Shadow of the Lowlands
| Shadow of the Lowlands | |
|---|---|
Official music video | |
| Original Title | Shadow of the Lowlands |
| Composer(s) | Yasunori Mitsuda |
| Arrangement | Mariam Abounnasr |
| Vocals | Dónal Kearney (soloist) ANÚNA |
| Language | English |
| Lyricist | Tetsuya Takahashi |
| Translator | LYSSA Castro Satoshi |
| Length | 2:54 |
| Used in | Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Karaoke JOYSOUND for Nintendo Switch |
| Other versions | Ever Come to an End Ever Come to an End (karaoke) Shadow of the Lowlands (karaoke) Ever Come to an End (Otherworld) Shadow of the Lowlands (Otherworld) |
Shadow of the Lowlands is Disc 4, Track 10 in the Xenoblade2 Original Soundtrack, Track 11 on the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Sound Selection, and Disc 9, Track 10 on the Xenoblade Chronicles Original Soundtrack Trinity Box. It plays in Theosoir and Theoscaldia Palace during the night.
The piece has official Japanese lyrics in addition to the song's English; see Ever Come to an End for details.
Lyrics[edit]
Shadows of the lowland leading to the cold and darkened days
Without any hope, without a light for long
Will this suffering ever come to an end?
Will this suffering ever come to an end one day…?
Pride keeps us strong today, glory will be with us
Now the time has come to fight and seize the day
Pride keeps us strong today, glory will be with us
Suddenly, a gleam of dawn
Can you feel the power of faith?
Our native land, here we stand as one
Music video[edit]
An official music video, filmed and directed by their founder and composer Michael McGlynn, was released for this track on the Nintendo YouTube channel. It shows the group in a foggy landscape sing the song. No scenes from the game are shown. The video description explains why Mitsuda and Anúna collaborated:
- The first time that I came across the Irish chorus group ANÚNA was from one of their albums released in 1996, called "Deep Dead Blue". Back then I was totally into the music of Northern Europe, including Finland, Ireland, Scotland and the Mediterranean region. Usually world music consists of a land's distinctive instruments, whereas ANÚNA found their way of expression through the human voice, which can be considered the original musical instrument. The album "Deep Dead Blue" really gave me a huge impression, as the chorus wasn’t like a classical one, nor Gregorian, or Bulgarian… I felt that ANÚNA was a new type of chorus that I’d never heard before. My attention was drawn to the lead singer, Michael McGlynn, and I dreamt about making music with ANÚNA one day. After 20 years, my dream came true through the making of the game Xenoblade Chronicles 2. - Yasunori Mitsuda
Album notes[edit]
- Album notes written by Yasunori Mitsuda. No official translation exists.
Original text
こちらはルクスリア王国の街の夜バージョンです。アイリッシュ・ハープが入り、深々と雪が降りしきるさまを表現しています。夜の静寂を表現するには男性の声の方がマッチするかなど個人的には思っているため、こちらは男性ボーカルが主役となっています。グレゴリア聖歌なども男性のみですが、どことなく夜を感じるんですよね。ソリストはDónal Kearneyさんで、最初に彼の声を聴いた時は鳥肌が止まりませんでした。
Unofficial translation by bebr117
This is the night version of the Kingdom of Tantal town theme. The addition of the Irish harp represents the continuously falling snow. I thought male vocals represented the serenity of night better, so this version features a male lead vocalist. Gregorian chants feature exclusively male vocals, and they have a sort of night-time feeling, right? The soloist on this piece is Dónal Kearney; I got incredible goosebumps the first time I heard his voice.
Shadow of the Lowlands (karaoke)[edit]
| Shadow of the Lowlands | |
|---|---|
| Original Title | Shadow of the Lowlands |
| Composer(s) | Yasunori Mitsuda |
| Arrangement | unknown |
| Length | 3:11 |
| Other versions | Ever Come to an End Shadow of the Lowlands Ever Come to an End (karaoke) Ever Come to an End (Otherworld) Shadow of the Lowlands (Otherworld) |
Shadow of the Lowlands is a playable track in Karaoke JOYSOUND for Nintendo Switch. It is a MIDI version of Shadow of the Lowlands with the main vocal line removed. In-game, there is the option to include a voice pitch guide that plays the melody on top of the piece.
Shadow of the Lowland (Otherworld)[edit]
| Shadow of the Lowland Shadow of the Lowlands | |
|---|---|
| Original Title | Shadow of the Lowland Shadow of the Lowlands |
| Composer(s) | Yasunori Mitsuda |
| Arrangement | ANÚNA |
| Vocals | John McGlynn (soloist) ANÚNA |
| Language | English |
| Lyricist | Tetsuya Takahashi |
| Translator | LYSSA Castro Satoshi |
| Length | 3:02 |
| Other versions | Ever Come to an End Shadow of the Lowlands Ever Come to an End (karaoke) Shadow of the Lowlands (karaoke) Ever Come to an End (Otherworld) |
Shadow of the Lowland, also titled Shadow of the Lowlands, is track 6 on the CD version and side B, track 3 on the vinyl version of Otherworld, a collection of performances by ANÚNA. It is a rearrangement of Shadow of the Lowlands from the Xenoblade2 Original Soundtrack.
Credits[edit]
Composition: Yasunori Mitsuda
Arrangement: Mariam Abounnasr
Lyrics: Tetsuya Takahashi
English Lyrics: LYSSA & Castro Satoshi
Vocal: ANÚNA