deciphering themesongs #4

Forensic Heroes follows the workings of the Forensic Science Department, the Forensic Pathology Department, and the Hong Kong Police Force. Ko Yin Bok (Bobby Au-Yeung), Doctor Koo Chak Sum (Frankie Lam), and Madam Leung Siu Yau (Yoyo Mung) are the three leaders of the branches respectively. Forensic shows how the three branches work intricately to solve homicides and how forensic evidences are the keys to cracking the toughest murders. With these three around Hong Kong, criminals have a hard time escaping!

The themesong of Forensic, sung by Frankie, portrays the nature of their work and lives.

Heavenly Net by Frankie Lam
(Themesong from TVB series Forensic Heroes)




English Translation by MetalAZNWarrior
The truth comes out slanted. A theory having a hundred sort
As if it hasn't come to an end
In the middle of ten thousand things. A pair of eyes, as if understanding
Things happening in the dark
Things before the eyes, less suspecting
Past beauty reappears
Human affairs are intertwined
Within the heavenly net are visible traces
Heavenly justice will inform later

Chorus
*The forensic outlook, be it right be it wrong
Justice will prevail in the end
For evil, don't
Wiping away committed crimes. Haven't gone to the crime
In the end, the heaven bears excessively
Remaining traces make it hard to escape*

Haven't been beside a body. Everlasting love in the heart hasn't changed
Haven't informed with words yet
The heart isn't crazy yet. An early love will have development
Within feelings, love becomes present
Feelings before the eyes. Hesitating as if prolonging
With every day, love gradually reappears
A look joins together. A pair of eyes observing visible traces
In the heart, the truth matters

Repeat Chorus

Analyzing the verses & chorus
Before we discuss the lyrics, let's talk about the song's title. Why is it called Heavenly Net? It derives its title from a Chinese saying that says (translated roughly), "the heavenly net is vast, but it won't overlook anyone." I forget the last series I heard this in, but if you're an avid TVB viewer, you'll definitely have heard it before, especially in law or investigative series. Basically, a character will say this when a case seems hopeless. The "heavenly net" is the world. If you think about it, it makes sense. Because the earth is underneath the heavens, this "heavenly net" covers the whole world and enthralls everything. Going back to the saying, it means that although the world ("heavenly net") is large, the heaven still sees every crack and corner (in the net), so criminals cannot escape. That is what the title is referring to and it is very fitting.

The first verse talks about how difficult it is to investigate and uncover the truth. Truths, in pertinence to crimes, are not straightforward. They are often attempted to be concealed and when they do emerge finally, they come out slanted and in unexpected ways. Crimes happen everyday in every possible time and place. When a murder happens, only the culprit and the victim know exactly what happened in the scene. Murder is the greatest offence, so murderers will go to the greatest lengths to hide the crime and hope to escape justice... Forensic scientists must unravel traces that the murderer unknowingly leaves behind and find evidences to figure out the crime. This is a difficult task of searching, trying to understand, and theorizing. However, because the heavenly net won't conceal evidences, the forensic heroes won't give up on their quests for justice.

The chorus summarizes further the work of the forensic scientists and how they strive for justice. In the forensic field, particularly during the investigation, everything is based on theory and personal perspectives. Whether the forensic heroes' outlooks are true or false doesn't matter. They have to formulate and think of every possible way the crime could have happened in order to get to the truth. They weren't there during the crime scene, so no one knows the whole truth besides the people involved and the heavens. Justice will prevail eventually through the team's hard work and the heavens' help. The chorus ends with a strong declaration that criminals cannot escape because they always leave behind some evidence that will lead our forensic heroes to the truth since heaven is watching.

The second verse shifts the song into a totally different gear. Instead of continuing on about investigations and crime, it talks about love. It seems a bit irrelevant to the rest of the song at first glance, but deeper analysis shows that it's fitting. The lives of the forensic heroes aren't just focused on solving cases. Like everyone else, they too love and want to be loved. Because of the busy nature of their work, it makes it hard for them to date normally. Regardless of the difficulty, they can and do overcome it to love. The human heart is always so pervasive in everything that we do. Hence, the forensic heroes are passionate about finding the truth because it matters to the heart.

Conclusions made from the themesong
Heavenly Net (Tin Mong) sets a righteous tone for Forensic. No matter how strenuous, the characters will fight to uncover the truth. It's pretty amazing the work that they do. To be able to find the truth from the most microscopic trace, to understand dark secrets and hidden workings of the criminal mind, and to form intricate theories, it is all so impressive. I find it interesting how the song talks so much about the importance and influence of heaven in the forensic heroes' work... it's almost like it's suggesting a bond between science and religion. It is the heavenly net that makes sure criminals cannot escape and it's heavenly justice that prevails. The penultimate line of the chorus even says that the "heavens bear excessively." Although science is pivotal to the forensic heroes in their search for truth, there's no denying that the heavens (according to this song at least) also plays a huge role. Whether or not there are heavenly sources acting is anyone's guess, but according to our forensic heroes, their work is guided and aided by the heavens. This adds an even more glorious aura about the series because the song implies that the heavens stand beside (or behind or even in front of) the forensic heroes.

Thoughts
For some reason, I become obsessed with every themesong that Frankie sings. It happened with The Herbalist's Manual and it happened now with Forensic Heroes. I don't know why, but his songs are really easy to sing and memorize for me and they sound so good! Needless to say, I love Heavenly Net. It suits the series well and is very catchy and memorable. The melody is awesome too and Frankie executes the song well.