Welcome back ARMY,
Today we will be analysing the lyrics of Serendipity, the first song in Part 1 of Love Yourself: 結 Answer.
Please see here the list of assumptions I apply when I’m analysing the song lyrics.
If you wish to skip to my final interpretation of this song, please click here.
Assumed Knowledge
I have written this post assuming you understand:
- My theory that the Love Yourself Albums is a puzzle and contains cross-album narratives.
You understand:- why I’m starting with Serendipity (and not for example, Euphoria);
- there are three distinct parts in Love Yourself: 結 Answer; and
- that if read in the correct order, the songs link up to tell a story.
You can still read my analysis of Serendipity without this understanding, but you may not fully appreciate the effort BTS went through to communicate this story with us. If you are a New Reader, please start here.
- The significance of names and flowers in Namjoon’s lyrics
That you understand the significance of the poem “Flower” which is a great source of inspiration for Namjoon. - The significance of analysing Serendipity from Namjoon’s point of view
I know Jimin sings the song and many people believe it is Jimin’s love song to Yoongi, but, Namjoon is the sole accredited BTS author of this song. This is an important point because it means that the lyrics and melody were composed from Namjoon’s perspective.
This is important for the same reason when one is analysing Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in English/Literature class. It is about what the author Shakespeare is trying to convey, not about what the actor Leonardo DiCaprio is trying to convey.
Let’s put it this way… Serendipity is an intimate love song. Now, objectively, try to imagine Namjoon composing lyrics about Jimin’s feelings towards Yoongi, from Jimin’s perspective, without any input from Jimin. How would Namjoon know how to describe Jimin’s feelings towards Yoongi? It is just not possible. None of the words in Serendipity are Jimin’s words.
Therefore, Serendipity is not about Jimin’s love and feelings for someone. It is about Joon’s.
Jimin is simply the actor and singer who takes what he is given and creates magic through his amazing performance.
If you still wish to believe in the Yoonmin theory, that is fine. But you need to be aware that you’re believing in the following assumptions:
- Joon somehow knows exactly how Jimin feels about Yoongi, and what Jimin is thinking when Jimin and Yoongi are being intimate; or
- Jimin’s feelings towards Yoongi are exactly the same as how Joon feels towards his lover and Jimin relates entirely to it; and
- Yoongi’s relationship with Jimin is not significant enough for Yoongi to write about romantically in any of his songs. As you will see in my blog, we explore Yoongi’s songs and unfortunately… there doesn’t seem to be any romantic intimacy in his lyrics; and
- BTS have said many times that almost all of their lyrics are based on their experience. Further, Pdogg said that BTS do not tell stories that they don’t know or didn’t experience themselves.
To, for example, assume that Namjoon wrote Serendipity, Singularity, The Truth Untold, Trivia Love, Dimple, Fake Love etc not based on his experiences is to assume that Namjoon, BTS and Pdogg are lying. In my humble opinion, I do not think BTS and Pdogg are lairs.
Alright, let’s get it!
1. The concept of Destiny
The entire (soul-crushingly beautiful and painful) song is centred squarely on the concept of Destiny. In the opening lyrics[1] of the song, Namjoon says:
“All this is no coincidence”
The song also contains the following lyrics related to this concept:
“Maybe it’s the providence of the universe”
“Because destiny keeps getting jealous of us”
“The universe has moved for us
Without missing a single thing
Because our happiness has been planned
Cause you love me, and I love you”
“Since the creation of the universe
Everything was destined”
There are two things of significance:
- First, the tone of voice in this song is on a whole pretty positive. Namjoon sounds happy, contented, and confident that they are meant to be and everything will work out “cause you love me, and I love you”.
- Second, it suggests that the meeting between Namjoon and his lover was completely by chance. This suggests that they were not in the same friendship group before they met, nor did they hang out in the same bars, and that they came from very different backgrounds.
This concept links back to the title of the song, Serendipity which is defined as “the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way”.
In other words, Namjoon met his lover purely by chance.
2. The blooming of the Flowers
BTS love using flower imagery in their songs, and this song is no different.
In the first verse, Namjoon says:
“When you called me
I became your flower
As if we were waiting
We bloom until we ache”
Bearing in mind the significance of the “Flower” poem, in this verse Namjoon’s lover “called me [Namjoon]” and Namjoon “became your flower”, and “we bloom[ed]”.
The significance of this is that Namjoon has metaphorically referred to both himself and his lover as flowers. This translates to the meaning that Namjoon believes both he and his lover love each other for who they truly are.
What is also happening in this verse… has R-Rated context which I will leave you to imagine. I believe the imagery of the flower here is directly related to the English term “deflowering”, a common term that English speaking people use when discussing a love making situation.
In addition, I can only think of only one type of “blooming” activity that must be going on in order for both of them to be aching all over. If you consider the line “we bloom until we ache“, with the song’s gentle but sensual melody, Jimin’s soft voice and the following lyrics…
“Love me now, touch me now”
“Just let me love you”
“Now come to me
Come and let’s become a “we”“
… it can only mean one thing and one thing only. Happy sexy time. Solid love making. Good on you Namjoon and mysterious lover person.
Namjoon uses flower imagery to convey that him and his lover love each other for who they are, and they don’t just have sex, they make love.
3. The Seed of Doubt & Worry
As discussed above, though the general feel of the song is overwhelmingly positive, there is however a small seed of doubt in Namjoon’s mind: “I’m worried destiny is jealous of us”. His lover also seems to share the same worry as Namjoon tells his lover: “Just trust yourself”.
This is a crucial detail and relevant to our understanding of analysing the lyrics as this seed of doubt and worry grows bigger and bigger as we go through the songs in the Love Yourself: 結 Answer album.
This seed of doubt and worry foreshadows the pain and anguish revealed in the songs in Part 2 of Love Yourself: 結 Answer.
In this song, Namjoon reveals his and his lover’s vulnerability and fear:
“I’m scared, just as much as my heart flutters”
“Don’t be nervous, hold my hand”
“I’m just as scared as much as you are
When you see me
When you touch me”
Why are both of them scared when they see each other and when they touch each other? And why is Namjoon’s lover nervous about the simple prospect of holdings hands?
It is clear that they are both longing for each other’s touch:
“I’m… here to see you
Love me now, touch me now“
“I don’t wanna let go, no”
I considered the possibility that maybe the fear was related to their first love making session, but in the song, the verses about fear only came after the verse saying “we bloom until we ache”.
The order of the verses is important as it indicates that Namjoon and his lover only started experiencing the fear after they got together.
As such, I can think of no other reason when one will be scared to see and touch their partner apart from a Romeo and Juliet situation.
They are scared to touch each other and hold hands in case someone sees them because their love is forbidden.
Namjoon reveals that he and his lover are fearful of touching each other and holding hands because their love is forbidden.
4. The Angel in Serendipity.
Namjoon scatters spiritual, universal galaxy imagery throughout the lyrics of this song:
“Maybe it’s the providence of the universe”
“The universe has moved for us”
“My angel, my world”
“The stars are in the sky”
Namjoon’s “Angel” imagery is further conveyed through the gentle simple melody and the bright white backgrounds and bed sheets from its music video.
This, paired with Jimin’s beautiful cooing voice, fabricates a pure, sincere and angelic feel to this song, and create a sense of transcendental heavenly power, conveying the meaning that in his universe, Namjoon’s lover is his angel.
In other words, Namjoon thinks his lover is just like an Angel, and refers to him/her* as such.
(This is relevant because it is a recurring reference in future songs we will discuss)
*I use him/her because in a Billboard interview, it is revealed that the lyrics are gender neutral.
5. The Little Prince
During the course of my research, I came to understand that the music video is inspired by the book The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s.
Many ARMYs have therefore tried to analyse the song’s meaning with reference to the story in The Little Prince.
I’ve read it and found to my surprise, that the lyrics of Serendipity (in my humble opinion) had nothing to do with The Little Prince. Nothing elegantly fits without resorting to interpreting the lyrics one degree too far.
After analysing the whole album, my theory is that the application of concepts from The Little Prince into Serendipity’s music video is actually a clue to reading another BTS song.
For the above reasons, I respectfully disagree with the theories that The Little Prince is the key to understanding the meaning behind Serendipity. Hence, I won’t be discussing The Little Prince today as it has (in my humble opinion) no relevance to the the story in Serendipity.
6. The mystery of the Calico cat and Penicillin
“You’re my penicillin
Saving me
My angel, my world
I’m your Calico cat
Here to see you
Love me now, touch me now”
When I was analysing Serendipity, it became clear to me that the significance of the Calico cat and use of Penicillin in the song’s lyrics has been a huge topic of discussion for years.
I discuss them in turn below.
Who is the Calico cat?
The Calico Cat is technically a tri-coloured cat, but interestingly Namjoon specifically refers to it as a “three-striped cat” in a Billaboard interview.
In this line, “I’m your Calico cat, here to see you”, Namjoon is simply saying that he, the Calico cat, went to visit his lover.
Here is a photo of Namjoon being the three-striped Calico cat in IDOL, a song from the Love Yourself series:
Here is another photo of Namjoon holding a Calico Cat plushie, a gift for his birthday:
The sentence “I am your Calico cat, here to see you” indicates that there is proprietary ownership to one person; That Namjoon belongs to his lover (just like a pet to its owner), and that the Calico cat is simply the pet name his lover has given to Namjoon.
Metaphorically, Namjoon calls himself his lover’s pet cat.
“Calico cat” is simply Namjoon’s given pet name.
(This is relevant to note because the reference of being someone’s pet will be discussed in future analysis)
Why the Calico cat?
During a Billboard interview, Namjoon said:
“When I wrote the lyrics, melodies and the first themes of “Serendipity,” I tried to come up with some rare things you find in life, something very special, like the calico, three-striped cat; things that have extraordinary meanings in people’s lives. I wanted to share this moment.”
This interview confirms that Namjoon knows the “extraordinary meaning” behind the Calico cat. This is significant as it means that the concept of the Calico cat is personal to Namjoon, like an in-joke. It has no meaning to anyone else, but holds deep significance to only those who understand it. And Namjoon understands it well because he wrote the lyrics.
If we assume that Namjoon’s lover calls Namjoon his/her “Calico cat”, the full meaning behind this pet name is only accessible to both Namjoon and his lover (only).
Though we may never be able to truly appreciate all the reasons why Namjoon’s lover picked the Calico cat to represent Namjoon, my research of the Calico cats revealed that:
- Calico cats are mostly female due to genetics, meaning that male Calico cats are rare; and
- they are “sweet, loving and loyal cats. If you hunger for unconditional love, a calico cat will willingly and enthusiastically fulfil that need”.
See source here.
Given the above context, it is possible that Namjoon’s lover picked the Calico cat to represent Namjoon because:
- Namjoon’s personality traits resemble those of a Calico Cat; and
- Namjoon is exactly like a male Calico cat, one of the “rare [special] things you find in life”.
In other words: Namjoon’s lover may have decided to call Namjoon his/her* Calico Cat because of the unconditional love Namjoon gives to him/her; or simply because Namjoon is a rare and special thing he/she found in his/her life.
Why Penicillin?
Penicillin is an antibiotic used to treat and or to prevent a variety of bacterial infections. Penicillin can also be called “Blue mold”, depending on which translation you use.
This has been widely explored by many ARMY fans before me and I agree that it is simply the concept that Namjoon’s lover is his medicine, his Penicillin, “saving me” from… something.
What Namjoon needs saving from isn’t clear in this song, but what is significant is that he is struggling with something and needs saving from something.
I also found two interesting facts about Penicillin. Penicillin can:
*Now, just a disclaimer, Euphoria is not a common side effect of Penicillin, and I hesitated to draw the link to it. But, it did for one second make my jaw drop. Hence, I’ve included this in my blog because this link could be a possibility, but I’m personally only about 30% convinced. I’m leaning towards a coincidence because it is not a common side effect.
What I do find relevant is that Penicillin can be dangerous. Like with most medicines, it can be a life saving medicine, or it could give you some negative side effects, and in extreme cases, kill you.
Some of the metaphoric “negative side effects” will be explored in future posts to come.
The significance of Namjoon referring to his lover as a Penicillin is that he believes his lover can save him (from ?), but at the same time, can metaphorically cause him some “negative side effects”.
Author’s Summary
In summary, I believe the story behind Serendipity is:
Namjoon met his lover out of pure chance and coincidence. He and his lover are very much in love and long for each other’s touch. However, they are scared to be around each other and hold hands in public because their love is forbidden.
Though Namjoon believes they are destined to be together, there is a seed of doubt and worry. Namjoon is worried that destiny is jealous of them and something will happen to them and tear them apart. This is a foreshadowing of things to come (things that are revealed in subsequent songs if read in the right order).
Namjoon calls his lover an Angel and his Penicillin who saves him from (?). In addition, Namjoon refers to himself as his lover’s pet, a Calico cat. When Namjoon visits him/her, presumably alone at home, only then are they allowed to freely touch each other and make love with each other.
What do you think ARMY? Keen to hear your thoughts. Analysing this song broke my heart as I only wish for Namjoon (and everyone) to be able to express their love openly.
Please let me know what you think! If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch either via Twitter or via the comments section down below.
x G
[1] https://genius.com/Genius-english-translations-bts-serendipity-full-length-edition-english-translation-lyrics
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 analyse songs with consideration to the author’s perspective (and Namjoon just happens to be the main author of most songs).
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 Serendipity is based on my interpretations of its lyrics. Please enjoy.