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Songs whose lyrics fit Vintage Story's atmosphere


Jobediah Timberman

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I worded the title carefully because I'm not looking for replacement in-game music. I find the music to be very well done, and it fits the feel of the game, which is surprising because it's not quite the style I would expect. But that's one of the reasons I like it. 

I just want to make sure nobody wears the music out from playing this game so much before the whole soundtrack is complete. The same way that I try not to wear out a good album, like this one I'm about to introduce you to. I still haven't gotten tired of it after almost 2 decades, so I'm pretty sure I never will. 

Robert Rich is a long time producer of ambient, atmospheric, and very "introverted" music. After 20 years of honing his craft, he worked with a couple others to form a 'band' called Amoeba. Their only full release came out in 1999, and I'm still waiting for a sequel. 

In as few words as possible, I'd call it "Atmospheric Campfire Soft-Rock". I was surprised that wasn't the only one to compare his vocal style to Pink Floyd, so I guess I was accurate. That might be the closest band I could compare this to, but it's much more down-to-earth. I think that's the best I can do with describing it, I'll have to let the music speak for itself. 

This is a slightly reordered version of the album, starting with Sparks (Track 11), making the lyrics "Relight the fire..." connect directly to Fireflies (Track 1) "You saw the Fireflies...". So Track 1 becomes 2, and instrumental Track 12 ("To Other Days") layers over Fireflies, giving someone who's heard it a thousand times a new experience.

Also, instrumental Track 6 "House of Rust" now layers over track 7, and 8 "Miniature" over track 9, so the music keeps flowing as best as possible. Those part often woke me up when I used to put this on to help me sleep. Plus I'm trying to avoid releasing the full album exactly as-is, if you get my drift. 


I wanted to pick out excerpts from the lyrics to illustrate just how many things about this remind me of Vintage Story, but there are so many, it's best to just read all of them. Or you might want to listen to the whole thing before reading any of it. 

So just to give you a taste of the whole album all at once: "Relight the fire", "You saw the fireflies", "I feel a change is in the atmosphere / I hear the Chimes of the Underworld",  "Long nights arrival, a ritual of survival",  "I am... lost in the underground".

It's like the whole album was written for this game 20 years ago. And took 20 years to make, and very few people heard it until now, so everyone is going to be listening to an old album that aged over a long period of time. Technically, it's vintage music in every way. 

I would be tempted to suggest the idea of Robert Rich contributing to this game in some way, but it's not necessary because most of his work fits the game anyway. At the very least I'd like to see this become the catalyst that finally gives this album/band an audience. Maybe then I'll finally get to hear the sequel to it after 17+ years. 

(Enough babbling, I mean I thought I was gonna let it speak for itself already)

Song Lyrics: 

Spoiler

11 - Sparks

See a face in the window
Looking on the day
Sidewalks are empty
Staying out of the rain

Don't want to be cold
Don't wanna be tired
Don't wanna get old
Don't wanna retire

There's a place I know
Take you there someday
It's close to home
Never far away

Relight the fire, relight the fire, 
Relight the fire...
Relight the fire, relight the fire, 
Relight the fire...

Talking to the shadows
Nothing left to say
Taken to the gallows
I won't run away
Can't see in the dark
And I'm getting tired
Point the spark
To relight the fire

There's a place I know
Take you there someday
It's close to home
Never far away

Relight the fire, relight the fire, 
Relight the fire...
Relight the fire, relight the fire, 
Relight the fire...


01 - Fireflies (+ Track 12 "To Other Days")

You saw the fireflies
Your own galaxy of stars
You had a jar to catch a luna-moth
Evening shadows in your hair

You caught the fireflies 
And you held them in your hand
You held the universe
I'll never understand
I wanted you to keep them
And you wanted to let them go
I wanted you to keep them
And you wanted to let them go

We kept the fireflies
But they stopped shining
The morning after, 
Lying dead inside a jar

You caught the fireflies 
And you held them in your hand
You held the universe
I'll never understand
I wanted you to keep them
And you wanted to let them go
I wanted you to keep them
And you wanted to let them go

Iridescent like a lunar moth
You swim along the ocean floor
Open all the oysters, 
putting pearls in every one
Open up your hands, 
returning everything.


02 - No Empty Promises

I feel a change is in the atmosphere
I hear the chimes of the underworld
And I keep saying things that haunt me over time

No empty promises... No empty promises...

And things look better now than yesterday
I'll try to see beyond the mess I made
I'll try to say things I could never say

And you still touch me from a distance
I want to see behind the curtain
I want to see you changing colors

Expose yourself and show me what you're hiding

You are my only solace...
You are my sea of silence...
You are my raging sky...
I'll try to look you in the eye...

No empty promises... No empty promises... 

And you can see that I'm addicted to appearances
And I keep saying things that I don't understand
And I keep saying things that haunt me over time

No empty promises... No empty promises... 


03 - Traces

So many holes, in my head
The world rushes in
Scanning for signals
Before all the noise
Gets under my skin
It's only a weakness
To be looking for traces
A connection to everyone

Give me an iron lung, to brace me for strangers
And keep me away, from far away places
Show me the signs, cause I'm looking for traces
And show me the human behind other faces

In the illusion of distance
Mistaken for coldness
I can't explain
In the garden of silence
I'm hoping to listen
To your whispering
You give me hope for the future
Show me traces of life 
in this old crumbling shell

Give me an iron lung, to brace me for strangers
And keep me away, from far away places
Show me the signs, cause I'm looking for traces
And show me the human behind other faces

I'm looking for traces 
Something to to hold in my hand
I'm looking for traces
Somebody, somewhere forgotten
I'm looking for traces
Something to fill in the gap
I'm looking for traces
Something that no one can take away
I'm looking for traces (Give me an iron lung)
Something to to hold in my hand (...to brace me for strangers)
I'm looking for traces (...Keep me away... )
Somebody somewhere forgotten (...from far away places)

I'm looking for traces (...Show me the signs)
Something to fill in the gap (...I'm looking for traces)
I'm looking for traces (...Show me the human)
Something that no one can take away


04 - Pivot

I'm stopping time...
A life floats by...
A memory in moments...
Becomes a river

A pivot on a day in transit,
Here, alive...
The pivot of an hourglass,
Becomes a river...

I wanna see the world
Like birds can see
I wanna fly so high
No need for wings
Like flying kites 
And broken string 
Come crashing down
You've pulled me back to earth
My tether in the wind
A life entwined...

I'm stopping time...
A life goes by...
A pivot on a day in transit...
Becomes a river...

I wanna see the world
Like birds can see
I wanna fly so high
No need for wings
Like flying kites 
And broken string 
Come crashing down
You've pulled me back to earth
My tether in the wind
A life entwined...


05 - Moonlight Flowers

She sings hymns to Horus
Aphids on her roses
Her sundial sits in shade
On the longest day
In a reverie of roses
The colors all turn grey
From the steel light of the moon
She hides in her room

Savor the daylight
Savor the twilight hours
Savor the darkness
Savor the moonlight flowers
Too far to come back
Too far to come back home

The flavor I see
A question ringing
The taste of honey
Sirens singing

Solitude, understand, 
I don't think I can stand up in the wind.

Savor the daylight
Savor the twilight hours
Savor the darkness
Savor the moonlight flowers
Too far to come back
Too far to come back home

Watching water flow
Wear away the stone
As the trees fall in the wind

Knowing time is stronger than will
And fate and time, are sisters in crime.


06 - House of Rust


07 - Harvest Moon

The moon suffocates the land
Autumn paints it red and tan
The rain falls in dusty pools
The winds have come, it's getting cold

Long nights arrival, a ritual of survival
Long nights arrival, a ritual of survival

Pale skies on fallow fields
The coming season of decline
Tie the knot of winter's yield
And we prepare for darker times

The moon hungers over you
Awaiting sign of coming ill
The fading light of afternoon
A warning, ready for the kill

Long nights arrival, a ritual of survival
Long nights arrival, a ritual of survival

Harvest Moon... Harvest Moon... 

Long nights arrival, a ritual of survival
Long nights arrival, a ritual of survival


08 - Miniature


09 - Seasons Passing

Asleep in the silence of winter
The dim morning light
Dreaming the passing of seasons
From day into night
Awaiting the heat of the summer
To make it alright
Only then, can I see you again
Only then, will I be there again

Seasons passing, time won't pass you by
Seasons passing, time won't pass you by

The spring in the evening is sweet
I'm thinking of you
The grey is returning to green
I'll see you soon
You leave in the cold autumn wind
But nothing is new
Oh when, can I see you again
Oh when, can I be there again

Seasons passing, time won't pass you by
Seasons passing, time won't pass you by

Never alone... Never alone... 


10 - Underground

Torn apart and far away
Hoping to see another day
I want it all to go away
I want to find a better way

I am... lost in the underground
The river is dried up, the sun is in a cloud
I am... lost in the underground
Never... a sound...

No way to see, no way around
Try to find another route
Calling out to anyone
Try to find a new way out

I am, lost in the underground
The river is dried up, the sun is in a cloud
I am, lost in the underground
Never... a sound...

 

11 - Sparks

12 - To Other Days

MP3:  

FLAC:

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

I have listened to your proposol and unfortunately I am not sold. I cannot help but think of some lo-fi version of Pink Floyd (and I don't really like Pink Floyd to begin with.)

However, I just have to mention Joanna Newsom in this context.

Starting to play this game last week coincided with an phase of relistening to all of her four albums and I can't express my feels eloquently but there is definitively some connection. And while her medieval, fairytaily and neo-pagan lyrics combined with all those strange instruments might not fit to the gameplay itself, I get very similar feelings when playing VS or listening to Joanna Newsom. What I mean is (as OP said as well): this is not music to listen to while playing the game but rather something to listen to when you crave this unique atmosphere.

Just wanted to throw that in there. Maybe someone is interested. And of course it might very well be that I am the only one to feel this way.

Edit: some words

Edited by Sunbather
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4 hours ago, SinReaper said:

I don't listen to music with lyrics while playing Vintage Story.  I find that lofi fantasy, irish/gaelic, japanese instrumentals get me "in the zone" when playing.

Same. No lyrics, please.
That said, having a few different  music options with regard to mood, tempo, and/or instrument(s) and such would be fantastic, with the option for the default setting that plays at random as it does now.

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My 4 Faves of Game Music (Film Music)

Audiomaschine or similar  would fit very good

Battle for Wesnoth, similar would also fit very well for VS ;)

my very favourite game music, its hard to make such great atmosphere from music in a game is Return To Castle of Wolfenstein - Theme music. 
 

very similar is also the predator music with arnold schwarzenegger.
 

 

Edited by RobinHood
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On 3/20/2021 at 8:22 PM, SinReaper said:

I don't listen to music with lyrics while playing Vintage Story.  I find that lofi fantasy, irish/gaelic, japanese instrumentals get me "in the zone" when playing.

 

On 3/21/2021 at 12:49 AM, Thalius said:

Same. No lyrics, please.
That said, having a few different  music options with regard to mood, tempo, and/or instrument(s) and such would be fantastic, with the option for the default setting that plays at random as it does now.

 

You guys noticed that the previous two posts including the OP stated that this thread is NOT about music to listen to WHILE playing, right?

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27 minutes ago, Sunbather said:

You guys noticed that the previous two posts including the OP stated that this thread is NOT about music to listen to WHILE playing, right?

Lol.. Got caught up in the other details of the post and the responses to it, and forgot the opening line. :P
Point taken.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Personally I'm a fan of Wardruna's music. The "primitive" style very much suits the game.

On the other hand, when Wunjo comes on and starts off with some creepy sounding children singing it can be a bit unnerving. Especially when you're already nervous because you're underground.

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