Ryan 12/03/12 (Mon) 20:31:08 No.1602

The song at the end of the game is, at face value, pretty comical. It is meant to be very similar to Jonathan Coulton's "Still Alive." But if you look at the lyrics in light of the themes mentioned, a whole new, much darker tone is discovered:The lyrics at the end of the game give some light as to the nature of this Sisyphean torture (lyrics can be found here: http://villains.wikia.com/wiki/Grinning_Colossus ).The first verse seems to be directed at Bowler Hat, repeating the words "you burned the rope to save us all." This is to mock Bowler Hat's fate of being destined to burn the rope over and over and over again for the player's enjoyment. Bowler Hat doesn't really have a choice in the matter, as it is just a hollow shell that is being possessed by the player to carry out a ritualistic sacrifice for the enjoyment of the player.The chorus is directed at the player. It goes on repeat at the end of the song as an infinite loop. It does not reference Bowler Hat as a hero, but the player itself as a hero. It also offers that you can move on to, say, watch a video somewhere else online. Or to play the game again. This is an important line, because it directly refers to the cyclical nature of the events of the game: the player can choose to move on or make Bowler Hat re-live these events over and over again. Either way, Bowler Hat will be there, stuck in its own little personal hell. It can't leave; the game is the only place Bowler Hat exists. The fact that there is no other game made by the game's creator that has Bowler Hat is another thing that should be noted. (The Grinning Colossus is in another game, Death vs. Monstars, but that is made by someone who had nothing to do with YHTBTR, so it can be disregarded.)