Song Lyrics in FFXIV: Compilation, Discussion, and Interpretation

[WizardShotTheFood]

So, I'm pretty sure I've got the Shiva lyrics down pat.

There is one part I disagree on: the line "Can't compete so instead I'm off to beat her!"

To me, it sounds more like "Can't defeat them, so instead I'll have to be her!" It almost makes more sense lorewise, likely as a reference to Iceheart's struggle against the Ishgardian church and the process of summoning Shiva.

[Mysteltain]

There is one part I disagree on: the line "Can't compete so instead I'm off to beat her!"

To me, it sounds more like "Can't defeat them, so instead I'll have to be her!" It almost makes more sense lorewise, likely as a reference to Iceheart's struggle against the Ishgardian church and the process of summoning Shiva.

Yeah, that's the one line I'm pretty much unsure of. When coming up with the lyrics, I listened to both the live FanFest version and the in-game version. There were a few differences in the live version, but it was also easier to understand the words, so it really helped me to figure out certain parts of the in-game song. What you're saying was one of my choices, but I think in the live one she sang "compete", and I swear I heard a "t" at the end of "be". Those sounded present in the in-game version, but I'll double check.

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...

[MercuryD]

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...

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.

[subteraneanbird]

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.

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.

[MercuryD]

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.

My point exactly.

[Mysteltain]

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.

Latin
Festum dius
Festum diu

Fatum dius
Sanctum dius

English
A divine festival
A long festival

A divine fate
A divine sanctuary

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*.