orbitalflower

Hymn of the Fayth lyrics and meaning

Posted in Games on

The meaning of Final Fantasy X song Hymn of the Fayth is, at this point, widely known. Less frequently observed, however, is this: The song makes most sense if you assume it was written vertically right-to-left, as old Japanese was, but read horizontally left-to-right, as modern Japanese is.

This makes sense if the hymn was written down almost a thousand years ago, lost, and rediscovered centuries later. However, it may simply be an attempt to convey the feeling of a forgotten language.

Reconstructed original script

い え ゆ い   i e yu i
の ぼ め の   no bo me no
れ ん み り   re n mi ri
よ じゅ よ ご   yo ju yo go
は さ   ha sa
て か   te ka
な え   na e
く た   ku ta
  ま     ma
  え     e

“Modern” lyrics

This is the song as it is sung throughout Final Fantasy X. It is acquired by reading the above script from left-to-right.

いえゆい I e yu i
のぼめの No bo me no
れんみり Re n mi ri
よじゅよご Yo ju yo go
はさてかなえ Ha sa te ka na e
くたまえ Ku ta ma e

This sounds like Japanese, since it uses Japanese syllables, but they don’t form actual Japanese words this way, so it’s impossible to translate.

“Ancient” lyrics

This is the “original” meaning of the song. It is acquired by reading the above script from top-to-bottom, right-to-left.

Read in this direction, the text forms actual Japanese lyrics which match the same tune.

Hiragana Romaji English translation
いのりご Inorigo Fayth
ゆめみよ Yume mi yo Dream!
えぼんじゅ Ebon-ju Yu Yevon
いのれよ Inore yo Pray!
さかえたまえ Sakaetamae Please grant prosperity
はてなく Hatenaku Without end

Some commentators assume the line pairs are read in the opposite order, but I believe that is incorrect.

  1. Japanese is written that sentences end with the verb. Therefore, the phrase “Inorigo yume miyo” (Fayth, dream) is a valid Japanese sentence.
  2. When Japanese is written vertically, sentences are arranged right-to-left.
  3. In order to match the meter of the melody, the last two lines must be “sakaetamae hatenaku”, to match “hasatekanae kutamae”.