【SF-A2 Miki】 Metronome / CircusP

From one world to another 🎼

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Available on streaming services now!
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Song by Circus

Video by rice

Featuring:

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|| Lyrics ||

With the moment I rise
It dwells in my head
From morning 'til night
Like the rattling dead

Void of soul, void of life
Without your breath my chest runs cold
Holy lights adorn the sky
Just as mortality has foretold

But I don't wanna leave this world
Without you holding onto me
No I don't wanna let this lonely heart be
An isolated beat

Don't wanna let you go
Like a metronome
Don't wanna let you go
Like a metronome, and on it drones

With copper as eyes
I wait for your voice
Cacophonies I realize as
Heaven destroyed

Charcoal hearts don the night
Without your sight I am astray
Through the waves of Charon's tide
Together we could withstand doomsday

'Cause I don't wanna leave this world
Without you holding onto me
No I don't wanna let this lonely heart be
An isolated beat

Don't wanna let you go
Like a metronome
Don't wanna let you go
Like a metronome, and on it drones

On and on it goes
Like a metronome, it never slows

I dismiss the gates of heaven
And the flames of hell
Bring me to another option
Underneath your spell

I will rise anew
Forsake my soul to stay by you
By thy hand, a ghoul
Let this undying love be true

'Cause I don't wanna leave this world
Without you holding onto me
No I don't wanna let this rotten heart be
An isolated beat

Don't wanna let you go
Like a metronome
Don't wanna let you go
Like a metronome, and on it drones

On and on it goes
Like a metronome, it never slows

[VocaCircus]

With Metronome's release, CMYK officially comes to a close! 🎨 So I'm going to be sappy for a moment haha


Throughout my life, I've always seen chapters ending as destructive.
Going from one state to another had to be a “burn everything down and start over" type of deal.

"Metronome" is reflective of learning that some things will always be constant, no matter what may come, our hearts will keep beating.
The time will keep moving, and some things will stick with us.

It's a bit bittersweet in that way, but it's comforting. I'm not ending off CMYK to rush to something new... I'm taking it with me forever.

(Of course, this is also about a few other things, and kind of fits Miki moving to SynthV next year too!)

Which is why Miki felt like the only right vocalist for this song. No matter where I go 5 - 10 years from now, I'll always have Miki there.
I'll always have these songs, these memories, and they'll go on and on with me.


Thank you to everyone who listened to CMYK 🎨💙 I’m very excited to keep walking this path with you all

[Susko]

I'm SO glad that CMYK ends with Metronome and not Better Off Worse

[VocaloKAT]

IM SO EXCITED THANK YOU RICE AND CIRCUS FOR INVENTING THE ABILITY TO COUNT MUSICAL

[sbolex]

When this song came out my dad was in Hospital and everytime i was returning to home from him i played this song. This is one more reason why it is so important to me. Thank you for makeing it even if my dad didn't made it.

[kheechuu]

Thank you Circus and Rice for having me on!! it's been a delight and honor to work with you guys for the CMYK Project AND YES IM SO HAPPY MISS MIKI AND CIRCUS!!! YOULL ALWAYS BE INCREDIBLE DUO!!!! you've worked so extremely hard, thank you for an absolutely amazing 2023!

[gakupokamui]

I love it when you use miki! iNSaNiTY was a cultural reset for her as a vocaloid, and for the community, im so

[MonochroMenace]

This was a pleasure to watch during premiere. The art style changes in the background were cool, but the reveal of all of the different artists at the end gave me chills! Everyone did such an incredible job. This is such an amazing idea for a video, and definitely very inspiring. Well done to everyone involved. This is such a cool project and a wonderful song 💜🥹

[OsoPan]

This dude's ability to make Japanese vocaloids sing in English
Another banger

[seylusanfi]

3:12 In my time as an animator, seeing in a single video several types of drawing styles is something of the most beautiful thing for my eyes. 💫💖//, //💖💫

[absentsilhouette]

Metronome Analysis (+Better Off Worse and Right As Rain)

This absolute banger has been stuck in my head since I first listened to it, and I’ve been really interested in exploring its connection to Better Off Worse and Right As Rain, as I think they share many thematic and lyrical parallels that form a complete picture of their meaning. Also, there’s a part of me that feels a bit awkward deconstructing these personal lyrics (“Over-analyze my broken heart” Better Off Worse moment), so just keep in mind this is just my impression of what the lyrics mean and not some authoritative statement. When I say Circus feels a certain way about something, I’m only speculating based on the lyrics, I don’t actually know for sure. Please go listen to Better Off Worse and especially Right As Rain in addition to this song if you haven’t, I really think they complement each other so well. Without further ado, I’ll first go through my interpretation of each of the lyrics along with the accompanying moments in the music video.

PART 1: METRONOME LYRICS/MUSIC VIDEO

“With the moment I rise
It dwells in my head
From morning 'til night
Like the rattling dead.”

The video begins with a shot of Miki’s hand starting a metronome (more on that symbolism later). Importantly, this isn’t the Miki from the rest of the video- her glove is the same as Miki’s official design. She represents Miki the Vocaloid, one of Circus’ favorites and one he’s used for a few songs before. She starts the metronome, representing how she’s part of what started Circus’ career and his love for Vocaloid in general. Next, a different Miki is shown in a walk cycle, showing how Circus’ career has continued to move forward, her different design showing how she’d evolved from when she started and how she specifically represents this song rather than representing the Vocaloid herself, the way many of Circus’ songs have the Vocaloid wear different outfits in his videos. The lyrics here pair with the beginning visuals and start us on a few ideas that will repeat throughout the song. Something that stays stuck in someone’s head is described, a bit like the repetitive sound of a metronome we hear at the beginning. However, at the end here it’s compared to the “rattling dead”, which indicates that it’s referring to something that should be gone, but hasn’t. I think this is about Circus’ old music, the CMYK project in particular, which he continues to think about even after it’s finished. The death metaphors will continue all throughout the song, which represent the end of something but also the start of something new (like the meaning of the death tarot card). There is a mourning process to moving onto a new chapter, but also an excitement for the future. Because people are inspired by a creator's old work, it lives on through their passion. Things must die but they never truly disappear completely. So, Circus got swept up in Vocaloid culture, rose as a popular producer who made many beloved songs, and continues to think about them even long after they’ve been released and the hype has died down.

“Void of soul, void of life
Without your breath my chest runs cold
Holy lights adorn the sky
Just as mortality has foretold”

Here we get the first second person, which represents a few things: Circus’ audience, Vocaloids in general, and the people who’ve helped him make his music videos. “Without your breath” is leading me towards viewing this as representing the Vocaloid software, whose voice is what Circus uses to create music. So in this first part, as a part of his life ends (CMYK, Vocaloid, etc.) he feels listless. There’s an interesting contrast here where the lyrics “holy lights adorn the sky” are shown falling down on the screen, almost as if they’re falling out of the sky, another nod to the inevitable truth that even popular songs will eventually become less popular and talked about, and how every project like CMYK must end, no matter how celebrated they become. This also ties into the popularity of Circus’ old style of music, and how he just can’t keep making songs exactly like those over and over again even if they’re his most popular and celebrated (“holy”/sacred). “Holy” also evokes the image of something going to heaven after it “dies”, meaning it was something beloved. “Just as mortality has foretold” appears repeated many times in the background, representing the repetition and inevitability of projects ending. So here something has ended (most likely something Vocaloid related, could even be referring to other producers retiring) just as it must end, and because of how admired it was the loss of it leaves the singer empty.

“But I don't wanna leave this world
Without you holding onto me
No I don't wanna let this lonely heart be
An isolated beat”

These lyrics mark where Miki stops walking forward and faces the camera instead. Besides making it seem like she’s addressing the audience, it also connects to the idea of not wanting to move forward- for the old things to die. This is where the “you” takes on a partial meaning to the very people watching the video, who’ve stuck around through Circus’ music and listened to what he had to say through his music. The “you” can also refer to Vocaloid as well, as it’s what allowed him to communicate his feelings through his songs. So here the lyrics are showing how it’s painful to leave behind good things, and how he doesn’t want to lose Vocaloid/his fans/the joy from his old projects as he moves onto other things. Even though selling his emotional state through his music was painful as seen in Better Off Worse, keeping it inside is also painful. He wants to keep making Vocaloid, to share his creativity and projects with people, and to cling to the joy from all the songs he’s worked on and felt proud of in the past.

Don't wanna let you go
Like a metronome
Don't wanna let you go
Like a metronome, and on it drones

Here we get the title references in the lyrics. A metronome is a repetitive ticking sound that marks a rhythm (a bit like a heartbeat), symbolizing how the memories and precious moments from making all these Vocaloid songs throughout his career will never truly go away and stop coming in the future. He doesn’t want to stop making music, or to forget about what got him where he is today.

“With copper as eyes
I wait for your voice
Cacophonies I realize as
Heaven destroyed”

So once again Miki walks forward, and the lyrics further reference things ending. Copper is a conductor for electricity and electricity is often a metaphor for excitement and pairs into electronic music and vocal synths, so I think this first part is about how the singer is looking for the next Vocaloid song/old Vocaloid songs they once loved, since the “voice” is another hint towards this being about Vocaloids. So the singer creates more music through Vocaloid (“cacophonies I realize”), they get talked about and loved, and then they end (heaven destroyed). The repeated mentions of “heaven” are communicating that the things dying here aren’t fully disappearing, they’re being immortalized in the afterlife, which feels reminiscent of how old music doesn’t really go away, it just isn’t fresh anymore. Old periods in someone’s life can still be fondly remembered as if they were in heaven. Of course, heaven is being “destroyed” here, which pairs into some future lyrics about refusing to be dead, not wanting to let the second person go, etc.

“Charcoal hearts don the night
Without your sight I am astray
Through the waves of Charon's tide
Together we could withstand doomsday”

Charcoal is a residue from heating wood, so “charcoal hearts” are hearts that have had their flame of passion lit and eventually burnt out. This is a call back to “holy lights adorn the sky”, contrasting the beloved songs created from hard work and the worn out hearts of those who poured everything into them. I would lean towards “sight” being more about the fans, so here he’s disappointed that some of the songs he works so hard on don’t get the same recognition as his more popular stuff (a very prominent theme in Better Off Worse). It’s also about how, once a song has been talked about and the hype wears out, the one who created it is left back in obscurity due to the rapid nature of social media and how fast interests wane. So here something started and ended, people aren’t talking about it or looking at it any more, and the singer doesn’t know where to go from there. As for the second half, the Charon mention is because he ferries the souls of the deceased. Another metaphor about death and moving on, maybe even an homage to previous Vocaloid producers who’ve also stopped producing. Even as things “die” and people change, so long as people stick together they can get through it. Though an artist may move onto different projects, even stylistically different ones, there’s still merit to sticking around and seeing the new. Change should be welcomed, not rejected (a parallel to Better Off Worse). The singer wants to hold onto the parts of what they loved about the things that are ending so they can accept it’s passing and move on. In the video Miki is walking forward while facing the camera, showing how the singer wants to move forward while sticking together with the audience (us Circus fans, I would imagine).

“'Cause I don't wanna leave this world
Without you holding onto me
No I don't wanna let this lonely heart be
An isolated beat”

These lyrics are the same as before, but I want to talk about the video here. Miki is merely a silhouette, showing how the singer feels empty and purposeless without the project they are leaving behind, the fans, and the Vocaloid community as a whole. (continued in the comments)

[mandragora-p]

Can’t wait to hear!! Miki’s getting her SynthV next year, it makes me so happy to see she has fans even now. Thank you Circus-P! Keep it up! 🍒

[Lenahys]

I'm stunned. When I first heard it on the CMYK album I thought "No way it could be Miki, her English is way to good, probably SynthV Teto" but it's actually her?! How? You're so talented and dedicated, it must be so much work but the result is incredible

[TheAdvertisement]

There's something unsettling about all the fantastic visuals in the background, and then there's just Miki, looking forward with a flat expression, singing her digital heart out, and yet looking like she's feels like she's just droning on the metronome. It gives this bittersweet feeling, like no matter how amazing each and every one of your songs is, there's always an end to each album, and how much more it must hurt for you to leave them behind given how much of your own heart you put into it.
But it's ok, that's how life goes. You've gotten used to the rhythm of the metronome, at least as used to it as you can, and your final message of this chapter is to tell us it's okay to follow its rhythm too. Because even in the final chorus, where Miki's artstyle changes with the beat in the background, she still has that expression. She is still her.

[GoofyDino-wr]

I know one thing's for certain and that is the fact that I'm never getting tired of this song, ever.

[MaikaMomois]

I already fell in love with this song when I heard it on my CMYK physical copy and was pleasantly surprised by it's existence. This MV just makes me love it even more, it's so beautiful and just absolutely amazing. I'm applauding absolutely everyone who worked on this, it's good.

[nonemi]

I don't know what it is about this song, but it feels reminiscent of your older works, yet simultaneously sounds like a pop song that I'd hear on the radio... I love it so much!

[metelius]

I went wild when I first heard metronome on the CMYK physical. So happy to see an MV for it

[Pawprint]

Miki is my absolute favorite Vocaloid, the reason I got so interested in it (in fact, it was iNSaNiTY that got me so into Vocaloid in the first place) and I’m always so happy seeing you use her again. She’s the first voicebank I plan to get when I am able to. Her voice is just so unique and I love it so much. And this song is so good and I’ll be listening to it all week, I can tell! And omg the art! I GASPED seeing all the different art styles. Miki looks so cute in every one of them. I love this so much. Everyone did such a great job!

[MiniEmber]

Aaa can't believe I missed this somehow. I discovered it on spotify a few days ago. It's funny to see Miki have an actual song after "Wants a song" was made. It's a bop too

[AJ-jsxi]

I've heard some of your songs 10 years ago when I was a early teen. Now, being an adult and revisiting your newer music, it still feels nostalgic even though I haven't heard them before.