Rise, Rapture, Rise



"Rise, Rapture, Rise" was a propaganda song written and composed by Sander Cohen, sung by Grace Holloway and recorded by Rapture Records during the peaceful time period before Rapture's Civil War. This song resembles an anthem of sorts, espousing the Rapturian values that Andrew Ryan valued. It is in an operatic style over the background music of a small orchestra.

Lyrics
Oh rise, Rapture, rise! We turn our hopes up to the skies! Oh rise, Rapture, rise! Upon your wings our dreams will fly. A city in the ocean's deep A promise that we'll always keep To boldly turn our eyes upon the prize! So rise, rise, rise! Oh rise, Rapture, rise! We merrily sing this reprise. Oh rise, Rapture, rise! To help us crush parasites despised. A city on Poseidon's floor A set of ideals we adore A philosophy﻿ we all can emphasize So rise, rise, rise!

BioShock
The first clip of this song that was ever heard was simply the first verse, played on a scratched and eerily distorted phonograph during the game's opening.

A quote from this song was also included on a loading screen within the game.

Part of the song was heard at the beginning of the level Fort Frolic, when it cuts over Atlas's description of Sander Cohen with static. After finishing Sander Cohen's "masterpiece" the player can enter his office in the projection booth to hear the song playing on a phonograph.

BioShock 2
"Rise, Rapture, Rise" plays at the Lighthouse scene at the end of Journey to the Surface in Ryan Amusements.

Grace Holloway mentions singing this song in her audio diary "Disappeared."

BioShock 2 Special Edition
The entirety of "Rise, Rapture, Rise" is on the vinyl LP of the BioShock orchestra score contained within the BioShock 2 Special Edition. It is the last song on side B.

There's Something in the Sea


Early on in Phase Two of "Something in the Sea", a vinyl record containing the song "Rise, Rapture, Rise" was sent to Mark Meltzer and appeared in the record player in his office. Mark speculated that it might have been sent to him by the Big Sister. He attempted to discover where the record had been made but eventually came to the conclusion that the song was made in "Rapture," leading him to wonder where exactly Rapture was.

The record as played in Mark's office featured almost the entire length of the "Rise, Rapture, Rise" song. Almost all of the song is played normally, but at the end, the song is cut off and eerily replaced by a Little Sister's voice, saying "Daddy? Where are you, Daddy? Are you going to come and find me?" These words are presumably spoken by Mark's daughter, Cindy, or at least Mark believes them to be such.

Viral Advertising
After the beginning of Phase Two of the Something in the Sea viral website, fans who sent in letters to Mark Meltzer's P.O. Box had a chance to receive content in return mail related to the current events on the Something in the Sea page. A BioShock vinyl record of the "Rise, Rapture, Rise" song was part of the second promotional mailing, received by fans around the beginning of July, 2009. Copies of the record were also sent to several major gaming news sites.

The cover of the record featured a silhouette of a city with the label "Rapture Records" in the center. Side one of the record contained the entire "Rise, Rapture, Rise" song, and side two contained the version of the song as heard on the viral website, including the young girl's message.

Trivia

 * In the audio files of BioShock this song is credited as having been written and/or composed by Ken Levine, the director of BioShock.