SPOILERS Interpreting the new theme song, 'Hollow'

[MelodicEnigma]

That interview pretty much explains the important take away of the song. I think people are concentrating too much on 1:1 the lyrics however (this is not always fruitless), and not enough on how contextually, the overall meaning of the song is what is being applied for the game. Which admittedly, is much more underlying in the more secretive information as opposed to blatant, if viewed on by first timers.

The foundational meaning of "Cloud's inner feelings; point of view" to the general approach of the lyrics "a man losing something important"—if taking a look at how it was used for the game, it comes out of something of the sort: "Clouds [a person's] feelings about losing something important". The most blatant application of the song goes to the ending, where it qualifies for retaining the meaning of all applicable things that represents Cloud's story in varying degrees: his inner self/memories, Aerith, and Zack—at least two of these things directly connect to the Nibelheim incident as well. However, in this ending we also see how Aerith is the one that this meaning represents, this being apparent by her last line for the game, which is much more direct in JPN, but can still be found in the ENG version as well.

If the theme continues to be in the other games, I wouldn't be surprised if we have some interludes of it played in other moments that represent someone losing something important, especially if it gravitates around what Cloud lost. I do still believe it is a mistake though to just go with just "song is about X person". It's just too generally applied, but my above banter, outside of what was explicitly stated in the interview, can just be taken as interpretation anyway I guess. That being because I don't really know the reason why it's the Sector 5 theme. If I had to take a stab, it would be what I stated prior—they're just going to apply it in the series where that meaning can be found. Between Cloud and Aerith's losses being expressed in the game in different ways, I'm sure it's somewhere in the middle for being represented there.

 

[a_apple 2.0]

That interview pretty much explains the important take away of the song. I think people are concentrating too much on 1:1 the lyrics however (this is not always fruitless), and not enough on how contextually, the overall meaning of the song is what is being applied for the game. Which admittedly, is much more underlying in the more secretive information as opposed to blatant, if viewed on by first timers.

The foundational meaning of "Cloud's inner feelings; point of view" to the general approach of the lyrics "a man losing something important"—if taking a look at how it was used for the game, it comes out of something of the sort: "Clouds [a person's] feelings about losing something important". The most blatant application of the song goes to the ending, where it qualifies for retaining the meaning of all applicable things that represents Cloud's story in varying degrees: his inner self/memories, Aerith, and Zack—at least two of these things directly connect to the Nibelheim incident as well. However, in this ending we also see how Aerith is the one that this meaning represents, this being apparent by her last line for the game, which is much more direct in JPN, but can still be found in the ENG version as well.

If the theme continues to be in the other games, I wouldn't be surprised if we have some interludes of it played in other moments that represent someone losing something important, especially if it gravitates around what Cloud lost. I do still believe it is a mistake though to just go with just "song is about X person". It's just too generally applied, but my above banter, outside of what was explicitly stated in the interview, can just be taken as interpretation anyway I guess. That being because I don't really know the reason why it's the Sector 5 theme. If I had to take a stab, it would be what I stated prior—they're just going to apply it in the series where that meaning can be found. Between Cloud and Aerith's losses being expressed in the game in different ways, I'm sure it's somewhere in the middle for being represented there.

Yeah, I agree with you. The lyrics aren't suppose to be taken 100% literally. The sountrack came out and they literally spell out what Hollow is about

 

[Eerie]

I found this interview in Japanese. DeepL has helped me through though! It's long and interesting.

Whoever bet on Zack and Cloud was right lol. At least for the music!

――テーマソングはどの様な内容で発注されたのですか？

北瀬　ディレクターの野村哲也が主題歌のイメージを持っていました。ミッドガルを脱出してエンディングを迎える事は決まっていて、ミッドガルの端の荒野に立った時に雨が降って来て、その時クラウドがどういう心情なのか、とだけをお伝えして野島さんと植松さんにそれぞれ作詞と作曲をお願いしました。3人ですよね。同時に。

DeepL translation:

--What was the content of the theme song you ordered?

Kitase Tetsuya Nomura, the director, had an image of the theme song. It was decided that the ending would come after we had escaped from Midgall, and when we stood in the wilderness at the edge of Midgall, the rain came, and I asked Nojima-san and Uematsu-san to write the lyrics and compose the music, respectively. At the same time.

――北瀬さんにお伺いしたいのですが、レコーディングの段階では既にエンディングの映像は出来上がっていて、そこに音を乗せる形で収録していたのですか？

北瀬　映像はまだ出来ていなかったですね。すごく粗い状態の物はあったかもしれないですけども、まだカチッとした最終イメージは出来ていませんでした。

エンディングのスタッフロールで流したい、と言う事は決まっていたんですけど、主題歌が入るタイミングってすごく気を遣う所なんですよね。その入るタイミングまでは決まっていませんでした。曲が完成して、映像も完成して、野村哲也が最終編集する時に曲が入るタイミングも決まるし、日本語歌詞を字幕で載せようって言うのも決まりましたね。

--I'd like to ask you, Kitase, did you already have the ending in place at the recording stage, and did you just add the sound to it?

Kitase The video hadn't been made yet. Some of them may have been in a very rough state, but I didn't have a solid final image of them yet.

We had already decided that we wanted to play it in the ending staff roll, but we had to be very careful about the timing of the theme song. It wasn't until the timing of its entry that it was decided. The song was completed, the video was completed, and when Tetsuya Nomura made the final edits, the timing of the song's entry was also decided, and it was decided to put Japanese lyrics with subtitles.

There's also a lot of technical explanations really cool from Uematsu that make me like this song more (which is good because for some reason it's stuck in my head right now ).

 

[Theozilla]

Doesn’t Nojima also say in the interview (in response to Kitase) he deliberately wanted the meaning of the Hollow lyrics to be vague/ambiguous?
The fact it can apply to both Cloud’s relationships/past to both Zack and Aerith was likely intentional I think.

 

[eleamaya]

Has it been brought up here yet? But Hollow has a lot of CC soundtrack vibes going on, so I went to check a few songs and:

These two ones struck me the most. It can be just a coincidence, right? Also, It plays in parts where his presence is more felt such as in Sector 5 where Aerith and Cloud interact and she's remembering him through Cloud.

The lyrics seem to be about many things. but the instrumental has a huge Zack vibes imo.

You can see it in the link below

http://www.youdubber.com/index.php?video=2Q7ARs0nMhE&video_start=41&audio=MStkPCeVtMw&audio_start=0

Watch it with the audio of the video ON at least 'til Cloud's scream. It fits!

I edit the mashup since the link of the audio is unavailable anymore. It's CC ending using the audio from FF7R ending, started when the intro of Hollow enters. The timing is perfect.
http://www.youdubber.com/index.php?video=2Q7ARs0nMhE&video_start=38&audio=OulBkYmgN0Q&audio_start=0

 

[kuroudo]

i have the theory that the part of the light on the song is for tifa.

tifa found a lost cloud on a raining day too.

 

[rkss]

I want to know this theme song is for this part or for the all FF7R?
If this for this work it's pretty clear the song is to connect the ending of CC and 7R's leaving Midgar and it's exactly where the song starts.

You ain't supposed to read the lyric literally.

FFVIIR is probably an AU where everything happens pretty much the same but for a yet unknown reason, changes happen. Now, concerning those changes, the song gives conflicting messages, kind of like the devs. The first half of the song shows a bit of hope and claims that if given a second chance things will turn out better. The second half however indicates that in the end, fate will triumph no matter what and will leave the character "howling and hollow" Maybe the first part gives the illusion that everyone or almost everyone will get a happy ending this time, but the second half shows that things will end the same way, even if the events unravel differently this time.


It'd be boring and too generic if the song was just about "a person" . People really think SE threw away the plot in a song?
While Cloud's affair is an element in the OG, it's never been core theme in any ff7 related works. Cloud goes snowboarding right after Aerith dies, he doesn't become "hollow". Jee..

Edit: As someone mentioned, You can see Price of Freedom and Hollow have similar tone. Also the lyrics is clearly the feeling of Cloud about Zack at the end of the game

Spoiler

Lying next to you, I'm holding your hand
Your gentle eyes of beauty bringing peace to me now
The silent breeze so soft it passes right through my arms
I'm wishing that this moment lasts a little bit more
You saved me through the rocky roads
You gave me half of your precious soul
I want to hear you laugh some more
Don't want to see you go
All the times we fought were together as one
Even when we part, you will never be gone
Look into the sky and see the dream we never lost
Can't you see it coming true?
We made it through
I share this time with you
I want to see you smile
Close your eyes, you've gone through so much my love
All the past is now a cloud of floating memories
The sunlight shining through the long and dark nights we've walked
All that's left to do is rest and heal our hearts
Every step along the way
You gave me strength to stand my ground
There's so much to say to you
But now it's time to go
All the times we fought were together as one
Even when we part, you will never be gone
As the times go by, there's something that I realize:
There was not a single thing
That I could do
If I didn't have you
The price to pay to be right where we wanted to be
It wasn't so easy to achieve
What we needed to find the way to freedom
I've lost so much through it all
But you're the reason I stand tall
Together we embraced one dream
Protected our honor
All the times we fought were together as one
Even when we part, you will never be gone
Look into the sky and see the dream we never lost
Can't you see it coming true?
We made it through
I want to share this time with you
All the times we fought
Now I give you all my heart, take it all it's just for you
Never forget the love you gave us all
In my eternal memories
I want to see you smile

Rain
Loss
Emptiness
Smile
Outside of Midgar

I'm fairly confident with this interpretation now.

 

[kuroudo]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1265501339590811653

NOMURA TALKS ABOUT THE SONG TOO

 

[Torrie]

At first, I tried not to look deep into these lyrics because being abstract is what makes them beautiful indeed. But now I like to think that the song hints at Zack in many ways, and here is my interpretation:

• As it's been pointed out above, some CC tracks and Hollow are arranged similarly, but I don't know much about music theory and can only rely on my overall perception.
• Hollow is known to be about something important that the speaker (presumably, Cloud) has lost. By the point in the Remake where the song plays, Cloud has lost his mother, fellow Nibelheim citizens, his position in the army, and his best friend. I believe he wasn't that close to his mom, was always an outcast to the townsfolk (or at least he thought he was); the army was rather a symbol of dreams which never came true (I don't think Sephiroth ever smiled at him either), so the only person who had the most impact on him in so many ways was Zack. Which justifies the mourn.
• He has ultimately lost his feeling of identity. In fact, he's at the lowest point in his life before FF7 begins. He doesn't remember Zack ever existed, but his true suppressed self (his subconscious? I assume, the one who speaks to him after the fall in Reactor 5) does. He is "a man standing outside himself", as the booklet states, "alone and powerless", with the only power pushing him forward gone. So the lyrics might be written from the point of view of his true personality hidden deep inside.
• He would obviously love to see him again, the hero figure he always admired (extremes meet, as we know), to experience his guidance and protection, but time cannot be turned back unless Nomura is involved.
• One can't help paying attention to the weather conditions and the location.
• Additionally, I like the idea from some posts above that the instrumental plays where Aerith lives, because she has lost him too, and the theme sounds like an echo of the tragedy.

All in all, I'm incredibly moved by this piece of art. It casts an instacry on me. But this sadness is so enjoyable that I try not to listen to the song too often so as not to get this bittersweet impression faded away.

 

[rkss]

I think what Nobuo Uematsu said is also important. When he writes a song, he often thinks about 'who, what's he/she thinking and in what situation'.

Everyone read too much into the lyrics and ignore what the singer/composer are actually trying to convey. This scene, in general, give you "conflicting feeling" and "things may change this time" thought. It's what they want you to feel.

The song starts when Zack & Cloud heading to Midgar and isn't "Wait a second... Is Zack alive? what going to happen?" what most of us/the players would think in this scene? I'm no musician but if the instrumental version was played here, our perception of this scene still wouldn't change because Uematsu is a fricking genius.

With that being said, the second half of the song however indicates fate will still triumph but most people overlook this part because they're still arguing who's Cloud thinking about...

Personally , I feel like "Hollow" is more about "a window to Cloud dev's mind" when they were remaking Final Fantasy 7.
This is the reason they want you to hear the song when Zack & Cloud (Crisis Core & OG) moving past the party (Remake). Referring to the images onscreen in the new game, and how they relate to the old one.

 

[Torrie]

Personally , I feel like "Hollow" is more about "a window to Cloud dev's mind" when they were remaking Final Fantasy 7. Referring to the images onscreen in the new game, and how they relate to the old one.

Wow, that's a great interpretation. It kind of breaks the 4th wall. Another reason to admire how multi-faceted this song is.

 

[X-SOLDIER]

I love that it's very intentionally placed in order to build a connection to the relationships between Aerith & Cloud, Cloud & Zack, Aerith & Zack, as well as Cloud & Aerith by making it the instrumental theme in Sector 5 in a way that we'll be nostalgic for the song itself by the time we finally hear the lyrics at the end of the game. At that point, it's the theme for the first game, but the seeds that it plants also make it evocative of the theme of the entire story of Final Fantasy VII as well, even looking towards things as far reaching into the future as Advent Children, since it's outlining the emotional perspective that Cloud's struggling with even before the start of the game.

Before the start of the game, Cloud feels this way about Zack, and Aerith feels this way about Zack as well. Both of them saw his death: Cloud through a psuedo-coma before he subsumed Zack's persona and Aerith within the Lifestream.

In Sector 5, we establish that exists with Aerith seeing parts of Zack in Cloud, but also that she and Cloud are building up that same connection with each other, that we know will eventually trigger these same emotions when Aerith dies.

It's definitely not a coincidence that it's used in a way that's designed to evoke a sense of nostalgia & longing for someone who's lost, while having lyrics that will ambiguously match all of those things – even if they're primarily understood from Cloud's perspective, since he's the one who primarily has to live on and carry that burden throughout the story, and is the lens through which we primarily experience those things as players.


This is one of the things that I like most about Remake, and it's got a lot to say about the emotional struggles and themes that are being prioritized in the retelling of the story.



X

 

[Jairus]

I think it might also be, at least in part, about Jessie and his inability to save her from her apparent fate - she's the only one of the three girls who isn't there at the end, and Aerith is still clearly alive at this point - it wouldn't make sense for it to be about a loss that hasn't happened yet. Jessie was also full of smiles and embraces (albeit mostly uninvited but never actually turned away) like the lyrics speak about. And whether he eventually came to have a little attraction for her or not, he still formed a connection and friendship with her by the end of Chapter 4 and was genuinely saddened by her apparent loss in the pillar. It's only natural he'd wonder if he could've saved her if he'd gotten there sooner or done things differently. And it was Jessie who was the first to begin easing him out of his shell, not Aerith or Tifa. He'd remember that.

 

[Makoeyes987]

The shark has fucking jumped.

...

Jesus Christ.

 

[Odysseus]

The shark has fucking jumped.

...

Jesus Christ.

No Mako, you jump over the shark, not the other way around. You should know, you are a shark.

 

[Jairus]

And what purpose did your comment serve, Mako? I was only highlighting a possibility, not saying anything with certainty. Or are you saying she should never be talked about anywhere on this board?

 

[Makoeyes987]

To express the sheer exasperation of seeing any thread you post in somehow become warped into a tangentially connected topic of Jessie Raspberry in the FFVII Remake.

I literally need to avoid any topic you engage in at this point because it inevitably becomes a "lost cause" over how Jessie somehow doesn't get enough respect/adoration/appreciation, as if she's some sort of martyred or exploited victim that's now been forgotten by time.

I'm watching the same syndicated sitcom repeat the same cliched joke over and over and over again. You seemingly can't stop talking about Jessie so you shoehorn her into every topic.

Hollow has zero to do with Jessie yet here you are, bringing Jessie up because we clearly don't have enough discourse about Jessie Raspberry here!

And you're here to remedy that! Thank you so much.

Goddamnit.

 

[Jairus]

To express the sheer exasperation of seeing any thread you post in somehow become warped into a tangentially connected topic of Jessie Raspberry in the FFVII Remake.

I literally need to avoid any topic you engage in at this point because it inevitably becomes a "lost cause" over how Jessie somehow doesn't get enough respect/adoration/appreciation, as if she's some sort of martyred or exploited victim that's now been forgotten by time.

I'm watching the same syndicated sitcom repeat the same cliched joke over and over and over again. You seemingly can't stop talking about Jessie so you shoehorn her into every topic.

Hollow has zero to do with Jessie yet here you are, bringing Jessie up because we clearly don't have enough discourse about Jessie Raspberry here!

And you're here to remedy that! Thank you so much.

Goddamnit.

You don't know that it doesn't. That's just your opinion. It can be seen to relate, in part, to her and his regret over his inability to save her. I was not the first to come up with this idea, either - I saw it elsewhere, and it makes sense to me. Your inherent hostility to her ever even being mentioned here seems to color and influence your view of what I said.

Nowhere in my post did I tell anyone what to believe or say anything about her getting attention or the lack of it. I was just sharing an opinion, nothing more. I'm sorry you don't seem to want her to exist or have any significance to the story even in a small way. And I'm sorry the mere mention of her seems to trigger you. Maybe you should start looking at yourself instead of lashing out. And sharing an opinion is not shoehorning. Is an opinion only valid if it doesn't include her?

 

[Makoeyes987]

Is an opinion only valid if it doesn't include her?

In your case? Yes. Absolutely.

I'm not wishing for Jessie to not exist. No one has a problem with Jessie here. I'm talking about you and your obsession with her. Jessie isn't the one who's problematic.

And you should take the Raspberry out of your own eye before giving advice on removing dust from another's. You're the absolute last person who should be giving advice on anything regarding self reflection or being triggered. Jessie has only two things to do with Hollow. Jack and shit. And Jack left town.

 

[Fade]

Speaking as an outsider of sorts: Jairus, Makoeyes is absolutely correct. I've been here for all of about five minutes, and I can already see why everyone is sick of this fixation. I'd honestly prefer to believe you're trolling, because the alternative is too sad to dwell on. I'm aware that one more voice probably won't change your mind, but please just take some time to reflect and find the common denominator here. I say this with the best intentions, and I'm offering it as the perspective of a largely neutral party.

 

[Jairus]

Wrong. My opinion is as valid as anyone else's, whether it includes her or not.

You and the others can prove you don't have a problem with her by not lashing out every time I bring her up. Or don't you know how that comes across? You want to show you don't have a problem with her? Stop complaining at the mere mention of her. Because doing so is just another way of saying you don't want anyone to talk about her ever.

Merely posting an opinion that happens to include her isn't wrong and shouldn't be frowned upon. That was all I did here, and I specifically phrased it in such a way that it was clear it was an opinion and that I wasn't telling anyone what to do or think. And I said nothing about her status here or what I think people should do regarding her. I kept it strictly on the topic of the song, which, if you had actually read my words, you'd have realized.

You are human, therefore you can be wrong. You are not the ultimate arbiter of fact here or anywhere else. Your opinion is fine for you to have, but you need to phrase it as such and not state it as fact. You have been wrong here before - the leak thread, remember? You were so sure many of those things were false when they turned out, in fact, to be true. I know you probably don't like to think about that because you always seem to try to come off as infallible and unable to make any kind of mistakes. But the fact is, you can and you have.

One potential meaning doesn't necessarily cancel out another - I was suggesting something that could be in addition to the rest, not replacing it. You might want to brush up on your reading comprehension skills if you're having trouble seeing the difference. And nobody made you respond to my initial post here. You chose to do it yourself. You didn't have to. You let it trigger you, as the tone of your response shows.

Fade, you're only seeing one side of it. I've been shouted down many times, my opinions derided and mocked, and they don't realize that the more they do it, the more it causes the very thing they're trying to avoid. It's not just me and never was. I'm not trolling. I simply respond when I feel what I've said is being attacked instead of left alone.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

To express the sheer exasperation of seeing any thread you post in somehow become warped into a tangentially connected topic of Jessie Raspberry in the FFVII Remake.

Fade, you're only seeing one side of it. I've been shouted down many times, my opinions derided and mocked, and they don't realize that the more they do it, the more it causes the very thing they're trying to avoid. It's not just me and never was. I'm not trolling. I simply respond when I feel what I've said is being attacked instead of left alone.

Posting with the expectation of getting someone riled up does kind of sound like trolling.
----

Please let it go now, both of you.

 

[AllGoodInMyHood]

I doubt there's some kind of "Jessie aspect" in Hollow. I understand people would want to have it like that, but it's 99.99% not the case.

I believe that Cloud will actually figure out that he is seeing future events from a different timeline/world in his flashbacks and then "Hollow" lyrics will have more grounding.

 

[Jairus]

I doubt there's some kind of "Jessie aspect" in Hollow. I understand people would want to have it like that, but it's 99.99% not the case.

I believe that Cloud will actually figure out that he is seeing future events from a different timeline/world in his flashbacks and then "Hollow" lyrics will have more grounding.

It's possible, but considering that the only memorable loss that's happened on screen in the remake at this point is Jessie, I don't think it's impossible that a part of it could relate to her. He's standing in the rain, inside himself, thinking. No reason she couldn't be a part of those thoughts - not all of it, of course, but just a part. Do you really think he wouldn't feel some regret for not getting to her sooner and wonder if she might still be alive if he had done things differently? Of course, she could be alive, but at this point he has no way of knowing that. And, like it or not, she did contribute heavily to his early character development and was the first one to put a crack in his hard shell. He was also genuinely saddened by her apparent loss. Don't be opposed to the song having a little bit of relevance to her and her fate just because she's not playable. She's still a significant part of the early chapters despite that. There's nothing saying that only PC's can be a part of things like this. It's not wrong to let her have some significance and to be open to other possibilities beyond the traditionally expected.

 

[AllGoodInMyHood]

"This time I will never let you go..."

There's no more "time" for Jessie. Maybe in a different timeline or world, but that's extremely far fetched.