

Never know

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That middle section is really hard to parse in some places, curse it. I'm confident in most of it except for that one line entirely in parenthesis.

EDIT: Okay, looked at the OP, and actually on listening I agree with a few of the bits I'd questioned and updated accordingly... except for the line after "Alone, lying empty". It begins with "her", but then I can hear nothing BUT "rain", and then the last bit is extremely unclear but doesn't seem to be "incomplete" unless Calloway is slurring like mad.

Though I do also think that first question-mark I have marked is "light", not love.

It sounds like land to me. Bringing land and heavens near.... does that even make sense?

Now, the real questions begin since one line aside, we've got an easy 95% of the song as it's pretty clear: who's singing here?

In this case I think it's far less ambiguous than Answers ever was: the singer is either Hydaelyn-the-entity Herself, or one of the Seven Celestial Dragons. The first half of the song is, of course, a story. I suspect it's most directly the story of Shiva and her draconic lover, who I'd bet Gil on being Nidhogg at this point, and how they were eventually torn apart by differences in both their cultures (and a certain jealous king, I'd bet), and how Shiva specifically wanted this rift and fighting to stop, and tried to stop it, but in the end her actions were used to create an even bigger wedge. (Though you sure can turn the words around and apply it to a whole bunch of other people, too - "by treachery was broke, scattering her words to the wind", yeah, hi Nanamo.)

The fourth stanza is about the consequences - an age of blood, an age of people fighting for nothing, while those originally involved in the tragedy feel the pain forever. The last two, then, are actually the singer themselves - the person who watched this all unfold and just can't believe it's still going on, that the gyre of suffering the story opened still hasn't closed. Why are mortals so determined to destroy themselves? Why can't they see what was beautiful once and let it be? The singer never will know.

So yeah, I think this is all Hydaelyn (especially with that shot at the end of the video), but it'd make sense coming out of the mouths of one of the other Seven, too - maybe the one who isn't Nidhogg and has just watched this whole thing unfurl for aeons, or one from outside of Eorzea but is still tragically familiar with the whole story, perhaps the one who may have taken roost near Doma (as we know there were dragons near Doma).

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Originally Posted by LycorisSelunis

It sounds like land to me. Bringing land and heavens near.... does that even make sense?

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Yes, okay, listening again it's obviously land, and of course if it's Shiva (a landwalker) and a dragon/Nidhogg (a flying lizard) of course it brings lowercase-L land and heavens "near" to each other. Amended. Thanks!