Bloody Tears

Bloody Tears is a music theme originally composed by Kenichi Matsubara for Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. It is the background theme used in all external areas (not towns) during daytime.
The track has since been arranged multiple times throughout the course of the Castlevania series and has become one of its most popular tracks to date.
==Appearances==
==Other usages==
*Castlevania (N64) - Can be heard in Mysterious Coffin. Arranged by Masahiko Kimura.
*Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness - Arranged by Masahiko Kimura.
*Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow - Arranged by Michiru Yamane (there is a trace of the melody in "Epilogue", the Ending 2 theme).
*Castlevania: Lament of Innocence - An excerpt of Bloody Tears can be heard in Admiration Towards the Clan at the 2:07 mark.
*Castlevania: Order of Shadows - Bonus song.
*Castlevania: The Arcade - Used in the battle with the Dullahan.
*Castlevania: Harmony of Despair - Maria can attack her enemies with the skill Hymn and will also sing a part of the song at the same time. Additionally, to get the Secret Item Crown, the player needs to play a part of Bloody Tears on the piano on Chapter 2.
*Trevor Morris arranged "Bloody Tears" for the Castlevania animated series. It is featured in season two's episode seven, "For Love".Main article: Castlevania (animated series) Easter eggs: Bloody Tears
*Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls - The arrangement in Dracula X Chronicles is reused in this game.
Additionally, the track has been used in the following non-Castlevania games:
*Wai Wai World 2: SOS!! Parsley Castle - Second theme of the Castlevania stage.
*KeyboardMania 2nd Mix - Contains a medley of Haunted Castle songs, including Bloody Tears.
*DanceDanceRevolution: SuperNOVA 2 and later arcade installments - Contains the IIDX remix of the song.
*beatmania IIDX 13: DistorteD and later arcade installments - Contains the IIDX remix of the song.
*Dead Cells - Used in the boss fight against Death in the Defiled Necropolis in the Return to Castlevania DLC. When switching to classic Castlevania soundtrack, the Rondo of Blood version plays instead.
==Appearances of the concept throughout the series==
*In Haunted Castle, a large portrait of a woman (presumably of Selena) in Stage 3 will shed a tear of blood as the player passes by. This was probably the first time the concept visually appeared in the entire series. Fitting, as "Bloody Tears" is precisely the background theme in this stage.
*Carmilla's mask is often seen crying tears of blood from its left eye (or eye socket) in many of its appearances throughout the series, starting from Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, which in some occasions are used as a form of attack.
*In Castlevania Chronicles, a giant statue of the goddess Athena in Stage 4 constantly sheds tears of blood; each time a drop touches the ground, it will transform into an indestructible Red Skeleton.
**Appropriately, the background theme of this level is "Bloody Tears".
**A similar statue with the same properties later appeared in the Skeleton Cave in Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance.
*Statues of saints (presumably of Virgin Mary) can be seen crying tears of blood on the hallways of Castle Proserpina in Castlevania: Bloodlines.
*In a cutscene of Castlevania (N64) and Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness, the statue of an angel starts shedding copious tears of blood as the player approaches it. From the puddle that forms on the floor a new enemy then emerges: the Blood Jelly.
*In Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, an item was introduced called the "Tear of Blood" which raises several stats.
*One of Medusa's attacks in Castlevania: Lament of Innocence is to shed tears of poisoned blood.
*One of Wind's quests in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin is called "The Statue's Tear" and consists in asking the player to find a statue of Virgin Mary in one of the portraits. When the player interacts with said statue, it will shed tears of blood and an item called the "Statue's Tear" will be obtained, which must then be brought back to Wind. The reward for completing this quest is Jonathan's Holy Water skill.
**The Game Over screen for Sisters Mode displays an image of a woman (presumably Virgin Mary) crying tears of blood, possibly referencing this quest.
*In Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Zobek says: "Poor, beautiful Carmilla, you will cry bloody tears before this night has ended!" before Gabriel fights Carmilla in the Throne Room.
*In the Castlevania animated series, Dracula is seen shedding tears of blood when he grieves his wife Lisa's death. Likewise, a defeated Carmilla is seen shedding a single tear of blood right before meeting her end in one of the later episodes.
==Gallery==
Selena - 03.png|Presumably a portrait of Selena crying tears of blood in Haunted Castle.
Selena - Haunted Castle Revisited - 01.png|The same portrait in Haunted Castle Revisited.
Castlevania X Rondo of Blood-Carmilla.png|Carmilla's artwork from Castlevania: Rondo of Blood.
18.gif|A statue of the Greek goddess Athena crying tears of blood that transform into Red Skeletons in Castlevania Chronicles.
Bloody Tears - Bloodlines - 01.png|The statue of a saint crying tears of blood in Castlevania: Bloodlines.
C64 - Bloody Tears - 01.png|The statue of an angel crying tears of blood that transform into Blood Jellies in Castlevania 64.
Bloody Tears - Harmony of Dissonance - 01.png|A statue crying tears of blood that transform into Red Skeletons in Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance.
Throne Room - Aria of Sorrow - 01.png|A large female statue crying tears of blood in Graham's throne room in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow.
Bloody Tears - Portrait of Ruin - 01.png|A statue of Virgin Mary crying tears of blood in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin.
Bloody Tears - 01.png|Game Over screen for Sisters Mode in Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin.
Dracula (animated series) - 01.png|Dracula after learning of Lisa's death.(Castlevania animated series)
Carmilla's Left Eye Shed a Tear.png|Carmilla shedding a tear of blood in "You Don't Deserve My Blood".(Castlevania animated series)
==Videos==
Castlevania II Music (NES) - Bloody Tears (Day Theme)|Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (NES)
Akumajou Dracula X Gekka no Yasoukyoku OST- Bloody Tears Remix 1|Castlevania: Nocturne in the Moonlight (Saturn)
Castlevania Legends OST - Track 04 - Bloody Tears|Castlevania Legends
Castlevania Legacy of Darkness Bloody Tears|Castlevania: Legacy of Darkness
Wai Wai World 2 Bloody Tears|Wai Wai World 2: SOS!! Parsley Castle
KEYBOARDMANIA II 矩形波倶楽部 - AKUMAJO DRACULA MEDLEY|Medley of Haunted Castle's music from KeyboardMania 2nd Mix(Bloody Tears begins at 0:49)
DJ Yoshitaka - Bloody Tears (Extended)|Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA 2
Beatmania IIDX 13 DistorteD - Bloody Tears (IIDX EDITION) -ANOTHER-|beatmania IIDX 13: DistorteD
Castlevania the Arcade - Bloody Tears|Castlevania: The Arcade
Castlevania (The Netflix Series) Season 2 OST - Bloody Tears|Castlevania (Netflix series)
==Trivia==
*The concept of religious imagery weeping tears of blood or presenting stigmata (believed to originate from supernatural means) are widely known phenomena often associated with divine miracles, especially in Catholic beliefs.
**This concept was echoed in Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 film Bram Stoker's Dracula, during the scene where Vlad Dracula denies his humanity by piercing the cross of a church with his sword.
*The name of this theme could be a reference to the classic Hammer "Dracula" horror films, where Count Dracula (portrayed by Christopher Lee) is sometimes seen crying tears of blood.
*The introductory segment in Bloody Tears bears an uncanny resemblance to the 1985 song "Marching Out" by renown heavy metal guitarist Yngwie J. Malmsteen. The song predates the release of Castlevania II: Simon's Quest by two years, making both products relatively contemporary. Konami is well known for making numerous references to rock music in their games.
*There is a common misconception that the Perfect Selection Dracula Battle version of Bloody Tears was performed by Gothic Metal band Cradle of Filth; however, this is not true, as it was arranged by Naoto Shibata.
*In the Castlevania: Nocturne animated series, there is an obscure reference to Bloody Tears. In 2014, four members of Giant Bomb streamed Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, and one of them, Brad Shoemaker, mentioned how he used to refer to Bloody Tears as "Barkerville" when he was a kid. This became a running joke in the community, some of which apparently worked on Castlevania: Nocturne. In the fifth episode of Season 1, "The Natural Order", during Olrox and Drolta's scene in the graveyard, one of the tombstones reads "Bradley S. Barkerville".10 Things Only REAL Fans Noticed in Netflix's Castlevania by MojoPLays at YouTube.
*In Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, one of the boss characters, The Sorrow, was mentioned to cry blood, with it being implied his crying caused rainstorms to happen, which resembles the overall theme of the bloody tears concept in the Castlevania series. In The Sorrow's case, however, his crying blood was a reference to the events of his death (specifically, his being shot in his left eye, causing his glasses to break, when in a situation where he and The Boss were implied to have been forced into a duel to the death).
==References==
==External links==
* - Features fan-made renditions of Bloody Tears.
es:Bloody Tears
Category:Arcade Music Tracks
Category:Castlevania 64 Music Tracks
Category:Chronicles Music Tracks
Category:Dracula Pachislot Music Tracks
Category:Dracula Pachislot II Music Tracks
Category:Dracula Pachislot III Music Tracks
Category:Dracula X Music Tracks
Category:The Dracula X Chronicles Music Tracks
Category:Grimoire of Souls Music Tracks
Category:Haunted Castle Music Tracks
Category:Judgment Music Tracks
Category:Lords of Shadow Pachislot Music Tracks
Category:Legends Music Tracks
Category:Rondo of Blood Music Tracks
Category:Simon's Quest Music Tracks
Category:Super Castlevania IV Music Tracks
Category:Symphony of the Night Music Tracks