Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-26206856-20150321001915

It seems to me the songs of RWBY are a big part of the lore itself. Most of the songs pertain to characters, while the opening songs seem to be more world/volume oriented, often hinting at spoilers or details we later find out or are still searching for. (Heck, most of what we think we know about Summer is from just songs). Even Jeff stated in an afterbuzz show that he's shocked at how much RT has let him get away with saying in the lyrics. The song Die appears in Vol2 Ep4 (Painting the Town) during the Paladin Fight. To me, it seems to be a song about/from the perspective of Yang, and due to the tempo, lyrics, and timing in the episode it also seems to be possible that it's her 'semblance song'.

The fast paced rock and lyrical inflection reflect anger/rage at both what is happening and Yang's realizations, which seems to be funneling into her actions during her 'berserker mode' semblance. Keep that in mind while you read through the lyrics. Below is my take at dissecting the lyrics from the song:

It was just fine,

We lived in peace,

Looked to a happy ending. This describes Yang, Ruby, Summer and Taiyang growing up in peace, expecting a fairytale ending.

The days were bright, They shined like gold,

Every step ascending.

Again, Yang growing up in cheerful times in Patch. Gold could also reference the song Gold which is very bright and cheery in nature and seems to explain Yang being happy about and watching over Ruby while she's young. It only seemed to be getting better from there (every step in life ascending).

Our dreams came true, Our path was clear,

The moon watched safely from above.

Ruby and Yang's dreams of becoming Huntresses came true; their path to this point and beyond (so they thought as sheltered children) was clear of any obstacles.

'The moon watched safely from above' may be a reference to Summer or someone else watching over them. We really need to know why the moon is so important in Remnant.

But every smile, Is not the same,

And every heart's not filled with...

Love for mankind; Now out of their sheltered childhood, they are learning that not everything is what it seems (it's not all sunshine and rainbows, and a smile isn't always a good natured, happy one.) People have ulterior motives and some even enjoy watching the world burn.

At this point, it feels like Yang is basically trying to say that everything was perfect until 'you' came along. The 'you' really being anything, but with the timing in the show, Roman specifically.

Look around it's getting very hard to find. Not every open wound is simply healed by time,

But revenge is always sweet,

And chaos is the prize. It's getting very hard to find people not twisted or corrupted in some way; their love for mankind lost. This also ties in with 'victory is in a smaller, more honest soul' or from lyrics- 'victory is in a simple soul'.

Not every wound can be healed over time. Grudges are held, unexplained reasons for a mother's death or a sudden disappearance can't always be put to rest. The burdens carried by these wounds continue to muddy the waters of 'love for mankind'.

It's always satisfying to get revenge, but doing so only brings (is rewarded with) more chaos and opened wounds that breed the growing hate in the world.

Feel it everywhere and you see it growing,Enemies arise and the hate is flowing,

Shattering the moon and bloodying the sky. (orig alt ver: blacking out the moon and blood will fill the sky)

You can feel it everywhere that enemies are growing (both against them and between others, be it human/faunus, or human/human), enemies are also becoming more common, and as such more hate is brought to the world.

Hate seems to be the/a reason the moon is the way it is, possibly from an epic fight that ended in a dramatic move that shattered the moon, or hate is somehow disintegrating it. 'Bloodying the sky' could be a general reference to bloodshed over hate. You could also see the moon as hope: the line turning to blacking out/shattering hope, and dirtying your hands with blood.

From another angle, It could also deal with Yang's 'rage vision' where enemies arise before her that fill her with hate, which she uses to give herself the power to shatter the moon and tint her vision with red (rage/bloodlust). This ties in well with her eye color changing to red (think of seeing through a red filter) and the function of her semblance.

The machines of war will fuel both sides, And the greed will only grow more lies;

Farewell to days of peace 'cause now it's time to die.

Machines of war fueling both sides could be the military and hunters/huntresses. In a more literal sense that ties with the placement of the song in the show, it could elude to the military and the Paladins in the WF's posession. Greed over something (land, dust, power,(machines?)) will lead to lies being told to get closer to obtaining it.

She's literally saying goodbye to peace because now it's time to take revenge/action (stand up and fight back/eliminate the threat). It also could refer to her giving up her days of peace in childhood to become active as an adult in the 'war'.

In saying this, she's also falling victim to the hate plaguing the world that she's mad about discovering. (I hate the fact that you made me hate...)

Where did it go? Our peaceful youth,

Seems to be gone forever.

And in its place, A life of war,

Every truce has severed. Here Yang is wondering what happened to the peaceful childhood days while facing the breakout of a war before her eyes. She's learned you can't trust anyone anymore, and may be wary of or break truces out of fear they are under false pretenses.

Up to here she's also starting to pull on things to fuel her hate with.

We'll live our lives, Watching our backs,

Not knowing who to trust or fear.

The hate just swallows all the love,

And all the,

Truth will disappear... Her and Ruby are now thrown into the fray as gullible children with no previous history of deception. As such they will be overly cautious which will only cause more worry and stress.

Hate is like a plague, breeding only more lies until there is no truth in anything anyone says. It's also a more literal reference to hate swallowing all the love for mankind. It should be known that Yang desires love with her caring motherly instincts, and this line acts as yet another source to enrage her.

Lost and blind; Seems our dreams of peace have all been left behind.

It's always said white clouds aren't always silver lined, But the future's looking bleak,

And the storm is set to rise. She's feeling lost and blind having come to this conclusion that living in peace is now all but impossible; her blinders of a sheltered childhood now suddenly ripped from her eyes to see the truth of the world.

She's heard it/ been told before that not everyting is sunshine and rainbows (silver lined), but she never truly believed it or how bad it was until she's seen it for herself. Now it looks like the storm is set to rise right in front of her eyes.

We're also seeing the opposite of the opening; a yin(shade) to the yang(sun) so to speak. The days are no longer bright, or shine like gold (relation to silver lining) the situation is decending as time goes on (bleak future), and the clear path being watched over by a guardian in the sky is being clouded over with a storm.

Say goodbye. Time to die.

Say goodbye. Just say goodbye.

Time to die. (Time...) She's saying goodbye to the dreams of peace (maybe even giving up hope?) and falling victim to hate, by wanting to take revenge. This could possibly hint at a corruption element/ loss of control happening when she activates her semblance.

This part is also said in a slow chant as if trying to focus/build up all her hate/rage just as a madman tends to repeat their motivation/goal. (Must kill, must kill, must kill) The last 'time' may also reference her time limit on her semblance; either starting/setting it, or realizing she's running short on it.

Feel it everywhere and you see it growing, Enemies arise and the hate is flowing, Shattering the moon and bloodying the sky.

The machines of war will fuel both sides, And the greed will only grow more lies; Farewell to days of peace 'cause now it's time to die.

Die die die... Again, we get the line about growing/building hate, enemies arising to fuel it more, and unleashing the earth(read: moon)-shattering power of her semblance behind red tinted eyes/vision. After the build up, she's now releasing the power to stamp out what's causing her rage, possibly with a lack of self control, and we see she's dead set on killing whatever it is with her 'madman' repetition of 'Die, die, die'.

Anyway, that's my take on the song. What are yours? Any thoughts or opinions, or am I delving way too deep? 