Welcome back everyone!
Based on feedback I’ve received, I am going to be continuing with Joon’s perspective (instead of (Outro) Her: By Yoongi and Hobi) so as to maintain the flow and continuity of Joon’s story.
Please be assured that I will at some point, loop back to explore Yoongi’s and Hobi’s story because the full BTS story is simply not complete without them.
Today we are going to be exploring Singularity, the first song in Part 2 of my theory’s song order. This is the turning point (轉) where we start to see the dark and painful side of love…
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, just like a story in a book.
You can absolutely still continue to read and follow how I draw meaning from the lyrics, but you may not, for example, understand the significance of the antithesis relationship 🙂 .
If you’re wondering where to start, please start here.
Please also note the assumptions I apply when I analyse songs and most importantly, why it is not appropriate to analyse Singularity’s lyrics from Tae’s perspective. Namjoon wrote the lyrics, not Tae, and therefore it is Namjoon’s words, lyrics and story.
Assumed Knowledge
I have written this post assuming you know:
- my theory , that all of the songs in LY albums are connected and reveal a story line when read in a specific order;
- why when a phantom appears in the lyrics, it is Namjoon;
- the significance of the antithesis relationship between certain songs; and
- Joon’s story told so far through Serendipity, DNA, 보조개 (Dimple), Trivia 承: Love (P1, P2 and the Rose), and (Outro) Her: By Namjoon.
As always, for the purpose of my analysis I will be referring to Namjoon’s lover as “Namjoon’s lover” because I find it helps remove our unconscious bias, allowing us to truly appreciate the lyrics and the story for what it is.
To skip to my final interpretation of the song, please click here.
Alright, let’s get it!
1. Singularity – The antithesis of Serendipity
Based on my observations of the antithesis structure in the Love Yourself albums, I believe that the story told in Singularity will be the exact opposite of the story told in Serendipity.
Since Serendipity was about the happiness Joon experienced from being in love…
… In theory, Singularity should be about the pain and suffering Joon experienced from being in love.
As we saw in (Outro) Her: By Namjoon, Namjoon made the decision to suppress his “Whole New” side of him because he was in love with his lover. This suppression results in the creation of “fake” Namjoon.
As we will see, Singularity is about the pain Namjoon suffered from suppressing his “Whole New” self, a decision he specifically made because he is in love with his lover.
Or another way of thinking about it is: Conceptually, love in Serendipity is like heaven, and love in Singularity is like hell.
This is consistent with my antithesis theory.
2. The unfamiliar “Whole New” side of Namjoon
A sound of something breaking
I awake from sleep
A sound full of unfamiliarity
Try to cover my ears but can’t go to sleep
The pain in my throat gets worse
Try to cover it
I don’t have a voice
Today I hear that sound again
Namjoon gives us insight to this “Whole New” side of him in the above verses. Consistent with what we have discussed in (Outro) Her: By Namjoon, this “Whole New” side is unfamiliar to Namjoon, indicating to us that it is very different from Namjoon’s “original” self.
The lyrics “a sound of something breaking... try to cover my ears but can’t go to sleep… the pain…” , conjure the image of Namjoon pressing his palms into his ears as if he is experiencing piercing pain in his head. This conveys to us that the pain Namjoon is suffering from is quite literally, all in his head (i.e. it is mental).
The unfamiliar “Whole New” side of Namjoon is related to Namjoon’s mental health.
3. Suppressing the “Whole New” side of Namjoon
The following verses metaphorically describe how Namjoon tried to suppress his “Whole New” side:
It’s ringing again, that sound
A crack again on this frozen lake
I dumped myself into the lake
I buried my voice for you
Over the winter lake I was thrown
A thick ice has formed atop
A winter lake on which I was thrown away
A thick ice has formed
In the dream I shortly went into
My agonizing phantom pain is still the same
Metaphorically, Namjoon tried burying his “Whole New” self by dumping it into a lake and letting a thick layer of ice form over it, locking it away.
However, Namjoon says there is “a crack again on this froze lake” , “it is ringing again” and “I hear that sound again” .
We can infer from the repetition that the metaphorical thick layer of ice locking Namjoon’s “Whole New” side away keeps cracking, and that Namjoon’s “Whole New” side keeps resurfacing no matter how many times he buries it away.
The words “dumped” , “buried” , and “thrown away” add a desperate tone to Namjoon’s actions, and convey Namjoon’s strong desire to get rid of that “Whole New” side of him.
We can also observe that this “Whole New” side of Namjoon particularly affects him at night: “I awake from sleep… but can’t go to sleep… In the dream I shortly went into, my agonizing phantom pain…” .
Namjoon tried multiple times to suppress his “Whole New” side of him, but it keeps resurfacing at night.
In addition, for my readers who have read The SEAcret “Whole New” side of Namjoon and Tonight (이 밤), we can easily draw parallels between the lyrics “I dumped myself into the lake” , “Over the winter lake I was thrown” and, “A winter lake on which I was thrown away” , to what Joon was thinking about at the seaside.
Namjoon’s Phantom Pain
As previously discussed in the The Motif of the “Lonely Monster”, Namjoon uses motifs of Monsters and Phantoms to describe himself because he believes they reflect his true image, nature and identity.
We can observe that this is the first time the motif of a Phantom appears in the Love Yourself series: “My agonizing phantom pain is still the same.”
The decision to use the “Phantom” motif indicates to us that Namjoon, just like the phantom in the Phantom of the Opera, is wearing a mask for the first time since his discovery of the “Whole New” side of him.
The mask is the pretence that he is happy, fine and okay.*
*This is based on what I believe Namjoon was feeling as per my previous post.
4. Wondering about his decision…
Have I lost myself
Or have I gained you
I suddenly run to the lake
There’s my face in it
Please don’t say anything
I reach out to cover my mouth
But in the end, spring will come someday
The ice will melt and flow away
In the above verse, Namjoon is wondering whether his decision to stay in the relationship and suppress his new side is the right one as he is feeling lost from having to be his fake self everyday: “Have I lost myself or have I gained you” ?
The lyrics: “I suddenly run to the lake, There’s my face in it, Please don’t say anything” are to a tee faithful to the conclusions I have drawn in my hidden post The SEAcret “Whole New” side of Namjoon and Tonight (이 밤), especially with regard to what the nuns did and the word play of 이 밤.
For the same reasons why that post is hidden, I will not be elaborating on these lyrics further.
… Because “Spring will come someday”
But in the end, spring will come someday
The ice will melt and flow away
Tell me if my voice isn’t real
If I shouldn’t have thrown myself away
Tell me if even this pain isn’t real
What I was supposed to do back then
In the above verse, Namjoon warns his lover that though he has tried to bury his real self under the ice, it is inevitable that “spring will come someday” and thaw the ice completely, letting Namjoon’s whole new real self loose.
Namjoon then proceeds to ask his lover a series of rhetorical questions, “tell me if my voice isn’t real, if I shouldn’t have thrown myself away, tell me if this pain isn’t real, what I was supposed to do…” ?
We can infer from these questions that Namjoon and his lover are having a quarrel. His lover appears to have made some comments suggesting that Namjoon’s “Whole New” side and the pain he is feeling isn’t real, which prompts Namjoon to throw back the series of rhetorical questions asking what he was “supposed to do back then(?)” , and if his lover is suggesting that he should have chosen the other option instead and leave.
(For the sake of clarity, the answer to the rhetorical questions is a strong “No” .)
What is significant about this is that we can infer that Namjoon’s plan to be his “fake” self is not working, and this is starting to affecting his relationship with his lover.
Author’s Summary
Singularity is about Namjoon’s pain and suffering from being in a relationship with his lover. Namjoon is suffering because he is trying to suppress his true self (i.e. be fake and happy) in order to be the man his lover wants.
However, because Namjoon is trying to suppress his true self, Namjoon’s real self keeps breaking through.
Thus, Namjoon’s plan to stay and be his fake self in order to be loved by his lover is not working out.
And that’s it for today everyone, I hope you’ve enjoyed this post!
If you haven’t already, please subscribe to my blog below or follow me on twitter. I hope you have a lovely day! 😊
x G
Lyric Sources: Singularity
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 Her is based on my interpretations of its lyrics. Please enjoy.