Song Lyrics in FFXIV: Compilation, Discussion, and Interpretation

[Luna_Faerwicke]

You missed a stanza of lyrics in Answers:

Look to those who walked before to lead those who walk after

Shining is the Land's light of justice
Ever flows the Land's well of purpose
Walk free, walk free, walk free, believe...
The Land is alive, so believe...

Suffer [Feel] Promise [Think] Witness [Teach] Reason [Hear]

^^

[Mysteltain]

You missed a stanza of lyrics in Answers:

Look to those who walked before to lead those who walk after

Shining is the Land's light of justice
Ever flows the Land's well of purpose
Walk free, walk free, walk free, believe...
The Land is alive, so believe...

Suffer [Feel] Promise [Think] Witness [Teach] Reason [Hear]

^^

Thanks for the correction, I'll get right to adding that in. Also found a few minor errors, too, so thanks for getting me to check over it again =)

[Mysteltain]

Been a while since I've posted any updates here, but I think I just needed a break from listening to Ultima over and over all the time, haha! I've finally found a really good source for Penitus, so I think I'll start working on that now. I'm 100% sure it's in Latin now, mostly because the title itself is a Latin adjective for "Inside" or "Interior". It's also an adverb for "absolute" or "complete". I can see it as a clever double-entendre, though, given that the Praetorium is inside Castrum Meridianum, and Gaius' goal is to become the absolute ruler of Eorzea. Just something interesting I thought I'd share

Unfortunately I'd say that it's even harder to discern the words in this song because of the way the lyrics flow together, as well as the higher pitch, but I'm getting there. I think I hear the words "tantus" and "retentum" in the first verse, but even those I'm not entirely sure of. I'll probably make more headway the more I listen to it, though.

EDIT: I also (finally) listened to Calamity Unbound, and there are indeed lyrics, but I'll be honest, it's impossible for me to figure out just what they are. The rest of the music is just too loud and drowns out any clues that might tell me what the word is. So I guess it's all in the hands of Soken and Ferne to tell us what the lyrics are for it.

[Valerathon]

So, Fernehalwes, any chance we can get some info on the lyrics in Penitus and/or Ultima ?

The people over in the "Of Keys, etc..." thread would appreciate some insight into these things, I'd imagine, and I just cannot untangle the Latin beyond a syllable here, a syllable there ...

[Mysteltain]

I've actually been making a bit of headway with Ultima this last week, although I've been reluctant to officially bump this topic, and have been simply editing the lyrics in my first post. Truth be told, if my interpretation and translation is even half-way correct, it's mostly about Gaius and the Empire, with a possible nod to Answers Hydaelyn's first words to us. So, this is where I'm at right now (any words with a line through them mean I'm highly unsure and to disregard them):

1 Nos sempit vires, O sunt ista
2 Regemitus sen sabunt ista
3 Tremor ut tren vi mire quom vi
4 Cessa timor somni regna vocat ???
5 Sensum...
6 Scienti...
7 Notem...
8 Regnum...
9 Prenso!

1 We shall always be strong --
2 Cast thyselves before us and beg --
3 Tremble as -- marvel while --
4 Put fear to rest, call the kingdom --
5 Think...
6 Know...
7 --
8 This realm...
9 --

As I've said many times before, my primary method of interpreting the lyrics is listening to the words, popping what I hear into Google Translate, and then altering them until I get something that is both a real word, and that feels right. I've also been using the Wikipedia page on Latin Grammar and it has been immensely helpful in understanding how the words change based on tenses, moods, voices, cases, etc. I also discovered (rather obviously in hindsight) that trying to apply my understanding of syllable emphasis in English applies to neither Latin, nor a singing voice, and that's helped a fair deal as well, especially in line 4. As far a breakdown of how I arrived at this translation, well...

1 Pretty simply here, "Nos" means "We", "sempit" could be derived from "semper", meaning "always", and "vires" refers to military might.
2 This line still bothers me; I know "recit mitus" has been suggested, but I still don't feel like that's it. "Regemitus" means to continue to groan--I chose "beg" over groan. "Sabunt" translates to "throw yourself"; I went with "Cast thyselves" for a bit of flavor.
3 "Tremor ut" does mean literally "Tremble as", and "mire quom" means "marvel" or "wonder" "while". Missing the others words means that the translation could easily change, however.
4 Oh, this line. I'm pretty confident on this one, although I may have taken too many liberties in the translation. "Cessa" means "cease", "timor" means "fear", and "somni" means sleep. I've been toying with the idea of translating it as "This nightmare shall end", as "timor somni" (fear of sleep) sounds similar, but that felt like I was taking too many liberties with that. "regna" means "kingdom", and "vocat" may mean "call", although there's a literal translation of "there is room for". It could very well be "vocet", which does mean "call", but I'm sure I hear an "ah" rather than an "A" sound.
5 "Sensum" means "sense", but that relates primarily to the mind, as the base "Sensus" may mean "thought, mind, or idea" among others. Therefore, I translated it as "Think." Plus, it sounds like a cool callback to Answers what Hydaelyn first told us: "Hear. Think. Feel."
6 "Scienti" means "one who knows", but they might be saying "scientes" which simply means "knowing".
7 "Notem" may be some derivation of "notus" which means "known" or "familiar". It may also be "Votem", which means "vow" or "promise". I'm pretty unsure...
8 "Regnum" means "kingdom" or "realm". Pretty easy.
9 "Prenso" sounds right, but translates to "captured", which doesn't make sense with the previous lyrics.

As I've said, and will say again, I'm not even remotely close to being an expert with translating. Heck, I don't know a lick of Latin outside of this and some other songs, so this could all be incorrect. However I will continue to try my best, and please, to anyone reading this, feel free to comment or offer advice, because this is definitely a big job and any and all help is greatly appreciated =D

[Valerathon]

You do amazing work, Myst! Props for not sitting around on this and going so far as to learn the grammar of another language just to get a handle on what you hear.

You're SuperMithra!

[Mysteltain]

Heh, uh, thanks I wouldn't really say "Learning", it's more like "constantly clicking between tabs and going down a list", but yours does sound better, haha!

Anyway, minor update: I added Ramuh's Theme into the list as a placeholder along with my interpretation of the lyrics in the most recent "Defenders of Eorzea" trailer. It wasn't nearly as hard to hear as I initially thought, needing only 10 minutes or so of looping the 15 seconds of lyrics before I got a solid idea of what was being said, although I'm torn between "Now linked until the end" and "Now victory fills the air", but I won't know which is which until I actually hear it for myself after 2.3 drops.

[Mysteltain]

The official lyrics for Ramuh have been posted on the Developer's Blog. The opening verse actually features some Old High Sylphic, so who knows; knowing that bit of language may help at some point down the road =P

[Saikou]

I find the verses most interesting, where parallels to Answers might be found. It's because the refrain refers specifically to Ramuh, but the verses don't necessarily.

Soul without a name, heed my call
Sin doth stain the hearts of us all
The worm hath burrowed deep and hath grown
Soon he too shall reap what is sown

...

Soul fallen from grace, ware thee well
Judgment thou must face, thine own hell
The worm stirreth within, black as night
Breeding deeper sin, foul its blight

Soul, thine end is nigh. Take mine hand
All life must return to the land
Lingered hath the worm, overlong
Purge thy flesh of fear and be strong

[Mysteltain]

I find the verses most interesting, where parallels to Answers might be found. It's because the refrain refers specifically to Ramuh, but the verses don't necessarily.

If I remember right, Ferne did say how he liked to throw in connections between a lot of these songs when he writes the lyrics (he uses the word--as well as words or phrases that mean--"forsaken" in multiple songs, as an example in one interview). I can definitely see a lot of the parallels to Answers, though, especially between your lines and these verses from Answers:

Now open your eyes while our plight is repeated.
Still deaf to our cries, lost in hope we lie defeated.
Our souls have been torn and our bodies forsaken.
Bearing sins of the past, for our future is taken.

...

Thy Life is a riddle, to bear rapture and sorrow.
To listen, to suffer, to entrust unto tomorrow.
In one fleeting moment, from the Land doth life flow.
Yet in one fleeting moment, for anew it doth grow.
In that same fleeting moment,
Thou must live
Die
And know.

Both of these deal with the idea of our mistakes from the past returning, being those of our own or otherwise, as well as the common source and terminus for all life (the land). What strikes me as interesting is how Answers covers multiple aspects of life and death, whereas Thunder Rolls covers mostly the coming and moment of death. Fitting, given Ramuh's place as judge, jury, and executioner, heh.