While it’s not very popular a lot of people in the fandom have dubbed the female lead “Stella” named after the Stella octangula

finally someone willing to analyze the whole album

i think that the line "i was a victim of magic, apollo", is about cypress, beloved of apollo, who was turned into a tree by apollo himself. and also, cypress simbolicly is a tree of sadness, and mourning for the dead, and as we can remember female character is died, so i think it makes sense

Fun food for thought: "thou" and "thine" in old modern english was used to indicate a sense of closeness to a person, which is cool when you consider the whole isolationist metaphor. But what's even more cool (imo), is the use of thee/thou/thine to refer to the dead! When you combine this with the first line of the section "maybe you'll exit tomorrow", definitely makes me think that that section is about death, and "sudden invincible flowing, a river" and all that is about how one feels in the afterlife. So cool that you're doing the whole album!

I interpret the reference to Apollo and the line “catching my breath as I bled on the ground” as allusion to the myth of Hyacinth, in which Apollo’s lover is struck in the head by a discus by the jealous Zephyrus, who wants Hyacinth’s love and decides if he can’t have Hyacinth, no one can. Hyacinth bleeds out in Apollos arms, and Apollo wishes to be mortal to die with him but can’t. Apollo instead decides to remember Hyacinth through his music and by creating a flower for him by the same name, leaving Hyacinth “gone, but not forgotten,” with the whole story being a reference to “long, but forgotten old lore.” I think this adds an important layer to the love story when considered, and adds more context to Simon’s feelings.

I like how you're actually taking the time to break this masterpiece of an album down song by song. There are a surprising amount of analyses that just skim over the tracks, picking and choosing certain lines to focus on.

"Simon has to keep these memories" Gee, well, I sure do hope nothing happens to those memories!

*”Then, all the planets fell to dust Lonely, departing after us Gone, not forgotten Long, but forgotten old lore In every element of life Love camouflaging under strife Or other matters Mind over matters, let there be more”* masterpiece this song

0:07 I love how the song goes "Blinding shining star" while your image has stars in its eyes

my personal interpretation of the part Betty/Stella sings is that she is trying to comfort Simon from his obsession with heaven. "Know what cant be shown" meaning belief in things (such as religion) does not need a physical conformation to be real to someone "Feel what cant be known" meaning if something is unknowable or unexplained, the feeling is known and is real

I believe that the Hawaii part ii is a album detailing the story of a man who was cursed with immortality which is a curse bestowed upon him with the added factor of the passing time degrading his mind and the alter ego of himself infecting his mind and causing the death of his lover. The following paragraphs will detail how this interpretation is a suitable story for the album. The first song “Introduction to the snow” shows him reminiscing on his past life as he floats on the precipice of all eternity when everything fades away as he gazes upon the stars and his mind detailing how beautiful and bitter it is. The second song “Isle Unto Thyself” starts us off with an ethereal sounding chant that might have been the goddess he and his lover worshiped or himself reminiscing on the past. Then it cuts to the man detailing how he met the love of his life and like the quote “why would it matter” doubting why and how it all started or maybe him being hesitant of love and how it may hurt him. The song I believe details his love and journey with her and him questioning if the memory was real then the song lyrics details on how when he was on the brink off death “Bled on the ground” he met the god and he was given the immortality he wanted and his alter ego too unbeknownst to them it would be a curse. Next it describes how the universe passed through and how he describes it and how it all died and him questioning his humanity as he ponders life. The song “Black Rainbows” is sung by the woman and is set in what I believe is Hawaii where the 2 lovers met and how they came upon Stella Octangula which basically defines a god(search it up and the theory of its meaning) the song follows how they saw the light that it shown and the possibilities and how beautiful their love and “it” was. (Btw the songs if you listen in order mix like a musical flowing together perfectly ) The next song white ball details a tango both physically and metaphorically kinda where they danced and detail about the future of the stars and eternity and their love together but later on it’s only him who lives forever. This song “Murders'' is a song shows the ego shows how it depicted of the love and how it pessimistically saw it and how he was in the middle and how all it wanted was the fountain of infinite mirrors which basically means immortality and how the ego took control and killed the love of his life and how at the end he gains control and spirals down into his depths of tragedy. The next song is the Japanese song which is translated to space station level 7 which basically details how humans evolved into going into space what it looks like but level 7 is a gate a final gate to heaven which the song constantly chants which leads me to believe that the man lives and is looking for heaven where his lover is and constantly looking for death. The song “Mind Electric” depicts how he was caught for killing his lover and how he is in court pleading to the court of his alter ego which they sentence him to death and how he depicts his degrading mind. And with his sentence he is sentenced to electric chair and how he depicts the electric corses through his brain and how his alter ego is becoming more present in his mind commenting on how the surfs work the ground and he plays with his mind and how it or him prays for it to end the torture and suffering. Next song is Labyrinth which describes how his mind is spinning and how he’s trying to get out and how now he feels like his past lover is following and has already gone to level 7 aka heaven. The rapper is the man and his mind as he acknowledges how he is running from the people trying to kill him and how he is in fear of his alter ego/god may cause the death of more and how he is trapped in this cycle. The song “Time Machine” is showing how he is now in the future waiting for the release of life and how he regrets what the ego has done, possibly conquered the ego or fused together because the other thoughts did not appear in the song. It follows his desire to go back with a Time Machine which he is awaiting to appear so he can go back and prevent all of it. The song “Stranded Lullaby” is detailing on him being stranded out in space and time and I believe he finally conquered his ego but became numb to the idea of basically everything with the only remaining shard of him being his lover and he is “lost at sea” or he has finally came to terms with his alter ego and he questions why it did what it did and why it was so lonely. The final song is “Dream Sweet in Sea Major” the final song based on my interpretation is where he finally conquered the ego and becomes and the god finally brings him the the promised land when he floated through space and finally reached level 7 where he finally is reunited with his lover as he savor the moment and the moment forever where the verses describe them going back into Hawaii and where they relive their love and what is to come as they love within heaven which he reached and the final verse he says good bye to Hawaii which is a representation of the ego torture and what he felt to finally get their as he grows and anew and will spend forever in eternity with his love. This is what I believe the album means in most sense. I believe the conclusion I detailed is what actually finally happened in that marvelous story which was detailed in the album Hawaii part ii.

2:28 the melody that plays at this part, I can't get enough of it. I'm literally obsessed with that part. So much that I learned to play it on a piano app on my phone and I open it up and play it whenever I want to hear it.

16:45 the whale is also the internet persona of Joe Hawley. His website's name is whalejoey and during the years he has been called the whale by the band members.

Its worth noting that the demo has simon specifically refering to himself (I was an isle unto myself, I had a heart I hadnt felt)

i already love this series im most excited to find out - why people call him simon - what is up with the mind electric

i believe the "why did we deserver to be revived" line is the obligatory line about september 11th in every song. sort of as if the tragedy is getting revived to retell their story as the tale of two lovers

People call the girl Stella (because the usage of the Stella octangular in the miracle musical logo)

I feel like the only human who will ever understand this album in its entirety is Joe Hawley himself. Us mortals can only hope to scratch the surface.

I love calling "The female lead" Stella, after the Stella Octangula

6 months late! Hawaii part II is simultaneously both the best and the worst thing to ever happen to me, (my way of saying i loove something). Really looking forward to hearing you dissect the whole album. Love how you’ve called the girl Betty, I’m a huge fan of Adventure Time, too. If it’s worth something, lest you’ve already listened to it, I recommend listening to Hawaii part II part II, basically the demos for the album. Something I feel is worth talking about is that in the Isle Unto Thyself demo 1, (might be demo 1? I’ll check) The first verse is Simon referring in the first person, replacing “You were an isle unto thyself,” with “I was an isle unto thyself, I had a heart I..” and so on. D’you think they’ve changed it for a reason? I’d love to see you use the demos as reference for analyzing the already cryptic finished album. Sorry for the already long comment, but woah! You don’t see fellow neurodivergent creators on KZfaq, even less of nd people talking about stuff they’re actually interested about. I’m autistic myself, and I’ve always wanted to make video essays like these. It must be so freeing for you to talk about your fixations like this, I’ve mad respect for that. Keep up the great work!

Nice video! Y’know the lines: “I was a victim of magic,Apollo Catching my breath as I bled on the ground” Reminds me of my study of Homer’s Iliad. When Achilles finally kills Hector of Troy, Apollo watches over and protects his body from Achilles who tried to damage and dishonour his body as further vengeance for his friend Patroclus’ death (there are clues that they are lovers and it is sometimes “canon” in later editions 😏). Anyways that was a tangent. Ummm so Apollo watched Hectors body as it bled on the ground. He used his “magic” to protect this body so he would later be able to “follow” someone to the “afterlife” when he gets a proper funeral (in Greek religion, one must have a proper funeral to be able to enter the Labrynth, cross the river Styx and enter the underworld). Nerd moment

If you don't know, there is another band called Tally Hall from the early 2000's. 4/5 members from the band make an appearance in Hawaii part 2. and to appreciate the true beauty of Hawaii part 2, you need to be pretty well versed inside the Fandom (listen to both albums and watch the 3 hour documentary) there are some things that will definitely make your claims a lot more based in fact in the documentary and the albums

fans have said that the female vocals in the song are sung by sirens as Simon is on the boat/ship sailing to Hawaii, which I like to believe is the case just because the idea of sirens singing in the dark moonlit water to this song makes a very beautiful picture in my head.

You were an isle unto thyself

I found you through your minecraft enchantment system video, and I can't express how happy I was to see the Miracle Musical reference in your background art. so when I clicked through to your channel to see what else you'd made and saw this and your other Hawaii Part II videos I was extremely excited! I'm also very much in the "Hawaii Part II is my favorite album of all time" camp. I was lucky enough to snatch an official vinyl pressing of it a year ago and it is one of my most prized possessions.

oh my god why does this have less than 200 likes 😦 ITS WELL EDITED AND WELL EXPLAIN

New and improved interpretation of Hawaii part ii + ruler of everything and variations on the clouds. Before we start this is the backstory on how I found these, found the ruler of everything first then mind electric second but in a closet time period to it. I saw an explanation by the ruler of everything which explained the basic frame of the entire story like 2 years from the current writing of this explanation. This is what the songwriter got its inspiration from with the story and using some of his unused unfinished songs and incorporated them into the album. If you think of the ruler of everything as a demo, inspiration, and enactment of the man’s feelings throughout all of it (explanation of ruler of everything will be at the end). I found how the song and the albums themes and mood were overall similar then I dug deeper for the explanation for Hawaii which I think are false, which led me even deeper to my explanation here so please read and if you have any discrepancies please tell. I believe that the Hawaii part ii is a album detailing the story of a man who was cursed with immortality which is a curse bestowed upon him with the added factor of the passing time degrading his mind and the alter ego of himself infecting his mind and causing the death of his lover. The following paragraphs will detail how this interpretation is a suitable story for the album. The first song “Introduction to the snow” shows him reminiscing on his past life as he floats on the precipice of all eternity when everything fades away as he gazes upon the stars and his mind detailing how beautiful and bitter it is. The second song “Isle Unto Thyself” starts us off with an ethereal sounding chant that might have been the goddess he and his lover worshiped or himself reminiscing on the past. Then it cuts to the man detailing how he met the love of his life and like the quote “why would it matter” doubting why and how it all started or maybe him being hesitant of love and how it may hurt him. The song I believe details his love and journey with her and him questioning if the memory was real then the song lyrics details on how when he was on the brink off death “Bled on the ground” he met the god and he was given the immortality he wanted and his alter ego too unbeknownst to them it would be a curse. Next it describes how the universe passed through and how he describes it and how it all died and him questioning his humanity as he ponders life. The song “Black Rainbows” is sung by the woman and is set in what I believe is Hawaii where the 2 lovers met and how they came upon Stella Octangula which basically defines a god(search it up and the theory of its meaning) the song follows how they saw the light that it shown and the possibilities and how beautiful their love and “it” was. (Btw the songs if you listen in order mix like a musical flowing together perfectly ) The next song white ball details a tango both physically and metaphorically kinda where they danced and detail about the future of the stars and eternity and their love together but later on it’s only him who lives forever. This song “Murders'' is a song shows the ego shows how it depicted of the love and how it pessimistically saw it and how he was in the middle and how all it wanted was the fountain of infinite mirrors which basically means immortality and how the ego took control and killed the love of his life and how at the end he gains control and spirals down into his depths of tragedy. The next song is the Japanese song which is translated to space station level 7 which basically details how humans evolved into going into space what it looks like but level 7 is a gate a final gate to heaven which the song constantly chants which leads me to believe that the man lives and is looking for heaven where his lover is and constantly looking for death. The song “Mind Electric” depicts how he was caught for killing his lover and how he is in court pleading to the court of his alter ego which they sentence him to death and how he depicts his degrading mind. And with his sentence he is sentenced to electric chair and how he depicts the electric corses through his brain and how his alter ego is becoming more present in his mind commenting on how the surfs work the ground and he plays with his mind and how it or him prays for it to end the torture and suffering. Next song is Labyrinth which describes how his mind is spinning and how he’s trying to get out and how now he feels like his past lover is following and has already gone to level 7 aka heaven. The rapper is the man and his mind as he acknowledges how he is running from the people trying to kill him and how he is in fear of his alter ego/god may cause the death of more and how he is trapped in this cycle. The song “Time Machine” is showing how he is now in the future waiting for the release of life and how he regrets what the ego has done, possibly conquered the ego or fused together because the other thoughts did not appear in the song. It follows his desire to go back with a Time Machine which he is awaiting to appear so he can go back and prevent all of it. The song “Stranded Lullaby” is detailing on him being stranded out in space and time and I believe he finally conquered his ego but became numb to the idea of basically everything with the only remaining shard of him being his lover and he is “lost at sea” or he has finally came to terms with his alter ego and he questions why it did what it did and why it was so lonely. The final song is “Dream Sweet in Sea Major” the final song based on my interpretation is where he finally conquered the ego and becomes and the god finally brings him the the promised land when he floated through space and finally reached level 7 where he finally is reunited with his lover as he savor the moment and the moment forever where the verses describe them going back into Hawaii and where they relive their love and what is to come as they love within heaven which he reached and the final verse he says good bye to Hawaii which is a representation of the ego torture and what he felt to finally get their as he grows and anew and will spend forever in eternity with his love. This is what I believe the album means in most sense. I believe the conclusion I detailed is what actually finally happened in that marvelous story which was detailed in the album Hawaii part ii. Now unto ruler of everything, before explaining remember that ruler of everything was way before and the ground for Hawaii part ii. The song starts out with “Juno was mad he knew he’d been had so he shot at the sun with a gun…” (please read lyrics to understand what i'm saying) implying that Juno/Man was mad because he got tricked into living forever causing for him to lose his loved ones, have the devil/ruler of time/ ruler of everything in the end being in his consciousness(like the alter ego) with its commentary and low tone. The song mentions the sun and how life expanded out of it and around it into the galaxy and the sun literally a god was there with Juno and how the sun knew of the deal he made and could have stopped him. “Every end of a time is another begun” is how Juno saw the passing of time, “you understand mechanical hands are the ruler of everything” mechanical hands being the hands on a clock and how time rules everything, and “do you like how I dance ect ect of the verse” basically states how Juno saw how man was obsessive over how they look talked walked and the view of other for their approvment and how they don’t care that they may “die soon” or disintegrate into chalk. The rest is fodder basically meaning he just bumbled around without meaning and how the time deity criticizes but emphasizes with him. Variations on a cloud first thing straight is not connected to Hawaii part ii or ruler of everything. Blatant reference to their song and overall theme but not connected. Also this supports why I think the ruler of everything is to be taken into consideration when talking about Hawaii part ii. Song starts out with 2 singers both the same person optimistic high tuned awaiting and departing for the future and seeing the beauty of it and the one who doesn’t want to leave the world and what they made and how it’s disappearing in a basic sense. The context is how basically 9/11 yada yada but in 9/11 people were getting burned to death and were stuck onto so people saw as these people were jumping off holding hands to their death which is what the singer is detailing their thoughts and life as it flashes before their eyes “a little bit of magic to end the world”. You can relate the lyrics to this no need to elaborate it shows how he tells of his mother and friends and how they were to him, what he built up how it’s crashing down, and how he/optimistic one accepts it how the memories keep on coming back and coming back as he falls to his death but happy and accept for what is to be for the life he lived and what may lay ahead. Very good song too. I believe this song was also a passion project to the viewers who understand it like a wrap up and gift for a final departure. And so too with these songs for it wraps up the explanation of this song and the rest of all of this.

Cant wait to see your analysis of my favorite of the album, White Ball! This was a very interesting video.

I love this, i absorbed the album so many times, and with the context of looking at earlier joe hawley things :> I cried and laughed and danced to these songs while high like the oracles of Delphi on zaza every time I return to it, I restructure my own mind

Isle Unto Thyself from Hawaii Part II: Part II is fire

OOOOO im excited for this, this is the first time i've heard an interpretation really includes Isle Unto Thyself meaningfully! Time to go binge the other videos that are out so far

Love that even Joe Hawley tortures his OCs for lore development

Hello umm so I have an *idea* for your future video on “The Mind Electric” when you get to it (as you can see I am very excited). At around 31 seconds and 36 seconds into the reverse part of the song, it sounds like the woman is singing “I am going to die” but in mandarin. I can speak and listen to mandarin but i sadly can’t write, read or type, but it sounds like “Wo Yao sî le” romanised letters. I find it interesting that the reverse English of her saying “when fall inside a hole you couldn’t see” sounds like this in mandarin. She says it twice in the song and this phrase is present in the demos as well so I don’t think it is a coincidence. I only came across this half a year ago after listening to this in the background. It was such a shock when I heard it, I thought I was mad 😂 Anyways please spread the word about this because I’ve never seen anybody talk about this. o7

I honestly can’t wait to see more if these

I hope somebody sees this but another interesting thing to note, that in the mind electric, specifically in the non distorted version (where there's more voices), there's this deeper voice around 2:13, after simon, or whoever sings; "and you fall inside a hole you couldn't see", which seems to be saying "The curse of Apollo" (albeit pronounced a bit more like Apallo) and now hearing that Apollo is also referenced in Isle unto Thyself, is very interesting to me and makes me believe Apollo is something a bit more in this album

For this song, I usually interpret it as Simon moving to Hawaii to escape his original home, New York, after the trauma he recieved during 9/11. "All the planets fell to dust" could both reference the falling towers (Part of the *World* trade center) and their dust clouds; as well as how his world shattered after this happened.

I love it when people discuss this album (especially when discussing the whale and the very existential questions at the end of IUTS referencing other songs in the album!) , but I think there's point where conclusions are jumped to, like it taking place in the sixties. From what we know from Hawley, this concept album centered a lot around 9/11 (how people reacted to it, media, how it changed the modern world,) so I personally find it hard to believe that this story would take place some forty odd years before. I do enjoy the song-by-song episodes though, as it gives you more time to give each song the attention it deserves. very excited to see the series continue!

The gateway drug into miracle musical is tally hall. After that it leads to Joe Hawley.

your goat character is adorable!

I remember how much I freaked out whenever I figured out what I think the album means and it was so cool I think it's two people growing together then slowly breaking apart but the guy realizes he hates not being with her and his paradise that the goddess gives him is actually getting back with her later in his life or after he dies but I doubt that

I'm already in love with this series and I'm desperate for more

FINALLY I have found someone who is making stuff about Hawaii pt II! My day has been gifted!

I wrote a whole entire Essay about what I think the album is about and I don’t even know how to explain it but I also assumed Betty’s name as Stella because of how in black rainbows she sings “Stella Octangula” now I know that it’s a shape, but that shape symbolizes freedom. Freedom that Stella could provide to Simon. Idk

fun fact: the weird sound at the ending of isle unto thyself is actually a sample from VOAC repeated thousands of times! from what i found its the words 'miracle worker' with a new one being added after each 'miracle'

I've been perusing through a lot of Hawaii: part ii content as of late, It has been super interesting to see people's different takes on the songs. But one where each one is (assumedly) going to get its own video?! Color me intrigued. :)

this is my favorite song off the album

Calling the characters Simon and Betty would also correlate the whole thing to "&" ("big bad betty of the 'pocalipse" is perfect for the finale)

Interesting to hear what the song might mean in context of the album! Though I never interpreted it... even close to this, lol. A lot of my initial reading wasn't aware that the album was meant to be a continuous story - a claim I also can't find any backing for? (Note: I say this not to say it's wrong, but because I was curious and was trying to dig for it.) I instead found the album a reflection on motifs, both musically and conceptually. So while my interpretation won't work in the context of the full story - the way my interpretation of Dream Sweet also wouldn't - I did find the song very personally meaningful in a context unrelated to it. This song in particular was my favorite, for a few reasons. But I always read it as a missed (romantic) opportunity, and the pain of someone who has feelings that cannot be returned. The female speaker isn't someone speaking to a star - it's the universe speaking to the singer, encouraging them. A singer who has some form of isolation and depression, judging by their calling themself "an isle unto [myself]". They had an opportunity to connect with someone they care for deeply, and it failed disastrously, and they're trying to convince themselves that it doesn't matter, that they'll just heal so it shouldn't matter. (Note: I do think the first few lines aren't speaking to a second person, but are the singer speaking about themself. I point to the song's demo lyrics, where it was "I was an isle unto myself/I had a heart that hadn't felt" instead. The same demo also uses singular on the next line, though the change from "I" to "we" implies that perhaps the singer is only guessing at what the other person is feeling) ... but of course, their true feelings are that they've become a "victim of magic", of the god Apollo - they feel like they've become victim to love in a similar way to Apollo and his many now-vegetative lovers. (Others have noted the comparisons to Cypress and Hyacinth here) But someone is asking them to move forward. The rest of the song is a little more straightforward and, oddly, hopeful: it's the singer admitting that time moves on, and heals all wounds, but that doesn't mean the pain and tragedy doesn't matter. That they can find something worthwhile and lovely under that isolation, depression, unrequited love - themselves. And the final bridge is saying that they can leave that behind someday, for something better. The questions, here, are the singer asking about the tragedies of the universe - how is their pain in the universe, why should they feel so pained when there's far worse in the world. Admittedly, I first listened to the album like, right at the start of Going Through It on some things, so my interpretation is very biased in places.

Ciao? I'm Italian and I appreciated that

Do you know about Joe Hawley (the creator and lead singer of Hawaii part 2)’s other works, like his involvement in tally hall or his album called Joe Hawley Joe Hawley

Hawaii Part II is very well made when it comes to how it can be interpreted there's a lot of similarities in what's presented here and what I've interpreted it as yet also some key differences it is very nice how there is be a pretty large amount of things and ways to debate what it all means

I think these lyrics about the murder. Apollo is actually placed before line 2. Line 1 references the fountain of mirrors Line 2 is her going to heaven in space station level 7 after being killed Lines 3 and 4 references the Earl King and her following him without knowing I was a victim of magic Apollo, catching my breath as I bled on the ground Somebody called me to follow I followed thinking aloud without hearing the sound

How are you so unpopular????? How???

You're a genius

yummy album!

THANK YOU THIS IS AMAZING

I don't know what the implications would be, but I'm wondering about a potential connection between "speaking aloud without hearing the sound" and "she knows you heard her/Staging music murder" in Dream Sweet.

My favourite song zver and i still dont know what the fuck it means

I think the last four lines are more of a broadening question. Why did fire erupted lands arrive? We establish a violent environment (Hawaii's volcanoes, by the way.) Why did murderous animals survive? We establish a violent ecosystem. If they're so violent, why were they allowed to live? Why do we deserve to be revived? If we're such terrible creatures, why do we deserve anything good? Why was any and everything alive? If everything's so violent and terrible, why was any of it allowed to continue? I guess, in a way, this might be questioning if there is a God if he allows such terrible things to happen, but that's not mentioned. In the end, we are left with plenty of questions, but not many answers.

I believe the Hawl said in an interview that Hawaii Part ii and Variations on a cloud are part of one big "9/11 Musical". You cannot imagine my disappointment when I heard that.

the part ii could be two souls standing next to each other the twin towers (part i was pearl harbor)

hawai port too

Joe Hawley often refers to himself as “The Whale”, so it’s his story

WHY WHOULD IT MATTER?

ay bro nice tie

3:19 when i first heard the album i got super confused about all of the 9/11 stuff so i thought that "hawaii part two" meant the second major war/conflict-starting attack on american soil (the first being the attacks on pearl harbor)

Same

HELL YESSSSSSS

So, you won’t cover variations? It’s worth it tho…

what is schlatt doing?

I was a victim of magic

i was a victim of magic

i saw the profile pic and i went" dope a furry with great taste" but for real you seem soo cool

YOOOOOOO

subbed btw

Do you know I think in the world, Hawaii part two is talking about it’s talking about death

It’s talking about death

I don't see a whale on the cover