Song Lyrics in FFXIV: Compilation, Discussion, and Interpretation

[MrThinker]

IT IS HERE

https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/blog/

ENDWALKER LYRICS

Heart of ember, autumntide
Cooling swiftly, bleeding light
Smold'ring softly, biding time
Marching forward, left behind

Fire as shadows clash
Forgotten footfalls engraved in ash
Fire will be repaid
'Fore our echoes begin to fade

Fade away... Fade away...

Heart of ember, autumntide
Burning brightly, hot and white
Kindred severed neverwhere
Sorrow's silence, we needn't bear

Stories sown along the way
Tales of loss and fire and faith

Dys an sohm in [Our slumber disturbed]
Rohs an kyn ala na [All my brothers wake]
Mah morn [Death comes]
Dys an sohm in [Our slumber disturbed]
Sahl djahs afah an [Vengeance will be ours]

Storm of blood, born from blood, of our fallen brothers
Thunder stilled, oaths fulfilled, now we yearn for freedom

Born in blood (still we forge ahead), stained in red (unto tomorrow)
Bound by love (so we forge ahead), purpose fed (unto tomorrow, bring us tomorrow)
Courage thrives (ever forge ahead), hand in hand (unto tomorrow, welcome tomorrow)
Souls aligned (that we forge ahead), forge ahead (yeah, we forge ahead, yeah, we forge ahead)
Forward

Our song of hope, she dances on the wind higher, oh higher
E'er our vows endure, and remain forever strong
Standing tall in the dark do we carry on

On wings of hope, you rise up through the night higher, oh higher
Carrying our song, cradled fast within your arms
That its chorus might ring for all

One brings shadow, one brings light
Two-toned echoes tumbling through time
Tumbling down to the never

Every step we take
Echoes in our wake
Winding 'round our fate
To forge ahead

Should we lose our way
Tire of all this pain
We won't be afraid
To forge ahead

Fearless hearts ablaze
(When the world comes crumbling down)
No more time to waste
(Know I'll be there)
No, it's not too late
(Though our fleeting moment has gone)
To forge ahead
(You're not--you're not alone YEAH)

As we ride again
(As you turn your eyes to the stars)
To another end
(Oh, I'll be there)
Where it all begins
(With my chorus guiding you)
Forge ahead
(Forge ahead)

[YianKutku]

I admit to some very slight disappointment that the lyric "Forgotten footfalls engraved in ash" is sung before the famous "WoL Square Enix bootprint" in the trailer. (The bootprint is made during the next line, "Fire will be repaid".)

EDIT: Also I'm not sure if I'm reading too much into it, but I'm pretty sure "Tales of loss and fire and faith" is referencing the expansions: Shadowbringers, Stormblood, and Heavensward, in that order.

[MrThinker]

As an aside, I have never heard "thrives" pronounced as "threeves". Have I been wrong about this my entire life?

EDIT: apparently the pronunciation originates from the extinct "Yola" dialect of English. Koji and his obscure middle-english references Dx.

EDIT+: Okay, now that I've had time to actually jam to the song while understanding what is being said, lets begin

Heart of ember, autumntide
Cooling swiftly, bleeding light
Smold'ring softly, biding time
Marching forward, left behind

Fire as shadows clash
Forgotten footfalls engraved in ash
Fire will be repaid
'Fore our echoes begin to fade

Fade away... Fade away...

Heart of ember, autumntide
Burning brightly, hot and white
Kindred severed neverwhere
Sorrow's silence, we needn't bear

I feel these first verses are 100% referencing the og Final days and subsequently the Sundering. "Heart of ember" is most ikely Azem imo. Autumntide refers to the "waning" or close of a thing whether it be a period of time or an event. Kindred severed no where seems t be talking about how all the ancients were sundered. Not sure what Sorrow's silence is refering to though.


Stories sown along the way
Tales of loss and fire and faith

A reference to the passage of time, and the various triumphs and tragedies that occured. The second line can also be seen to be referncing the previous expansions. Loss = Shb, Fire= SB and faith = HW. Who agrees?


Next we come to our expansion remix section.

Dys an sohm in [Our slumber disturbed]
Rohs an kyn ala na [All my brothers wake]
Mah morn [Death comes]
Dys an sohm in [Our slumber disturbed]
Sahl djahs afah an [Vengeance will be ours]

And here is the original Heavensward lyrics:

Dys An Sohm In (Our slumber disturbed,)
Rohs An Kyn Ala na (All my brothers wake.)
Mah Morn Na-ah-ah-ahrr (The saviors must perish.)
Sahl Djahs Afah An (Vengeance will be ours.)
Eorzea!


The differences are from the 3rd line onward, where instead of the dragons saying they will kill the "saviours' it is instead death coming for "all lives" and so they are disturbed from the position of simply watching men fight amongst themselves.

Storm of blood, born from blood, of our fallen brothers
Thunder stilled, oaths fulfilled, now we yearn for freedom

Born in blood (still we forge ahead), stained in red (unto tomorrow)
Bound by love (so we forge ahead), purpose fed (unto tomorrow, bring us tomorrow)
Courage thrives (ever forge ahead), hand in hand (unto tomorrow, welcome tomorrow)
Souls aligned (that we forge ahead), forge ahead (yeah, we forge ahead, yeah, we forge ahead)
Forward

The first line is the same as it was in "Storm of Blood", but now that the revolution is over, the singers must look to seizing "freedom" from something that they had been unable to control til that point. Alot of references to moving forward together to the future regardless of the trials faced.


Our song of hope, she dances on the wind higher, oh higher
E'er our vows endure, and remain forever strong
Standing tall in the dark do we carry on

On wings of hope, you rise up through the night higher, oh higher
Carrying our song, cradled fast within your arms
That its chorus might ring for all

The catchy new section sung by Amanda Achen. Though not a direct melody transposition of either Shadowbringers or Tomorrow and Tomorrow, it carries the latters spirit in it's reference to wind, hope, and standing tall amongst other things.


One brings shadow, one brings light
Two-toned echoes tumbling through time
Tumbling down to the never

The actual ShB reference is just a few lines. Who the people bringing shadow and light in this context are can be a lot of things; WoL and Zenos; Hydaelyn and Zodiark. Either way, the clash of those pairs may lead to the "never" which could be a refernce to "the end". There are other interpretations, such as "never' refering to "destruction" or an abyss, or maybe even Amaurot in the depths of the Tempest if it is a reference to the end of 5.0


Every step we take
Echoes in our wake
Winding 'round our fate
To forge ahead

Should we lose our way
Tire of all this pain
We won't be afraid
To forge ahead

These two verses I feel refer to the repeating of cycles as civillization moves on. Whether it be the cycle of astral era, calamities and umbral eras, or the cycle of the return of the final days, the song seems to encourage the singers to keep on pushing ahead even when they are lost and disoriented.


Fearless hearts ablaze
(When the world comes crumbling down)
No more time to waste
(Know I'll be there)
No, it's not too late
(Though our fleeting moment has gone)
To forge ahead
(You're not--you're not alone YEAH)

As we ride again
(As you turn your eyes to the stars)
To another end
(Oh, I'll be there)
Where it all begins
(With my chorus guiding you)
Forge ahead
(Forge ahead)

These last two verses are packed. My personal belief it is both the Current WoL and (Azem) speaking in these lines. WoL trying to find a path forward alongside their companions, while (Azem)'s provides the path that the WoL and others can follow safely. the echoed voice can also be the ancients or Zodiark, maybe even Emet-Selch himself as our "guide" but those are other interpretations I don't know how to expound on.

EDIT++: Well seems Yian and I came to the same conclusion regarding the tales part at least

[Vyrerus]

So I've got some thoughts on these, and I definitely didn't hear all of these words lol... anyway.


ENDWALKER LYRICS

Heart of ember, autumntide
Cooling swiftly, bleeding light
Smold'ring softly, biding time
Marching forward, left behind

Fire as shadows clash
Forgotten footfalls engraved in ash
Fire will be repaid
'Fore our echoes begin to fade


An ember is the hottest part of a fire, but it's also the last part of a fire to burn out. Basically the first stanza reflect the WoL, and how they were expunged from history. It also reflects they are at the end of their limits. They're burnt out.
The next part is referencing calamities, and the whole of the Amaurotine conflict that has now spanned millenia. The WoL is going to end it, before they burnout. Of course, it could all be reflecting like MrThinker says, and just be specifically about the Amaurotine civil war.

It may also mean something that autumntide isn't just towards the end of something. It's also when the actual ocean tides are higher, because the moon is closer.


Fade away... Fade away...

Heart of ember, autumntide
Burning brightly, hot and white
Kindred severed neverwhere
Sorrow's silence, we needn't bear

Stories sown along the way
Tales of loss and fire and faith

Looking at these lines, it looks like this part is about the modern day, so MrThinker probably on the right track that the first bit is specifically about the Amaurotine civil war specifically in ancient times. I assume WoL is the Heart of Ember, but we're in the prime of the fire right now. We're burning strong. I find the line, "Kindred severed neverwhere" to be almost nonsensical. Neverwhere would be the opposite or inverse of everwhere, which is just short for everywhere. So It's Kin separated not everywhere? Or maybe Kin separated nowhere? Kin separated, nonexistent is probably the right read.

Sorrow is Hydaelyn. She is a tragic figure, a living sorrow. She has been silent since Heavensward. We're going to get her to talk or she's going to.
A reflection on our past 3 expansions.


Dys an sohm in [Our slumber disturbed]
Rohs an kyn ala na [All my brothers wake]
Mah morn [Death comes]
Dys an sohm in [Our slumber disturbed]
Sahl djahs afah an [Vengeance will be ours]

I guess this means the other great wyrms have been dormant, perhaps due to the Ascians? Perhaps Vrtra will have a personal stake in the end of days other than just surviving.

Storm of blood, born from blood, of our fallen brothers
Thunder stilled, oaths fulfilled, now we yearn for freedom

Born in blood (still we forge ahead), stained in red (unto tomorrow)
Bound by love (so we forge ahead), purpose fed (unto tomorrow, bring us tomorrow)
Courage thrives (ever forge ahead), hand in hand (unto tomorrow, welcome tomorrow)
Souls aligned (that we forge ahead), forge ahead (yeah, we forge ahead, yeah, we forge ahead)
Forward

Fairly straightforward, no comment.

Our song of hope, she dances on the wind higher, oh higher
E'er our vows endure, and remain forever strong
Standing tall in the dark do we carry on

On wings of hope, you rise up through the night higher, oh higher
Carrying our song, cradled fast within your arms
That its chorus might ring for all

Sharlayan machinations related to Hydaelyn? Perhaps they are descendant from her faction in the Amaurotine civil war?

One brings shadow, one brings light
Two-toned echoes tumbling through time
Tumbling down to the never

Every step we take
Echoes in our wake
Winding 'round our fate
To forge ahead

Should we lose our way
Tire of all this pain
We won't be afraid
To forge ahead

Fearless hearts ablaze
(When the world comes crumbling down)
No more time to waste
(Know I'll be there)
No, it's not too late
(Though our fleeting moment has gone)
To forge ahead
(You're not--you're not alone YEAH)

As we ride again
(As you turn your eyes to the stars)
To another end
(Oh, I'll be there)
Where it all begins
(With my chorus guiding you)
Forge ahead
(Forge ahead)

I think the parenthesis responses to the lyrics are Hydaelyn encouraging the WoL to blaze a new path forward, more or less. She's going to get us started or has gotten us started with her and her followers song, and it will guide us? Or something... Hydaelyn confirmed no bad, or at least, Venat?

[YianKutku]

Either way, the clash of those pairs may lead to the "never" which could be a refernce to "the end". There are other interpretations, such as "never' refering to "destruction" or an abyss, or maybe even Amaurot in the depths of the Tempest if it is a reference to the end of 5.0

It's something that slightly confused me when I read the lyrics. I thought it would have been "Tumbling down to the nether", ie to the lower depths, which would make straightforward sense, but instead it's "the never". Maybe that word choice is deliberate to illustrate the dissonance between the "nether" that is Amaurot on the seabed, and the "never" as in "never was" or "never will be", meaning an unobtainable and impossible destination? Which might still refer to Amaurot, since it's the literary capital of Utopia ("No Place").

[EaraGrace]

Shortened some of the lyrics for space restrictions.

Heart of ember, autumntide
Cooling swiftly, bleeding light...

The Heart of Ember is bleeding light, smold'ring softly and biding time, all of which makes me think Zodiark.

Fire as shadows clash
Forgotten footfalls engraved in ash...

More connections to the Ancients. Notice though the use of our, and other plural pronouns by Zodiark. Hydaelyn does that too, referring to both Her and the Sundered when she does. Zodiark doing it maybe the souls used in his summoning? In the launch trailer we do see a moment where the WoL converses with the souls of Ancients.

Fade away... Fade away...

Heart of ember, autumntide
Burning brightly, hot and white...

Talking about the unsundered? Burning brightly vs. cooling swiftly makes me think two different groups. "Kindred severed neverwhere" referring to the friends and companions lost after the Final Days and the Sundering, while "Sorrow's silence, we needn't bear" is the isolation and secrets the unsundered kept while they attempted to bring about the rejoining.

Stories sown along the way
Tales of loss and fire and faith

Agree with Yian and Mr Thinker here!

Dys an sohm in [Our slumber disturbed]
Rohs an kyn ala na [All my brothers wake]...


Foreshadowing Midgardsormr and the rest of his brood coming to fight? Midgard did promise to return after Omega!

Storm of blood, born from blood, of our fallen brothers...

After halting the Final Days (Thunder Stilled, oaths fulfilled), the sacrificed souls now "yearn for freedom."

Born in blood (still we forge ahead), stained in red (unto tomorrow)...

Our song of hope, she dances on the wind higher, oh higher
E'er our vows endure, and remain forever strong
Standing tall in the dark do we carry on

On wings of hope, you rise up through the night higher, oh higher
Carrying our song, cradled fast within your arms
That its chorus might ring for all

Love, love, love this part.

Hydaelyn (or Venat) joins in, celebrating the "song of hope," referring to the hope for justice and life Hydaelyn has sung about in pretty much every past theme. Vows with Sharlayan or someone else?

One brings shadow, one brings light
Two-toned echoes tumbling through time
Tumbling down to the never


Echoes of shadow and light are "tumbling down to the never" = threat may end both light and dark if not halted?

Every step we take...

Should we lose our way
Tire of all this pain...

Fearless hearts ablaze
(When the world comes crumbling down)...

As we ride again
(As you turn your eyes to the stars)...

I think this is the souls in Zodiark once again, with Emet singing the parts in parenthesis. The use of we seems to imply multiple people singing, while the Emet lines use singular pronouns like I'll or my. How or why is he singing? I'd have to break out tin foil for that!

[Guiballad]

I feel like the lyrics in the Shadowbringers section might be in reference to the impact of ShB into the main story: that we made a calamity and a whole different future never come to pass, thus "tumbling down to the never".

[ItMe]

I just learned that the Japanese version of the lyrics, in the final chorus, the pronoun “you” is written differently based on how past characters referred to the WoL.
So like Emet was “omae”, Alph is “kimi” and Alisaie is “anata." So this implies that during this part it’s actually everyone we met along the way speaking to the WoL

[Sarim]

I think that in the final paragraphs, it could also be Zenos speaking the lines in parentheses, especially looking at the line "Though our fleeting moment has gone". And "You're not alone" could mean he's not going to leave the WoL alone...and finally the line "With my chorus guiding you" could then mean all the cries of his victims (a dark picture indeed).

Although admittedly, Zenos is not likely the final opponent, so I'm not sure he would take such a prominent position in the lyrics

[ArcticDrums]

I just learned that the Japanese version of the lyrics, in the final chorus, the pronoun “you” is written differently based on how past characters referred to the WoL.
So like Emet was “omae”, Alph is “kimi” and Alisaie is “anata." So this implies that during this part it’s actually everyone we met along the way speaking to the WoL

I saw that on twitter too, I thought it was very interesting!
https://twitter.com/aitaikimochi/sta...14508405133312