Please don't laugh at this, if you read it at all. It's just something crazy I was working on.
The lyrics to this song are set during the beginning of Advent Children, in Tifa’s point of view. ^_^ The song matches up with Uematsu's PIANO version of Tifa's theme song.

Dark; Burning fire

Lights up the mountain life

From all around me…

Do you remember

A little promise

Made long ago?

You said you'd be there

So I am waiting

Until that day.

In 7thHeaven

It's dim and lonely

A memory...

But, now we're on the way to a smile

Here with you...

A child's mother,

An orphan's hero;

But who are we?

And if you love me,

I pray you'll show me;

Please don't delay.

My heart can't take it:

A losing battle

To memory...

But, now we're on the way to a smile

Though the heartache and the tears and endless battles

Stay with you...

[inst.]

The light in your eyes

Can't reach your smile;

That haunting light…

These hands will fight it:

The pain you're hiding;

Drop the facade

When will I see you

As how I know you

To really be?

…But, now we're on the way to a smile

Though years can't mask (all) the burdens forced on you by a

Memory...

checklist:

[X] Nibelheim incident

[X] The promise

[X] Aerith ß “memory, child’s mother”

[X] Zack ß “hero” “memory” “the burden” (buster sword)

[X] 7thHeaven

[X] On the way to a smile

[X] the orphans ß also “child’s mother”

[X] battles

[X] facade

[X] Cloud's misery

[X] hero

[X] Sephiroth ß “hero” and the reference to Geo-stigma

[X] dilly-dally shilly-shally

[X] strength

[X] (Tifa's) hands

[X] Mako ß the “haunting \light\ in [your] eyes”

[ ] The Planet

[ ] ShinRa?

[ ] Dream of a blonde soldier

Explication on Tifa’s Theme

Dark; Burning fire

Lights up the mountain life

From all around me…

The very introduction of the song... There isn’t another piece in the song that sounds quite like this, which I think is very fitting. There isn’t really an event in Final Fantasy that Tifa experiences quite like Sephiroth burning down Nibelheim, in which she goes from being a popular well-born girl to being an orphan – one of two remnants left behind from a quiet mountain town.

Do you remember

A little promise

Made long ago?

In LAST ORDER, we hear Tifa’s thoughts -- “where are you, Cloud?” -- after Sephiroth knocks her down. These thoughts pertain to the promise Cloud made her. The promise was that Cloud would come find her whenever she was “in a pinch,” and protect her. Cloud eventually did come for her, despite his fear of being seen by her as a simple grunt, and thus kept his promise, albeit a bit later than was helpful. This promise was also brought up in the original Final Fantasy game, and briefly alluded to in Crisis Core.

You said you'd be there

So I am waiting

Until that day.

The first line pertains directly to the promise. The second and third are expressing her hopes that Cloud will continue to be there for her, probably with the same fervor he showed at a younger age. This may also be a reference to the idea that Cloud doesn’t see himself as fit to protect anyone, and Tifa is hoping he’ll someday see that he is strong enough to protect those he cares for, and acts on it, even though she is perfectly capable of taking care of herself. It’s not that Tifa wants to be taken care of, so much as that she wants Cloud to realize that he is better than he makes himself out to be. She wants him to understand his full potential, even as she knows that he doesn’t have to be a hero to realize it.

In 7thHeaven

It's dim and lonely

A memory...

The idea behind this stanza came from the book “On the way to a smile,” where they described the bar as dimly-lit, with flickering lights. Because none of her old friends from the game really visit 7nthHeaven, the bar is both dim and lonely – even Cloud is gone most of the time, delivering packages and so-forth. This leaves her alone to think about the previous years during their fights as AVALANCHE against ShinRa and Sephiroth, and the friends they made because of it, and she realizes that as the years go by, her friends are becoming little more than memories. She also comes to understand that Cloud is still clinging desperately to the memories of the events before and during FFVII – probably namely Zack and Aerith and their untimely demises.

But, now we're on the way to a smile

Here with you...

A direct reference to the book “On The Way To A Smile,” and Tifa’s optimistic hope of moving forward with Cloud. It’s a way to assure herself that she isn’t alone, and a way to let Cloud know that he isn’t alone, either.

A child's mother,

An orphan's hero;

But who are we?

This verse is filled with double meanings. As Tifa thinks about the events and people in their lives, she realizes that herself and Cloud nearly identically parallel the lives of Zack and Aerith – something Cloud had to go through alone for far too long. In Crisis Core, when Zack was knocked down into the Church in the Slums of Sector 8 by Angeal, he had a “discussion” with his Mother in his sleep. His mother’s voice slowly shifted into Aerith’s, however, and that’s how he woke. In Advent Children, Cloud and other characters experienced similar situations with the Cetra.

Tifa is also a motherly figure, in that she cares for two specific “orphans,” Marlene and Denzel. Denzel is a character picked up in Advent Children who suffers from Geo-stigma. Marlene is the orphan Barrett, a friend all the way from the original game, left in Tifa’s care in order to make a fortune digging oil to better support himself and his “child.”

Although Cloud was never an orphan until the Nibelheim incident, even afterwards it was clear that Zack was Cloud’s hero – the SOLDIER First Class even died to protect him. And yet Cloud is the Planet’s hero, and thus the hero of all humanity (the orphans as well) – Denzel included. Tifa is probably thinking specifically of Denzel in that line.
Yet she worries that she and Cloud may not be living their own lives, even now. She doesn’t want to be a remnant (a word that appears an awful lot in this series!) of the past, and imitate Aerith as Cloud impersonated Zack for so long. So here, she’s wondering – “who are we, really? Are we being ourselves, or someone else?”

And if you love me,

I pray you'll show me;

Please don't delay.

In Advent Children, Tifa uses an onomatopoeia phrase “zuruzuru-zuruzuru” which means to be dragging – in Cloud’s case, dragging behind, or delaying. In English, it translated to “dilly-dally, shilly-shally,” in which added the “sh” sound is a popular and well known to make fun of something (“Teacher, schmeacher.” ß Like that, but a little different.) This is a reference to her argument with Cloud about always dwelling on the past, despite having “started over” in a new life with her and the Children. In a segment written by the creators of this movie, it is stated that “Cloud and Tifa come to realize their feelings for each other and move in together.” And yet not once is it documented that Cloud ever says “I love you” to Tifa. Maybe it’s that he can’t easily confess his feelings because of past trauma, but I can imagine that Tifa would feel rather lousy never hearing those three words. Additionally, Cloud never really shows his love, as he never accepts nor returns calls unless it’s of dire importance, and is almost always away from 7thHeaven/Strife Delivery Service HQ. The two of them don’t even sleep in the same bed, so it’s entirely questionable that he does harbor feelings for Tifa outside of friendship, and she only wants him to confirm it.

My heart can't take it:

A losing battle

To memory...

This is another reference to the argument in the movie. Tifa asks Cloud, “Why do we always have to lose out to a memory?,” referring to Aerith (and possibly Zack as well, as he spends quite a lot of time at the cliff, where Zack died). In fact, it could even be a reference to Sephiroth, as Cloud was forced to kill one of his childhood idols/heros. Tifa doesn’t want to lose out to a memory, and it hurts her to think that she, someone alive and kicking and still caring for Cloud, is doing just that – fighting a losing battle against someone who is dead to gain Cloud’s love, confidence, and trust.

But, now we're on the way to a smile

Though the heartache and the tears and endless battles

Stay with you...

This refrain, I think, is said as a bit of a reassurance to her. She is reminding herself not to get too depressed, because they are moving on, even if Cloud is a little slower to do it than the rest of them are (perhaps with the sole exception of Vincent). The second and third lines refer to Cloud’s inability to let go of the past.

The light(s) in your eyes

Can't reach your smile;

That haunting light…

This verse, too, is filled with connotations. In “On The Way To A Smile,” Tifa wonders at the smile Cloud gave her. A direct quote of translation would read: “But Tifa remembered Cloud’s last smile. It had the kindness that made her think everything was fine. I wonder if I was mistaken.”  This shows that even Tifa can’t fully read Cloud as well as she hopes to, and is a little upset about it. After all, it’s greatly acknowledged that Cloud “never [really] smiles.” A bitter smile, a smirk, and such – these can all occur. But a pure, happy smile never really happens after Crisis Core until the end of Advent Children, where he is surrounded by the orphans in Aerith’s church. The “haunting light” refers to both the mako Cloud received as an experiment following the burning of Nibelheim, and the reflection of painful memories and worries for the future.

These hands will fight it:

The pain you're hiding;

Drop the façade

In the beginning, Tifa wanted Cloud to protect her, but now she wants to protect him as well – to form a sort of partnership – “You watch my back, I’ll watch yours.” She wants to take care of him. Tifa is also really well known for fighting with her fists, so that explains the first line. The pain Cloud is hiding is a reference to his memories, both fractured and recent, which he probably hasn’t really talked about to anyone else. It also acknowledges the pain caused by the Geo-stigma, which Cloud hasn’t yet revealed to Tifa. In other words, Tifa doesn’t know Cloud has been infected with it, but she can see the pain it’s causing him anyway and wants to do something about it. The “façade” is the mask of strength and bravery that Cloud continually keeps up, even with he’s feeling miserable and afraid. It’s also alluding to the image of Zack that Cloud still portrays, even if it’s just a little.

When will I see you

As how I know you

To really be?

Tifa wants Cloud to be himself, without the baggage of the past. She remembers the sweet and shy boy in Nibelheim and compares him with the recent Cloud – a remorseful, empty shell of a “man”. In Advent, Cloud is mentally still several years younger than he appears to be because of the experiments performed on him by Hojo, and yet will probably never be the same because of it. It pains Tifa to think of what was done to him, and she agonizes over what it’s done to his mental health – both to be trapped in a body that didn’t quite seem like his own, and to have his memories “fractured.” In Advent, where it appears obvious that he’s healing at least a little bit, Cloud is still far different from the original shy-but-eager self first introduced in Crisis Core. Tifa misses this, and wishes for her companion to go back to the way things were – or at least advance far enough to return to his normal self, as she knows him.

…But, now we're on the way to a smile

Though years can't mask (all) the burdens forced on you by a

Memory...

Although this is, again, a reassurance to herself, she can’t hide the little bit of bitterness left over that she feels for the people and events in Cloud’s memory. Even though they’re moving forward, Tifa realizes that it’s probable that Cloud will never completely let go of the past, and that he will likely continue struggling with the deaths of his friends and heroes, and the promise of being a legacy. Even the Buster Sword carried the burden of Pride and Dreams passed on from Angeal to Zack and then to Cloud, and with it, the battles with Sephiroth, Jenova, and the death of Aerith.