Welcome back everyone to another Mono analysis.

This post unfortunately requires a trigger warning: Mentions of death and depression.

New readers, you’re about to jump into the middle of Namjoon’s life and if you haven’t read my previous blog posts where I’ve tied together Namjoon’s story from 2013 up to 2018 through his lyrics (mostly from the Love Yourself albums), you may lack context. In my blog we build on existing knowledge and I’ve designed it to be read in chronological order.

I was able to create the chronology based on two principles:

1. BTS has said over and over again that all of their songs are written based on their past experiences. This means that when a song was written in 2018, it can only be about something that happened prior to 2018.
2. While a writer can write a song for someone else to sing, ultimately they are still writing their own story. It is not possible to write an accurate story about someone else’s intimate life and love for their partner in the first person without their input (e.g. Serendipity).

1. moonchild

We’re born in the moonlight
Ain’t no fantasy
Can’t breathe in the sunlight*
Gotta hide your heart
We’re born to be sad, sad (whoa-oh), sad, sad
Suffer to be glad, glad (whoa-oh), glad, glad

*Can be heard as “Can’t bring you the sunlight”

The moonlight may be a reference to the popular LGBTIQ+ movie: Moonlight. We know that Namjoon was aware and inspired by this movie because “4 O’Clock” is based on it.

The assumption that the Moonlight is a reference to this movie fits perfectly into the timeline as Moonlight was released on 2 September 2016 and Mono is an “rkive” (i.e. wordplay of Archive) of Namjoon’s life from 2015 – 2018.

If this is true, then the lyrics “we’re born in the moonlight” implies that the people Namjoon refers to as “We” in this song are part of the LGBTIQ+ family.

The use of the pronoun “We” indicates Namjoon is singing about himself and someone else.

The word “heart” and “moonchild” is singular. This indicates Namjoon is singing to someone. If Namjoon wrote this specifically for a group of people in mind (i.e. moonchildren), the lyrics would be “Gotta hide your hearts.”

This implies that the person Namjoon is singing to is also part of the LGBTIQ+ family.

The decision to use a singular subject also creates intimacy as it feels like Namjoon is comforting us directly as individuals.

Alternatively, if Namjoon was not inspired by the movie Moonlight, it implies that Namjoon and the other person are born “different” for some unknown reason not made clear in the lyrics.

Being born in the moonlight is symbolic of being different because Sun, sunlight and daytime hold connotations of being open, free and visible (i.e. being “normal”) while Night, moon and shadows hold connotations of obscurity, quietness, hiding and suffering.

Because Namjoon and this other person are “different”, life is tough, “ain’t no fantasy.” Just like a vampire, they must hide their true selves and feelings and being seen openly during the day is dangerous to them, “can’t breathe in the sunlight, gotta hide your heart.” They can only be themselves safely at night when everyone else is asleep.

The lyrics, “suffer to be glad, glad (whoa-oh), glad, glad” follow a similar biblical philosophy that one must rejoice in their sufferings.

Romans 5:1-21 sums up this philosophy: One must rejoice in suffering as suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character and character produces…

…Hope.

2. A moonchild’s destiny

Come on, ya’ll, moonchild, moonchild
That’s how it’s supposed to be
Yeah, all these pain and all these sorrows
That’s our destiny, see?*
You and my life was like this**
We gotta dance in the rain
Dance in the pain***
Even though we crash down****
We gon’ dance in the plain***

*The word “see” is ambiguous as it also sounds like “sin”. This interpretation is particularly poetic if considered in a biblical context as being an LGBTIQ+ is considered a sin in Christianity.

** This can also be heard as “You know my life is like this” or “You and my life is like this”

*** This word is also ambiguous, it can be heard as plane, pane, or pain.

**** This can also be heard as “Even though we crashed now”

I have set out some examples below, so please play around and choose your favourite interpretation!

That’s our destiny: Sin.
You and my life was like this
We gotta dance in the rain
Dance in the plane
Even though we crashed down
We gon’ dance in the pane

This interpretation has a sense of foreboding because it describes a plane crash and them dancing with death on the other side of the dimensional pane of life.

That’s our destiny, see?
You know my life is like this
We gotta dance in the rain
Dance in the pain
Even though we crash down
We gonna dance in the plain

This interpretation has a sense of courage and rebellion. In this interpretation, Namjoon and this person are going to dance through the pain in plain sight in front of everybody. Even though they may crash and burn, they are not hiding from the pain or in the darkness.

We also see the recurring theme of “our destiny” appearing here. We have seen “our destiny” appear in many of Namjoon’s lyrics, for example:

• Because destiny keeps getting jealous of us – Serendipity
• Everything was destined… Come and let’s become a “We“…- Serendipity
• The evidence of destiny given to me – Namjoon’s part in DNA
• Because we’re the two who found our destiny… this is inevitable, I love us – Namjoon’s part in DNA
• We were always meant to be, destiny, I hope you feel the same – Trivia Love
• Our remaining destiny – Namjoon’s part in 134340

In the above examples, we previously identified that Namjoon was talking about himself and “Her”.

This implies that the “We” in moonchild refers to Namjoon and “Her”.

Assuming that our guess is right and that Jin is “Her”, they have certainly danced very well in the plain in front of the entire world.

3. Tear

We are given another Easter egg that reinforces the possibility that the story told in Moonchild is based on what was happening around the same time as (Outro): Tear.

In the following lyrics, Namjoon plays with the word “Tear” just as he does in his part of (Outro): Tear. The word “Tear” is used in both songs to describe crying tears and being torn apart:

We, more than anyone else, need the night scenery 
Only I can console myself, nobody else
It’s okay to shed the tears
But don’t you tear yourself

The night scenery is their metaphysical place of comfort, rest, safety. As they are moon children, it is only natural that the quiet comfort of the moonlight can heal them. There is a sense preciousness and privacy of the night scenery as no one else is awake to enjoy the night scenery, except for him and “Her”.

These lyrics run parallel with (Outro): Tear where in both stories we see Namjoon upset and trying to console himself. For example in (Outro): Tear, he was drinking bitter beer to console himself while he comes to terms of “Her” being gone.

The lyrics tell us that “She” is incredibly sad and is shedding tears too. It is also clear “She” is blaming herself for something, “it’s okay to shed the tears but don’t you tear yourself.”

This is consistent with our understanding of what happened with Namjoon and “Her” – that while they broke up, “She” continued to remain in his life and love him.

4. Ironies and paradoxes

In the following verse, there are some sentences where the subject is ambiguous. Thus where I have put (you) or (I), it can be interchangeable with each other.

Even if (you) leave, (I’m) unable to leave even once
(You) say (you) want to die, but you live harder
Although (I) say (I) want to put everything down, (I) put another weight
Even the thought of not having a thought is a thought, you know
The truth is that we are destined to be like this, you know
That we laugh in endless pain, you know
There is no freedom the moment (I) say “freedom” out loud, you know

Do you know?
Do you know?

In true Namjoon style, Namjoon explores the dichotomies of:

• Leaving vs staying
• Dying vs Living
• Giving up vs Pushing yourself
• Thought-Less vs Thought-Full
• Endless pain vs Endless joy and laughter
• Speaking freely vs Unspoken rules that comes with freedom

The truth is, Namjoon and “Her” “are destined to be like this. They complete each other by being the living opposites of each other – just like life and death and pain and laughter.

5. Thorns

In the moon’s hours, look at the night sky through the eyes of your soul
It will show you your window and your time
Did you know? That street lamp also has many thorns
Take a close look at that flickering light
Isn’t a night scenery such a cruel thing
A splendid view unfolded before us that is made up of someone’s thorns
Someone else will surely be comforted by looking at your thorns
We are each other’s night scenery, each other’s moon  (x4)

Thorns are a key feature of Roses. We have seen the symbolism of flowers, in particular the Rose, popping up all over in Namjoon’s and BTS’ work.

The Rose seems to be particularly connected with Trivia Love and “Her” as explained in this post.

There is a famous proverb that says “Every rose has its thorns”. The proverb describes the fact that nobody is perfect. Even a rose, beautiful and enticing, is not without its flaws: Its prickly thorns can poke and pierce the flesh.

This proverb can also be understood to speak of life situations – that even the best situations have their downsides, and thus, that even bad situations have their positive sides.

Therefore, the lyrics, “a splendid view unfolded before us that is made up of someone’s thorns” has the meaning that good things in the world are created through the cruel prickling flaws of humans; and the lyrics “someone else will surely be comforted by looking at your thorns” has the meaning that we as humans, get comfort from seeing each other’s flaws and vulnerabilities.

Our flaws can support each other and provide comfort to each other, just like what the moonlight does for moon children.

So whether you’re a Moonchild or Sunchild, just like Namjoon and “Her”, you have a place and time in this world.

So don’t cry my child, just like how all flowers bloom and wither, your Moon/Sun hour will come… and go.

~ ♡ 지

Lyric sources:

Doolset lyrics
Genius lyrics
AZ lyrics