SPOILERS LTD Remake — It's like New Coke except ... no, it's exactly like New Coke
- Thread starter The Twilight Mexican
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I am not a casual and to me the song 100% screams Zack so. Honestly I wouldn't even know how to make sense of it being about Cloud, I just don't get how it could be since nothing about it seems to match anything about her situation with Cloud, outside of the how it matches Cloud, THROUGH his connection with Zack.
Rin
Pro Adventurer
Wait who's yelling at you? I think people just have different interpretations of the song.
Overall, NTPK was never meant to be sung by Aerith originally anyway but people just always have diff interpretations of songs, that's the beauty of music as a whole.
MelodicEnigma
Pro Adventurer
Lol As someone who practically wrote a while dissertation over it, it's definitely made complicated by how people understand it or how they, to be honest, conveniently want to use it. There are some variances depending on what people are talking about, on what is canonical or not.
Eerie
Fire and Blood
Since it's the game's theme song, what it tells me essentially is that Aerith's feelings are important in this game, and I think that's true. You need to understand them to understand what's going on with Zack's world (which is hers, as per her own admission) and you need to understand her feelings for Cloud to understand this game's ending.
People are looking too hard at the lyrics, a mistake made with Hollow too. But as I said, shippers are gonna ship.
People are looking too hard at the lyrics, a mistake made with Hollow too. But as I said, shippers are gonna ship.
Rin
Pro Adventurer
Just because the song keeps coming up and I like dissecting lyrics, I'm going to go through it verse by verse and give my personal thoughts and insights just in case anyone's interested.
VERSE 1:
Walking city streets with worn cobblestones
Listening to people rushing past to rhythms all their own
Life passing me by, not thinking how the years have flown
Until I met you
Aerith is living her life in a monotonous routine. She's a florist from the slums who makes her way to the upper city to sell flowers--a dream she started with Zack and has been carrying out on her own w/o him. She's gotten into such a routine that she doesn't even think about how much time has passed until she meets Cloud.
VERSE 2:
I won't say that it was fate
I won't say that it was destiny
But if not, what could it be
That drew you towards me?
Could it be chance?
Aerith has no idea what drew Cloud toward her (except she does lol) and she muses on whether or not it's fate, destiny, or chance. We know from a meta / narrative POV that it was indeed fate/destiny thanks to the existence of the whispers. Still, Aerith is waxing poetic here about her fated meeting w/ Cloud on the street and wondering if it means and something and if it does... what does it mean, exactly?
VERSE 3:
Till the day that we meet again
Where or when I wish I could say
But believe—know that you'll find me
Promises to keep, we won't ever need
Cloud and Aerith go their separate ways after their first meeting. Of course, she was initially intrigued/knew of him before he knew of her, etc. so she's wondering when they'll meet again. She knows that he'll find her somehow, probably, and he does when he falls through the church at Sector 5.
Alternatively, this verse can also be read as her thinking about Zack as meeting Cloud was a reminder of how much time has passed as she said in verse 1.
VERSE 4:
If only I'd never known
All the burdens I was born to bear
Lived a life without a care
In the world save for you...but that won't do
This verse is about Aerith's loneliness and how she's burdened with the responsibility of being the last Cetra. She wishes she could've lived her life w/o caring about anything except for romance/falling in love. This is not her reality though, as she plainly states here.
VERSE 5:
Till the day that we meet again
On our street, I want to believe
In the chance that we'll share a glance
Promises to keep, we won't ever need
Aerith hopes that one day she and Cloud will meet again on Loveless street and that they'll at least be friendly enough to share a glance. They won't need to speak to each other, or have a relationship for her to be happy with their connection so long as they can acknowledge one another.
VERSE 6-7:
Till the day that we meet again
At our place, just let me believe
In the chance that you'll come
Take my hand and never let me go
Take my hand
And believe
We can be
Together evermore
This is in direct contrast to verse 5, which makes me believe that this verse and verse 3 are NOT about Cloud. She just said in verse 5 that she would be happy if she and Cloud met again on the street and 'shared a glance'. So then why would she be expecting him to show up at 'their place'? The song quite literally separates Loveless Street from 'our place', so these are not the same location otherwise she'd just say 'our street' again.
VERSE 8:
Walking city streets with worn cobblestones
Struggling against the crowds and finding ourselves all alone
Fate and destiny are no guarantee
Still I hope someday you'll come and find me
Still I know someday you'll come and find me
This is where the song kind of becomes meta commentary on the whole multiverse/alternate timeline thing as Aerith goes "back" to her monotonous life of selling flowers on Loveless Street. She knows that what's destined isn't always promised to be a happy ending, still she maintains hope that she'll be found and her journey will start anew.
Walking city streets with worn cobblestones
Listening to people rushing past to rhythms all their own
Life passing me by, not thinking how the years have flown
Until I met you
Aerith is living her life in a monotonous routine. She's a florist from the slums who makes her way to the upper city to sell flowers--a dream she started with Zack and has been carrying out on her own w/o him. She's gotten into such a routine that she doesn't even think about how much time has passed until she meets Cloud.
VERSE 2:
I won't say that it was fate
I won't say that it was destiny
But if not, what could it be
That drew you towards me?
Could it be chance?
Aerith has no idea what drew Cloud toward her (except she does lol) and she muses on whether or not it's fate, destiny, or chance. We know from a meta / narrative POV that it was indeed fate/destiny thanks to the existence of the whispers. Still, Aerith is waxing poetic here about her fated meeting w/ Cloud on the street and wondering if it means and something and if it does... what does it mean, exactly?
VERSE 3:
Till the day that we meet again
Where or when I wish I could say
But believe—know that you'll find me
Promises to keep, we won't ever need
Cloud and Aerith go their separate ways after their first meeting. Of course, she was initially intrigued/knew of him before he knew of her, etc. so she's wondering when they'll meet again. She knows that he'll find her somehow, probably, and he does when he falls through the church at Sector 5.
Alternatively, this verse can also be read as her thinking about Zack as meeting Cloud was a reminder of how much time has passed as she said in verse 1.
VERSE 4:
If only I'd never known
All the burdens I was born to bear
Lived a life without a care
In the world save for you...but that won't do
This verse is about Aerith's loneliness and how she's burdened with the responsibility of being the last Cetra. She wishes she could've lived her life w/o caring about anything except for romance/falling in love. This is not her reality though, as she plainly states here.
VERSE 5:
Till the day that we meet again
On our street, I want to believe
In the chance that we'll share a glance
Promises to keep, we won't ever need
Aerith hopes that one day she and Cloud will meet again on Loveless street and that they'll at least be friendly enough to share a glance. They won't need to speak to each other, or have a relationship for her to be happy with their connection so long as they can acknowledge one another.
VERSE 6-7:
Till the day that we meet again
At our place, just let me believe
In the chance that you'll come
Take my hand and never let me go
Take my hand
And believe
We can be
Together evermore
This is in direct contrast to verse 5, which makes me believe that this verse and verse 3 are NOT about Cloud. She just said in verse 5 that she would be happy if she and Cloud met again on the street and 'shared a glance'. So then why would she be expecting him to show up at 'their place'? The song quite literally separates Loveless Street from 'our place', so these are not the same location otherwise she'd just say 'our street' again.
VERSE 8:
Walking city streets with worn cobblestones
Struggling against the crowds and finding ourselves all alone
Fate and destiny are no guarantee
Still I hope someday you'll come and find me
Still I know someday you'll come and find me
This is where the song kind of becomes meta commentary on the whole multiverse/alternate timeline thing as Aerith goes "back" to her monotonous life of selling flowers on Loveless Street. She knows that what's destined isn't always promised to be a happy ending, still she maintains hope that she'll be found and her journey will start anew.
Last edited:
AncientGrimoire
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NPTK is undoubtedly a love ballad.
Whether it’s about Aerith’s feelings for Cloud, her feelings for Zack, or both, it’s worth remembering that in the expansive and long history of the love ballad, not all are ones about a true love that ends in happiness and perfect bliss.
Many famous iconic love ballads can be about an unrequited love. Dolly Parton’s I Will Always Love You, Linda Ronstadt’s Long Long Time, to name a few, there are many more.
Or a love that was never meant to be, but one that was still important enough that it has a place in one’s heart. Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On for example.
Another famous unrequited love ballad interestingly is Never Enough, sung by Loren Allred, and from the Greatest Showman which was a huge inspiration for the way they chose to depict elements of the Gold Saucer.
Someone else here showed the very overt parallels between NPTK with Never Enough, not just the singing, but the perspective of members of the audience.
All this is to say that a love song is as complex and intricate as the emotions that compel the singing of them. Uematsu touched on this, that Aerith’s complex feelings and emotions are conveyed in the song.
But some take it being a love song to mean that this confirms Cloud and Aerith’s mutual love for one another, when this is just Aerith singing her feelings, in front of Cloud in every date scenario. He would have to know it’s about him in part, and if he felt the same way as Aerith does, he would do something, anything, to show for it after the Gold Saucer.
But he doesn’t. He reaffirms just how important Aerith is to him. He doesn’t want to envision a future where she isn’t a part of it.
But he doesn’t reciprocate the romantic love that Aerith professes for him in song.
Whether it’s about Aerith’s feelings for Cloud, her feelings for Zack, or both, it’s worth remembering that in the expansive and long history of the love ballad, not all are ones about a true love that ends in happiness and perfect bliss.
Many famous iconic love ballads can be about an unrequited love. Dolly Parton’s I Will Always Love You, Linda Ronstadt’s Long Long Time, to name a few, there are many more.
Or a love that was never meant to be, but one that was still important enough that it has a place in one’s heart. Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On for example.
Another famous unrequited love ballad interestingly is Never Enough, sung by Loren Allred, and from the Greatest Showman which was a huge inspiration for the way they chose to depict elements of the Gold Saucer.
Someone else here showed the very overt parallels between NPTK with Never Enough, not just the singing, but the perspective of members of the audience.
All this is to say that a love song is as complex and intricate as the emotions that compel the singing of them. Uematsu touched on this, that Aerith’s complex feelings and emotions are conveyed in the song.
But some take it being a love song to mean that this confirms Cloud and Aerith’s mutual love for one another, when this is just Aerith singing her feelings, in front of Cloud in every date scenario. He would have to know it’s about him in part, and if he felt the same way as Aerith does, he would do something, anything, to show for it after the Gold Saucer.
But he doesn’t. He reaffirms just how important Aerith is to him. He doesn’t want to envision a future where she isn’t a part of it.
But he doesn’t reciprocate the romantic love that Aerith professes for him in song.
AncientGrimoire
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One more thing I’ll add.
Aerith sings No Promises to Keep, a love ballad that professes her love for him, yet it doesn’t yield a romantically reciprocal response from Cloud.
All Tifa does is anxiously wonder if she is getting ahead of herself again about her and Cloud being closer than ever before, and this is what yields a reciprocal response from Cloud, that not only reciprocates her feelings through words (“Not one bit”) but also to fully confirm that this is how he feels for her, through actions (the kiss).
This adds an extra dimension to No Promises to Keep that also seals it for me as being an unrequited love ballad. If it was to convey a soaring triumph of the discovery of mutual feelings with the one she loved, then Aerith would not be bursting into tears at the end of it.
Ultimately it emphasises the tragedy of Aerith’s story in Rebirth, but this is not confirmation of her ending being a sad, depressing one that forever confines her to being alone.
We’re forgetting Zack’s role in her story, the feelings she still has for him in his heart, and the building up to a payoff that will likely culminate in their reunion, in whatever form, in Part 3.
Aerith sings No Promises to Keep, a love ballad that professes her love for him, yet it doesn’t yield a romantically reciprocal response from Cloud.
All Tifa does is anxiously wonder if she is getting ahead of herself again about her and Cloud being closer than ever before, and this is what yields a reciprocal response from Cloud, that not only reciprocates her feelings through words (“Not one bit”) but also to fully confirm that this is how he feels for her, through actions (the kiss).
This adds an extra dimension to No Promises to Keep that also seals it for me as being an unrequited love ballad. If it was to convey a soaring triumph of the discovery of mutual feelings with the one she loved, then Aerith would not be bursting into tears at the end of it.
Ultimately it emphasises the tragedy of Aerith’s story in Rebirth, but this is not confirmation of her ending being a sad, depressing one that forever confines her to being alone.
We’re forgetting Zack’s role in her story, the feelings she still has for him in his heart, and the building up to a payoff that will likely culminate in their reunion, in whatever form, in Part 3.
oh something else I haven't been able to find a satisfactory answer to that someone here might know, what does Aerith mouth to Tifa?
I am guessing it's something supportive, and not "I'll cut you bitch, he's mine" or something, which would also mean that if Aerith is actively trying to make a pass at Cloud later on that would make her....well.... not cool.
I am guessing it's something supportive, and not "I'll cut you bitch, he's mine" or something, which would also mean that if Aerith is actively trying to make a pass at Cloud later on that would make her....well.... not cool.
luminous03
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Rin
Pro Adventurer
TBH the Hollow thing pissed me off because they plainly said the inspiration for writing it was Cloud dragging himself through a barren wasteland/desert like we didn't need anything else to understand the inspo behind the song. I wish people had spent more time talking about how it's a song that encompasses Aerith and Clouds feelings in regards to losing Zack and how the song can apply to the entire cast losing something/someone at the hands of Shinra.
GamerSkull
Pro Adventurer
Likely Uematsu wrote the song intending for multiple interpretations of the song to be able to coexist…
Which is why he would like a tweet that says it’s a love song because he would be a proponent of all interpretations.
Which is why he would like a tweet that says it’s a love song because he would be a proponent of all interpretations.
luminous03
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For me, i thought each verse of hollow is about something or someone he cherishs, not necessarily aerith but also zack and tifa and his self. I always listened to it because it was my favorite soundtrack from remake, and i thought it was kinda subjective to analyse it ( heck at one point i look at it as zack's feeling towards aerith) but after the confirmation of the song being about cloud's feeling, it kinda makes sense if we look at every verse and connected it to cloud's whole life, not just his connection with aerith.
English isn't my first language, i understand it perfectly but i can't express with it well, so apologies in advance
English isn't my first language, i understand it perfectly but i can't express with it well, so apologies in advance
AncientGrimoire
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All of Final Fantasy’s love ballads have far more to them than just being a song about the couples in the respective games.
Eyes on Me isn’t just a love song about Squall and Rinoa’s love story. If anything the song is more tied to Laguna and the love that was never meant to be with Julia.
Melodies of Life is a song that captures the entire essence of the story and philosophy of IX, like honestly it always felt more to me a song about Vivi’s experiences, story and his journey than it just being a love song about Zidane and Dagger.
Same with Suteki da ne, there’s a lot more depth to the songs and their lyrical quality
I’d argue it’s the same with NPTK. It’s doesn’t just speak to Aerith’s love for Cloud.
It captures so much of Aerith’s character, her loneliness, the burdens she must carry, her strong desires for a life that has been denied her, her fervent hopes for another chance, a future where she has no burdens to bear, no promises to keep, a life where she is truly truly free.
It deserves to be mentioned in the same reverence as all the other ballads of Final Fantasy.
It confirms once again that Uematsu is a musical genius bar none who had a deep and intrinsic understanding of the characters and stories he composes music for.
Eyes on Me isn’t just a love song about Squall and Rinoa’s love story. If anything the song is more tied to Laguna and the love that was never meant to be with Julia.
Melodies of Life is a song that captures the entire essence of the story and philosophy of IX, like honestly it always felt more to me a song about Vivi’s experiences, story and his journey than it just being a love song about Zidane and Dagger.
Same with Suteki da ne, there’s a lot more depth to the songs and their lyrical quality
I’d argue it’s the same with NPTK. It’s doesn’t just speak to Aerith’s love for Cloud.
It captures so much of Aerith’s character, her loneliness, the burdens she must carry, her strong desires for a life that has been denied her, her fervent hopes for another chance, a future where she has no burdens to bear, no promises to keep, a life where she is truly truly free.
It deserves to be mentioned in the same reverence as all the other ballads of Final Fantasy.
It confirms once again that Uematsu is a musical genius bar none who had a deep and intrinsic understanding of the characters and stories he composes music for.
To be honest, I dislike almost all final fantasy songs with Lyrics. Of those I only like Melodies of life and Suteki da Ne. I think Melodies of life because the only time you hear the lyrics its in the end credits, and Suteki da Ne because it's japanese and I can't understand most of it. The rest I thoroughly dislike, they never feel fantasy to me and I find them out of place.
Rin
Pro Adventurer
Yup, same goes for Kiss Me Goodbye from FF12. I can't even think of a romantic storyline in FF12 other than Ashe/Rassler and yet Kiss Me Goodbye is the games whole theme song.
Also, this is what annoys me most. I can't stand Zack erasure, especially when discussing CA because the entire reason Aerith likes Cloud is because he reminds her of Zack. She says this herself!! This was true in 1997 and it's true now. I need people to start being realistic about it.
starcape91
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I feel Eyes On Me is also about Laguna and Raine. I am such a sucker for those two even with their limited screen time.
GamerSkull
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Laguna and Raine > Squall and Rinoa
Don’t @ me.
As an aside, Zack and Laguna would totally be best friends.
starcape91
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I like Squall and Rinoa, but I might agree with you, simply because Laguna is so freaking likeable.
I was going to say the same thing about Zack and Laguna lol
starcape91
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Sorry for double post, but I also struggle to think of anyone Zack wouldn’t get along with. He becomes such fast friends with Biggs, Marlene and Elmyra. Even though his scenes near the end are confusing as heck, he’s just rolling with it, going on about his dreams and how everyone should have dreams and everyone matters and all I can say is “Oh Zack I love you.”
Empyrea
Pro Adventurer
Can't disagree with you when Laguna is the one guy I like in FF8 and Raine is great for what little time she was a part of the story.
Re: the songs... I'm not a big music buff (not in the slightest) so while I find the interpretations you guys have fascinating, I definitely can't say I would've thought of them myself.
That said, people going on and on about them is...a thing that I think can get really obsessive sometimes. I find it's supposed to be more something to appreciate if you get it and is an accompaniment otherwise. This isn't like Ar Tonelico, in which songs are literally magic and is part of the lore, so what the lyrics are and who sings them actually matter as part of canon.
Rin
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I want to see Zack and Tifa interact as adults so baaaad
starcape91
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