Lyric Breakdown of "Heal The World" (part 1)
Warning: extremely long text, excessive detail and citations, and some shippiness. Please take with a heaping spoon of salt, this is personal interpretation to the max and not gospel.
Previous essay on Gnosisâs character with some baseline assumptions and interpretations I am making.
I told myself I wasn't going to do this but here we are. On the other hand, though, I deserve it for sleeping on this song for nearly a year after its release. Let's dive in, shall we? Why does Gnosis have such a sappy and emotional image song, and what does it mean?
It's just a tear that saves me from the darkness.
Such a powerful opening line. What does the tear symbolize, what is the emotion behind it? Sorrow, grief, and painâbut pain most of all, as pain is echoed and emphasized throughout the whole song.
Witnessed through a mirror, pain is truth,
Pain and truth go hand in hand, which is a theme which is echoed throughout. It's the pain itself that keeps everything realâthe pain (the tear) which saves him from total destruction; the personal anguish which experience keeps him from going off into the deep end.
Now âwitnessed through a mirrorâ: the pain is detached and not a part of him, reflected back at him by something or someone else, and only like that does he see it. Or even, itâs the reflection that confirms it exists at all. Who is the person who is Gnosisâ mirror?
Iâll make no bones about it: the person Gnosis is addressing throughout the song is Enciodes. Thereâs literally, as I will demonstrate, nobody else he could be speaking to and speaking of.
So: itâs a bit of a stretch, but this could possibly be a veiled reference to their conversation as children where Enciodes says that he doesnât believe Gnosis is at fault for the accident, but Gnosis does. This little bit of unshakable faith is one of the reasons Gnosis is so loyal to Enciodes, and during that flashback, Enciodes says, âIt definitely has nothing to do with you. Nobody looks up to my father as much as you do,â almost as though heâs reflecting Gnosisâ true self back at him, showing him the reality and the truth that he committed no crime.
This is the painful truth that keeps everything real; that Gnosis carries inside of him, that saves him from the darkness: his innocence.
And through your eyes weâll find an endless future,
During BI-3, Gnosis says to Ratatos: â[Enciodes] promised me a future.â This line is a clear reference to that. Through Enciodesâ eyes and his vision for Kjerag, an endless future, bright and dazzling, awaits.
I'll continue forward, calling to you.
This line also refers to Enciodes.
In fact, it wouldnât be much of a stretch to argue that this entire verse refers not merely to the present moment, that is, Gnosisâs present position, but also, to the moment of his departure from Kjerag. When they parted ways, Gnosis said he would study and learn what he could to return and help Enciodes achieve their dream. In his operator file, Gnosis also comments about making âan appointmentâ to see Enciodes again, and returning Kjerag even if he did not appear. Though their paths are separate, they share the same goal, reflected in Gnosisâs second talent, âTwo Paths, One Goal.â He continues working for the sake of their dream, while still connected to Enciodes.
This is the edge, but I continue flying.
As Gnosis goes forward, he reaches the edge. Itâs a figurative cliff, with nowhere to go and only death at the bottom, but he willingly flies past this precipice on his own wings.
Leaving life around me, break away the pain.
âLeaving lifeâ refers to Gnosisâ decision to cut himself off from the trappings of ordinary life and keep other people at armâs length. âI am not interested in deeper emotional exchanges.â He was already ostracized before, and he embraces it, regardless of the fact that he's reached the edgeâperhaps the limits of endurance or rationality or sense. He also "left life" in a more literal sense when the Edelweisses left everything they knew in Kjerag.
Then we come to the second part. âBreak away.â There are three definitions of this phrase:
To separate or detach oneself, as from a group.
To move rapidly away from or ahead of a group.
To discontinue customary practice.
In my opinion, pretty much all three of these definitions apply.
To quote from Gnosisâ op file: âThis isn't to say he's the kind who doesn't understand others' feelings. Precisely the opposite; heâs exceptionally clear-headed on what he wants to do, and as such he can detach himself from any other concerns. Researchers often [...] have sufficient mental energy to treat scientific principles objectively, but not necessarily enough leftover to deal with personal emotions. Thus, a good few choose to cut themselves off as thoroughly as possible. Gnosis is clearly one of these types.â
Gnosis chooses to cut off his personal emotions as much as he can in order to focus on what needs to be done. In a more literal sense, he is detached from the rest of the group. He works alone. Even his RIIC base skills reflect his solitary nature: âPrecise Calculationsâ and âHidden Mastermindâ. Gnosis pulls the strings behind the scenes, and does things in an unconventional way.
But itâs not merely âbreak awayâ but break away the pain. This implies that his detachment and isolation is not without consequence for him. He does feel some pain doing it, but again he chooses to set it aside. It is a necessary price.
Next, this is the second time âpainâ appears. The first time, itâs stated that âpain is truthâ, and now the pain is broken away as if detached and set aside, perhaps concealed. The pain is what saves him from the darkness, but he hides it inside as he continues on.
I want to feel my divisions crumble down.
Whatâs interesting is that this line about divisions comes immediately after a line about divisions and separation. Itâs almost as though, while heâs taking up this burden willingly, heâs also anticipating the day that it is no longer necessary. âDivisionsâ could also refer to the invisible walls which keep Gnosis ostracized and permanently branded (divided) in his homeland: that is, the false assumptions of being responsible for the deaths of Olafur and Elizabeth Silverash.
Look into my eyes and heal the world of darkness.
This line to me feels like itâs implying a silent request for reassurance. Thus far, the lyrics have been almost a series of promises, and they culminate in something thatâs almost a question, asking for confirmation that theyâve been heard, especially against the backdrop of âdivisions.â
The voices grow, the silence fills with screams,
Whose voices are these, and who is screaming? The people of Kjerag. This is a two-fold line: as it leads into the next line, itâs clear that itâs referring to the present day, and the impending suffering which approaches Kjerag if they continue on their current path. Other countries crushing Kjerag underfoot; the spread of oripathy; the "avalanche set to bury all of Kjerag."
But it could also refer to the events of the past. We know via the flashback and Gnosis' file that he was ostracized after the accident. Although it's never stated nor implied what his family went through before they left beyond "There's no place for us in Kjerag", it's possible that these "voices" are those of the people who shunned him. We know that people openly badmouth Gnosis and he mentions having rocks thrown at his windows. It's possibleâlikely, even, as I postulated beforeâthat the Edelweisses were bullied and treated cruelly before they were forced to leave. The "voices" are the cruel words, and the "screams" are their own silent and helpless laments.
I see the twilight set on the world.
"Twilight" refers to the same vision that Enciodes and Gnosis have of the impending disaster approaching Kjerag. âThey canât see what you and I can see,â Gnosis comments during BI-6.
In addition, however, I think it could be a veiled reference to Ragnarok, that is, the "Twilight of the Gods." I say this because of the context of Ragnarok and the events which surround it. Ragnarok is the apocalypse of Norse mythology, where the Aesir (gods) have their final battle and Midgard (the earth) is destroyed. An army of the dead sails from the underworld (Helheim), led by Hela and her father Loki, finally free of his chains beneath the earth, and her brothers Fenrir and Jormungandr (the Worldâs Serpent) will break free of their fetters and rise from the sea respectively, and Surtr, the ruler of Muspellheim, will break the rainbow bridge Bifrost which leads to Asgard, the peaceful realm of the Aesir high above Midgard, and set fire to the world.
For millennia, the Aesir enjoy their isolated quietude and peace in Asgard, with most of their disruptions coming from their opposing force the Jotnar, symbolizing the eternal conflict of culture vs nature. But among the Aesir, their leader, part Jotunn himself, Odin, through his many sacrifices to obtain knowledge (giving up his eye for a drink of Mimirâs well of wisdom; hanging upside for nine nights on Yggdrasil, the World Tree, to gain knowledge of the runes), had the gift of clairvoyance. He looked into the future and saw Ragnarok, and decided to take action, breaking up the family of Loki and treating his monstrous children abominably in attempts to prevent it. He cast Jormungandr into the ocean, tied up Fenrir when he grew too big, and banished half-dead Hela to the edges of Niflheim to rule over the dead. In the end, none of his efforts could keep Ragnarok from happening, as the godsâ fate could not be changed.
It was not uncommon for the Aesir to walk the earth for their amusement, but Odin in particular was known for wandering incognito, listening and observing. In doing so, he obtained a perspective that the others could not. In addition, when he was young, Odin met and befriended the Jotunn Loki, whom he liked so much that they became sworn blood brothers, not genetically related but vowing to treat each other as such. Despite this, Loki was always a contentious figure in Asgard, both on account of his mischievous nature and his race. Throughout various myths, he would sometimes help (often he was the figure the Aesir would turn to whenever they had some kind of unsolvable problem) and sometimes hinder (heâd create those problems himself). By and large, though, he wasnât considered âevilâ until Christianity came to the isles (a topic not for this essay), and not until the impending catastrophe of Ragnarok drew near with the death of Baldr, Lokasenna happened, and he was imprisoned until the final battle.
Now, Iâm not saying that Enciodes is meant to hearken to Odin the All-father, not exactly, nor am I saying that Gnosis is meant to parallel Loki. After all, as I said, âtwilightâ is a pretty broad and simple word in this context that should probably simply be taken at face value. But⊠I canât help but feel there are a few similarities to Norse myth as well, despite Kjerag taking inspiration from Switzerland and Tibet, and what with Ratatosâ name being a clear reference to Ratatoskr.
Cold by nature; an isolated yet peaceful realm above everything; very few people departing its embrace yet always returning changed; children separated on false and ultimately futile premises and families broken; someone mostly helpful yet always regarded as a traitor and outsider being the catalyst for change, who was always at the right-hand of the most powerful and important figure of the nation, sworn to them in some way, and said figure being preoccupied with averting a distant disaster.
Itâs also worth noting the title of the stage TC-1 (from the To Be Continued vignette), which uses the Kjerag map/enemies: âFimbulvinteren.â This is merely a different spelling of what in English is âFimbulwinter,â that is, the event that precedes Ragnarok, the three-year winter. As of this writing, I donât know if itâs just flavor text or meant to foreshadow something, but if itâs been chosen as a subtle foreshadowing, it does imply more turmoil in the future for Kjerag.
Iâve been on this tangent long enough, moving on now.
Itâs starting to burnâŠ
âStarting to burnâ means the first flames of total destruction have already begun; itâs getting closer. Fire, also, is the direct counter to the ice and snow which defines Kjerag geographically.
Save me... Oh, save me...!
Itâs this final line that makes me feel the verse as a whole refers also to Gnosisâ past.
If it was only about Kjerag, he ought to say "save us" or "save them," but he says "save me". He wants to be saved from his own twilight. What saves him is âa tear:â someone believing in him. As the situation grows more dire, this is more important than ever.
This is the edge, we keep on falling further.
Gnosis and Enciodes' ventures keep sending them deeper and deeper into the abyss, further from light and safety and into danger, accumulating sins and doing dark deedsâŠ
Fate intwined between us, break away the truth.
âŠYet no matter how far they fall, they're in this venture together, because it's their shared dream. Their fates are linked, no success or failure without the other.
As for the second half of the line, this is the second time âbreak awayâ appears, but this time rather than cutting the pain away, Gnosis is taking the truth with himâwhat is this truth that is intwined between himself and Enciodes? The same thing: the truth that Gnosis is not a traitor at all, the truth that he works for good. Itâs a truth that, for most of BI, only they know.
I want to see the system falling down.
The "system" being that of Kjerag, the system which keeps the country stagnant: the Tri-clan Council and the Court of Elders, and the things which keep Kjerag shackled in the past (corruption, greed, closemindedness, ignorance) and possibly even lead to situations like Gnosis' own, where his family was framed and subsequently ostracized and exiled without any concrete evidence.
Look into my eyes and heal the world of darkness.
This line is a plea against the backdrop of the previous line. âHelp me make things better.â âLook into my eyesâ in this line can mean anything from âmake me a promiseâ or âgive me hopeâ or âjoin forces with meâ, given that the previous lines refer to falling together and fate intwinedâso I feel the strongest sentiment here is âhope/promiseâ.
This is the fear, it brings us to the end.
This is the first instance of âthe endâ that appears, and with the âusâ in that line, I think itâs another reference to Gnosisâ line of âThey canât see what you and I see.â The vision that they have, and the fear that they have of the impending twilight is bringing them to the brink; that is, the accelerated plans of Karlan Trade to speed up modernization.
Breaking all around you, / Feel the lies surround the broken world
Their plansâand their coup, by extensionâhave created a delicate web of lies and deception. Enciodes is at the center of this web, much as in BI, and because heâs the focus, the lies âbreakâ around him. Alternatively, one can say the world breaks around him, as heâs the one instigating the change in Kjerag, breaking the status quo. Through Enciodesâs attempts to reform the world, he also opens a path for Gnosis.
that I'll continue forward.
Despite being surrounded by lies (perhaps even lies of his own making), frightened, and with the approaching end, he stays the path and keeps going. But also, this is as far as I understand (despite the slightly awkward grammar), one sentence. So itâs actually âthe lies that Iâll continue forward.â Again, what is Gnosisâ big lie (of his own making)? That heâs not a traitor, heâs actually working for good. As the world around him crumbles, the lies spread that Gnosis is a traitor and now works (continues forward) to destroy Karlan Trade in revenge, when he really doesnât.
Iâll fight for the future. Heal the world of darkness.
Self-explanatory. Gnosis works with Enciodes to achieve a better future for Kjerag and keep the twilight from burning it to ashes. He also fights to heal the darknessâthat is, the "system" referred to previously. But against the last line, it adds an extra dimension to âthe liesâ: nobody believes Gnosis actually works for the greater good, though is partly his own fault, too: âBecause he only saw the ends, means be damned, the people who worked under him, while acknowledging his talents, had many complaints. [...] Even after coming to Rhodes Island, his personality is still disliked by many operators. [...] He's also rather apathetic regarding life and morality.â
And here I am, just standing on the edge / waiting for the final days
âFinal daysâ serves to reinforce the idea that the âtwilightâ mentioned above isnât just hard times, but complete destruction. Gnosis is waiting on the edge for the end, surrounded by liesâheâs watching it coming; expectant; ready; prepared.
Ooh, can you please save me from the end? The end, the end's calling fire raging deep within
âThe endâ (second time) in this case has a dual meaning. The fire in this context means either conviction or anger. As the end draws near (the âtwilightâ), his determination to avert it grows stronger.
It's a reference to Gnosis' impatience throughout BI and how he takes matters into his own hands. I've mentioned this before, but much of the "farce" conducted during the middle of BI (when Arctoscz and Ratatos are framed) was actually a form of expertly crafted revenge: from Enciodes saying Ratatos and Arctoscz would be given a fair trial (referencing how the Edelweisses were not), to Gnosis saying to Ratatos, âDo you see how the people are looking at you?â, referencing how he and his family were treated by the public. On a certain level, the whole thing was really quite personal (which is why as I said before, Degenbrecher comments sheâs never seen Gnosis so emotional).
"Falling" meant in a symbolic sense, as in falling from grace and becoming sullied; an angel falling, losing its wings, and becoming a devil; in a literal sense, Gnosis is a Liberi (bird), so flying and falling metaphors come naturally. And he can safely plummet from a cliff and recoverâprovided his wings arenât broken.
Notice the shift from the beginningâinitially, he says he âcontinues flyingâ, but now he falls instead. He falls from grace for the sake of their dream, to prevent the approaching final days. Heâs been ready to do this all along (âLet me be a traitor again.â) as â[Kjerag] didnât accept Gnosisâ and they never did, as âin an isolated environment like Kjerag, one tiny mistake can be engraved in the collective memory for generations.â Heâs always been ready to fallâor perhaps heâs always been falling all along.
Take my heart and save me from the endâŠ!
This line is two-fold. First: Gnosis may fall, but his fallâhis betrayalâis false. His heart is still pure, his motives clean. Only by someone acknowledging this fact, by taking and holding onto his noble heart, is he saved from being completely condemned and consigned to doomâthe second meaning of âthe endâ from which he desires to be saved. Willingly taking the fall; and yet still, reaching out a desperate hand at the bottom before hitting the ground.
Second, more straightforward, "Take and accept all of my feelings and save me from my fate of destruction." Again I feel this is directed towards Enciodes. Who alone has the power to do this, to decide if Gnosis lives or dies? If his fall ends in darkness or if he'll be caught at the bottom? Enciodes.
Gnosis is aware of this: âOr would you like to finish me, the traitor, and make this farce real?â At any moment, Enciodes can end him. Without Enciodes behind him, and even then, Gnosisâ position and very presence in Kjerag is shaky. If Enciodes turns his back on Gnosis, itâs all over for him. Inasmuch as Enciodes emphasizes that Gnosis will not betray him, that trust goes two ways. Gnosis is also trusting that Enciodes will not betray him, either, much as Enciodes stood by him after the accident.
Because when we fall through dreams, I'll feel the ocean
Why ocean? What does ice turn to when it melts? Water. All the stagnant ice of Kjerag melting and turning into water when their dreams are achieved. Whatâs more, the ice turning into water extinguishes the approaching flames of destruction. Through their dreams, the impending disaster is averted.
When the waves rise up, weâll move beyond together.
This is, again, a reference to Gnosis and Enciodes ushering Kjerag into a new future, and through that, moving through the fire and the darkness into a new world. The waves rising up to cleanse away the stagnation and to catch them as they fall and buoy them through the turmoil of change. They fell together, and they'll rise together.
It's just a tear, that saves me from the darkness.
Witnessed through a mirror, feel the pain.
This time, the pain from the tear is palpable and tangible. It cannot be suppressed.
Once again assuming that Enciodes is the "mirror" and that he is reflecting the truth back at Gnosis, this time itâs more than an acknowledgement that the âpain is truth.â This time, itâs an acceptance of that truth, painful though it is; an acceptance to feel it, rather than break it away.
And through your cries we find an endless darkness.
"Endless darkness" is the flipside of the "endless future" and combination of that line with the "darkness" from which Gnosis is saved. But contrasting sharply with âthrough your eyes weâll find an endless future,â this is âthrough your cries we find an endless darkness.â âYour criesâ: once again, Enciodes.
One of my favorite lines from BI is this one from Enciodes at the end of what we later learn is his speech to Gnosis when they met again: "I have to make a difference. Everything I've seen has to have meaning."
Aside from the fact that I empathize heartily with the sentiment of trying to turn the chaos of the world and the things one sees into sense, this line to me is so heartfelt and reveals some of what we later learn is Enciodesâ own desperation and his feeling that he has no choice as time is running short. But how many people know this? Perhaps only Gnosis. Gnosis knows just how dearly Enciodes wants to make all of this happen. Enciodes' criesâbe they of desperation, worry, fear, or painâare silent to everyone else. Nobody really knows what goes on in his head, but Gnosis sees some of it (âOur judgments have many overlapping points.â).
So this is an acknowledgment of the darkness reflected back at him by Enciodes. The pain is shared: Enciodes has his own burdens and darkness as well. They are different, but Gnosis does not suffer alone. Though he continues forward alone, he actually isnât. Heâs found the connection heâs been looking for. Itâs also another reference to the darkness of their ventures, ushered by Enciodes: his cries pave the path forward.
I'll continue forward, calling to youâŠ
Once again, even with this knowledge of the endless darkness yawing beneath and around him, he keeps going, even with the pain reflected back at him.
What's interesting is that this shift towards a darker tone happens after the hopeful interlude of the previous verse. Thereâs a moment of respite, a moment of hope; then reality returns, sharp and harsh. As he falls, he sees the vision of the endless future and the melting ice and salvationâbut itâs still far away. Between Gnosisâ fall and salvationâbetween the beginning of his endeavors and the final culmination of his effortsâis a long road of pain and struggle.
It's just a tear that saves me from the darkness, pleaseâŠ
This echoes the opening line. Here, itâs softer and clearer, especially against the backdrop of the previously mentioned âendless darkness.â
This time, I think the tear isnât his own, not with the âpleaseâ at the end; this is someone elseâs tear. In contrast to the quiet declaration at the beginning, this is a soft and heartfelt plea. Itâs weary and fading and seeking, full of loneliness, searching for that acknowledgment and confirmation of suffering through the eyes of someone else to make it all valid.
And this last verse in particular, and the song in general, brims with this wistful feeling, melancholy yet determined, battered yet resolute. Itâs at once lonely and seeking connection, while also embracing isolation and tribulation. Itâs full of gloom, of searching the black sky for a star, for a glimmer of light; itâs waiting, dogged and shivering, for the long night to pass into the promised dawn; itâs flying through choking clouds for a glimpse of that clear horizon.
Mini summary included with the song:
Surveying the peaks, the crowd floods over the snowfields.
Walking the foothills, the pain feels vivid as if real.
I stay unmoved, and silently shout,
Heal the World, that comes into my view.
This is where I would like to talk about the L2D which accompanies the song. It depicts pretty much exactly the summary: the video opens up with ice frosting over a frozen bubble before it zooms in on Gnosis walking alone on the slopes of Kjerag, looking down (Kjerag is a frozen bubble itself). From the angle, heâs heading upwards, almost as though heâs approaching that cliff edge in the lyrics. We canât really see his face, his bangs mostly shielding his expression from view, but itâs cool, neutral: unmoved. Yet still, something seems a little subdued about it, at once pensive and contemplative, as if all the thoughts reflected in the song are running through his head.
Itâs not clear if heâs leaving Kjerag or arriving, though I would guess leaving, as you can see a long and winding path behind himâthe last line implies Kjerag is coming into sight rather than disappearing, though the meaning stays the same: he's overlooking Kjerag from a lofty and isolated position.
The sky also gets darker as the song progresses, reflecting the slow shift in the lyrics and the heavier final verse: the sun is setting, as the light turns first orange, and behind him it turns to night. You can see two hands of what appear to be a clock spinning on his Arts unit, reflecting the passage of time, and the snowfall gets heavier as the song goes onâand Gnosis disappears with the blizzard, leaving only his Arts unit behind.
The symbolism of that, I think, is both âleaving lifeâ and âstanding on the edge.â I canât help but picture him coming to stand on the brink for but a moment, brief yet infinite, before he goes back and picks the staff up and resumes walking. The staff alone against the snow is another symbol of isolation and perseverance.
Finally, "the pain feels vivid as if real" echoes the repeated âpain is truthâ from the lyrics, and implies that the pain he feels is not a physical one but a mental or emotional one, and the silent shout is Gnosis' private wish to reform Kjerag.
