When you watch the legendary septet on stage, you would notice that they are having so much fun performing for their audience.
You get into the groove and sway your body to the beat, as well, simply basking in the incredible tempo – even when you don’t understand all the lyrics of the song.
I know veteran ARMY (Adorable Representative MCs for Youth) understand everything about the song, but new ARMY like me are just having a blast with the beat of the song.
I was that way when I first became an ARMY. I didn’t bother to research the whole lyrics of the songs, and just relished the music and the few English sentences. There were translations of the lyrics but I thought that was it.
I discovered later on that there were deeper meanings to their seemingly ‘joyful’ and ‘fun’ songs that deserve attention. But before that, you have to remember that BTS discography has interconnecting stories and themes. So, there may be recurring episodes.
Also, take note that these song interpretations are not officially acknowledged by BTS, because according to them, their fans/viewers have the freedom to interpret the song according to their own perception, which is the true meaning of art.
The intended meaning of the artist should merge with the perceived meaning of the receiver of the art. This will yield a complete fusion of the two meanings – whether they differ or not – behind the piece of art.
Here’s a compilation of some of the BTS songs that are often viewed as “fun songs” only:
- “So What”
The meaning of the song is actually inspirational. It tells people not to wallow in their worries; to let go of them and instead fight off whatever worries them and whatever challenges they meet day to day.
Here’s more of the translation from LyricsFreak
“So what
Don’t stop and worry yourself
It’s good for nothing
Let go
Although there’s no answer yet
You can start the fight”
- “Am I Wrong”
This bop is actually interpreted as an offshoot of a tragedy in South Korea that led to the death of young students. Read the meaning of this song in the link for Go, Go.
- “Go, Go”
This seemingly joyful song has a deeper meaning that listeners should learn from:
Here’s an interpretation of the songs “Am I Wrong”, and “Go, Go”. You’d be surprised they mean much more than what they appear to be.
- “Anpanman”
Anpanman is a song about a ‘weak’ superhero, who offers himself to save others. But there’s more to it than that.
According to this post on Sompi: “A Closer Look Into The Inspiring Message Behind BTS’s “Anpanman”:
“Anpanman is a red bean bread man and the world’s weakest hero. He doesn’t have any superpowers like Batman or Superman, but is a kind hero who helps those in need and gives to hungry people pieces of his face…”
- “Run”
At first, Run seems to have a simple meaning: the youth should keep on running in spite of falls and challenges along the way.
But it’s not as simple as that, as there are connecting ‘morbid’ preludes to that, as explained by this post by BTS Theory:
- Daeng
Daeng was perceived as a song dedicated to BTS haters, but just like any other BTS song, there’s more to it than that.
Here’s a translation by @vlissful, explaining the double entendre of the lyrics.
- UGH
UGH is perceived by many as a diss to BTS haters, but it’s not truly that. Watch the deeper, social implications of the song. After you have listened to the song.
Here’s a clear explanation of the meaning of the song, courtesy of DKDKTV:
Here’s another explanation by Muish:
“욱, the Korean title for this song is pronounced Ook/Oog. This word is a very specific term relating to anger, non-existent in English, and I sometimes wonder if BTS does this to torture the translators. The term is often used as a verb, to be 욱/욱하다.
This is what people will do when your anger quickly rises like a substance inside you. Similar English expression would be “rising bile” as expression of anger, and you “swallow the bile” as you try to suppress the anger down. Except that the expression also implies the anger rose really fast, over almost nothing important, because the person gets angry easily.. like being angry at the drop of a hat.”
Read more of the meaning of UGH here.
UPDATE
In a recent VLive, RM (kim Namjoon) has this to say as translated by @agirlinthepark:
“The rappers had similar thoughts for what they wanted to talk about. People who speak so logically & ethically about someone else like on social media. It’s dangerous to say that you definitively know something/someone. There’s so much anger & get criticized everywhere.
He can’t speak specifically about the context, but there’s a lot of malicious anger out there and the rappers had similar thoughts on what they wanted to say. RM says Yoongi can do a better job talking about the track.”
[🐨7⃣]UGH!- rappers had similar thoughts for what they wanted to talk about. People who speak so logically & ethically about someone else like on social media. It's dangerous to say that you definitively know something/someone. There's so much anger & get criticized everywhere
— JP🏡😊 (@agirlinthepark) March 10, 2020
[🐨7⃣]UGH!- he can't speak specifically about the context, but there's a lot of malicious anger out there and the rappers had similar thoughts on what they wanted to say. RM says Yoongi can do a better job talking about the track.
— JP🏡😊 (@agirlinthepark) March 10, 2020
Hopefully, you would appreciate more these BTS songs after learning their deeper meanings.
