"Song of the Ancients/Devola" A Musical Analysis.
Introduction
Nier Replicant has my favorite video game soundtrack and is one
of the major reasons I love orchestral music as much as I do. With how amazing the
soundtrack is, it’s hard for me to pick a favorite song, but Song of the Ancients/Devola
is easily my favorite to discuss and what I find myself listening to the
most. The song was created in Japan by the writer and singer Emi Evan and composed
by Keiichi Oba. The song was originally released within the first Nier game on April
22nd, 2010.
Lyrics
The lyrics in Song of the Ancients/Devola are, in my
opinion, the most interesting part of the song; they hold incredible significance
within the main story of the game. The lyrics of the song sound like an unfamiliar
but existing language, but they are actually sung in a language created for the
game known as “Chaos Language”. When creating it the main idea was what language would
sound like after almost all of humanity dies, and then hundreds of years of surviving
languages slowly combining. The result of that question is what can be heard in
the song and throughout the rest of the soundtrack. All the effort that went into creating
wholly unique lyrics to all of the songs is one of the major reasons I love the
soundtrack so much. Focusing on the lyrics of this song specifically, it sounds
like it’s gently telling the story due to the delivery of the lyrics as well as
how they change in different verses. Nier’s own characters back up this
interpretation with the singer telling the main character, who can’t understand
the song, that the words speak of a prophecy, with this prophecy being what
sets the main character on their quest. But I will end the lyrics section here before
this ends up as an essay on the game, which I could easily write.
Form
Due to the fact that the song is not in any existing language,
its verses can be harder to pick out, but by listening carefully as well as
using out of game sources, the form can be analyzed. The song is split into three
distinct verses, which, while somewhat uncommon for a song, further reinforces its
uniqueness, which makes me enjoy it so much. Three being the number of verses
also makes it further feel like a tale being told that remains just out of
understanding. The lyrics that the chorus uses change every time until the song
goes back to its first verse, which starts with “Kuwata”.
Timbre
The song utilizes a somewhat simple timbre to give it a warm,
relaxing feeling. For timbre, the song uses a very soft acoustic guitar accompanied
by a light hand drum. Within the song, the timbre has no significant changes,
with all of the instruments remaining the same, and with no different singers
put in who could have different vocal timbres. All of the choices with timbre
serve to further increase the very folk, almost mystical feel of the song that
makes it so calming to me.
Tempo
The song creates its peaceful atmosphere through a
combination of all its elements, and its tempo is no different. Within Song of
the Ancients/Devola The tempo is somewhat slow to contribute to the calmness of the
song, but it keeps just enough speed as to not feel like it drags along. The relaxing
feeling of the tempo reflects the kind personality of its singer. Another one
of the song’s excellent components is the way it is able to convey the personality
of its character through elements like tempo.
Melody
Within the song, a Homophonic Melody is used. The guitar is at
the forefront of the melody with the drums melting sweetly into the background.
The melody is made to perfectly support the singer’s beautiful voice, but never
overshadow it. The final puzzle piece in creating the song’s atmosphere and
calming effect is the melody, and it achieves its goal amazingly.
Bibliography
Contributors. “Song of the Ancients.” NIER Wiki,
Fandom, Inc., 2025, nier.fandom.com/wiki/Song_of_the_Ancients
“岡部啓一 (Keiichi Okabe) – Song of the Ancients / Devola.”
Genius, 2025, genius.com/Keiichi-okabe-song-of-the-ancients-devola-lyrics.
Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
Hertzog, Clara. “NieR Replicant Singer Emi Evans Talks
Music, Chaos Language, and More.” PlayStation.Blog, 18 Dec. 2020,
blog.playstation.com/2020/12/18/nier-replicant-singer-emi-evans-talks-music-chaos-language-and-more/
Muncy, Julie. “Tragedy of the Ancients.” Bulletpointsmonthly.com,
2026, bulletpointsmonthly.com/2021/05/18/tragedy-ancients-nier-replicant.
Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
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I really liked your analysis of the song. You explained the Chaos Language part in a way that actually makes it feel even cooler, especially how it adds to the mystery of the song. I also thought you did a great job describing the timbre and how the acoustic guitar and soft drums give it that calm vibe. It’s interesting how even without real lyrics, the form and melody still make it feel like a story is being told. Your post definitely made me appreciate the song on a deeper level. Nice work!
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteI really like how into depth you went in explaining each portion of the topics. I also like the song you chose, its vastly different than the one I chose. I mainly go with darker music because it's what I connect to the most but listening to the song you chose I can definitely hear the different melodies going on in it.
ReplyDeleteThanks! And same about mainly listening to dark music, normally I'd listen to Metal or Emo, but when i played Nier, the soundtrack just hit perfectly for me. The soundtrack definitely helped it become my favorite game.
Delete