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criticallyacclaimedclipboard · 3 months

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Hawaii Pt. II theory/analysis

Hawaii Pt. II is one of my favorite albums of all time, so I just wanted to share my interpretation of the story, broken down song by song.

Introduction to the snow:

This song pretty much just serves as the beginning of the album. There’s not much to it, although the lyric “you’ll live forever tonight” is possibly talking about the idea of a time loop, where Stella and Simon will never die permanently. Keep this idea in mind for later, as it is a large part of my theory.

Isle unto thyself:

This song introduces us to Stella and Simon, the two main characters. I believe that it takes place on the boat the two are on, sailing to Hawaii. The lyric “Blinding, shining star” may be talking about Stella, as in Stella Octangula. The Stella Octangula, or Stellated Octahedron is a shape resembling a star, and typically paired with Stella the character. Simon is “blinded” by her, because from this point on, the album becomes about their relationship and how it falls apart. “It was the night we had to part \ We were afraid to miss the start \ What did it matter? \ Why would it matter?” I believe this line is about how on this “night” (the time the two fell in love) the two fell in love and were torn apart. Simon wonders if it matters, possibly because “missing the start” wouldn’t change the course of the story. Additionally, he may be talking about how nothing before their relationship mattered to him, because he didn’t have anything before their relationship. By that I mean (sorry if this part sounds weird, I haven’t slept in a while) Simon and Stella don’t exist outside of the storyline around their love. Again, I think the two are in a time loop (more on that later), and therefore whatever they had before is nothing compared to the repeating eternity that is their tragic love. There’s more in this song, but for the sake of time/ my sanity I’ll just skip to the line “Gone not forgotten \ long but forgotten, old lore” I believe that this references the full storyline, and how Simon knows what’s going to happen at the end. It may be “gone”, but it’s not forgotten as long as he’s alive. “Sudden invincible flowing, a river \ Clearer than all thou might view with thine eyes” is talking about when Simon realizes what’s going to happen to him and Stella. The river (a vision of time?) is “invincible” because it is eternal and cannot be destroyed. The last part of the song is Simon musing about why Hawaii was created, why Stella’s killer (more on that later) got away, life as a whole, and, most importantly, why Simon and Stella were “revived”. I think that Hawaii pt. II centers around a repeating storyline, where Simon and Stella are revived at the end (more about this in “Time Machine”). This also means that because this storyline has already happened before, it’s a “part II” to the previous repetition. Bear with me here, but I think that this means that the album is not only Part II, but it’s also it’s own Part I, which I think is pretty cool.

Black Rainbows:

This song is a bit more confusing. There are many different parts (colors listed in Hawaiian, chanting, main vocals), which make it a bit hard to follow. Anyway, I believe that the “rainbows” that Stella references in the line “Do we remember? Connected rainbows” are actually the previous storylines. She’s telling Simon to “connect” them, and realize what happens. This is reinforced with the line “I draw the rainbows, you draw them near \ and lo, the hues arrange to show \ it’s perfectly clear” This is not only drawing upon the idea that the “rainbows” are the timeline, but also showing that they both have different storylines, albeit similar. That’s why the rainbows are “near” rather than “connected”. Going back to the earlier line “we know the joy beyond above has been here awhile” is talking about the “heaven” referenced in “Space Station Level 7”. It has “been here awhile” because it is eternal, just like the story.

White Ball:

“White Ball” is a romantic song. It shows Stella and Simon falling in love into “such impossible bliss” There is a lot about the repeating time loop and later story though, with lines like “fate decides, how these columns align” talking about how their lives are decided by fate rather than themselves, and “circles in space \ round the already dead” referencing the fact that since their story is only going to end in both of their deaths, they are theoretically “already dead”. “Today is renewed, is reborn \ each day, I am new, I am yours” talks about how Stella and Simon are repeating and “renewing” their relationship and its tragic end. After this, they decide to continue on with their relationship, “taking passionate steps” into love.

Murders:

This song switches perspectives for the most part. It centers around Stella’s killer, who was in the forest where Simon and Stella were picnicking. The murderer found Stella. This might be going out on a limb, but the “fountain of infinite mirror” that the killer was looking for was Stella and Simon themselves, because when becoming part of their story, the killer would eternalize himself as well. The line “tree falling, no one would hear” talks about how no one was able to prove that Simon didn’t kill Stella, because no one “heard” her “fall”. Keep in mind that I’m just summarizing this song, and there are many more interesting lyrics that play a role in the story as well. After the instrumental part, we switch back to Simon’s perspective. He laments that his efforts to stop the inevitable storyline were “for nothing at all”.

Space Station Level 7:

*I used the english translations found on Genius by the way*

I believe that this song is from Stella’s perspective, after she has died. The first lyrics I want to look at are “Leaving the Earth behind is impossible for us to do \ We soon depart from the so called Heaven” I believe that this lyric is referencing the fact that because of the time loop, Stella can never truly “leave earth”, at least not for long. Additionally, she and Simon will have to leave “heaven” at some point, so the clock can reset and they can return to the beginning. “Heaven (A place full of lies)” is probably about how Stella and Simon don’t see each other in heaven, meaning that they don’t get the bliss associated with heaven. It could also be talking about how heaven is not the eternal place it was promised to be, because Stella and Simon will have to return to earth. “Reach that one bright light \ Lift off and you'll live forever tonight” Is about how if Stella can reach earth again, she’ll continue to repeat the time loop. Of course, she always does manage it, and the storyline of the album repeats itself.

The Mind Electric:

This song is about Simon after he’s been arrested for the murder of Stella. Simon already is going a bit insane before the song begins, and the entire song seems like a story being pieced together after the event. The song plays fully backwards before beginning, adding to the confusion. The first background part is pretty much just things about thoughts and other random stuff, which makes it seem like the singer is confused or shaken up mentally. There’s dialogue from the judge, telling Simon to “tell the whole truth” and similar judge things. This is pretty typical for a court procedure, so we won’t go too in depth to what happens here. Then, Simon pleads insanity. I believe that Simon is not guilty, and that there was a different killer. The whole time loop/murdered girlfriend thing is enough to cause this in a person in my opinion, so Simon pleading insanity doesn’t mean he did it. The judge sends him to “the infirmary”, presumably some kind of mental ward. Simon’s mental state degrades even more, with his “towers crumbling down”. This part of the song is more energetic than the rest of the song so far, and the music video uses flashing lights to symbolize insanity and electric shock. The song calms down, as Simon’s thoughts “deliver him and carry him away”. I believe that this symbolizes him going fully insane, as his very thoughts remove him from who he once was. After some samples from different audios (I believe “Murders” is one of them), Simon is electrocuted. (This part slaps really hard ngl) These lyrics are fairly self explanatory. The next part I want to talk about is the “see how the serfs work the ground \ and they give it all they’ve got \ and they give it all they’ve got \ and you give it all you’ve got, till you’re down” This might actually be Simon’s brain showing him the past iterations of himself. They do what’s expected of them in the story, until they die, just like the current Simon will. The final part of the song seems like multiple different musings combined into one, showing us how messed up Simon’s brain is post-electroshock “therapy”.

Labyrinth:

At this point, Simon’s mind is in pieces. He could very well be in the mental ward, or he could have been freed. He’s stuck in a “maze”, which I believe is his own mind playing tricks on him. Stella sings to him, eluding him. He is imagining this, and blaming her for creating the “maze” in his mind. Stella’s lyric “Let the maze of my design carry you on” is in reference to this, along with the fact that it is “carrying [Simon] on” through the story. Without the desire to see Stella again, there wouldn’t be any more of a story. Most of the rap part could be analyzed more in depth, but it’s pretty much just Simon wanting to escape and rambling on about it as if he’d just been electrocuted. That’s pretty much the whole song. (guess which song’s my least favorite) There is also the idea that Simon is trying to break out of the time loop, which could work with the themes of escape and Stella “flying away”. He’s lost so much of his mind that time itself feels like a maze, and he’s just trying to find an “escape” so that he can be with Stella. This of course leads into the next song, where he tries to find a way to be with her again.

Time Machine:

This song is about Simon wanting to reverse time after the traumatic experience he’s had. He reminisces about his time with Stella, “Thinking of the way I used to spend my time \ I can see that I have overpaid” but also that he spent too much time trying to undo things. This song is incredibly important to my theory, because it shows Simon actually resetting the clock and bringing himself and Stella back to experience all of Hawaii pt II again, with the hope that things will be different. This is especially true with lines like “rather than regret the old \ I can live it back the other way”. The line “free-floating temporally” is talking about how he’s pretty much just out there in time, not really moving because he can’t escape the time loop. “I avoid the messiness of misery \ playing in dimension number 4” is about how Simon can’t be too miserable about all that has happened, instead he’s broken space-time itself to be with his liver eternally, practically in another dimension. “Live the dream with a time machine, you’ve been waiting forever” speaks about how Simon has been going through the plot “forever”, and that the time machine (or just some weird time mechanic) has caused him to be able to “live the dream”, even if just temporarily. Simon “awaits for all eternity” to have more time with Stella. The line “fleeting in this mode of making memories” is about how being able to create memories is fleeting for Simon, because soon he’ll forget them all and restart. Of course, he learns of his fate early on, but he doesn’t have the exact memories.

Stranded Lullaby:

This song takes place before time has reset. I believe it’s still after “Time Machine” though, and that Simon is much more calm in this song because he’s figures out how to see Stella again, and now he’s just waiting. I think that Simon dies in this song, and that he’s “lost at sea” metaphorically, or in his mind. This might be confusing, but… Simon lives on Hawaii. He’s only alive on the island, so him dying is being “at sea” to him. His life is tied to the island, so his death is the “sea”. Still, he’s in the sea while Stella’s in heaven, so the two cannot be together. Simon’s just thinking about the sea for most of this song, which if we think of the sea as a metaphor for death, is kind of poetic. He will never get to truly escape the time loop and die, just like he will never get to leave Hawaii.

Dream Sweet In Sea Major:

In this song, we start with the beginning tune of “Introduction to the Snow” repeated. The lyric “alone at the edge of a universe, humming a tune” starts to make more sense now. Simon is at the “end” of the Hawaii pt. II universe (also the beginning due to the time loop). I believe that in this song, Simon and Stella reunite in death. They “go together in flight”, which could be talking about their return to the story, but it’s more likely to be talking about them leaving earth and being together in heaven. Their relationship is taking place both “now and never”, because they may be together presently, but they will always be separated, so their love is also “never” going to last. The line “Believe me darling, the stars were made for falling” might be about Simon and Stella’s fall from heaven, and therefore return to earth. This is also seen in “it feels like flying, but maybe we’re dying” because Stella and Simon are “dying” so that they can be reborn in the next iteration of the story. If this makes sense, the people they are at the moment, in heaven, are returning back to life and therefore dying, along with their memories. The lyric “inline before the show began to be where I am” is possibly in reference to how the album’s story is repeating, because Simon is “in line” for the “show” before he new it. The line “to know we are beyond a bow \ and lo, the hues arrange to show it’s perfectly clear” could be about two things: a bow in theater, like a curtain call, or it could be about a rainbow. If it’s about a stage bow, it shows that they are “beyond a bow” and how the story continues on after the final bow. It could also be about the rainbows in “Black Rainbows”, because the two are beyond what they remembered from the previous iterations. I believe that the lyrics “you look quite divine tonight \ here among these vibrant lights \ pure delights surround us as we sail \ signed, yours truly, the whale” are about Simon seeing Stella again for the first time, on the boat sailing to Hawaii in “Island to Thyself”. (Simon being the “whale”. This may be in reference to his theorized last name, “Whayle”) This is because one of the next lines is “now that existence is in the wake \ let’s see what we can make”. This is talking about how their existence is a consequence of the previous storyline, and that they’re about to go through the whole thing again. The line “at last eternal through the past” is talking about how their story is eternal, and has gone on through the past iterations. It will also continue to go on, eternally, cycling forever. The final verse has a return to Hawaii (“Bye, Hi, sigh, Hawaii”, “bye, hi” showing Simon and Stella having to leave Hawaii in death and return when they are reborn).

Summary:

Simon Whayle and Stella Octangula are two lovers, doomed to love, fall apart, and die for all eternity. They meet and journey to Hawaii, where they discover their future fate. Someone kills Stella when the two are picnicking in the forest. Simon is taken to court for Stella’s murder, and he pleads insanity. After going more insane from electroshock “therapy”, Simon reverses the clock, sending the story back to the beginning. He dies soon after, and revives with Stella to experience it all again.

Thanks for actually reading for this long, sorry if it made zero sense!

#hawaii part ii #hawaii part 2 #miracle musical #the mind electric #dream sweet in sea major #simon whayle #stella octangula #joe hawley #tally hall

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