"Roses of May" (ローズ・オブ・メイ, Rōzu Obu Mei?) is General Beatrix's theme from Final Fantasy IX, composed and arranged by Nobuo Uematsu.
"Roses of May" is written in D minor, and throughout the piece, the first four notes of the ascending scale (D, E, F, G) are repeated.
Game appearances[]
Final Fantasy IX[]
Being General Beatrix's motif, "Roses of May" can be heard during appearances of her, more specifically when she questions Brahne at the Red Rose after the events at Cleyra, and when Zidane and Baku speak to Beatrix when searching for Garnet at Alexandria.
An arrangement of "Roses of May" named "Something to Protect" (守るべきもの, Mamorubeki Mono?) plays continuously during Steiner and Beatrix's battles against Mistodons during the Battle of Alexandria.
"Roses of May" and "Something to Protect" are tracks 2 and 18 respectively of disc 3 on the Final Fantasy IX: Original Soundtrack. "Something to Protect" is also released as track 23 on the Uematsu's Best Selection - Music From The Final Fantasy IX Video Game. They are also remastered and released as tracks 60 and 76 on the Final Fantasy IX Original Soundtrack Revival Disc.
Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail[]
The original "Something to Protect" from Final Fantasy IX plays during the scene of the colosseum match in Living Memory. It is track 48 on the Dawntrail: Final Fantasy XIV Original Soundtrack.
"Roses of May (Dawntrail)" is an arrangement by Daiki Ishikawa that plays as the boss theme in the instanced duty battle against Zelenia in 
Recollection and Recollection (Extreme). It is track 6 on the Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail - EP5 digital mini album.
Final Fantasy XV[]
"Roses of May" and "Something to Protect" appear in the music player on the Memories of FFIX (Disc 1) - OST album purchased from Coernix Station - Cauthess for 100 gil.
Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy[]
The original version of "Roses of May" is, along with "Festival of the Hunt" and "Swords of Fury", part of the Final Fantasy IX Music Pack DLC distributed through the PlayStation Network.
It may be automatically selected for Arcade and Quick Battles featuring Zidane Tribal or Kuja, or taking place at the Crystal World or the M.S. Prima Vista.
Dissidia Final Fantasy NT[]
"Something to Protect (Arrangement)" is an arrangement by Takeharu Ishimoto and Ayano available as battle music that was a reward from winning "Battle of the Gods – Act 4" (Jan. 2017). The original track from Final Fantasy IX also appears.
"Something to Protect (Arrangement)" is track 13 of disc 1 on the Dissidia Final Fantasy -Arcade- Original Soundtrack Vol. 2 and is track 29 on the Dissidia Final Fantasy NT Original Soundtrack.
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy[]
An original arrangement of "Roses of May" by Tsutomu Narita plays in the Collection section of the Museum, while the original arrangement of "Something to Protect" is playable as a Dark Note and unlockable Battle Music Sequence. Both are included on Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Compilation Album.
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call[]
This piano tune plays when General Beatrix saves Dagger in FFIX, expressing the grief of the true knight who realizes her error too late.
"Roses of May" DLC description
"Something to Protect" is a Battle Music Sequence in the base game, while "Roses of May" is a Field Music Sequence available as downloadable content. It also appears on the Best of Theatrhythm Final Fantasy Curtain Call album.
Theatrhythm Final Fantasy All-Star Carnival[]
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Roses of May
"Roses of May" is a playable Field Music Sequence. It is available by default.
| Difficulty | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner | Basic | Expert | Ultimate | Transcendent |
| N/A | 3 | 6 | 9 | N/A |
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Something to Protect
"Something to Protect" appears as a playable Battle Music Sequence. It can be purchased in the song store for 5 sound medals. It was also the worldwide victory reward for the "Terra vs. Lightning" Lux Crystal Battle that took place between February 1, 2017 and February 14, 2017.
| Difficulty | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner | Basic | Expert | Ultimate | Transcendent |
| N/A | 3 | 6 | 9 | N/A |
Theatrhythm Final Bar Line[]
This section in Theatrhythm Final Bar Line is empty or needs to be expanded. You can help the Final Fantasy Wiki by expanding it.Arrangement album appearances[]
Piano Collections: Final Fantasy IX[]
A piano arrangement of "Roses of May", arranged by Shirō Hamaguchi and performed by Louis Leerink, is included as track 10 on the Piano Collections album.
Guitar Solo Final Fantasy Official Best Collection[]
The album features a classic guitar arrangement of "Roses of May" by Yuji Sekiguchi as track 20.
Cafe SQ[]
"Cafe SQ: FINAL FANTASY IX "Roses of May"", arranged by Serph, is track 12 on this arrangement album with music arranged to the theme of music that plays in cafes.
Final Fantasy IX Chips[]
An 8-bit arrangement of "Roses of May" by Xinon is included in this album as track 5.
It is also included as track 6 on the Square Enix Music Chips Selection CD.
Final Fantasy Tribute ~Thanks~[]
"Roses of May" is arranged by millstones as part of a medley of Final Fantasy IX character themes, released as track 8 of disc 2 on the album celebrating Final Fantasy 25th Anniversary. It is the final part of the medley after "Zidane's Theme", "Garnet's Theme", "Vivi's Theme", "Eiko's Theme", "Quina's Theme", "Freya's Theme", "Amarant's Theme", and "Steiner's Theme".
"Something to Protect" is also arranged by ALLY BAND as the second part of the medley with "Castle Cornelia", released as track 7 of disc 1 on the album. It is performed by ally (great highland bagpipes), Keiji Nakabayashi (guitar & drinking beer), Osamu Yahiro (drums & percussion), Wakame (bass), yossuxi (accordion), and Marty (tin whistle).
Piano Opera Final Fantasy VII/VIII/IX[]
"Roses of May【FINAL FANTASY IX】" is track 10 on this piano arrangement album, arranged and performed by Hiroyuki Nakayama.
It is also included on the Piano Opera Final Fantasy I-IX.
Distant Worlds III: more music from Final Fantasy[]
An orchestral arrangement of "FINAL FANTASY IX: Roses of May" appears as track 10 on this album, recorded on November 6 and 7, 2014 in The Dvorak Hall, Rudolfinum, Prague, Czech Republic. It was conducted by Arnie Roth and performed by the Distant Worlds Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus.
BRA★BRA Final Fantasy Brass de Bravo 2[]
An arrangement of "Something to Protect" by Yasumasa Sato was conducted by Hirofumi Kurita and performed by the Siena Wind Orchestra and was recorded on the album as track 6.
Live performances[]
Distant Worlds: music from Final Fantasy The Journey of 100[]
"Roses of May" was performed live at the concert held in January 2015 and recorded as track 7 on the album celebrating the 100th concert in the concert series. Arranged by Hiroyuki Nakayama, it was conducted by Arnie Roth and performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.
Video performances[]
Square Enix Music Channel[]
A piano cover of "Roses of May" was arranged and performed by Hiroyuki Nakayama and uploaded on the channel on October 25, 2024.[1]
Compilation album appearances[]
Final Fantasy Music Sampler CD -Limited Edition-[]
"Roses of May" from Piano Opera Final Fantasy VII/VIII/IX appears as track 3 on the CD.
Final Fantasy IX Vinyl[]
"Roses of May" is the final track on side B of disc 1 of Final Fantasy IX Vinyl, a selection of tracks from Final Fantasy IX in the format of vinyl records on two picture discs.
Citations[]
External links[]
- A notable fan vocal arrangement of "Roses of May" by Kate Covington.
- "Something to Protect" from Dissidia Final Fantasy arcade version at composer Takeharu Ishimoto's Soundcloud.