Ballad of the Mages - Brentalfloss

A song about the three mages in the original Final Fantasy... with puppets!

Get the song from this video wherever digital music is sold/streamed!

HUGE thanks to everyone who helped make this video, especially Raven Jakubowski and Shawn Caple!

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LYRICS:

RED:
So here we are, three mages on a quest,
Of course there's a fourth but as you might have guessed
he doesn't understand what it is to be a mage,
but we're gonna tell you now, gonna open that cage, gonna let you in,
gonna turn the page in the book that is the story of our lives, the glory of a Fantasy, a Final Fantasy, and if you wanna hear about it I'm the man to see

I am the red mage, I can do it all,
Both kinds of magic and swordplay too, y'all!
So many skills that it takes to be a hero
A jack of all trades but the master of zero
What am I great at? Nothin' I'm told, ya see I always get the bronze but never the gold
Well some day soon I hope to be best,
Just for a moment better than the rest!

Oh ho... my life is a tragic paradox, I said
Oh ho... I feel like a circle in a squarer box
Why am I afraid to choose a scepter or a blade?
I could focus on one, and son, I'd have it made
Until that day I'm just a man on a quest, but mark my words I'm gonna be the best!

WHITE:
Hey there, it's me. The team's only lady
I throw like a girl and I punch like a baby
so the guys in the party tend to take me for granted
This enchanted maid is a shade disenchanted...
"I am your equal," What a silly notion!
It's not about size, it's the motion in my potion
I don't ask much, just someone to say,
"Hey White Mage, good job today"

Maybe I don't have the strength to wield
An elven sword or a mythril shield
But my heart is strong, and my wand is too
So try to keep in mind, that without me you'd be so screwed

BLACK:
I'm the black mage, but I betcha knew that
Yellow eyes, my disguise, do you like my pointy hat?
I'm a master of the elements, but all that is irrelevant
I step into a room and I'm invariably the elephant

Not just a pyro, I'm also pretty smart
And the fire in my hands comes directly from my heart

When push comes to shove, I want friends, I want love
I want a bride-to-be, family, all of the above
And I'll be damned if I fail, 'cause wouldn't that be tragic
If I let you judge me by the color of my magic?
And even if you're prejudiced and wanna make a mess of this
You're gonna be incredulous I'll show you what a legend is!

I'm just a lowly black mage
Relegated to the backstage
There's so much I wish you knew
So that maybe you'd see I'm just like you

(ALL 3 MAGES REPEAT THEIR CHORUSES)

ALL:
Oohhh,
Laaah,
HEMMMMMMMMMM

[cyberflight]

dude, I swear the black mage's voice at his chorus was just amazing

[Showsni]

I can't do magic either black or white
But I still put up a pretty good fight
I've got the best weapons and expensive armour
So I'll stand in the front to protect you from harm, yeah
But it's kind of lonely being thought as an oaf
Cause I fight with my sword instead of my loaf
Given a chance or three, in this fantasy
I just want to be accepted for me!

I know I may just be a fighter
But wouldn't our quest be so much brighter
If despite your magic spells, you saw me for myself,
Not a blunt instrument to store upon the shelf

[Amyte]

Red mages are more like triangles in a square hole, they fit no matter what, but they don't fill it completely.

[manacolt]

"The fire in my hands comes directly from my heart." Props to the black mage for using heartburn as a weapon

[jdprettynails]

I love how the three different melodies fit together at the end. Very satisfying.

[GaudyMarko]

I thought it was hilarious that the black mage who looks like some sort of shadow monster with glowing yellow eyes was just a black guy wearing sunglasses

[parker-boy]

if the fire comes from the black mage's heart. he's either very passionate or he's got some seriously bad heart burn

[maxeggs]

Love the Black Mage's voice. Also his entire character.

[siffy]

The black mage’s voice actor is such a good singer to the point where this dude outdid any asmr or anything of the like in terms of being an absolute wonder to listen to.

[novacorponline]

The mages: "We're all so sad, we don't get any respect from our peers!"
Also the mages: "We're a party of four but don't worry about Fighter, he's dumb and unimportant."

[nonamegiven]

When i first heard this song "Hay, funny that two are dealing with real problems and red mage's just indecisive"
me now "okay i get the red mage so much now"

[yaminogame]

All these years later, this is still my favorite song you have ever made!

[PippityPup]

I feel the White Mage's pain.

Too much time spent being a healer in mmos.

[Cees]

Even if this is not your most watched video, I consider it your master piece because it works on so many levels. The characterization is great, your interpretation of the original soundtrack is deeper than it usually is and I just totally love the rap part of the *black* mage (has anyone adapted this idea for cosplay yet?). And to add the icing on the cake because the song by itself is brilliant, this video really shows the work you put into that.

I've watched it several times, I've listened to it even more on my phone and I've used it as alarm clock music to wake up with a smile. For years now. Thank you so much.

[Hitsyfication]

Brentalfloss became my favourite youtuber after this.

[caligena]

This ballad was filled with such heart and passion. The verses were inspired and character driven. I'm still supportive of the new stuff, but... reviewing marshmallow flavored soda and plugging your card game for millionth time will just never compare to some of the absolutely great songs that you poured your soul into

[keaton]

this song is something i remember listening to a lot in my childhood, and along with 8-bit theater and the GBA "Dawn of Souls" remake, helped fuel my apparently uncommon fascination with FF1 specifically. i like this interpretation of the characters. it's a really nice little song.

[RezeedTheDataspirit]

Am I the only one that now wants to see a web series about the warriors of light(Events of FF1) done as Muppets?

[TheWanderingLPer]

Poor Fighter gets no love even though he shields his squishy friends from harm and is always there to cut down enemies when they're out of spells for the day.

[RotaAbyssian]

I would love to see a sequel to this that brings in the Blue mage.