Hello everyone!
Hope you’re having a wonderful day! Today we are going to be analysing Yoongi’s the next song after Trivia 轉: Seesaw – (Outro) Tear. Without further ado, let’s get it!
Assumed Knowledge & Assumptions
I have written this post assuming you know:
- my theory, that all of the songs in LY albums are connected and reveal a storyline when read in a specific order;
- there are three different “Hers” and that when Yoongi refers to “Her”, he is referring to the BTS Members; and
- Yoongi’s story told so far through DNA, The Last of DT Suga, Agust D, (Outro) Her: By Yoongi, Fake Love: By Yoongi and Trivia 轉: Seesaw and the Peony.
New Readers
Hello there and welcome to my blog! I’m sorry to say that if you haven’t read any of the above posts… I may lose you in the detail as my lyrical analyses are built on existing knowledge!
This is simply because all of the songs are interconnected and need to be read in a specific order for it to make sense, just like a book.
You can absolutely still continue to read and follow how I draw meaning from the lyrics, but you may not understand for example, why I believe Yoongi’s lyrics are about the BTS members.
If you’re wondering where to start, please start here.
Please also note the assumptions I apply when I analyse songs.
Enjoy! 😊
1. Finding Yoongi’s Perspective
In (Outro) Tear: By Namjoon, we discussed the antithesis structure in the Love Yourself albums and illustrated how Outro: Her and Outro: Tear are opposing concepts.
We also identified that Joon raps the first main verse in both Outro: Her and Outro: Tear and that those lyrics reflect his story. Thus, we need to do the same and identify the lyrics rapped by Yoongi to analyse his perspective.
Yoongi raps the second main verse in both Outro: Her and Outro: Tear.
Yoongi also raps part of the post-chorus (shared with Hobi), the second and third chorus (shared with both Joon and Hobi), and the bridge in Outro: Tear. Thus, these are the lyrics we will be analysing today:
[Second part of post-chorus]
Although we thought that we dreamed the same dream
But now the dream truly became just a dream
My heart is torn, please burn it instead
So that pain and regret, none of that would be left
[Main second verse]
Goodbyes are T.E.A.R
Because things like tears are a luxury
There’s no such thing as beautiful goodbyes
So just begin now
Woo take it easy, slowly carve out my heart
That’s right, 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
That’s right, right there, what are you hesitating for
This is the ending you were wishing for
So go on and kill me without hesitating
Woo yeah yeah burn it
Woo yeah yeah yeah burn it
Woo yeah yeah yeah burn it
So not even the ashes remain
This is the real you and this is the real me
Now we’ve seen the end and not even resentment is left
I’ve woken up from the sweet dream and I close my eyes
This is the real you and this is the real me
[Second and Third Chorus]
…You’re my tear
You’re my, you’re my tear…
What more can I say?
You’re my…
[Bridge]
What should I say?
We know
The answer is fixed
But replying is always hard
2. The Conversation
As per my last post, Trivia 轉: Seesaw and the Peony, I discussed how and why:
- Trivia 轉: Seesaw is set in the period leading up to the day when BTS finally spoke to each other openly on whether they should break up or not; and
- the lyrics indicate that Yoongi was the one who pushed for the BTS Members to reveal how they truly felt about each other and about him so that they can decide whether to get off the seesaw or not.
Since Yoongi’s lyrics in Outro: Tear are full of pain, we can infer that the honest answer Yoongi received was that (quote Trivia 轉: Seesaw) “we [don’t] have feelings for each other… [and] for me anymore…”
3. Tear it up
As discussed in (Outro) Tear: By Namjoon, Namjoon clearly pronounces “tear” in his lyrics as (crying) tears (tir).
However, Yoongi clearly pronounces “tear” in the choruses as (ripping) tears (ter). The intentional pronunciation of “tear” as (ripping) tears reflects Yoongi’s emotions and the theme of his story.
The consistent theme of Yoongi feeling like he has been torn and ripped apart can be seen throughout his lyrics:
- “Goodbyes are T.E.A.R” – This wordplay is one of my favourites. By putting a full stop after each letter, Yoongi is literally tearing the word “Tear” apart into four individual letters.
Applying this same wordplay to BTS, saying “Goodbye” to BTS is the literal act of tearing and splitting the members up into their own individual beings (and careers) to exist separately from each other. - “…slowly carve out my heart” – The act of carving out a heart is the inherent act of separating (i.e. tearing) the heart from the body.
- “…gently step on the shards that have shattered” – Yoongi uses the analogy of shattered shards of glass to evoke the image of painful cuts and tears to the feet as they “gently step” on it; and
- “Please burn up my heart that was torn into shreds… My heart is torn“
The consistent piercing, ripping and tearing theme conveys to us two things:
1) Yoongi’s emotional and mental pain, regret and agony was intensely painful and heartbreaking; and
2) BTS came very very very close to breaking up and disbanding.
4. Burn it
Due to the unbearable heartbreak from learning that his member(s) don’t “have feelings for each other… [and] for me anymore…” , Yoongi requests his member(s) to burn his heart, “my heart is torn, please burn it instead… Please burn up my heart that was torn into shreds.”
The lyrics “burn it… burn up… burn it instead” echos Yoongi’s solo song – Burn It featuring MAX, where the lyrics go: “yeah yeah yeah burn it… burn it… let’s burn it, so burn it till it’s all gone…“
We can also observe the differences in the way Joon, Joon’s ex, and Yoongi deal with breakups:
- Joon drinks, cries, and reflects alone with regret and self-loathing;
- Joon’s ex attempts to comfort Joon; and
- Yoongi’s self-preservation approach is to completely burn the ties and relationships he has with the member(s).
Though Yoongi’s self-preservation approach may appear to be extreme, as previously discussed in (Outro) Her: By Yoongi and Trivia 轉: Seesaw and the Peony:
- Yoongi’s happiness is heavily dependent on the happiness of his members;
- Yoongi is incredibly self-sacrificing for his members because he loves them and wants to be loved back; and
- Yoongi was already dealing with a cocktail of illnesses.
Therefore, if a member admitted that he no longer loved Yoongi or admitted that they no longer were happy with each other, it would have been extremely heartbreaking for Yoongi to hear and deal with.
Thus, the only way Yoongi feels like he can deal with the pain is for him to completely part ways with them and burn the ties till “..not even the ashes remain.”
5. Hesitation, Fear, and Revelation
I refer to the following lyrics:
That’s right, right there, what are you hesitating for
This is the ending you were wishing for
So go on and kill me without hesitating
…This is the real you and this is the real me
Now we’ve seen the end and not even resentment is left
I’ve woken up from the sweet dream and I close my eyes
This is the real you and this is the real me
Who Yoongi is referring to in the above lyrics is unclear, but it might be worth pointing out that the Korean lyrics indicate that the “You” is singular. However, objectively “Her” is singular as well, and based on my theory, when Yoongi refers to “Her”, he is referring to the BTS Members.
Whoever “You” is though is not important and I don’t want to speculate on who it might be. But what is interesting is that Yoongi states that “this is the ending you were wishing for.”
We can infer from this that the person(s) Yoongi is speaking to has (through words and/or actions) heavily implied to the group at an earlier point in time that they were having second thoughts about being in BTS.
We know from Yoongi’s lyrics that “You” hesitated and ultimately (since BTS are still together stronger than ever – Thank God!) that “You” never ended up metaphorically “killing” Yoongi and their relationship.
Instead of “killing” Yoongi and their relationship, “You” and Yoongi both revealed and laid bare their real selves to everyone: “this is the real you and this is the real me.”
This is an important move on both “You” and Yoongi’s part that I hope we all take away from this song:
Because “You” and Yoongi revealed their real selves to each other, any hate and resentment that they previously had with each other dissipated so that “not even resentment is left.”
In other words, the courage “You” and Yoongi needed to push past their hesitation and fear to reveal and face each others’ real and flawed selves was fundamentally necessary for BTS to undergo the process of acceptance, forgiveness and healing.
6. The Answer is fixed
I refer to the following lyrics:
What should I say?
We know
The answer is fixed
But replying is always hard
After the revelation of each other’s true selves, Yoongi and the rest of the BTS Members “know” what “the answer is…”
Given the tone of voice and their reluctance of replying with the answer “but replying is always hard” , we can infer that BTS at that point, concluded unspokenly between themselves that the “fixed” answer is:
That BTS should break up and disband.
Author’s Thoughts
Ouch, this was a painful post to write. I can’t imagine my life without BTS… BTS have injected so much happiness and energy into my life this year and I am so utterly grateful to them. I’m sure many of you feel the same!
This post brings us to the end of Yoongi’s story in the first two parts of the trilogy. But before we can begin to analyse Epiphany, we need to analyse Hobi’s perspective first – thus, we will be looping back to discuss Euphoria and Trivia 起: Just Dance in the next few posts!
Stay tune! 🙂
As always, thank you for reading and please remember to share and retweet if you enjoyed the post! Borahae!
💜 G
Lyric sources: Doolset Lyrics and Genius lyrics – Please note I made some minor updates where I thought things could be expressed better. These minor updates do not result in any substantial change in meaning.
Disclaimer:
As per my first author’s note, please, no hate!
I do not have a shipping or individual bias, I love all seven members equally and I do not write my blogs because of a particular personal desire for one of them. I reached my conclusion on Joon and Jin being together based on the lyrics, logic and patterns as I have discussed in all my posts (i.e. I did not ship Namjin first, and then started trying to find things to prove my point). I genuinely enjoy all ships because I enjoy watching the different chemistries between the boys.
It does not matter one bit to me if they are straight, gay, intersex, a skrull, a mutant or if they could lay eggs. I love them wholeheartedly (as a sister who would love her younger brothers) for their individual selves.
This theory of Outro: Tear is based on my interpretations of its lyrics. Please enjoy.