방탄소년단 [Bangtan Sonyondan], most known as BTS, is a 7 members south Korean group that debuted back in 2013. Slowly and steadily growing into being the biggest kpop act to then become the biggest Asian act, to now be known as the biggest group in history and one of the biggest acts ever.
This growth and success derivates from various factors, their stage presence, vocals, rap, dances, performances, humbleness, the diversity and vast range of their music, uniqueness, and their lyrics.
In this post I will try to interpret and explain some of my favorite BTS songs lyrically, this being made having in mind what the members themselves have stated about each song and my personal point of view.
Beginning with Rain from their 2014 first full album "Dark & Wild". This track portrays the never-ending mundane routine and the endless recurrence of life that you end up losing yourself at some point.
Different individuals are depicted here by RM, SUGA, and J-Hope’s writing overwhelmed with adjectives and descriptions with the purpose of making us perfectly visualize the quotidian and monotones situation they rap about. They are going through this vicious cycle and don't take the initiative to do anything about it. Just looking at themselves becoming unhappier and unhappier until there’s nothing left “The thick color of a rainy day in Seoul, I still can’t fall asleep as I fade away. The rain stops and the reflection in the puddle I see myself looking more miserable today. Even when this rain stops, when the clouds go away, I stand here, just the same without saying anything, looking at the world there, a not so beautiful me is looking at myself.”
A visual song where the amount of description makes us perfectly evoke the scenario they are singing about and therefore feel with more intensity the lyrics and be more related to them. The overall melancholic aura of the song is highlighted by the piano jazz playing in synchrony with the r&b beat, an excellent work done by Pdogg on the production of this song.
Skipping to 2015 and their album series "The Most Beautiful Moment In Life", a track called Butterfly has become one of my all-time favorites (especially the alternative mix present in the "Young Forever" repackage).
Referred in the lyrics of the song - "I don’t know if this is reality or a dream, my Kafka on the shore, don’t go to those woods over there" the song inspired in Haruki Murakami's novel "Kafka On The Shore" expresses the fear of losing someone through the simile of a butterfly.
The power of music as a form of communication is strongly highlighted in this novel, and metaphysics is also a central concept. The idea of the virtues of self-sufficiency, the relation of dreams and reality, the threat of fate, among other related topics, are also strongly talked about in this novel, for what I searched. Comprising two distinct but interrelated plots - one of the plots being about a 15-year-old kid who runs away to escape his ill fate, brings more depth to the meaning of this song.
The verse "don’t go to those woods" quoted above, sang by Namjoon, refers to the forest that appeared in Kafka's storyline
“The titular character Kafka Tamura gave in to his temptation and eventually entered the forest of which he was told not to go into at any cost. By doing so, he found himself in pseudo-reality in which he met his love interest, the 15-year-old ghost of Miss Saeki. In the end, he had to decide whether: to stay with her and be lost for eternity, or to let go of her and go back to the real world as someone who was pained, flawed, but at least alive and able to go on living.”
This precise point, relating directly the song to the novel bring more emphasis to the belief that this song is about loving a suicidal person. The lyrics "From afar, I steal glances; if we touch hands, will I lose you?" alluding the belief that if you touch a butterfly’s wing it can speed up the process of killing the butterfly. The lyrics “The butterfly effect that illuminates me in this pitch-dark darkness.” correlated to the Chaos Theory in which small changes can have a big impact in the future, in these terms, it is possible to infer that touching the butterfly, as stated in the last line, can create complicated events.
The whole song is a constant state of oneirataxia (the inability to differentiate between dreams and reality) “I still can’t believe it all of this seems like a dream. Don’t try to disappear […] You’re there but for some reason, I can’t reach you, stop. You, who’s like a dream is a butterfly high to me”
As Billboard said: "Butterfly” is a key representation of the lyrical complexity that sets them apart as a K-pop act [..] The butterfly could be interpreted as representing the ephemerality of time that risks being lost at a moment’s notice"
"If I let go of your hand, you’ll fly away and break I’m scared scared scared of that".
Brought to us by the rap line, Pdogg, Slow Rabbit, and Hit Man Bang, this song brings you mixed feelings, from sadness to heartbreak to melancholia...
Also from "The Most Beautiful Moment In Life Pt. 2", Whalien 52. Here the 52-hertz whale – an individual whale of unidentified species which calls at the very unusual frequency of 52 Hz and appears to be the only individual emitting a whale call at this frequency - is used as a metaphor to their own story. This animal has been described as the world's loneliest whale “Yeah, the most lonely creature in the world... Eh, do you want to know my story? In the middle of the vast ocean, one whale speaks softly and lonelily. The fact that no matter how much they shout, it won’t reach makes them so gravely lonely that they quietly shut their mouths. Of course, I don’t care what’s the matter or what I’ve now become when loneliness is the only thing that stays by my side”
The song portrays loneliness “The world will never know how sad I am. My hurt is water and oil that can’t mix so only above the surface of the water do I breathe, and the interest (towards me) ends. A child in the lonely ocean” and the incapacity to be understood by others “Mom said the sea is blue. She said to let out your voice as far as you can but what do I do? It’s so dark here and there are only different whales speaking entirely different words!”
Being used as a metaphor for the alienation from others – the character is also viewed as an alien, as something odd, strange and atypical, therefore the fusion of Whale + Alien becoming the title of the track “Whalien 52” “No one besides me knows of these tears... I’m a Whalien”
Even though the song is mainly a sad and dejected story of an individual who can’t find their place in the world, it is also a song that transmits hope and comfort, because as it was said by Mr. Kieren Mulvaney:
“Nobody is certain because nobody has claimed to have seen it. But several people have heard it. And many more have heard of it. And what this latter group has heard about it has turned the whale into an unwitting celebrity, a cultural icon, and a cipher for the feelings of many unconnected people around the globe. It is, allegedly, the Loneliest Whale in the World.”
“Even if I sleep a shrimp’s sleep, my dreams are like that of a whale’s, the upcoming big praise will make me dance every day […] I go towards my future that blue beach and believe in my hertz […] Lonely lonely lonely whale... Like this, try calling once again until this song that doesn’t have a response reaches tomorrow […] An endless signal will reach someday everywhere, even to the other side of the earth.”
Written by the members, RM, Suga, and J-Hope, and produced by Pdogg, this track brings understanding and comfort to those who feel alienated from society and have been struggling in finding their place in the world.
In 2016 was released their second full album "Wings". In this album, each members' individuality and own wings were spread all over it. All of them had solo songs that address self-discovery and self-reflection. I wanted to be able to dismantle all of them but it would make this post extremely long and there's a lot of songs from other albums I still want to cover. With this being said I'll introduce the songs Stigma and Lie sang by V and Jimin respectively, my favorite solo songs lyrically (in BTS) from them.
Lie is Jimin's first solo song, a dark contemporary track mixed with classic music. Not only the lyrics but also the production of the song is impressive, they complement each other. After watching this video of Classic Musics reacting to Lie, and reading a paper about the musicology in Lie by Wai-Chai Tam, I learned
“Lie is written in A-flat minor, modulating to A-flat Major in the chorus, which is musically ironic as the song is about guilt and self-doubt which are serious and dark issues. Using a major tonality in the chorus would provide a sense of hopefulness that there is closure to a dark period in a person’s life through all the guilt and self-doubt. However, the minor tonality in the verses creates an ambiance of sorrow and darkness.”
It took me a few readings and research to understand it since musicology is not my area, however, after understanding, I just find it simply ingenious. The manipulation of the music elements in it – thanks to DOCSKIM who produced it - brings the message Jimin wants to convey to life in the most artistic way.
When explaining the album Wings when it came out, Namjoon praised Lie and Jimin’s song-writing skills, adding
“We both blame ourselves for the things that we fall short of, we put ourselves under pressure. He tried to capture that sentiment of self-doubt and guilt into this song."
The biggest lie we are caught in is the lies we tell ourselves. Endlessly self-judgments, only seeing your flaws in front of you. Putting expectations too high on yourself to then later martyr ourselves. That lie we are caught in is endless and no matter how much we try, we are always getting caught in.
These lyrics from the bridge – “An overgrown lie is trying to swallow me whole” - and the chorus of this song “Caught in a lie. Find me when I was pure, I can’t be free from this lie, give me back my smile. Caught in a lie. Pull me from this hell, I can’t be free from this pain, save me, I am being punished” implicit the lie became so big it swallowed him and he can't escape. It took his happiness away and now he's trying to find the part of him that wasn't corrupted by the lie.
Following Lie in the album, there's Stigma. Everyone was already impressed by V's production and lyricism skills with the song Hold Me Tight present in the album series "The Most Beautiful Moment In Life Pt. 1". But Stigma is just another level of artistry.
The definition of stigma is a mark of disgrace associated with a circumstance, quality, or person. The song itself is a slow and painful demonstration of one being slowly drowned in the feeling of guilt and despair “I’ve been hiding it, I tell you something just to leave it buried now I can’t endure it anymore [...] Deeper, deeper, the wound just gets deeper like pieces of broken glass that I can’t reverse. Deeper, it’s just the heart that hurts every day.”
Also, an apology to the ones involved portrayed on the bridge, with the constant repetition of the phrase "I'm sorry" makes you feel the anguish and sorrow of the subject as if it was your own “I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry my brother even if I try to hide it or conceal it, it can’t be erased. Are you calling me a sinner? What more do I have to say? I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry my sister even if I try to hide it or conceal it, it can’t be erased. So, cry, please dry my eyes”
And an apology to God, a hopeless exclamation for help as if the subject could not live with such burden anymore and be able to take any punishment - even though this part is up to the interpretation of each person's beliefs “That light, that light, please illuminate my sins where I can’t turn back. The red blood is flowing down. Deeper, I feel like dying every day. Please let me be punished. Please forgive me for my sins.”
There is a lot to interpret in this track, but it is quite hard. At the same time, Stigma is a very self-explanatory track it is also quite vague... so the way you interpreted the lyrics will depend a lot on your life experience and how close to home this song is - a painful youth memory of a choice you made or a situation you were put through, that the consequences of your actions affected not only you but also the ones involved.
The production of the song [made by Philtre] also holds a huge part in how impactful the lyrics are - a neo-soul vibe accompanied by an interesting combination of voices - the verses are almost spoken, followed by pauses with deep comments such as "are you calling me a sinner" followed by the falsetto during the chorus and a soulful high note at the end of the bridge, makes you feel the lyrics and the story with more depth.
In my opinion, one of the best songs in BTS discography and one of the heaviest songs, both musically and lyrically. A work of genius brought to us by Kim Taehyung.
The "Wings" 2017 repackage named "You Never Walk Alone" is the home for one of BTS' most acclaimed songs and a favorite between fans and non-fans. Spring Day Written by RM and Suga and produced by Pdogg and Suga.
J-Hope stated that the music genre of Spring Day was
"a mix of British rock and electronic sounds"
I once read that Spring Day is the perfect closure. BTS music and essence is to represent the journey to adulthood and Spring Day would mark the end of this youth. The lyrics are well portrayed in the music video, the metaphor of boarding the train (that represents life) and the struggles each member finds to board it, and after they do the different baggage each of them decided to carry, showing the struggle between moving forward and lingering in the past - highlight these thoughts.
What makes this theory even stronger is the Omelas hotel based on the work of the short philosophical fiction The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by American writer Ursula K. Le Guin. The city of Omelas stands as a false utopia:
"a place where everyone is perpetually happy and carefree, but under the surface, one child must suffer to maintain the balance. In the story, some residents choose to walk away from the false paradise to face a new world of uncertainty head-on."
Yoongi also parallels his lyrics in this song “is it you who changed or is it me I hate this moment, this time flowing by. We are changed you know, just like everyone you know” on his closing track "Dear My Friend" of his latest mixtape D-2 “Was it you who changed? Or was it me? Uh, I hate this flowing time, it's us who changed” The constant change people are daily putting through in their life, ends up making some to go separate ways, and to some of us, realizing these changes hurt more than anything else. The struggles of growing up and the inconsistent circle of life.
With beautiful lyrics, written in a seasonal metaphor, describes how much you are missing someone that saying that makes you miss them even more, accompanied but heartbreaking lyrics like “Honestly I miss you, but I’ll erase you cause it hurts less than resenting you” - and warm verses like – ”The morning will come again no darkness, no season is eternal”
My favorite thing ever written about Spring Day must be
"Spring Day” existence is probably the most accurate representation of BTS’s artistry. They could have continued riding on the worldwide frenzy of “Blood, Sweat & Tears,” but they chose to release a poignant, visceral study in the very human challenge of coming to terms with a great loss. Everything about “Spring Day” plucks cruelly at a taut nerve: the lyrics that vivisect loss, the motifs of remembrance, and the looming specter of something sinister in the video. All of this leads to the bittersweet moment of the boys reuniting when they finally move on together. In this journey of growing up, you never walk alone."
— L.S. from Billboard
The song is sadness and reluctance mixed with hope for a better tomorrow.
In the same year, BTS started their second album series "Love Yourself" with the L.P "Love Yourself: HER" in the following year, 2018, would be released their third full album "Love Yourself: Tear". There ain't a single bad song on this album, all of them are great not only musically and lyrically. I could write essays and essays on this album and all its 11 songs - but I don't want to make this post too long for all the 10 people who read my blog.
Starting off with The Truth Untold, a beautiful ballad based on the romance "La Città di Smeraldo" - A man who was hated for his look hid in shame in his castle “Full of loneliness this garden bloomed full of thorns. I bind myself in this sandcastle.” One day, a woman starts stealing the flowers from his gardens and he patiently waits for her every day, “What is your name? Do you have a place to go? Oh, could you tell me? I saw you hiding in this garden.” He eventually finds out she was selling the flowers to survive and questioning himself on how to help the woman he loved, he was too afraid to show himself and scare her away “ I have to hide because I'm a monster/ugly". Hence, he decided to plant a rare and unique flower for her “The only thing I can do in the garden in this world is to bloom a pretty flower that resembles you.” However, she stops coming, and later he finds out she died, and he regrets not approaching her “Maybe back then, a little, just this much if I had the courage to stand before you would everything be different now. I'm crying. That’s disappeared, that’s fallen, left alone in this sandcastle looking at this broken mask”
This song delivers such sorrow and touches your heart, portraying the fear felt in a relationship to show the true parts of ourselves that might not be very well welcomed to the world. Would it be something from your past or a condition you have, maybe some traces of your personality... You are so afraid and so scared of losing the person you loved, scared that they might judge you and leave you so you just hide this part of you and wish for them to never discover “You know that I can’t show you me, give you me. I can’t show you a ruined part of myself. Once again, I put a mask on and go to see you […] I am afraid. I am shattered. I’m so afraid that you will leave me again in the end”
A beautiful song performed by the vocal line in a shivering performance. Everything from the vocals to the instrumentals contributes to giving the song the special meaning it has. Musically, the best vocal line song - Written and produced by RM, Steve Aoki, Slow Rabbit
Following such a beautiful song, it's 134340 (Pluto), this song is in its entirety a huge – and genius - analogy for the end of a relationship.
"If only I could, I wanted to ask you why did you do that back then? Why did you kick me out? Without a name to myself, I still revolve around you" - As we all know, and if you don’t know perhaps you should reconsider going back to school and pay attention, 134340 is now the asteroid number used to reference Pluto ever since it lost its place as a planet in the solar system.
So, the subject of the song is comparing him with Pluto and the person they lost to the sun, ending their relationship to him was like Pluto being taken off its place on the solar system and losing its name to a number.
They explain how broken his heart is also using Pluto, in this case, Pluto’s temperature, as a reference - "My cold heart is 248 degrees below zero, it stopped the day you erased me […] How are you? I’m doing okay. Unlike my heart, which feels like it’ll explode, the temperature right now is -248 degrees."
The cause of the end of the relationship is also referred to in the song, using, of course, another analogy related to Pluto "Could it be really that you’ve found Eris" Eris is the name of another dwarf planet that is located in the same belt (Kuiper belt) as Pluto. It was the reason why Pluto lost its status as a Planet.
The chorus and the bridge explain that in the same way Pluto was dismissed from his title of the planet however still evolves around the sun, he also still evolve around the person he loves "I’m just orbiting you (I missed you, I lost you) I’m just going in circles (You erased me, you forgot me) […] I’m just orbiting you. Beyond the fog, I watch you as you continue to smile. Without you or anything, there’s no meaning to my irregular orbit" It also references how Pluto’s orbit is full of countless objects, rocks, dust, and ice, how Pluto has
“flat elliptical trajectory and a large angle deviation from the sun, completely different from 8 planets of the solar system”,
This reference could be seen as a metaphor of the subject to how he feels and how he describes himself. The same way Pluto belonged to the solar system as one of its planets and was just erased to become a number easily forgotten, the boy also belonged to the girl’s world and now there is nothing left - "I once belonged in a world under the sun (The song paused, the song stopped) A smoky layer of mist in the heart of the stars (You erased me, you forgot me)"
Not only about Pluto – the dismissed planted – the song also makes an analogy to Pluto, the Roman name for Hades whose has his storyline mentioned through the song: Eris – the Greek goddess of strife and discord, she makes comfit everywhere she goes and Hades is one of the main victims of these conflicts and losing his status. Also, the verse "My seasons were always you" refer to the legend about Hades and Persephone that says Persephone can only spend two seasons with Hades, in the other two she leaves, and Hades is left all alone. The object in the song is Persephone, when she leaves (when the relationship ends) he is left alone with his heart –248 degrees.
On Naver, the song was described as
“containing the analog sound that is unique to BTS.”
This ingenious analogy brought to us by RM, J-Hope, Suga featuring hard-hitting chorus backed by jazzy instrumentals, brought to us by Pdogg.
Still on Love Yourself: Tear, Jungkook gifted fans one of the most comforting tracks ever made - Magic Shop.
As in the book that carries the same name Into the Magic Shop by James R. Doty, where the neurosurgeon introduces a magic shop that would allow us to make fundamental changes in our lives, starting with our brains and hearts, Jungkook said he wanted the fans to find comfort in their song:
"I wrote this song for our fans (…) There were some things that RM Hyung said during the concert. He said “if it’s you who found us and acknowledged us, you can do it too” I started this song based on these words
“What did I say? I said you’d win, didn’t I? I couldn’t believe it (really) Could I win it? This miracle isn’t a miracle. Did we make it? (No) I was here, you were the one that made your way to me”
It’s a song that tells if you are tired and weary from reality, you open the door inside your mind and there will be Magic Shop
“On days you hate being yourself, days you want to disappear forever let's make a door in your heart. Open the door and this place will await, it's okay to believe, the Magic Shop will comfort you. As you drink a cup of warm tea, as you look above to the milky way, you’ll be alright, oh, this here is the Magic Shop”
and inside of it, there will be 7 of us who’ll give that strength for you
“Like a rose when blooming, like cherry blossoms when being scattered in the wind, like morning glory when fading, like that beautiful moment […] I wanted to become your comfort and move your heart, I want to take away your sadness, and pain"
I wrote this to dedicate to our fans. It would make us very happy if a lot of people gain strength and be comforted through our song. When you feel tired and down, please visit Magic Shop
I could write pages and pages talking about this song but is so meaningful and beautiful that a whole book written about it wouldn’t make justice for the comforting message transmitted here. This Magic Shop was brought to us in the form of music thanks to the lyrics of Jungkook, RM, Suga, and J-hope, produced by the Jungkook. "I do believe your galaxy. I want to listen to your melody your stars in the Milky Way. Don’t forget that I found you anyway at the end of my despair you’re the last reason for me who was standing at the edge of the cliff... Live!"
The album closes with Outro: Tear, a dark reflection on how love and life aren't only made of happy and joyful moments, it is also tears streaming down your face, tearing apart feelings and fear. Quoting Namjoon:
"The word “Tear” is interesting. “Tear” in English. You can shed tears and tear the paper. The word symbolizes what a breakup means to each [of us]. It was [crying] tears for me, tearing apart for Yoongi. For Hoseok, it was fear, talking about after breaking up. Tear, tear, and fear. These are the three themes of this song. That’s how this album ends."
Namjoon - "Goodbyes are, for me, a tear. Without even knowing it, it blooms around my eyes. The words that I could not bring myself to say flow down and lingering regret crawls over my face"
Yoongi - "Goodbyes are T.E.A.R (tearing apart) Because things like tears are a luxury. There's no such thing as beautiful goodbyes so just begin now. Take it easy, slowly carve out my heart. That’s right, gently step on the shards that have shattered so that regret, regret, such a thing will no longer be left. Please burn up my heart that was torn into shreds"
Hoseok - "You're my beginning and my end, that is all. My meeting and my farewell
You were everything. Step forward fear, It will be repeated, caused by you"
The song is one of the most powerful songs from BTS and I dare to say it was the most powerful from the rap line until UGH! From the tone of their rap to the singing parts, the arrangement of the song, and the feeling put in every verse spilled, this song just makes rage and heartbreak grow inside you, and last thing you know you have tear streaming down your face, making you think of every failed relationship – of any kind – in your life and every person that left you behind.
Written and produced by the rappers themselves, knowing it was a farewell for the band when they were deeply contemplating disbanding, some lyrics just have a stronger impact.
"Would you still be able to love me again like before with that smile with which you used to look at me […] We walked towards the same place but this place becomes our last. Although we used to talk about it forever now, we break each other without mercy. Although we thought that we dreamed the same dream that dream has finally become just a dream."
In 2019 we started the journey of discovery of the map of the soul with BTS with L.P "Map Of The Soul: Persona" that was continued by their 2020 record-breaking 4th full album "Map Of The Soul: 7" which was critically acclaimed and praised for its reflective narrative and cohesive production that experiments with various styles - pop, R&B and hip-hop with influences from rock, trap, and EDM.
As we all know, Dr. Murray Stein's book Jung’s Map Of The Soul: An Introduction‘s, Ideas of the persona (the one we show the world), shadow (the one we try to hide), and ego (the center of our consciousness) are the bases of the Map Of The Soul series which were supposed to be divided into three different: RM's Intro: Persona, Suga's Interlude: Shadow and J-Hope's Outro: Ego, but the last two came together as Map Of The Soul: 7.
Giving a short introduction to Carl Jung's psychology:
"Stein takes into the psyche by talking about the ego and then leading us through complexes and psychic energy into the collective unconscious. Instincts and archetypes, which are shared among humans, are revealed, and then we go into some more individual concerns of the persona (the mask we show to the world) and the shadow (the dark side?). Then to the animus and anima, the flip of our gender, and not always easiest to discern. Then we come back up from our transcendent center to wholeness, individuation, and synchronicity".
Intro: Person is pretty much a musical and short resume of this idea, using lyrics like “My shadow, I wrote and called it hesitation. It has never hesitated after becoming that it keeps appearing under the stage or the light, keeps glaring at me scorching like a heatwave […] The regrets that I don't even get sick of any more I tumble with them every night until I'm disgusted and twist the irreversible time habitually. […] The 'me' that I remember and people know, the 'me' that I created myself to vent out, yeah maybe I have been deceiving myself, maybe I've been lying but I'm not embarrassed anymore this is the map of my soul" - RM reflects on the various facets of the persona
To me, this track is ingeniously written and one of the best from BTS discography. The persona brought to us by RM himself, produced by him and Pdogg.
Persona, who the hell am I? I just wanna go, I just wanna fly. I just wanna give you all the voices till I die. I just wanna give you all the shoulders when you cry
Ensuing the Persona there's the Shadow - the one we try to hide, the interlude of the Map Of The Soul. Following the ideas of Dr. Murray Stein, it is that one face of our Persona that we aspire to hide, the unconscious that he theorized as The Shadow.
Suga’s track Interlude: Shadow, wrote by him and produced by him and El Capitxn is the first step into this unconsciousness.
Shadow brings us back to Suga’s poem "What a relief" back in Bon Voyage 3
Everything is scary, lonely, cold, the brighter the light on you the bigger the shadow
“Shadow at my feet, look down, it’s gotten even bigger. I run but the shadow follows, as dark as the light's intense I’m afraid, flying high is terrifying”
As the shadows grow throughout the song, Suga begs that light to tone down so that the shadow behind him wouldn’t grow bigger “Please don’t let me shine, don’t let me down, don’t let me fly now I’m afraid. The moment I face myself brought lowest it so happens that I’m flying the highest... Please don’t let me shine”
However, the constant repetition throughout the whole song of “I wanna be a rap star, I wanna be the top, I wanna be a rockstar, I want it all mine. I wanna be rich, I wanna be the king, I wanna go win...” shows the Persona’s ego – the desire of wanting more and wanting to be on the top. These two seem to clash very often as we can see in the verses "you are me; I am you we live in the same body and sometimes we clash".
There are always two sides to the coin. The good and bad cohabiting together. If the ego existed without the shadow, that would be worrying because that's where fame, status, money takes over people's head and they just lose the essence, humility, and humanity. Here, Carl’s Jung psychology enters once again, he believed
shadow integration was difficult and that if someone did not go through this process, the result could be chaos […] in order to achieve wholeness and reach one’s true self, one must go through the individuation process. This process requires us to encounter and integrate our unconscious elements into our conscious selves.
Just like Murray Steins says that
If a person completely shuns the shadow, life is proper, but it is terribly incomplete. By opening to shadow experience, however, a person becomes tainted with immorality but attains a greater degree of wholeness.
In that perspective, Suga finishes Interlude: Shadow in a more enlightened feeling of acceptance because everyone feels this way and that this feeling is inescapable “You can never break me off, this you must know. Can’t break me off, whatever you do. You’ll be at ease if you admit it too. Succeed or fail, whichever way you flow you can’t escape, wherever you go”
Closing this journey into our soul and also the album there's our ego - Outro: Ego
J-Hope presents us with an upbeat track with some afrobeat instrumentals, written by himself and produced by Hiss Noise.
Keeping on track of the philosophy of Carl Jung
the ego is the part of the self that selects the most relevant information from the environment and chooses a direction to take based on it, while the rest of the information sinks into the unconscious. It may, therefore, show up later in the form of dreams or visions, thus entering into the conscious mind.
J-hope, in this track, takes a trip down on memory lane recalling the times of darkness and struggles he had to overcome in his past “I go back every day to me of yesterday, to the life of giving up, I let myself go away [...] Life, not of j-hope but Jeong Hoseok flashes by, it must have been full of regret with no hope till I die” To overcome struggles, demons and negative forces that stop you from pursuing your dream, a reconciliation with the past - “Everything of which I know, but of which I am not at the moment thinking; everything of which I was once conscious but have now forgotten; everything perceived by my senses, but not noted by my conscious mind; everything which, involuntarily and without paying attention to it, I feel, think, remember, want, and do; all the future things which are taking shape in me and will sometime come to consciousness” - is needed “Yeah I don't care, it's all choices by my fate, so we're here. Look ahead, the way is shining', keep going' now”
The end of the song comes with the individuation - to Jung
The quest for wholeness that the human psyche invariably undertakes, the journey to becoming conscious of his or herself as a unique human being, but unique only in the same sense that we all are, not more or less so than others.
The core message of Hope’s ego is learning how to trust yourself. After learning how to trust himself, J-hope was able to let go of the baggage he carried and look ahead - “Way I trust, the way I go became my fate, became my core. Hard it was, and sad it was still reassured and made me know myself.”
Persona, Shadow, and Ego... Jung Hoseok closes the map of the soul circle stating that discovering who one truly is, is the ultimate dream in life. His colors are all of the songs, if there would be a personification of hip-hop in the kpop industry, it is 100% J-Hope. He is the climax of every BTS song and no one better to close this journey than him.
Map of the Soul, Map of the All… That's my Ego, that's my Ego
"Map Of The Soul: 7" is an album described by the members of BTS as "deeply personal" and contains some of my favorite solo songs and sub-unite songs.
Jungkook presented us with an incredible r&b track that might or might not be at 3rd place in my Spotify 2020 wrapped.
While My Time While it's his personal view on how his life seems like a movie growing up as the maknae of one of the biggest groups in history, this song feels very personal to some of us.
Starting with lyrics “But is it too fast? There're traces of losses. Don't know what to do with it, am I living' this right? Why am I alone in a different time and space?”
To “I think I was in yesterday 'cause everybody walks too fast. I'm a little kid grown up not knowing it (Like a child who got lost). This got me oh just tripping’, it feels I'm roaming over. Don't know what to do with it, am I living' this right? Why am I alone in a different time and space?" Finishing with - "Sometimes when I'm gasping for air, I wear my hat low and keep running. Yeah, I don’t gotta know where I go even if it’s the opposite of the sun"
From the person who's been trying for a long time, to the person that feels as if they are falling behind, to the one that has just turned 20 and doesn't know where to turn anymore or what direction should they follow now because life just happened too fast. The one with frustrated dreams, the one with 40 years old feeling as if nothing in life has been conquered - Jungkook makes it feel like this song is about our own time, which I believe to be even more approachable.
Thanks to the production of the song made by Sleep Deez and Pdogg, this r&b feels closer to home.
Can I someday finna find my time?
Up next we have UGH! A rap-line track full of wordplay and puns, using the different meanings of ugh, like they previously did in Ddaeng – (In Korean, “ugh” or “욱” describes a type of anger that is sudden and explosive. English “ugh”, the expression for disgust or frustration.)
RM, Suga, and J-Hope reflect on anger and rage. More than a diss track about the band’s haters, this track discusses the misapplication of anger in society.
They recognizing rage is not essentially a bad emotion "we need it, there is always a reason for rage to happen and it can change the world “Rage? Of course, you need it. When it burns up there's always a reason. Mayhap it’s our history, sometimes it changes the world […] This world, it is taken over by rage it seems that nobody can live without rage […] There are tens of thousands of reasons to be raging: Goodwill and evil will, all the very same”
However, they draw the line "you are allowed to feel rage, it is an ordinary feeling, but remember: Your freedom ends when the other person’s freedom starts, and if your anger causes harm to others, then you should stop it “But this is not rage, this is excretion. Which one is rage, you know? Pretending it’s rage and killing, real rage […] I can rage, but if there were to be damage done to others' lives, I don't like… That’s stop” Rage is a double-edged sword and you should be careful with it because “Someone gets hurt at someone's actions. Someone becomes gloomy at someone's speech and behavior. Someone's spur of the moment becomes someone's moment. Someone's rage becomes someone's life”
During the chorus of the song they go “UGH” on the malice-filled rage thrown at them, other artists, and people since this rage could be projected into other conducts, in a more effective and positive way “I go UGH! UGH! I’m raging at the malice-filled rage! […] I’m raging at the rage that had to die out”
Too much unnecessary and ridiculous rage thrown at people becomes ridiculous to the one raging since it will reach a point where it just doesn’t affect anymore and they are the one being a victim of their own rage “Fed up, the countless number of people. You’re not just killing me; we’re used to stepping on shit. Look at those people who've grown numb. Excretion, apathy, you guys are a team […] Just go UGH! UGH! Until it all becomes ashes. Just go UGH! UGH! until it breaks.”
After the rage of the rappers, the singers come in like the peace after the storm with the track Zero O'Clock (00:00).
What I liked most about this song, besides the lyrics brought to us by RM and the amazing production by Pdogg, is how it is built as if it was a narrative. It gives the song a more personal meaning and makes us feel closer and comforted.
Starting with verse 1 and 2 where an example of a bad day is given and the thoughts that constantly bother you on why is it happening to you “You know those days where you're sad for no reason, those days where your body is heavy and it looks like everyone else except you is busy and fierce [...] My heart grows crumpled and my words lessen. Why the hell? I ran so hard, why to me?”
The fourth verse consisting of a lot of self-doubts and overthinking that always follows us after a difficult day leaving a bittersweet taste “The beat slips away little by little, I can't put on an easy face. I keep forgetting familiar lyrics, there's nothing going my way. Yes, it's all in the past even talking to myself, it's not easy. Is it my fault? Is it my wrong? Only my echo comes back with no answer.”
The pre-chores portray what all of us do on days like this: lay in the bed and wonder when will this shit be over “Come home and lie in bed thinking if it was my fault?” And then you look at the clock and you see it is almost midnight, this day is almost over and that makes you wonder if thigs will ever get better but at least you feel a little relieved that the day is almost over “Dizzy night, looking at the clock, soon it will be midnight. Will something be different? It won't be something like that. But this day will be over when the minute and second hands overlap. The world holds its breath for a little while... Zero o’clock.”
As the chorus strikes, a wave of comfort strikes together. Reassuring that there will be a better tomorrow, they repeatedly sing and you're gonna be happy as a mantra. A new day is about to start, so let's just breathe and start again “Like that snow that just settled down. Let's breathe, like the first time [...] Turn this all around when everything is new, zero o'clock.”
The bridge overwhelms with our deepest and most personal desires, despairing that a new song (a new chapter/a new phase) begins, bringing a happier restart “Put my hands together to pray, hoping that tomorrow I'll laugh more, for me. It'll be better, for me. When this song ends may a new song begin, hoping that I'll be a little happier."
Mr. Kim Seokjin and his marvelous voice never ever disappoints with his solo tracks. From Awake, Tonight, Epiphany, his lyrics and sweet vocals just make you hugged, loved, and understood. It couldn't be any different with Moon (for some reason it is my second more listened to song in 2020 Spotify wrapped).
In this song written by Jin and produced by Slow Rabbit, accompanied by an upbeat guitar-driven pop-rock sound, the lyrics portray a relationship between two people through the beautiful comparison with the relationship between the moon and the earth.
He sings how the person he loves is the earth meanwhile he is only the moon that orbits around the earth, lighting up its night “You are my Earth, I'm just a moon to you, your little star that lights up your heart.” The same way the moon cannot touch the earth, he also cannot touch the person so he just shines for them and stay by their side looking at them “You are my Earth and all I see is you, the only thing I can do is to gaze at you like this […] Would it be okay if I open my eyes and contain you in them? […] I'll orbit around you, I'll stay by your side, I'll be your light... All for you”
Through the whole song he shows his concerns about what the person would think of his insecurities and flaws, once again putting him as the moon “Though everyone says I'm beautiful my sea is all black […] Suddenly I wonder are you also looking at me right now? Won't you even find out all my painful wounds?” However, this person gave him a name, love, and a reason “I didn't even have a name until I met you, you gave me your love and now have become my reason” the symbolism of giving a name was previously used by BTS in their tracks Serendipity and 134340, it represents love and has its roots in the poem “The Flower” by Kim Choonsoo (it also could refer to his stage name, given to him as a member of BTS).
For all of that, he is grateful, and on the bridge, he pours down his gratitude “Even the bright day and in the dark night you who stay by my side. Even when I'm sad, even when I'm hurt you simply shine on me. Rather than saying any words, rather than thanking you, I'll stay by your side in the pitch-black night. Way more brightly I'll stay by your side”
At the end of the song, the lyrics of the chorus “Suddenly I wonder are you also looking at me right now? Won't you find out all my painful wounds?” are changed to “Suddenly I wonder do you really know yourself? Do you know how beautiful your existence is?” If we also interpret this with the verses “everyone says I'm beautiful […] A star where flowers bloom and the sky is blue, you are the truly beautiful one” we can think that he was asking the person he loves if they know themselves and how beautiful their whole existence is, as if “you gave me love, you give me support and a reason but do you understand how beautiful and precious YOU are?”
A personal favorite from the Map of The Soul series and top favorite in BTS' entire discography, Moon was presented to us by Jin, who, in a beautiful metaphoric and full of analogies track, showcases his love for their fans, army. Even though I feel lonely, this song made me feel loved and appreciated in a way that anything has ever done.
Open the gates because the ones who I like to call The Golden Duo are entering with another smash and incredible lyrics, you must have some Respect.
This pop-rap track written by RM and Suga, produced by Suga, comes in the light of an examination of the different spectrums of the word Respect, what it really means and how seriously people take this word.
RM on his verses starts stating how the word respect has lost its value “nowadays this word floats around me: "Respect" but these days I'm confused about its meaning”. Saying “Respect” has become a trend, thrown around a lot, and has gained another definition which he doesn’t understand, “They say it's said when someone keeps doing something (Why?) I'm not really sure either...”
Thus, then he approaches respect as what it really means “Re-spect" means as it sounds, to literally look again and again.
Respect originated from Latin – Re: back and Spect: to look at.
When you keep looking again and again at something, you will eventually capture all their flaws, and however, you choose to still keep looking at it, how much is it needed for you to respect someone that even their flaws make you want to look at them
“Look again and again and you'll see faults but you still want to keep looking, despite that. You'll need that perfect belief towards someone”
Having this strong definition in mind, he says he cannot get himself into saying it that easily, to say you respect someone it should be done confidently and you should really mean it “So I can't get myself to easily say, the weight and thickness of it are vague. I hope someday I can confidently say it and mean it when I do, to you and to me”
Suga kicks off his verse also confused about what Respect really means and why is it thrown around so easily. Do people really respect each other so much as they say they respect? “What even is "respect"? Why is everyone saying it? Honestly, I can't understand, admiring someone... Was it something really that easy? I still can’t understand it.” Then he proceeds to call out the hypocrisy some people have on saying they respect you but then proceed to talk shit about you on your back. The famous I respect you so much BUT- “To be honest, there's no need for admiration when there's not even respect, everyone except you knows people talks shit behind your back. I honestly respect you. You have no intention to respect me so just skip it - Respect, I respect you. Applause to that pal who speaks ill while smiling”
The pair, during the chorus and the rest of the songs, are repeatedly questioning what is respect and asking people to not throw it around as if it was such a simple feeling “Please don't say respect easily because even I am not sure. Sometimes I'm scared of myself, what if the weak me is found out? (Respect) Everybody says it so easily. (Respect) Though you don't know what it is. (Respect) Please look again” because like RM said in his verse “It's obviously superior to love, probably a concept that exists at the most superior rank out of all the superiors. Isn't that called respect, huh? (what I'm saying')”
Are you sure you really respect the person you say you respect? Are you sure the person who claims to respect you, really does respect you? "Aye, do ya know what respect is?" "I don't know, hyungnim," "I don't know either," "Why is respect this hard?" 'Respect', well, is to look again, I don't know," "'Respect', what?" "'Respect'!" "'Admiration'!" "I think those are respected, I'd come to think of that," "English is hard," "I know right?"
I would like to finish these considerations with a golden key and I don't think any other song besides Black Swan could close this in a better way. A genius, incredible and perceptive song that joins contemporary with trap and r&b where the fear of losing the love and passion for their art is poured out.
I don't think the lyrics to this song need any kind of explanation or interpretation, it already speaks for itself because of how raw and honest it is. Also, the production takes a part in bringing to life the magic of the song, the darkness in it makes you understand the meaning of the song before you know the lyrics. The desperation in the voices, the lack of climax in the song while the vocals are overlaid over and over again making this effect of emptiness and distance evolve you in this aura of anxiety and hopelessness.
Truth is, BTS discography is full of impactful lyrics, always having thee members credited as the songwriters and/or producers which makes it more special. Recently they released their 5th full-length album entitled BE. All 8 songs on it are top of the line with incredible lyrics which I did not add here since I already have a post exclusively about BE and its song.
Before saying goodbye for today I would like to make some honorable mention to other BTS songs that have the most amazing lyrics I have ever come across:
We On, Spine Breaker, Tomorrow, Cypher Pt. 2, 3 and 4, Intro: The Most Beautiful Moment In Life, Hold Me Tight, Love Is Not Over, House Of Cards, Intro: Never Mind, Ma City, Silver Spoon, Autumn Leaves, Epilogue: Young Forever, Good Day, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Begin, First Love, Reflection, MAMA, Awake, Am I Wrong, 2! 3!, A Supplementary Story: You Never Walk Alone, Serendipity, Pied Piper, MIC Drop, Crystal Snow, Let Go, Singularity, Fake Love, PAradise, Love Maze, Anpaman, Euphoria, Trivia: Love, Epiphany, I'm Fine, IDOL, Answer: Love Myself, Mikrokosmos, Heartbeat, Jamais Vu, Dionysus, Filter, Louder Than Bombs, ON, Inner Child, We Are Bulletproof: The Eternal.