Secret Garden

The song 'Secret Garden' by VOCALOID, a singing voice synthesizer software, presents a narrative that intertwines themes of love, loss, and the inevitability of change. The lyrics tell the story of a character named Mary, who is approached by a suitor with the line 'Oh Mary, contrary, how does your garden grow?' This line is a play on the traditional nursery rhyme, but in this context, it symbolizes an inquiry into Mary's emotional state and the growth or decay of her inner feelings, likened to a garden.

Mary's response to the suitor's advances is a mixture of laughter and sorrow, as she declares that the 'flower,' a metaphor for her love or perhaps her innocence, is 'already dead.' The repetition of this line throughout the song emphasizes the finality of her emotional detachment. The suitor's persistence is met with the realization that Mary cannot reciprocate his feelings, and the imagery of scattering petals and a road without an end suggests a journey of healing and moving on from a past that can no longer be reclaimed.

The song's melancholic tone is further enhanced by the motif of the 'seventh maid in a row,' hinting at a cycle of failed attempts at love or connection. Mary's plea for the suitor to stay, despite knowing there is nowhere for their relationship to go, reflects a deep-seated loneliness and a desire for companionship, even in the face of emotional desolation. The final lines, 'Set him free, I'm sorry, this flower's already dead,' serve as a poignant conclusion, acknowledging the need to release each other from the pain of unrequited love.