A Place to Call Home (theme)

Template:Listen "The Place I'll Return to Someday" (known as A Place to Call Home in English) is the opening theme of Final Fantasy IX.

"The Place I'll Return to Someday" is a short, melodic piece based on the D Dorian mode and is contrapuntal in nature. However, some of these elements are more or less apparent, or even non-existent, in the many reiterations heard throughout Final Fantasy IX. Despite its shortness, it has been included in many official arrangements and compilations and played several times during live performances. The albums that feature such arrangements include: Final Fantasy Song Book "Mahoroba", 20020220 music from Final Fantasy, VOICES: Music from Final Fantasy, and the Piano Collections of Final Fantasy IX.

Title

The place referred to in the title is a matter of speculation. Terra, being the birthplace of the Genomes is likely to be "the place Zidane would return to someday". This hypothesis is supported by the fact that "Oeilvert", "Ipsen's Heritage" (Ipsen's Castle's theme) and "The Four Medallions" (also played in Ipsen's Castle) are rearranged versions of "The Place I'll Return to Someday", and both places are connected to Terra. This is almost confirmed as "Terra," which is the theme played when the player first enters Terra, is also a mixed version of "The Place I'll Return to Someday." It may also refer to Garnet returning to her birthplace Madain Sari, or both, Memoria might as well be such a place.

Lyrics

The arrangement of the song featured in Distant Worlds II features the following lyrics, taken from Melodies of Life, the main theme of Final Fantasy IX:

Alone for a while, I’ve been searching through the dark
For traces of the love you left inside my lonely heart
To weave by picking up the pieces that remain
Melodies of life, love’s lost refrain.

Our paths, they did cross, though I cannot say just why
We met, we laughed, we held on fast and then we said goodbye
And who’ll hear the echoes of the stories never told?
Let them ring out loud ‘til they unfold

In my dearest memories, I see you reaching out to me
Though you’re gone, I still believe that you can call out my name
A voice from the past, joining yours and mine
Adding up the layers of harmony

And so it goes on and on
Melodies of life to the sky beyond the flying birds
Forever and beyond

So far and away see the bird as it flies by
Gliding through the shadows of the clouds up in the sky
I’ve laid my memories and dreams upon those wings,
Leave them now and see what tomorrow brings

In your dearest memories, do you remember loving me?
Was it fate that brought us close and now leaves me behind?
A voice from the past, joining yours and mine
Adding up the layers of harmony

And so it goes on and on
Melodies of life to the sky beyond the flying birds
Forever and on

If I should leave this lonely world behind
Your voice will still remember our melody

Now I know we’ll carry on
Melodies of life come circle round and grow deep in our hearts
As long as we remember

Sheet Music

External Links

• A notable fan vocal arrangement of "The Place I'll Return to Someday"

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