Bonetrousle
YOU'RE BLUE NOW.
THAT'S MY ATTACK!
NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!!Papyrus after the blue SOUL mode is activated
Bonetrousle is the 24th track in the UNDERTALE Soundtrack. It plays during Papyrus's second phase, where he uses his "blue attack" to turn the protagonist's SOUL blue. It is an extended version of Nyeh Heh Heh! with added drums, marimba, and violin.
On the Genocide Route, the song is slowed down by 80% (8820Hz / 44100Hz = 0.2).
In the game trailer for Undertale (original and Nintendo Switch release), in the segment where Bonetrousle is played, there is a segment of the theme that was never put into the final game (presuming the part all the way to the ending).
Bonetrousle was directly mentioned in an interview with Toby Fox, as one of the songs originally composed for other projects. These songs were Fallen Down, Ghost Fight, Another Medium, and MEGALOVANIA, with Heartache, sans., Nyeh Heh Heh!, and Bonetrousle in specific being initially made for another RPG idea that never came to fruition.[1][2]
Said idea later turned out to be Deltarune, with Bonetrousle originally being Deltarune's battle theme before being replaced by Rude Buster.[3][4]
In Deltarune, this song is alluded to multiple times via the narration for checking Sans's house in Hometown, to reference Papyrus.[5][6][7]
The original version of Dedan's battle track from the Prologue version of the remake/remaster of OFF contained this song's leitmotif, and was composed by Toby Fox. It was removed for the final version of the game after backlash.[8]
- "Bonetrousle" is a made-up word. One of the notes Papyrus leaves to the protagonist after capturing them reads that Papyrus is "slightly bonetrousled" with their previous escape. The context suggests that the word might be synonymous with "worried", "flustered", or "annoyed".
- "Bonetrousle" might also come from the verb "tousle", which means to make something untidy, or "tussle", which means a short, vigorous scuffle.
- The OST version lacks a few background notes at the very end.
- The Super Smash Bros. Ultimate version of MEGALOVANIA contains a few notes of the Papyrus leitmotif, specifically the version that can be heard in this track.
- The song is detuned 35 cents flat.
- ↑ UNDERTALE 10th Anniversary Stream - Day 1 (01:17:14) on YouTube
- ↑
This song wasn't made for Undertale either. It (and bonetrousle) were the main battle themes of an RPG game I was working on before Undertale, based off a dream I had. However, I didn't plan it very well, so the project fell apart before I accomplished a single room. "Sans" was also a song in the game called "Muscles," and "Heartache" was a song called "Joker Battle." Anyway, I always mess up playing this song on the piano, so if you can't play it, it's not a big deal. Since it's Papyrus, it's OK as long as you try your best.
— @dailytobyfoxtrivia on Twitter, March 08, 2024. - ↑
That game… I ended up repurposing a few of the songs from it for Undertale. For example, “Heartache” was originally called “Joker Battle” and “Bonetrousle” was originally the main battle theme.
— "DELTARUNE Chapter 1" will be released on February 28th (Fox, Toby, February 14, 2019.) Indie World. - ↑ A famous thing about Papyrus is that his theme song was originally Lancer's theme from 2012 Deltarune concept, and his battle theme was also the battle theme from that game concept. - UNDERTALE 10th Anniversary Stream, Day 1 (02:21:14) on YouTube
- ↑
(No response...) (...but the distant trousle of bones.)
— Narration, Sans's house door, Chapter 1 - ↑
(Faintly.... faintly, a trousle... growing further away...)
— Narration, Sans's house door, Chapter 2 - ↑
(You hear nary a bone... No rattle, nor trousle, nor xylophone tickle.)
— Narration, Sans's house door, Chapter 4 - ↑
All that being said, the Dedan battle theme, which seems to have been a specifically controversial point, will most likely receive some changes between now and the final release.
— mortisghost on Tumblr, June 06, 2025.