The Meaning of Flow - FFXIV Lyrical Lore 

I remember finding a tweet a few weeks back stating that "Flow" is Venat's "thank you" to the "I'm sorry" that is "Answers". I think about that a lot. I'm sorry that you've had to suffer, but thank you for still being here after all this time.

Meaning of Flow's lyrics: "Emotional daaaamage" Absolutely incredible video!

Fun fact : Amanda really struggle doing this song because she kept in tears and really emotional when reaching the end. I really love this song so much, i really losing my friends during these years and really far distant with my mom 😭😭

Flow shows just how powerful the story really was, even in its humble beginnings.

Cherish your mom if she's still here, and if she isn't - cherish even more the memories you have of her.

Personally the interpretation I got was that Hydaelyn was singing to the warrior of light. Her closest friend and the one she put all of her hope in. Finally greeting them once more for the first time in many an age.

It's funny to me how much after so long being called the Mother Crystal how much Venat/Hydaelyn feels like a Mother. Nurturing and Enduring, A Mother to the whole world and one whom we never get a chance to see but was always close by. A lot of self sacrificing love, wise someone who knows the miracle of life and the burden of all its sorrows. I like that about her.

Honestly, it could be interpreted as many things, but I chose to believe it's a song for the Warrior of Light, meant for that day when they inevitably find themselves in the aetherial sea once more. When I hear it, I imagine WoL finally at peace after a long life of hardship, reunited with Hades and Hythlodaeus, along with all those waiting for them. I imagine Venat shepherded WoL's soul many times before, and though she won't get to see their end this time around, I see this song is a "thank you". I like to think it will deliver itself somehow. The aetherial sea works in mysterious ways after all.

It's a lullaby to the dead. A song sung to every soul finally going to their rest. "Your burdens are over. Your trials are over. It is time for you to rest. I will wash it all away. I will guide you to your sleep, and when you awake, you will be reborn anew. Wish well those who awaken again."

Dammit, I wasn't expecting to cry as soon as I wake up and seeing this video, but I am so happy to.... Thank you, Hydaelyn....thank you so much, for all you've done

This pretty much lines up with how I interpreted it...but when you said "the soul of a little blue bird", the tears started welling up.

honestly the song flow and the events surrounding it just hit so much harder because the game is an mmo. an mmo's story is constantly continuing. even in heavensward, stormblood, and shadowbringers Venat/Hydaelyn may not have played much of a role or been seen often if at all but, the player ALWAYS knew she was there, watching over the WoL and protecting them and eitherys until the time is right. now the player while they may not consciously think about it, knows that from now on, venat is gone. she will never come back, that void will not be filled and all that remains of her are memories to be cherished. that thought will be in the back of everyone's minds and it really hits home because it can really feel like you've lost a loved one.

I love that the tempo of the song is that of a lullaby, calming, comforting really brings home that feeling of sinking into a rest (into the etherial sea).

damn i couldn't help but cry watching this video "we will meet again, if not in this life, then perhaps the next"

This is it. This is the song that sealed the deal for me, that Final Fantasy 14 would forever remain a part of me - even when I unsub, even when the game inevitably ends. I still can't stop myself from tearing up when I hear this, barely holding back tears.

Just got back from Fan Festival. Hearing Amanda perform this in person was soul shattering.

This song always chokes me up. It's wonderful to find such meaning in a song. To hear your woes and worries answered. To think someone was there to catch them at the end.

This was really nice. The last line definitely made me tear up a bit. I think it fit's a lot for the stong to be directed to her.

Bad enough this video had me bawlin my eyes out- ya reaaaally had to add salt into the wound with that last bit, didnt ya???😭😭😭 Emotionsl damage aside- this was a really great analysis! Thanks for the content!

I watched your video multiple times and listened to Flow, so many times while I was deciding if I should come out to my boss or not. I did. But wallowed over if there's a way that life can be better in a small way during the 40 hours that I'm at the office. Though what the song was about something else, it's still such a strong message about hope that I needed to tell myself. Flow has a special place in my heart now. Flow and all of Endwalker is an important reminder to me, that I struggled but I'm still here. That taking a step forward can be difficult, but there's always hope for better things to come as long as I can keep moving.

I finished 6.0 last December and this video (the scenes and music) still brings tears to my eyes and brings back all the emotions. This is the power of epic storytelling.

The more I listen to this song, the more potential recipients I find you can apply it to. Primarily it is a love song to the Warrior of Light, or as Ishikawa described it in the Famitsu interview from February earlier this year: where Endwalker is more of a 'shove', Flow is the 'gentle push forward', or as I like to think of it, the steadying hand at your back. It represents the reassurance that life and the many people you meet throughout your own are indeed meaningful, that your suffering was not in vain, and that death is not something to fear but rather a natural part of the flow of life and is both an end and a beginning. And as Windir Elf said below about how we teach Meteion a brighter melody, in the same interview Ishikawa mentions that Flow becomes the song of hope that Meteion sang at the end. So it does indeed feel as though parts of this song are aimed specifically at Meteion. Consider also Venat's personality and her words in Elpis: she wants to help everyone and has been reluctant to return to the star upon her retirement from the position of Azem. And the reason: she feels as though she is yet needed, as if she isn't done with her purpose. As Hydaelyn, she considers all of sundered mankind her children, and the feel of this song is very much a soothing one, akin to a mother's warm embrace. And given that the song alludes to rebirth and the future, its words can also apply to Hades and Hythlodaeus. Though given the official Flow PV and the new piece of art that was shown at its very end, I would say the most accurate interpretation is indeed that Flow is a song for all of mankind: past, present and future.

I play FFXIV and share a lot of it with my mum when she visits, through which she's sort of absorbed a lot of the story, characters and music through osmosis, so she always likes catching up on cutscenes, seeing music videos and listening to analysis and such--in her personal time she also ended up watching a 14 hour Endwalker finale stream I did, and loved it. We watched this together and both cried. The scene with Venat subtly glancing back at us and smiling gets me every time, though naturally, the lineup of deceased allies didn't help. Excellent job, EA team, and fantastic narration as always, Elioaux.

It was such an awful idea to watch this while having my dinner, I couldn't even swallow the food. This song is so emotional and the editing on the video only made it hit harder, awesome video!

As a grown ass man the first few lines of flow have me balling every time. I’ve been playing since 2.0 and venats arc just was a damn masterpiece of storytelling. Sokens music rivals nobuo as well

That was beautifully made man. Made me tear up and cry a few times. You framed an amazingly emotional element of this narrative PERFECTLY. 👏 bravo! Liked and subbed.

I'm not crying, it's just raining on my face.

Love this video! Great work. Can't wait to see the next video. Every time I hear Flow, my eyes start to tear up.

HYDAELYN, you will never be forgotten!. THANK YOU FOR BEING BY OUR SIDE!. THANK YOU!. THANK YOU!.

Since I’ve completed endwalker myself recently, I can only now throw in my own interpretation about flow. It’s simply a lullaby from grandmother to grandchild, who grow up and sing it once more to grandchild anew, from the newly born babe to the fleet mother herself, hydalen. It is a reassurance that only those who have lived long can impart onto those whom lives are boundless as the horizon.

This had me in tears (again). Such a beautiful story and such a beautiful video. Thank you!

In 10 years, once the community has experienced many a new adventures, I’m gonna come back to this video and relive the emotions I felt watching it just now.

An absolutely beautiful lyrical analysis of an incredible song, and a touching endcap to our adventures thus far. Bravo!

Also love the fact that you can see it as us singing it back to meteion to teach her a brighter melody as hydealyn asked us to 🥲

My interpretation has always been this has been a song to Azem. Not us, but *US*. We know how close the two were and that even as plans for the summoning Zodiark and Hydaelyn began, we said no. Marked a traitor by one side, a neutral party by the other. And one woman, left with a very hard goodbye. If she was to succeed, she would sunder her closest ally, losing them forever. That is, other than the Warrior of Light. She battles us in Elpis and only then truly understands our strength. How many spars she must have had with Azem to feel their travels. Words cannot properly convey the loss and love those journeys hold, after all. How many years alone she spent as the Mothercrystal. How much she would miss hearing tales from her protege. When we finally arrive, we are able to share with her our story one final time. The story of the Warrior of Light. The story of Azem. Out strength. Our sorrow. Our determination. Our struggle. One last battle. One last goodbye. As she passes Etheirys from her protection, to us. The ancients all chose to pass on willingly when their lives work was complete. Venat did not when passing on Azem to our past self. She only willingly passes on after proving ourselves. The title of Azem has only now finally passed on, along with the fate of the world.

Man, I was trying my best not to break as this song played, but that last part in your analysis really got a lump in my throat. 😭

I've never cried as much over a video game story as I cried over this game. s2

dang it. hearing these lyrics makes me cry all over again. not to mention showing all the other characters I held dear when playing...this song means so much. It was such a great finale song to this part of the story.

okay you had me in tears with this video. it's so deep... yet at the same time... so simple

this might be the third time I watch this video again and the third time I cry while doing so, you really have a way with words, your presentation is something I enjoy and appreciate so much. Thank you so much for this absolute masterpiece T-T

It is impossible to listen to this song and not at least tear up.

I know who she was singing to in my eyes A steadfast companion, one of my best friends IRL, who passed away shortly after Endwalker released and never made it to the end of the expansion The partner I played the entire storyline with, but was unable to see it through to the end with I thanked Amanda for singing this song as it gave me some peace in my mourning, and she told me she sang it for him and for all those like him... It's a beautiful song and it helped me on at least some level

I guess it's good I watched this first thing in the morning so I could get my ugly-crying out of the way early in the day. Wow, such a fantastic video, it clarified some of those high note lyrics for me that were a bit difficult to make out in the song, and connected a lot of dots. Thank you for making and sharing!

This is my favourite song and never fails to make me cry. Like so many others, I will always see this as Hydaelyn speaking to the WOL mostly. (The beginning of each verse I'm referring to will be put in quotations. And a note, when I say something has multiple meanings I don't mean one or the other, I mean both at the same time.) "Well come and well met, my brave little spark" She is greeting us as our first true meeting where we can both speak freely, and saying how long she's awaited this day and watched us come this far, never losing hope. "Now sing with me once more, share of your life" She asks us to sing with her again, and even though we told Venat that day in Elpis, she wishes to hear our tale from our own lips once more. She knows our tale is overflowing with emotions, hope, love, and hardships, and despite all that, we are here, our light has been carried all the way out to the aetherial sea where we find her. "Remember the rain, near and far beloved" She takes about the rain as a metaphor for the reflected people of the source and shards. Talking about how they were individuals but become one through unity and understanding. Bringing up how they've changed through their relationship and experiences, and never give up, "setting sun" being the end of things good and bad, and "storms wake" the calm after the storm, having braved the danger and pushed through. "til welcomed home to gentle sea" is both a reference to after the conflict ending everyone can return to their homes and live through peace having made it through the hardships, but also references the aetherial sea after the end of a life to those who may not have made it through the storm, being welcomed by Hydaelyn who has loved all of her children. "Sinking deeper and deeper in calm embrace" This is the part referring to souls in the aetherial sea. Sinking into Hydaelyn's loving embrace as they begin to move on, and if they come in contact with a soul leaving the sea either by reincarnation, or being brought back (Or like the WOL who was just visiting) to wish them well as they forge ahead and carry on the hope. "Deep, dark, far away I have heard your voice, weighed your every choice" This line, and the next line "Now our hands join round the meaning you sought" have duel meanings/perspectives. Hydaelyn tells us she has heard us and seen our journey and considers how things have become. She and the WOL, us, strive to protect this world, holding it to our hearts, it's the answer to the question asked over and over again of what the point of living is, and whether or not the journey was worth it. The second meaning/perspective is Meteion, for almost the same reasons, in the abyss of Ultima Thule we let her listen to us, she hears our voice and weighs it against her quest. Our hands join as she seeks the meaning of the question. (I'll catch your tears, quench your fears with joy til you near the shore. Where in time, all shall as hope be reborn.) This is Hydaelyn to us, and words to Meteion. The fear we and Meteion feel is combated with love and friends, the positives of our journey and all we fought for to save. That moment keeps us going, keeps us hopeful, and it's that hope that caused Meteion to sing a new song. The shore being the return to the world, further from the sea. This all can on top of that, also be Hydaelyn to her children who are passing on in life, she will make their final moments not so terrifying until they are reborn, holding them close to her in the aetheral sea. (Hush, love, close your eyes, and in sleep abide) Hydaelyn speaks to all of her children, including us, urging us to relax, sleep, be at ease, for the distance bright future will reflect in our dreams, renewing hope and giving us strength to continue. We may not know what we're doing, or have all the answers but when we wake the winds will carry us forward and we will walk on as we always have. For tomorrow is the beginning of another chapter, another story, in today's end.

i absolutely love venat/hydaelyn what an amazing character. so many amazing characters. ishikawa is a goddess of writing

Fffffuuu... How is this music STILL making me cry!

8:56, That role call. It got me teary eyed, I admit it.

damn you really had to hit us in the feels with that ending...

I'm not crying, you are! I never knew the meaning and man this hit hard. And the way you included Meteon in the end, 🥺😭

It's been a journey from Answers Lyrical Lore to her, good job Elio!

Listening to your vids while cooking is one of my greatest pleasures in life Love the content man keep it up

9:00 to 9:25 😭😭😭😭😭 I DIDN'T NEED TO CRY MY HEART OUT

I like to think Meteion is waiting for Hermes to be reborn after the end of the story.

This song breaks me whenever i listen to it. Just beautiful!

I don't think I'm prepared enough for that kinda story. Just listening to this break down of the song was enough to almost make me cry. Even though I have yet to even get anywhere in the MSQ, I really do appreciate this insight. It lets me know what Im on for and the ling journey ahead of me! 😁👍 Thx!

I have to cry each time i hear this song... i can't help it, this was a great video but hard to see thanks to the tears. I just couldn't hold back... ♥

Shes not hydaelyn, the godess that is duty is to protect the source and its 13 reflections. She is venat. She who loved that lands that would stretch on forever, the skies that one could drown in, the heartbeat of nature that is silent yet strong. And out of all of those, her first love, the people. Theyre beacons of light and laughter that warmed her heart like naught else before. And because of that she believed in mankind and their ability to find a way forward. And so she chose to sunder what's left of her people. Cutting of our wings that would bear us to paradise henceforth we shall walk one foot in front of the other.

Dam , not that long ago the the Official music video theyd released for flow was a punch in the feels and now you do this to me ................here take my like while I go blow my nose

As always, simply amazing analysis

The phrase "hurts so good" comes to mind.

Tears.... so many tears. 😭 This song hits me deep in my heart every time. No matter how many times I hear it, tears just keep coming. In a way I hope I will always cry when I hear it. 🥺 Thank you for this beautiful video. ❤️

This made me tear up.

The way I interpreted it "Well come and well met, my brave little spark How long you've wandered, burned bright as a star Oh, I have awaited you patiently all this time Past every fate" Hydaelyn (The Mother Goddess) is greeting the WoL/Player, complementing them on a long journey that has finally brought them to realization of her existence and contact with her. She's been waiting for a very long time because the WoL/Player has been stumbling around, and many lives (fates) have gone past. "Now sing with me once more, share of your life Far greater than memory, its loss and love words cannot hold Boundless the tale overflows And carries your light out to sea" Hydaelyn/The Mother Goddess invites the WoL/Player to share in communion with her, which is a kind of song. This is one motif that is regularly repeated through FF14, with songs being a very important method of communication. The Dragons do it, Hydaelyn does it, songs are magic. The song that Hydaelyn sings conveys a meaning and emotional weight that cannot be compared to a simple historical retelling of her memory. The loss and love can't be conveyed in just words, so instead they must be conveyed in the emotional richness of song. Song being emotion put into physical form. The tale she tells has no limits or end, and embracing this fact of life allows the WoL/Player to have their light (individual consciousness) carried out to the sea, which is the ocean of consciousness that encompasses everything. For the WoL it's the Aetherial Sea, which is really everything since everything is made of Aether. For the player it's the links between all things, or Akasha. "Remember the rain, near and far beloved Each drop a blessing from heavens abovе And how as time flowed on those watеrs became one Streams, rivers and lakes" The rain is representative of individual experiences, every raindrop a passing moment or individual life. Each one of these experiences is a gift. As time passes on, all of these experiences become one, streams, rivers and lakes. This is the pooling together of experience and consciousness, further reinforcing that everything is "flowing" together into one Whole. "Reaching for the horizon and far beyond They carry onward however changed with each brief reflection, by setting sun By storm's wake Til welcomed home to gentle sea" Every person reaches for what is on the horizon and beyond, because people with strong spirits have a great love of discovery and adventure. Each brief reflection is an individual life, each setting sun the end of a life. The WoL and Player have been constantly reincarnated to experience. The storms wake is the calm after the end of a tumultuous journey, and a gentle sea the wholeness of existence and an escape from a cycle of death into a cycle of life. "Sinking deeper and deeper in calm embrace Loving tide sweep in and bear you down Should you meet a soul rising surface-ways With your unbeating heart, wish them well" The WoL and Player sink down into the deeper foundations of their consciousness. For the WoL, it's the loving embrace of Hydaelyn at the core of Etheirys. For the player, it's their subconscious, represented in real life literature by the Feminine aspect of reality. Jung called it the Anima, and the Alchemists of old called it the Mother/Moon/Quicksilver. The loving tide of subconscious though pulls the WoL/Player deeper into introspection. If they are to meet a soul rising back to conscious life and logical perspective (as they will too eventually to merge their subconscious and conscious), they will wish them well with an "unbeating heart", representing the subconscious reaction to all things which is stripped of the Egoic passions and boiling emotions that usually dominate the heart. "Deep, dark, far away I have heard your voice, weighed your every choice Now our hands join round the meaning you sought I'll catch your tears, quench your fears with joy til you near the shore Where in time, all shall as hope be reborn, ah" Hydaelyn and the Mother Goddess have been watching the WoL and the Player for a very long time, seeing everything they do. Now, they may join together in communion. The WoL and the Player (that cares enough to analyze these lyrics) have both been seeking meaning in life. Hydaelyn and the Mother Goddess can help that meaning be realized. These goddesses will soothe and comfort us, until we grow closer to the "far shore" of death. From there, eventually despair will die itself and be reborn as hope. The negative trappings of our lives undergoing a reincarnation into positive aspects. "Hush, love, close your eyes, and in sleep abide As sun's distant light, echoes down to dreams, below Know you will wake, on winds rise again For this journey's end is but one step forward to tomorrow" For now, we explore the subconscious side of ourselves, so we might heal and recover. If we can heal our subconsciousness and react in positive ways to things, we will have much of our waking burden lifted. The sun's distant light echoes, because the sun represents our logical thoughts, the masculine aspect of reality. To the Alchemists of old it was the Father/Sun/Gold. We will wake, and rise again on the winds of our breath. The breath is the spirit. The Greeks called it "Pneuma", a word that is used in the game itself in the Sage class. This is also what the "Eternal Wind" is, which grants us spiritual immortality so "we might never end". The end of our physical journey in this life is just one step forward to an infinite journey beyond it.

Flow Together, the one played in her instance. Is my favorite of all time. It's an acceptance she has for me that I never gave myself.

That poor little burb saw so much suffering. 😭

I love how this song really exemplifies the motherly figure that Venat/Hydaelyn was to the world and, in a way, to Azem/WoL. It felt like a thank you and a farewell to a dear old friend as well as a requim, an aria for the souls of the dead that pass through into the aetherial sea and in the end for Hydaelyn herself. The layers to this song can not be understated.

Ugh this song keeps making me bawl like a baby.

Goddamnit i was not looking for this lvl of feels lol

They gave her such a perfect model and voice. I mean except of the weird long necks of the ancients which always weirdet me out (seriously Elezen and Ancients have the weirdest long necks ever). The blue eyes, the long hair. She is our mom, our companion and our star.

ahhhh just listening to it makes me emotional but concentrating on the lyrics makes me cry

This song is about the life itself; how your efforts will be paid of at the end and you will be born anew in a different time. Let me wipe my tears, brb.

Nicely done :) ty!

I have learned a lot from this video It made me love this song even more

I wish i could like this video a thousand times. Really one of the best videos on FF lyrics ever

how dare you make me cry I'm not over the feels yet XD

I wasn't expecting to cry today

fuck....i can still not listen to this song without crying even a year later

you do NOT need to make me cry this much

I get dirt in my eye every time I hear this song.

What’s your Gshade preset? The shading on every character looks amazing 👀

The FFXIV creationd myth and its lifecycle is actually very beautiful. The idea that we are always connected and united is beautiful. There is no reason for greed, hurt, harm and hatred if we are all one.

I cry every time

Always saw Flow as a mother's (Venat) song to her child (Us) or can be even vice versa, from child to mother

This song already made me emotional enough, but this video has just catapulted me like new heights of ugly crying T^T

God i wasnt prepared to cry

perhaps it's rather obvious, but by taking up the arms of the paladin, the job most representative and close to light, the warrior of light walks throughout the realm and all worlds, to greet and welcome new lives and ones ending as hydaelyn once did during her life, to continue her work and share her gift with all who live in the age where the sins of the past no longer creep into the lives of those who live now

The 5:15-5:40 part and its associated meaning are my favorite part

I've always felt the two versions of Flow give off different meaning despite the same lyrics. For me Flow Together is you remembering your entire journey and Venat asking you not to be sad because despite the fact that this part of your adventure is over, it just means that you can begin a Newfound Adventure tomorrow. While Flow, I always felt it was Venat putting you to rest, telling you that your journey is now truly over, and you can pass on knowing that tomorrow will be fine and the winds will rise again. It's amazing how much the tempo and instruments can, for me at least change the entire meaning of a song.

(tears streaming down face) ah yes, fascinating

6:04 might this line be directed at Meteion too?

Great now I'm crying again 😭

Listening to this during lunch at work and trying very hard not to cry (I failed 😅) ❤️

Listening to glow always result in tears, no exceptions.

thank u i am ugly crying

This was so beautiful, my eyes are sweaty T_T

god dammit, this game reminded me haurchefant died SEVEN TIMES throughout the endwalker expac and then your video reminded me AGAIN

I know it’s not the most accurate interpretation, but I always liked to think of flow as the song sung from Venat to Azem. Then she sings it to us again as Hydalin to her champion. Now we sing it unto Metion.

This song just wrecks me everytime

What makes this even more sad for me is I think my journey is over. I have tried the last 3 years to get back into it but only manage to play the story and get bored after 2 months every time. Many great memories though and will always cherish them