A Somewhat Thorough Dissection of the Don't Forget Leitmotif

Hey hey hey I'm back this time with a dissection/analysis/rant about Deltarune's leitmotif Don't Forget. I hope you enjoy :D
Next year I'll be trying to get more videos out so hopefully I won't have another half a year gap between videos... (sorry about that by the way)
All the music used in this video belongs to Toby Fox! I tried to use the songs that each section was covering so just look at the title card for the section and you should be able to find the name of the song playing (:
Outro song: • Rude Buster Remix "Smo...
Andrew Cunningham's Gaster Motif video: • Everything About Gaste...
Undertale livestream VOD: kzbin.inforksOYId-...
I used a lot of sheet music to help me out with the video research and just general visuals. Here's where you can find all of it:
Once Upon a Time: musescore.com/user/5771981/sc...
The Dark Truth: musescore.com/user/29121377/s...
Big Shot: musescore.com/playfulpiano/de...
Don't Forget & Hometown: deltarune.fandom.com/wiki/Lei...
Gaster's Theme: musescore.com/user/29283943/s...
Timestamps:
0:00 - Intro
1:06 - Beginning
1:43 - School
2:32 - The Field of Hopes and Dreams
3:13 - The Scarlet Forest/The World Revolving/Friendship
7:57 - Your Power
8:25 - A Town Called Hometown
8:51 - You Can Always Come Home
9:21 - Don't Forget
10:28 - Faint Glow
10:52 - The Dark Truth
12:05 - Until Next Time
12:15 - Dog Check
12:48 - Hometown Day
13:15 - Conclusion
15:27 - Outro
Thanks for reading [:

[@lavenderorchard]

I kinda messed up on my research for the Faint Glow section, sorry! The Great Door shows there, not the artwork I showed on screen. I think the Great Door can represent Kris' journey so far for the beginning of Chapter 2 so I think my final conclusion still stands but yeah! Once again, my bad. I'll try to be more careful of relying on existing information instead of memory for my research going forward [:

[@Burningblood1984]

The website is basically impossible to search, so I'll probably never find the post again. But a long time ago I read a really good tumblr post that argued Don't Forget isn't just Kris's theme, but is specifically a Kris and Dess connection theme. And it speculated that at some point we'll hear it played as a duet on their respective instruments, the piano and the guitar.

[@lavenderorchard]

That's an interesting theory! Reminds me of the Final Duet in Omori hehe.

[@cyberneticsquid]

It places more importance on the connection between Kris and Dess than I expect from the game itself, but that's a very interesting theory!

[@richardgibson8403]

>deltarune >looks inside >omori

[@spacecowboy3569]

It all leads to Omori doesn't it?

[@woofie3917]

Kel.

[@saxeladude]

if it represents kris it would make sense for its absence in snow grave because that's not kris. think about it if frisk in undertale had a motif you think it would play in the genocide route? no of course not.

[@calebdemosthene284]

i have a theory on that

[@saxeladude]

@@calebdemosthene284 oh? go on, I'm intrigued

[@FqreBxll]

I think it may represent "dess" maybe.

[@StarLightShadows]

The way I see UT's leitmotifs, Frisk's (Reunited) only actually appears in the pacifist ending, so yeah.

[@enzuhhhhbr]

Isn't Undertale kinda like that? Let me cook with these stolen comments amalgamations and theories to build mine. It takes 7 human souls to break the Barrier. And guess how many humans happen to fall before Frisk. Think about it: What are the chances of all of those humans falling and them just happening to have one different soul color each? One Determination, one Bravery, on Justice, one Kindness, one Patience, one Integrity, and one Perseverance. Seems kind of weird, right? So here's an idea: What if each of the past fallen humans is descended from each of the sorcerers that formed the Barrier? The reason that two people with the soul of Determination fall is because they are related. Think about it. Frisk and Chara are very similar, having the same general appearance and even fashion sense, which is pointed out several times in the game. It all ads up. It's almost as if the descendants of those who created the Barrier were destined to end it or something. Chara's corpse (+ soul) was recently stolen from the coffin, because Toriel didn't actually wanted to a new war to start (They had 7 souls at the time, counting with Chara's) and gave her child a proper place to rest in peace (aka. buried below the flower bed). Frisk fell on Mt. Ebott after 100 years of Chara's fall, while they were passed out or died, Chara's "awoke" and made somehow Frisk's corpse absorbed Chara's soul (Like how Asriel could feel and hear the souls, that's why we can hear Chara), it were easy because the souls were the same trait. At the end of the True Pacifist, it says you can save 'Someone Else' (not specifically Asriel) and only after that does it say you can save 'Asriel Dreemurr' (and he keeps calling out the Player's name). Through the Pacifist route, you were showing Chara that there's still good in the world, trying to convince them giving up control. In the end, both Chara agreed to let Frisk have control of their corpse, their soul, their live. The Genocide Route of course is the opposite, grinding monsters to fully bringing Chara back to life (by showing the exact reason why they hated humanity) as they look control, realizing that their purpose is to finish the job, and go to the next plan, Asriel is now useless to their plans (Yes, I believe in Narra-Chara, Chara abused Asriel and Chara isn't evil theory at the same time), since they failed once. In a burst of rage, Chara hit Flowey a bunch of times as he said "I can help". Now, Chara is your only partner, it doesn't matter whatever you chose, you're going to get kicked out of control and to another timeline where you gived up your soul to Chara. They're gonna finish their plan no matter what. (That I think it's breaking the barrier, grabbing the souls, absorb them and then, do a genocide route on the surface, if you know what I meant)

[@loneab4359]

FINALLY, someone agrees that don't forget is kris' motif. They're the only common denominator where it's used, and narratively it'd make sense to be theirs. Plus any other candidate either already has their own motif or just doesn't make sense to fit with it lol banger vid

[@lavenderorchard]

Glad you agree and thank you!

[@existenceispain_geekthesiren]

I agree, but I do like the idea that it's OURS, or at least sung by us.

[@diamondmemer9754]

​@@lavenderorchard I don't think it is, or we would hear it in spamton's theme for example, none of the songs are particularly related to Kris

[@lavenderorchard]

@@diamondmemer9754 That's fair, though I don't think Don't Forget not being in Spamton's theme isn't a super big deal? His boss theme quotes Dummy! from Undertale and we don't even know if that character exists in Deltarune so I personally am not super hung up about it.

[@diamondmemer9754]

@@lavenderorchard the dummy theme references how spamton feels like he's just a puppet, I think Also you used too many negatives thus inverting the meaning of the first sentence Aside from that I don't see how many events like Jevil's battle and the field of hopes and dreams would be related to Kris in any way, I think it just plays in many unrelated circumstances and the only thing they have in common is Kris because they're the character we control so they have to be in every scene

[@aaandag9688]

I think Don't Forget is supposed to be Deltarune, the story/game itself's main motif; the same way Once Upon A Time is Undertale's motif and can be found all throughout the game.

[@lavenderorchard]

That's fair. Since it plays many times throughout the game so far and at the end of each chapter it at least seems to be framed that way to some extent!

[@omniscientomnipresent5500]

​​​@@lavenderorchardthe scrapped version was called piano sketch main theme! Though doesn't mean it Also represents something. Oh, also, don't forget was meant to play in the school but he scrapped it since it would've been overused.

[@nwchef]

@@omniscientomnipresent5500it would be kiiinda weird if it didn't end up representing something greater considering how much toby fox does with melodies and leitmotifs in his games

[@Vidihawk]

I think, if you cranked up the volume on the voice and background music, viewers potentially wouldn't get knocked out of their chairs by the incidental SFX and the next video in their cue. For the analysis itself, it feels like a nice and substantive exploration and I am curious enough to click on your future videos if they show up in my searches. 🙂

[@lavenderorchard]

Ah, sorry about that! I'll try to work more on my audio mixing next time. Thank you so much!

[@CyborusYT]

something very very interesting I noticed about the relation between Don't Forget and The Dark Truth, is that Don't Forget matches eerily well with ralsei's telling of the Roaring in chapter 2. Almost seems like a lightner's POV on the roaring, maybe?

[@lavenderorchard]

That's a really interesting take! I can definitely get behind that :D

[@starsspirit5435]

I loved this anaylsis! Don't Forget being Kris's theme makes a lot of sense, especially since I had always assumed that it was a lullaby that Toriel sang to them lol. I think you really brought together some good context and parts of the story :)

[@lavenderorchard]

Thank you! That's a really fun interpretation of it. I love that (:

[@Lemonade-Tree]

I always just thought the Don’t Forget motif was the games theme, but this is a fun theory!

[@lavenderorchard]

Thank you! That's what I thought at first too [:

[@lourdespachla6516]

"THIS OBSERVATION." "IT IS INTERESTING." "VERY." "VERY." "INTERESTING INDEED." "BUT DON'T FORGET." "ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS" "IF IT COULD GET DARKER." "AND YET DARKER THAN DARK." -the beholder

[@pemanilnoob]

I had no idea gaster’s theme was so prevalent! It’s basically impossible to remember what it sounds like without having just listened to it! Lol

[@lavenderorchard]

Yeah when I listen for Gaster's Theme I usually replay it a lot because the same thing happens to me lol

[@pemanilnoob]

@@lavenderorchard haha amazing

[@monky4640]

very interesting analysis, really good for a relatively small channel also i respect the persistent use of the bit

[@foldertim]

Great analysis! Love this work

[@jasonlaagland-nz5mq]

It's pretty rad and that thumbnail looks cool

[@lavenderorchard]

Thank you so much!

[@celaine_]

I liked how you kept on saying… “very… interesting” and “curious” very gaster of you 😅

[@lavenderorchard]

Hehe thanks

[@spinomania1921]

I find it interesting how the motif appears way more in chapter 1's Dark World than in chapter 2's. Although that might just be Toby wanting to reinforce the motif at the start of the game

[@lavenderorchard]

Yeahhh I think so too

[@UnicornLovers10]

Before I came across this video, I figured that Faint Courage (the Game Over theme) was Kris's leitmotif/theme. But you've opened my mind up to the possibility of Don't Forget being their theme either alongside Faint Courage or instead of it. If you're wondering why I figured that Faint Courage would be Kris's leitmotif, it was based on vibes. Just purely their vibes.

[@lavenderorchard]

Happy to hear it hehe [: That's an interesting take too!

[@Maybeagamer_]

think the dont forget theme is the hope/happiness theme since jevil is happy in his cell, but spamton hates his body and has no hope, but this theory falls apart when you think about the area themes

[@Leo_Dragontamer]

This is a really good video, I am surprised you have so few subscribers! I’ll join that small number and make it a little bigger.

[@lavenderorchard]

Thank you so much!

[@n.ar.]

very underrated video! rated 5 stars

[@lavenderorchard]

Thank you so much!!

[@FoxGG411]

I would have liked to hear the Don't Forget leitmotif in Big Shot, Toby probably has his own intentions to not put it there maybe... Anyway, the entire soundtrack of chapter 1 it's just heaven to my ears, and it's my favorite ost of all the chapters I've heard so far, not so far from chapter 2 that much but, always every song of Toby it's just beautiful and heavenly, gratest dog composer of all times1!1!!!

[@devlinmcguire7543]

It has strong themes with both memories.... and _weirdly_ also water and wind I think. Though water and wind seem almost like DON'T forget's evil twin brother. So probably don't forget has good connotations and wind/water bad or at least mysterious connotations.

[@LB_]

Nice video, but the volume level is at like 10% compared to all other videos on KZbin. If someone turns up their volume to hear you can forgets to turn it back down afterward, they'll be ear-blasted by the next video they watch. In future videos be sure to compare your volume levels to other popular KZbin videos before publishing. I gave a listen to the starts of your latest videos after this one and they sounded louder thankfully, keep up the good work :)

[@Christopherjazzcat]

Cool video. I enjoyed your analysis. A production note to be aware of, your transition noise is significantly louder than your voice on most devices, which is a bit jarring.

[@KyleLyre13]

Love the video! Did have a question; Do you hear "Don't Forget" in the CORE ost in Undertale? I'm not sure if I'm actually hearing it or not, and I think if it is there, it's a noteworthy inclusion.

[@lavenderorchard]

Thank you! I've been getting quite a few comments about the Don't Forget leitmotif in the Undertale OST hehe. I gave a listen and my ears didn't pick up on any specific section that sounded a lot like the leitmotif...Do you mind telling me which section you heard it in?

[@KyleLyre13]

@@lavenderorchard Sorry it took me so long to get back with you, I wanted to make sure I had it right, and tricked myself more than once into thinking that I was imagining it. From what I hear, the 'Don't Forget' lietmotif is three descending notes, followed by four ascending notes, one down note and one up note. I'm hearing it in the lower-pitched part of the beginning of CORE.

[@saxeladude]

why does the field of hopes and dreams the only place where there's splash text for song title? which also happens to be the same font as mettaton's bake show to my recollection.

[@lavenderorchard]

I think it's because Lancer had a sign saying it was the field of despair or something so it was just supposed to be a visual gag? Also nice catch! I think it's just a font Toby Fox likes using lol

[@saxeladude]

@@lavenderorchard thank you!!! it might be a visual gag, I'm as unsure as you are, I think for it to reference lancers sign it would be foreshadowing since lancer is met later in the area. I think the gag it's the other way around where lancer is making fun of it being named the field of hopes and dreams, since both the song and location share the name. though it does bring up an interesting question on how diagetic the music in deltarune is.

[@lavenderorchard]

@@saxeladude Good point! Hmm I hadn't really thought about what music is diegetic in Deltarune before! Perhaps that might be a future video topic lol.

[@Landjrin]

The splash text for the name of the song I'm 99% sure is a Touhou reference.

[@saxeladude]

@@Landjrin elaborate, how? I'm confused

[@scissorbanner9735]

Maybe the motif in the world revolving is because Jevil was locked away under the castle for a long time. Like, in the dark. Idfk.

[@SquaredNES]

deltarune fansong creators watching this video:

[@SecretSynth]

Leitmotif? More like darkmotif XD

[@Mr-wd2wn]

take my subscription

[@structioner4588]

Good content! Where did you find that dog car image?

[@lavenderorchard]

Thank you! This video was before I started doing image credits sadly but off the top of my head it's most likely either from the Deltarune Wiki or from the Deltarune subreddit [':

[@PrincePuppy611]

14:09 I feel like Don't Forget isn't for any character but instead is for deltarune itself kinda like the Undertale leitmotif in Undertale or Bone Theme in Boneworks and Bonelab meant to be something you remember the game for but I could see Kris also possibly but since Kris is the main character it could go either way or even be both Edit: nvm I didn't watch far enough and you said this like 5 seconds later 💀

[@GeoBlitzy]

30 SUBS IS CRAZY

[@Mewfan151.]

I thought it said _"Don't ever forget"_ and was confused by the Deltarune imagery lol

[@How_Is_This_A_Name]

how come this video is so quiet? I have to have this video maxed out, my computer's volume maxed out, and chrome maxed out in the volume mixer, and everything else at around 5% so nothing overpowers it ;^;

[@Ongle_Spongle]

Maybe I’m just crazy, but I *swear* I hear a chunk of the “don’t forget” melody in the Undertale theme, Specifically throughout the 4:50+ piano section, I hear the “I’m with you in the dark” section of the theme (with a slightly higher note change on the “I’m” part) Again, I could just be crazy!

[@lavenderorchard]

I thought this sounded pretty interesting so I went and listened to the song and compared some sheet music! I can see where you're coming from with it sounding similar but it turns out it's just that. I think what you might be hearing is a similar contour (the up and down of the notes) between those two sections of the songs? Thanks for the comment regardless :D

[@Ongle_Spongle]

@@lavenderorchard no problem! 😊👍

[@CyborusYT]

Don't Forget is definitely quite prominent in Snowdin Town/Shop

[@lavenderorchard]

@@CyborusYT Are you talking about the higher pitched piano at the end of each song? Because I'm struggling to find a section of either song where the leitmotif would be "quite prominent" [':

[@CyborusYT]

@erorchard In Snowdin Town, at 0:33 the bells/piano/whatever instrument sounds like "I'm with you in the dark", and at 0:56 the strings sound a bit like the the start of Don't Forget. In Shop, the piano at 0:24 sounds like the start of Don't Forget

[@GameGardener]

You should turn up your mic audio. A bit hard to hear on both my phone, and computer.

[@QSBraWQ]

Could you add chapters please? Would be nice to be able to directly skip to the theory part, instead of looking at all the ground work.

[@lavenderorchard]

Yep! They should be up there now. I'll do chapters/timestamps for all my videos going forward too, thanks for the suggestion [:

[@nwchef]

@@lavenderorchard [: might be the most terrifying way to communicate a smile through text i've ever seen , ,

[@laceylopp7039]

ngl a lot of the time you say gasters theme is in a song it’s just a normal arpeggio, i have big doubts that he has anything to do with them

[@lavenderorchard]

That's fair. He could have nothing to do with it. Gaster's Theme is also generic enough that it's a bit harder to pin point what songs are quoting him and which could be like you say, just a normal arpeggio. While I think the songs I referenced in my video are quoting that theme, I appreciate the alternate perspective (:

[@michelleacosta8550]

Gaster's theme is a simple arpeggio, which causes it to be in moat of the UT/DR songs (or at least appears to be). I believe this is intentional as a way to show that he is everywhere, someone analyzed and made a video of it but I can't remember the name rn. But yeah, Gaster's theme is in a lot of songs because it is very simple.

[@whentheskittlesfightback]

im witj you in the bark

[@thepotatoportal69]

I'm woof you in the bark

[@yappingScramble]

davepeta

[@unfunny5928]

overall good video, but you should work on your sound mixing. your voice is very quiet and the transition sound is rather loud

[@TailsClock]

Neat video, I didn't realize it was so prolific. But could you maybe speak up? Or at least reduce the volume of the inbetween bits to match you quiet voice? For a video about music, this ironically ended up being painful to the ears.

[@lavenderorchard]

Thanks! Yeah, when I made this video I wasn't the best at balancing the audio...My more recent videos are better about that though [':

[@roysparkizay]

i completely disagree, the leitmotif is used in "faint glow" where kris isn't present, but good video i enjoyed it

[@lavenderorchard]

I was going more on the line of logic of when Faint Glow plays you can see Kris in the artwork, but that's fair! Glad you enjoyed the video regardless.

[@roysparkizay]

doesn't faint glow only play when the great door is on the title screen?

[@lavenderorchard]

@@roysparkizay No, it plays for the Chapter 2 Title Screen as well which features Kris and the gang [:

[@roysparkizay]

@@lavenderorchard can you link a video where it's playing over that bg?

[@lavenderorchard]

@@roysparkizay I could have sworn it played over that title screen but I guess I was wrong. Sorry about that! I still do stand by my conclusion since the Great Door is kind of representative of Kris' journey so far at that point in the game. Thank you for pointing that out to me.

[@saerann]

it's pronounced lay-motif

[@lavenderorchard]

When I Googled the word and clicked on the pronunciation guide it said leitmotif the same way I do.

[@GameOn044]

"Gaster-" *dislike*