Aviators - Stay Dead (The Legend of Zelda Song | Synthpop)

Listen and download here!

After playing Tears of the Kingdom, not only was I blown away by the entire game, but I was inspired to write several different songs about it. One Ganondorf idea pushed above all the rest though, since I can't resist villain songs.... Besides, what's better than a villain who inevitably comes back over and over again, as a natural force instead of a misguided soul? This is the Demon King's confident song of immortality, despite a few frustrating, similarly eternal roadblocks.

Lyrics:
Bet you'd like to get the freak show started
But my moves work slow
There's a presence here that I've imparted
Centuries ago
When the chilling of the night first hits you
Then you'll know I'm there
You can try to have the legends fix you
But you won't be spared
Balance exists that calls through the abyss
And in the chaos I create again

Go ahead
Bury Me
I will not stay dead
Hold me down
Take my breath
I will thrive instead
Cheat the game
Break my stride
You'll see me again
Like the plague
I will spread
'Cause I won't stay dead

'Cause I won't stay dead
'Cause I won't stay dead

Flaunting danger like your head is empty
But I've watched and learned
You look like you never did expect me
As if tides don't turn
I've been known to win out with my patience
There's no cure for fear
You must think it's your imagination
'Cause the devil's here
Risen from bone as the spirits come home
When I awake with a message to send

Go ahead
Bury Me
I will not stay dead
Hold me down
Take my breath
I will thrive instead
Cheat the game
Break my stride
You'll see me again
Like the plague
I will spread
'Cause I won't stay dead

'Cause I won't stay dead

You recall
To the past
And ascend
This crevasse
Fused with power
Strong of will
Guided hands
Fail you still
All your might
Gone to waste
I will strike
Leave no trace
None can rise
In my stead
So why can't you just stay dead

Just stay dead
Stay dead
'Cause I won't stay dead
Stay dead
I will not stay dead

Go ahead
Bury Me
I will not stay dead
Hold me down
Take my breath
I will thrive instead
Cheat the game
Break my stride
You'll see me again
Like the plague
I will spread
'Cause I won't stay dead

'Cause I won't stay dead
'Cause I won't stay dead

[linksstruepower]

Old Ganondorf shoulda gone for the head, cause not finishing the job gave Link the 30 minutes he needed to find a snack, a couple of twigs, and several dozen new reality breaking bugs to come back and beat his ass like he owes him a princess.

[Seraphim_]

As someone who got all 18 memories before fighting Ganon in TOTK, I wasn't scared or surprised by his Demon King reveal. The heath bar still got me though.

[PhoenixKnight]

I love how this paints Ganon as a villain who KNOWS his place in the cycle. He knows that he's the balancing force that keeps order from overwhelming the scale of balance. And he KNOWS he'll win eventually, if he keeps playing the long game. He won't remain dead. Eventually Link or Zelda wil slip up. And when they do, he wins and chaos gets it's turn on top of the scale for once.

[FoxDawn]

The "fused with power, strong of will" is just scratching something in my brain, I love this line so much

[maikeruthenoodle]

This is obviously from ganondorfs perspective so when he says "why wont you just stay dead" it betrays his earlier statement of "i win with my patience" i think that means by the time of tears of the kingdom ganondorf is losing patience...hes been through this cycle too many times...and i feel for him tbh

[StygianIkazuchi]

The inclusion of Gerudo Valley's melody at the end was a nice touch

[rodrigoa.m]

"Balance exists that calls through the abyss, and in the chaos I create again"
Is such a fantastic line. When we speak of balance we always think of restoring it, in manner positive. Set alight again flames that have waned. It's all the more despairing when you present something so linked to hope, to prosperity, and flip it upside down like this - remember that balance, a scale, has two sides. Remember that Ganon's continued influence over the world is an eternal struggle, Link's strife repetitive and his return a fact.

[maromania]

I just cannot get the "you look like you never did expect me, as if tides don't turn" line out of my head! Such a good song!

[BenLJudy]

Everyone is talking about how Ganon is bragging that he won't stay dead and will always rise to spread his chaos again, but in order for the cycle to be a cycle, Ganon's chaos has to end too.

"None can rise, in my stead,
So why don't you just... Stay dead..."

And then he realizes. You can even hear a change of tone as he says "Stay dead." Just as Ganon keeps saying that he won't stay dead, neither will the forces that oppose him. The nature of the cycle is that Ganon will bring chaos, but there will be something that brings order to the chaos. As he brags about how he defeats great forces of order again and again and how he won't stay dead, he realizes the same can be said of the other side of the coin.

"So why don't you just stay dead?..
...'Cause I won't stay dead."

As long as Ganon persists, there will be someone to oppose him. He realizes that he's the reason his enemies won't stay dead.

[renkohikawa]

I just listened to the song on the bandcamp page and if I wasn't told that this was inspired by Zelda I was feeling the vibes of an old vampire or lich king, looking to reclaim a kingdom that was once theirs.
Absolute banger of a song!

[c-zero]

think my favorite part about the song is how the subject changes

"I wont stay dead"
to
"So stay dead, I wont."

[Flamus__]

Always a good day when aviators release a new song

[Flakkahh]

LET'S GO NEW BANGER!!! We making it outta the cycle of being reborn and forced to fight with this one

[Northraider]

this song seems PERFECT for a lich. no matter how many times you kill em they wont STAY DEAD

[Swifty]

You know Ganon's on another level of strong when just waking up is enough to break up the entirety of Hyrule.

[Theathegamer-gtzu]

3:01 I’ve never actually realised how this part of the song refers to all the basic Zonai abilities in the game
“You recall to the past” obviously refers to the recall ability which lets you rewind certain objects in time.
“And ascend this crevasse” is talking about the ascend ability that allows you to dive through ceilings.
“Fused with power, strong of will” is yet another obvious reference to the fuse which acts as the main source of (physical) power in the game.
“Guided hands fail you still” most likely refers to both the ultrahand AND autobuild abilities, considering the use of plural “hands”.
Even with all those powers, Ganondorf still won’t stay dead, and the cycle will simply continue over and over again ‘til the end of time.

[insulttothehumanrace]

This is excellent, both as a song on its own and as an interpretation of Ganondorf's existence.

I've always found it fascinating, the implications of Zelda and Link continually reincarnating while the same Ganon just keeps coming back. How he must process it, having to keep being beaten by the same two who never remember who he is, taken down every time he does rule, or comes close to ruling, Hyrule, again and again...
Aviators, though, goes with the idea of Ganondorf taking delight in knowing that he will be back again after each unfortunate demise. That as the bearer of part of the Triforce, no matter how he is defeated, or how many times... the embodiment of Power will always be back to conquer and dominate once again. He will not stay dead.

[Fireheart]

This is the best possible thing I could've woken up to. Now I'm gonna have it on repeat for the rest of the day

[SarisWinterwisp]

Now I'm a big fan of the song, it sounds cool, is cool, but more importantly, it draws attention to the *horrifying* reality that the antagonist cannot be dispatched. One who does more damage every time they return, one who is *barely* defeated each time. What sort of psychological torture would that be applying to the people of Hyrule? Even worse, to Link and Zelda?

I love how this repaints Ganon in an atrociously terrifying light, one inevitable, and unstoppable.

[TheVindicar]

Kinda interesting how a good chunk of the song could be sung by Ganon OR Link. Both are bound to the cycle, both are powerful and determined, and neither is going to give up.