No Promises to Keep

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"No Promises to Keep" is the official theme song and ending theme of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. It was composed by Nobuo Uematsu and the vocals performed by Loren Allred. The lyrics were written in Japanese by Kazushige Nojima and were translated into English by Ben Sabin, Matt Furda, and John Crow. The arrangement and synthesizer programming were done by Tsutomu Narita.https://www.jp.square-enix.com/ffvii_rebirth/themesong/index.html
The song is associated with the character Aerith Gainsborough.
"No Promises to Keep (FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH THEME SONG)" will be released on the No Promises to Keep single. The single also includes "No Promises to Keep [Band ver.]" (with Loren Allred and Nobuo Uematsu conTIKI), an instrumental version, and an instrumental version of the band version.https://www.sonymusic.co.jp/artist/LorenAllred/discography/SICX-10020 The band version was arranged by Uematsu.
"No Promises to Keep - Loveless Ver." is the shorter version that plays during an in-game cutscene.
==Lyrics==
The official lyrics were first partially released on the theme song announcement trailer at The Game Awards 2023.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EQvDkbd3AM The Japanese translation was partially released on the Japanese trailer.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHaN1Q1Ougg
The lyrics to "No Promises to Keep" were written by Kazushige Nojima (and then translated into English), who says that because in-universe Aerith wrote the lyrics at the Gold Saucer's hotel, he tried to write them while getting into the role of being her. The lyrics are about meeting someone for the first time, but are not about any particular individual: Aerith wants to feel that meeting other people is not fate, but chance, because she wants to get away from fate, and just be surrounded by people she loves whom she only met by chance. The original Japanese lyrics do fit the melody, and Nobuo Uematsu even made an experimental Japanese vocal version.
===Full version===
The full official lyrics and Japanese translation were first released on The First Take video,https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-YNvxcLC-A later released again on the single. The full Japanese translation was first released in the game when the full version of the song plays during the end credits.
;English
:Walking city streets with worn cobblestones
:Listening to people rushing past to rhythms all their own
:Life passing me by, not thinking how the years have flown
:Until I met you
:I won't say that it was fate
:I won't say that it was destiny
:But if not, what could it be
:That drew you towards me?
:Could it be chance?
:Till the day that we meet again
:Where or when I wish I could say
:But believe—know that you'll find me
:Promises to keep, we won't ever need
:If only I'd never known
:All the burdens I was born to bear
:Lived a life without a care
:In the world save for you...but that won't do
:Till the day that we meet again
:On our street, I want to believe
:In the chance that we'll share a glance
:Promises to keep, we won't ever need
:Till the day that we meet again
:At our place, just let me believe
:In the chance that you'll come
:Take my hand and never let me go
:Take my hand
:And believe
:We can be
:Together evermore
:Walking city streets with worn cobblestones
:Struggling against the crowds and finding ourselves all alone
:Fate and destiny are no guarantee
:Still I hope someday you'll come and find me
:Still I know someday you'll come and find me
;Japanese translation
:あなたと出会った街は
:忙しい足音に急かされて
:時計さえ早く刻んでた
:昨日までは
:運命なんて
:信じたくないから
:この出会いは
:ねえ、なんて呼ぼう
:偶然？
:明日も 会いたいな
:偶然 あの場所で
:信じたいの
:約束なんて いらないと
:生まれた時に
:結ばれた 約束
:知らないまま
:ふたり出会えば 良かった
:明日も 会いたいな
:偶然 あの道で
:信じさせて
:約束なんて いらないと
:明日も 会えるかな
:偶然 あのかどで
:信じさせて
:この手 離さないで
:信じさせて
:その手 離さないで
:ふたりが出会った街で
:人混みに流されてはぐれたら
:運命も約束も 助けてくれないでしょう
:私を見つけて どうか
:私を見つけて きっと
===Loveless Ver.===
The official lyrics and Japanese translation for the Loveless Ver. were first released in the subtitles during the in-game cutscene. They were released again on the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Original Soundtrack.
;English
:Walking city streets with worn cobblestones
:Listening to people rushing past to rhythms all their own
:Life passing me by, not thinking how the years have flown
:Until I met you
:I won't say that it was fate
:I won't say that it was destiny
:But if not, what could it be
:That drew you towards me?
:Could it be chance?
:Till the day that we meet again
:Where or when I wish I could say
:But believe—know that you'll find me
:Promises to keep, we won't ever need
:Till the day that we meet again
:At our place, just let me believe
:In the chance that you'll come
:Take my hand and never let me go
:Take my hand
:And believe
:We can be
:Together evermore
;Japanese translation
:あなたと出会った街は
:忙しい足音に急かされて
:時計さえ早く刻んでた
:昨日までは
:運命なんて
:信じたくないから
:この出会いは
:ねえ　なんて呼ぼう
:偶然？
:明日も 会いたいな
:偶然 あの場所で
:信じたいの
:約束なんて いらないと
:明日も 会えるかな
:偶然 あのかどで
:信じさせて
:この手 離さないで
:信じさせて
:その手 離さないで
==Composition==
The composer Nobuo Uematsu wanted to express the core strength that is hidden within Aerith's heart, the opposite of the sad melody of "Aerith's Theme". Though he says that the melody from "Aerith's Theme" does not appear in the song, it contains a variation of the melody of "Aerith's Theme" on the piano towards the end of the song. It then ends with a variation of "Main Theme of Final Fantasy VII" on the piano that is left hanging.
==Game appearances==
===Final Fantasy VII Rebirth===
"No Promises to Keep" is performed by Aerith during a performance in the musical stage play Loveless in chapter 12, "A Golden Key". She performs the song no matter if she played "Rosa" in the version the player viewed.
"No Promises to Keep - Loveless Ver." is track 12 of disc 6 on the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Original Soundtrack.
The full version of "No Promises to Keep" is played during the ending scene and end credits, beginning from when the Tiny Bronco departs and leaving Aerith behind.
"One Last Date - My Dream" is an instrumental arrangement by Yoshinori Nakamura that plays during the date between Cloud and Aerith in a dream sequence in chapter 14, "End of the World". It is track 4 of disc 7 on the original soundtrack.
==Live performances==
===The Game Awards 2023===
"No Promises to Keep" debuted and was performed live at The Game Awards 2023, conducted by Lorne Balfe and performed by The Game Awards Orchestra and lead vocalist Loren Allred.https://twitter.com/thegameawards/status/1732954724247502878
===Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Orchestra World Tour===
The New York concerts on January 11, 2025 at 2 PM and 8 PM in the Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall exclusively feature a special live performance by Loren Allred of "No Promises to Keep", conducted by Arnie Roth and also performed by the Shinra Symphony Orchestra.https://x.com/ffdistantworlds/status/1805979958528925861
==Video performances==
===The First Take===
"No Promises to Keep" was performed on The First Take in one take by Loren Allred, Nobuo Uematsu and his band conTIKI.https://twitter.com/The_FirstTake/status/1767113241094992067https://twitter.com/UematsuNobuo/status/1767178664440177123 The band consists of Nubia (cello), Michio Okamiya (guitar), Chihiro Fujioka (percussions), and Rie Tozuka (autoharp).
===360 Reality Audio===
A music video of "No Promises to Keep" was uploaded by Sony Music Japan with Sony's 360 Reality Audio.
==Behind the scenes==
Loren Allred became a fan of Nobuo Uematsu through watching her friends play Final Fantasy and was told only that "No Promises to Keep" would be a song by Uematsu when contacted by Square Enix to sing it. To prepare for the recording, Allred spent a lot of time learning about Aerith's character, Cloud Strife, and the story of Final Fantasy VII. Allred tried to channel Aerith's personality when singing the song and she changed certain elements of her vocals to better reflect Aerith's character in the song.https://www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/final-fantasy-7-rebirth-theme-song-loren-allred-no-promises-to-keep-interview-3556057
Nobuo Uematsu, creative director Tetsuya Nomura, and scenario writer Kazushige Nojima unanimously had a predetermined vision to go with a ballad and agreed a classic ballad would be a perfect fit. Nomura also wanted Loren Allred to sing the theme song. Uematsu was asked to make the song so that the key phrase would play in repetition and Harry Nilsson's Without You" came to mind. He took inspiration from it and decided to repeat a key phrase in the chorus. According to Uematsu, "No Promises to Keep" is a love song and he wanted it to have a sweet feeling and for Aerith to express her feelings.https://blog.playstation.com/2024/03/14/final-fantasy-vii-rebirth-how-nobuo-uematsu-and-loren-allred-created-aeriths-no-promises-to-keep/https://blog.ja.playstation.com/2024/03/15/20240315-ffviir/
==Citations==
==External links==
*Official Japanese website
Category:Event themes from Final Fantasy VII Rebirth