McCreary won an Emmy for his main title of Da Vinci's Demons. His most recent Emmy nomination was in 2015 for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for season one of Outlander.
McCreary was born in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and spent most of his formative years in Bellingham, Washington. He is the son of author Laura Kalpakian and professor Jay McCreary of University of Hawaii. His brother, Brendan McCreary, is also a musician. Bear has directed and produced several music videos for Brendan's band, Young Beautiful in a Hurry. He graduated from Bellingham High School in 1997.
He is a classically trained pianist and self-taught accordionist. He studied under the renowned film score composer Elmer Bernstein during which time he reconstructed and reorchestrated Bernstein's 1963 score for Kings of the Sun. Their collaboration allowed for the complete score to be available as a soundtrack album for the first time in 40 years.
McCreary credits composers Jerry Goldsmith, Elmer Bernstein, Danny Elfman, Ennio Morricone, John Williams, Shirley Walker as being key to his growing up adoring film music. They were his heroes while he was growing up. Contemporary composers continue to inspire his growth and is a self-avowed fan of Hans Zimmer.
God of War
Bear McCreary Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Smán föður
Von móður
Þraut barnsins
Útlægr Guð
Smán föður
Von móður
Þraut barnsins
Stríðs sonur
Saurgun sannleiks
Und svíður
Græð kvöl hans
Útlægr Guð
Stormr haturs
Vex óttinn
Und svíður
Ger fortíð upp
Guðs plága
Ég syndir ber
(Tresyt drengnum)
(Sefa height hans)
Blóðs bölvun
Óbætanleg
(Tresyt drengnum)
(Sefa heift hans)
Hann mun fara
Ég hef enga(Aflausn)
Útlægr Guð
Smán föður
Von móður
Þraut barnsins
Útlægr Guð
Stormr haturs
Tresyt drengnum
Sefa heift hans
Vex óttinn
Und svíður
Hann þjáist
Hann þarfnast föður
Ekki Guðs
Blóðs bölvun
Ég hef enga aflausn
Und svíður
Ger fortíð upp
The lyrics for Bear McCreary's God of War are in Icelandic and follow a theme of a father and son relationship. The opening verses describe a god who is an outcast, who feels small and ashamed around his father, and who struggles to meet the expectations of his mother. The following verse describes a son who is a warrior, who has experienced the true horrors of war, and who is haunted by the pain he has suffered. This stanza also speaks of the father's disease, and how the son carries a burden of guilt for his sins.
The final verse sees the son accepting his fate, explaining that he has no power to change the inevitable. The chorus repeats the tortured inner thoughts of the father who lives in fear and uncertainty. Even as he suffers, he yearns for the comfort of his father, whom he can no longer turn to. The lyrics close with a final reference to the sins of the father and the blood curse which they both carry. The emphasis is on the impossibility of breaking free from their shared past, no matter how much they may wish to.
Line by Line Meaning
Útlægr Guð
Exiled God
Smán föður
Father's shame
Von móður
Mother's hope
Þraut barnsins
Child's ordeal
Stríðs sonur
Son of war
Saurgun sannleiks
Stain of truth
Und svíður
And suffering
Græð kvöl hans
Heal his pain
Stormr haturs
Storm of hate
Vex óttinn
Fear grows
Ger fortíð upp
Bring the past to life
Guðs plága
God's plague
Ég syndir ber
I bear the sin
(Tresyt drengnum)
(Break the boy)
(Sefa height hans)
(His soul cries out)
Blóðs bölvun
Curse of blood
Óbætanleg
Unforgivable
Hann mun fara
He will go
Ég hef enga(Aflausn)
I have no (redemption)
Hann þjáist
He suffers
Hann þarfnast föður
He needs his father
Ekki Guðs
Not God's
Und svíður
And suffers
Ger fortíð upp
Bring the past to life
Writer(s): Bear Mccreary
Contributed by London L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.