The “true” meaning of Eyes on Me. (Theory/analysis)
It is said in storyline (on the Information menu) that the song Eyes on Me was written by Julia about someone she had fallen in love with (probably Laguna – not sure though). However in real life the song would have actually have been written by Square themselves (or perhaps someone hired by them – either way it would have to be someone who knows something about the games storyline).
Although the first part of the song fits the Julia background I think some of it is supposed to represent Squall and Rinoa, look at the lyrics and it should become obvious.
Quote:
"Whenever sang my songs
On the stage, on my own
Whenever said my words
Wishing they would be heard
I saw you smiling at me
Was it real or just my fantasy
You'd always be there in the corner
Of this tiny little bar
My last night here for you
Same old songs, just once more
My last night here with you?
Maybe yes, maybe no
I kind of liked it your way
How you shyly placed your eyes on me
And, did you ever know?
That I had mine on you
Everything on these lyrics is indeed written from Julia’s perspective; she is a singer at a bar (although we never see her singing) and for a while at least Laguna was always there (that’s why I think that this part of the song was aimed at him, but then maybe Caraway attended the bar a lot as well?). Anyway she is simply letting this person know she feels the same way, but this is where the song stops being from Julia’s perspective (except for one possible line)
Quote:
Darling, so there you are
With that look on your face
As if you're never hurt
As if you're never down
Shall I be the one for you
Who pinches you softly but sure
If frown is shown then
I will know that you are no dreamer
These lyrics don’t really come from anyone’s perspective – they are just part of the song, and perhaps a way of separating Julia’s perspective from the storyline’s perspective. This is the songs “chorus” so to speak, but once it is done, it becomes Squall and Rinoa’s song.
Quote:
So let me come to you
Close as I want to be
This could still be from Julia’s perspective – she wants to get closer to this man who is watching her sing. However when combined with the rest of the song, it is more likely it is from Rinoa's perspective; she wants to get closer to Squall, but he is distant.
Quote:
Close enough for me
To fill your heart fading fast
These lines fit Squall and Rinoa far more than Julia and anyone. Over years of being alone Squall has become very cold and towards people, however Rinoa’s appearance in his life has saved him from becoming heartless, he just needs to open up and let her get close to him.
Quote:
And stay there as I whisper
How I loved your peaceful eyes on me
did you ever know
That I had mine on you
Again, I don’t think this represents anyone in particular – it is simply part of the song, it is making its way to another chorus, but this time even that is different.
Quote:
Darling, so share with me
Your love if you have enough
Rinoa wants to know if Squall loves her, and if he’s still capable of loving anyone (which for the record, he is – he just needed to be shown.
Quote:
Your tears if you’re holding back
a pain if that's what it is
This is certainly aimed at Squall. At no point where we lead to believe that Laguna held back any tears or pain in front of Julia, and we don’t really get enough development on Caraway to know if this is for him. Squall however, it fits perfectly – he has been left alone for so long, and lost anyone whoever he let get close to him, so much so he has given up trying to keep hold of people. I’m sure this caused him a lot of emotional pain, he has been holding back his tears for a long time.
Quote:
How can I let you know
I'm more than the dress and the voice
Just reach me out then
You will know that you're not dreaming
This could actually be from Julia’s perspective, “more than the dress and the voice” seams to mean that she is more than just a pub singer, she wants to love this person. I think the “real” song writers reverted it back to Julia’s perspective to end the song, and possibly make it a full circle.
The rest of the song is the chorus repeated, which I have already analyzed.
Anyway these are my views on this beautiful song. Hope you enjoyed reading
I have a trippier explanation
So, we have a song supposedly about a romance between Julia and Laguna. Only, these were characters never met by the mains until late late in the game. Meanwhile, we have theories like this floating around the internet.
http://squallsdead.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arlVEBG3Ovg
And yeah, there are probably naysayers to this theory. But bear with me.
We have a very, very strange ending sequence where Squall views Rinoa over and over again. We see a number superimposed images very fast, notably Rinoa in the ballroom with no recognizable face. The Dollet machine. Selphie. And so on. The theory above mentions things get strange starting at disc 2, but this is not accurate. Things are actually subtly weird at disc ONE, and get progressively weirder at disc 2 (flying balamb garden, past life dreams), disc 3 (the weird city of Esther, travelling to the moon, the witches), and disc 4 (time compression). My theory? Squall is dead by the time you start PLAYING. :D
Consider Seifer. He has all of the hallmarks of a psychopath. We have a tiny scene cut just before the sword of his hits Squall. Is it more likely he just left a tiny cut near his eye? Or that he brained Squall?
Now, before we consider this too hard, let's think about that ending. Alot of the people we are introduced to, we learn about AFTER this injury and the "hospital scene." That is, Rinoa's face, why can't he see it? Because he dreamed it.
So before we get too depressed thinking Squall is dead, let's pause. This is Squall's PERCEPTION. He, like Schrodinger, doesn't actually know whether he is alive or not. But it's dawning on him during Time Compression that "maybe not?" Is he right? Well... here's where the song comes in.
Quote:
Whenever I sang my songs
On the stage, on my own
Whenever I said my words
Wishing they would be heard
I saw you smiling at me
Was it real or just my fantasy?
You'd always be there in the corner
Of this tiny little bar
My last night here for you
Same old songs, just once more
My last night here with you?
Maybe yes, maybe no
I kind of liked it your way
How you shyly placed your eyes on me
Did you ever know
That I have mine on you?
Darling, so there you are
With that look on your face
As if you're never hurt
As if you're never down
Shall I be the one for you
Who pinches you softly but sure
If frown is shown then
I will know that you are no dreamer
So let me come to you
Close as I wanna be
Close enough for me
To feel your heart beating fast
And stay there as I whisper
How I loved your peaceful eyes on me?
Did you ever know
That I have mine on you?
Darling, so share with me
Your love if you have enough
Your tears if you're holding back
Or pain if that's what it is
How can I let you know
I'm more than a dress and a voice?
Just reach me out then
You would know that you're not dreaming
Darling, so there you are
With that look on your face
As if you're never hurt
As if you're never down
Shall I be the one for you
Who pinches you softly but sure
If frown is shown then
I will know that you are no dreamer
We hear that this is written by Julia. But one of Ultimecia's bosses says otherwise. Griever. There is another theory that Rinoa became Ultimecia. We can touch on that, but instead, we're going to talk about Sorceress powers. Essentially, we have these magic users that unlike those with GFs, can basically manipulate time/space/events. So here we are seeing Ultimecia mirroring something from Squall's memory to mess with his head. Squall during his steadily worsening idea of reality has met Rinoa, who is also able to do stuff like this. So why not send him a message through a supposedly past song heard on the radio?
As in, maybe she made this song play? At the dance? At the party? On the space ship? To remind him, because he was forgetting her in Time Compression.
Let's examine the lyrics that are bolded here. And now, let's examine why, when Rinoa comes along in the ending, they suddenly cut to that song (besides that it was the only lyriced song besides Liberi Fatali).
Assuming the above theory, Squall believes he is dead. He believes he had never met Rinoa, because he can't remember her face. He believes even if he had met her, there is no way she could be interested in someone like him (notice how in Disc 1, they are sorta lukewarm toward each other). Now let's review.
Quote:
I saw you smiling at me
Was it real or just my fantasy?
This is more Squall than Julia, Rinoa, or anyone else. He cannot be sure she is interested in him. On a larger level, come disc 4, he is not sure that he in fact met her (Time Compression messing with his memories).
Quote:
My last night here with you?
The first iteration was "my last night here for you" noting Julia's last night singing at the bar. But the word "with" can denote issues of mortality. As in, am I dying? Will I not see you anymore?
Quote:
That I have mine on you?
Squall assumes Rinoa is not interested. But given that she is a powerful Sorceress, what if the reason that he is alive is because she is into him. Ellone's power was to project herself back. What if Sorceress Rinoa projected herself using Ellone to find a hero? Remember them first meeting? She asked for a favor not long afterward. Who did Ellone know as a kid? Squall. But if something happened, Rinoa changed things.
Quote:
Who pinches you softly but sure
If frown is shown then
I will know that you are no dreamer
This is an odd verse. But it's something Rinoa would say. When someone is dreaming, normally they ask someone to pinch them, and the pain proves things are real (in theory). But she's pinching someone just to gauge from their reaction whether it's a dream or not. :p
Quote:
How can I let you know
I'm more than a dress and a voice?
In this sequence, Squall is mostly a hero in his own tale. Until things start to fall apart. But one mustn't forget that Rinoa is a reality-warping Sorceress who is inside his dreams.
Quote:
you are no dreamer
Last words of the song for a reason. Squall assumes himself dead. But unlike the above theories, I'm not convinced either that this theory is wholly wrong or that Squall is dead. I think this flashback represents Squall's fear but not what is. He isn't dreaming, even though he thinks "this has to be a dream."
Yay! I just made FF8 weirder! :D
