A Red Apple

A Red Apple (A Cue aun Tu Oi) is the ending song of Gravity Rush 2, but it also appears throughout the game in more condensed forms and has heavy significance to the game's plot.

Description

The song is referenced in Gravity Rush by the apple that the player knocks down before the game starts, which is located in Eto. The opening credits theme also contains the refrain from the song, albeit without the lyrics, which morphs from a simple piano track to a full on accordion version.

The song was first sung by Kat when she was accidentally mistaken for a singer on the Bismalia Fortress. Her memory returned enough to remember a few words from the song. From there, she was able to sing the entire first verse before being caught by Garrison forces and attacked.

It then became extremely popular throughout Jirga Para Lhao and Hekseville, despite the townsfolk only knowing the first verse.

When Kat returned to Eto, she remembered that the song was actually from a music box that her grandmother used while reading her bedtime stories. She finds a key, which was dropped from outside through an open window, to the music box. But the box is broken - the box is repaired by Alias when she is able to escape the castle.

The song once again appeared during the battle against Destructive Force, where the first verse was sung by the residents of Hekseville to compel Kat to come to her senses and defeat it while also refusing the deal it attempted to make with her.

Lyrics

Only the first verse was officially translated to English. The rest only appears in Japanese in the game's soundtrack booklet. Credit for the translation goes to nyancatimusprime from Reddit.

A red apple

Fell from the sky

Across the clouds

A gentle sun shines

On the ones we're waiting for

A red apple

A seed of hope

A beacon that shines

On me in the empty sky

Soaring once again without fear

The morning bird's song - never to be heard again

The line of burdened people goes on

They travel beyond, to the promised land

Thousands of minds surpassing their frail bodies

A dream of liberation

Don't say a word

Soaring; falling

Wherever you go, fly high

A red apple

Fell from the sky

Across the clouds

A gentle sun shines

On the ones we're waiting for

The smiles of parents - never to be seen again

A dog accompanies the people who keep on walking

They travel beyond, to the serene land

Thousands of minds surpassing their frail bodies

Disaster is far away

Don't say a word

Soaring; falling

Wherever you go, fly high

A red apple

Fell from the sky

Across the clouds

A gentle sun shines

On the ones we're waiting for

A gentle sun shines

On you

Meaning of lyrics

The song is most likely from the perspective of someone who lives in Eto. As the game says that Eto is the place where the denizens below the city fled to escape the dark ocean that would soon consume them. The singer is looking across the clouds atop the Pillar and being reminded of "the ones they are waiting for".

The "line of burdened people" is most likely people holding their belongings and waiting to be loaded onto the Ark or some other mode of aerial transport to travel up the Pillar. Since time travels slower at the bottom of the Pillar than the top, people in Eto would likely face a long and agonizing wait for their loved ones, by which time they would be a lot older than the people arriving.

It's unclear what "thousands of minds surpassing their frail bodies" means, but it may be related to how the people in Eto live longer than normal. Or it could just be that Eto has religious significance, and going there is akin to "ascending to heaven" for the people below.

Trivia

• The "red apple" in the song's chorus is based on the apple that fell on the head of Isaac Newton and inspired him to create the Theory of Gravity. It is, however, more of a general representation of knowledge in this universe.
  • In actual fact, the song is also a lyrical rendition of the very first piece of music one will ever hear in the first Gravity Rush: "Discovery of Gravitation."
• The Japanese Deluxe Edition of the soundtrack features five different versions of the song: full, instrumental, music box, accordion, and the chant heard in Episode 26. The only version that is absent from the soundtrack is the one sung by Kat in Episode 8.