Eight Melodies

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The Eight Melodies are several melodic fragments found in EarthBound Beginnings and EarthBound. When combined, these fragments create tunes that serve as important plot devices in each game. It is explained by Maria in Ninten's Magicant that this is because the Eight Melodies are a song she would sing to Giygas, whom she raised from infancy. In Mother, by singing the Eight Melodies, Ninten and friends are able to reawaken comforting memories Giygas had suppressed, ultimately weakening him and causing his retreat. In EarthBound, the Eight Melodies transport Ness to his own Magicant, where he confronts his nightmare and awakens great inner strength. 

In Mother, the songs are earned from living things and from objects. In order, they are obtained from a doll, a bird, a monkey, a piano, a cactus, a dragon, EVE, and lastly, George 's gravestone.

In EarthBound, the songs are inherited through Ness's childhood memories and recorded to the Sound Stone, at "Your Sanctuary" locations. To truly understand himself and enter his mind, Ness must record all eight of these melodies to the Sound stone to gain access to "Your World", Magicant.

Despite sharing the same name in-game, the Eight Melodies from Mother and EarthBound are actually different tunes altogether. The Mother Eight Melodies appears in EarthBound as part of the track entitled "A Flash of Memory," though it is heavily truncated and is subjected to delay effects.

A difference between the two Eight Melodies is that the Eight Melodies from Mother, as mentioned above, act as a vulnerability of the main antagonist, while the Eight Melodies from EarthBound serve to transport Ness to Magicant, where he overcomes his nightmare.

The original Mother version of the song plays in the Japanese commercial, promoting the game's slogan, "No crying until the end(ing)" (エンディングまで泣くんじゃない, Endingu made nakun janai). It has been heavily associated with the Mother franchise since then.

In Mother 3, a tune similar to Eight Melodies can be heard. Instead it is called 16 Melodies, which is a combination of Mother's Eight Melodies, Mother 2/EarthBound's Eight Melodies and Mother 3's Love Theme. In the song, Eight Melodies plays from 0:48 to 1:16, Smiles and Tears plays from 1:20 to 1:50, and the Mother 3 Love Theme plays from 1:29 to 4:00.

Lyrics

Mother Lyrics

Take a melody
Simple as can be
Give it some words and
Sweet harmony
Raise your voices
All day long now
Love grows strong now
Sing a melody of
Love, oh love

Love is the power
Love is the glory
Love is the beauty
And the joy of spring

Love is the magic
Love is the story
Love is the melody
We all can sing

EarthBound Lyrics

Note: The original song was in Japanese, the English is only a translation.

I haven't lived as long as adults have

I have nothing but my bike and red hat

A smile, a laugh, and you in my heart

As well as my baseball bat.

---

Romanized Japanese lyrics	Literal English translation	Singable English Translation
otonatachi no hanbun mo ikitewa inai keredo omoide no kazu naraba ryukku ni ippai sa o ki ni iri no besubooru kyappu kakato tsubureta suniikaa poketto no oku ni aru yo surihetta gitaa pikku namida ga chigireru kurai kanashii koto mo atta kedo itsudemo kimi ga boku no soba ni itekureta tomodachi no mama iru to futari zutto omotteta kizukanai mama tabun kimi o ai shiteta	I haven’t lived even half as long as adults have, but I do have plenty of memories in my backpack My favorite baseball cap, my sneakers with worn-out heels Deep in my pocket is my worn-down guitar pick There were some things sad enough to make tears come out, but you were always by my side I thought of the two of us as just friends the whole time I probably loved you without ever realizing it.	Grown ups have seen so much more than me, so many things that I still want to see So I took my back-pack to the world and filled it with memories My favorite baseball cap on my head, My worn out sneakers, a faded white and red My lucky guitar pick shiny and clear, Safe in my pocket, right here. Though sometimes I got sad, and almost cried, You were always with me, by my side. I knew that we're friends to the core, But maybe it was something more [omitted] [omitted]
warai attari asondari kizu tsukinagara aruku chikamichi mawari michi mo mayoinagara oboeta shinjirareru hito dake iru wake nai to shitemo shinjiru haato dake wa suterarenai to shitta ari no mama no kimi dake ga boku o tsuyoku shitekureta itsudemo kimi ga boku o tsuyoku shitekureta yasashii kaze ga fuku yoo ni kusa o nadeteiku yoo ni itsudemo kimi wa egao misete aruiteta	We walked while we laughed, played, and got hurt I realized it as we took shortcuts and went in circles: that even if you can’t believe in everyone you can’t cast aside a heart you do believe in You made me stronger just being who you are Like a gentle wind blowing and swaying the grass you always walked with a smile	Together we walked that road for so long, We laughed, we played, we got hurt, we grew strong, Taking shortcuts, and getting lost, I learned what I’d known all along: [omitted] [omitted] That even if you can’t believe, In the goodness of everyone you meet, Sometimes you know, and you can’t let go, Believing in your friend And just by being there, you see, Just by being who you’d always be, You helped me grow, you helped me to know, The stronger, happier me
soo namida to egao kawarugawaru ni miseatta futari wa... I miss you tooku ni hanarete	Yes, the two who shared smiles and tears one after the other... (I miss you) ...are now far apart...	Like a gentle breeze, through grass and trees, You always carried a smile Yes we, who shared our smiles and our tears (I miss you) ...we two are now...far apart.

Where you can hear the music

• Mother's Eight Melodies [1]
• EarthBound's Eight Melodies [2]]
• Mother's Eight Melodies as they appear in EarthBound [3]
• Mother 3's Sixteen Melodies [4]

Videos

Video:Mother's 8 Melodies

Video:Eight Melodies Deluxe

Video:EarthBound 8 melodies

Video:Eight Melodies EarthBound Music

Trivia

• In Mother, the Eight Melodies stop at "Oh, love". The rest of the song can be found in the title screen and in the ending theme.
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl was supposedly intended to include both Eight Melodies songs as well as the Hippie Theme, and Because I Love You. Nothing exists of the music except some internal track listings referencing it.