Hi everyone,
Welcome back to the final song of my Love Yourself Theory: So What.
My goodness am I excited and I hope you are too! When I started this blog I was really unsure if I was ever going to get here!
So let’s finish the picture by placing the final piece of the puzzle today and frame it up!
Let’s go!
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 storylines when read in a specific order; and
- Joon, Yoongi and Hobi’s stories discussed in my blog so far.
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.
This idea is completely consistent with what Namjoon said about the Love Yourself albums – That there is a narrative throughout the albums.
If you’re wondering where to start, please start here.
Please also note the assumptions I apply when I analyse songs.
Enjoy! 😊
1. Namjoon’s Vlive
For the last time, let’s check out what Namjoon had to say about So What:
We had a track of this song before… actually, it wasn’t my cup of tea when I heard the track. However, I found it was exciting… I like the upbeatness of the song.
So Yoongi, Hoseok and I gathered up and talked about the theme of this song. Taehyung proposed this title of a Korean dialect sentence which means “so what”. It was a nice proposal but a bit inappropriate for a song… [it] was a nice idea but it was too long. So we agreed to have an English title keeping the meaning of “So What”.
So What? What are you going to do? Our lives will go on. We will live on. That’s how “So What” was born.
There are two things to note:
- So What will have an undercurrent of spiritual liberation and energy: So What? So what if you don’t like me? What are you going to do? I’m going to do what I want and live my life.
This is the continuation and growth of “YOLO” energy we started to feel in Love Maze; and - This is consistent with what we already know: Namjoon is not the sole or main writer of So What.
As Yoongi and Hobi are also accredited authors of this song, I will be analysing the song from the general speaker’s perspective.
Namjoon also said the following at 46.13 after he finished discussing Outro Tear:
When I listen to this album… How can I say… When I heard this album I said this during an interview: I thought songs were closely connected together. Sometimes, when I hear a new album, sometimes it feels like a compilation of unrelated songs. It means that songs were not made for a big picture of the album. There are many albums of which songs have different colours. But our album has songs of unique and different mood and the entire album focuses on a single target. All the songs are connected well. Anyways, when we look back on later, I think this would be remembered as a good album. That’s what I think.
You may also remember Namjoon said the following in his Love Yourself 結 ‘Answer’ VLive at 50.48:
When we say this album is a big frame , “Answer: Love Myself” puts a dot as a great finale*… if somebody asks why BTS albums are so special…. it has a story that runs through the albums. Each and every track matters to tell the story. It’s like a big organic creature.
*Of CD 1 of Love Yourself 結 ‘Answer’ as it is the last song of CD 1.
Since:
- Namjoon said the songs in Love Yourself 轉 ‘Tear’ connect well and the entire album focuses on a single target (presumably BTS’ relationship with “Her”);
- Namjoon desribed Love Yourself 結 ‘Answer’ as a big frame, meaning that there is a big picture;
- Love Yourself 結 ‘Answer’ has selected songs from Love Yourself 承 ‘Her’ and Love Yourself 轉 ‘Tear’ meaning that the songs from the first two albums contribute to this big picture; and
- Namjoon confirms that there is a story that runs through the albums…
All of these considered together is consistent with my theory, assumptions and approach.
There is a big and complete picture made up of each track and reading the lyrics in the right order is essential for the narrative to make sense (e.g. it is not logical for a breakup song (e.g. Outro: Tear) to come before the first meeting and start of the journey (e.g. Euphoria and Serendipity).)
Let’s start analysing the lyrics.
2. Just don’t give a damn
I refer to the following lyrics:
Somebody call me right one
Somebody call me wrong
I’m not gonna care about it
Why don’t you do the same
So what
Let go
In a sigh, lots of worries are hiding
Stop thinking about it, you already know it all
In the middle of the road, in the moment you want to give up,
Shout out louder
So what what what
You may remember that in Love Maze, we saw that the speaker and “Her” were enduring negative comments and opinions from people, causing the speaker to ask “Her” to stop listening to what others are saying and to stop giving a damn “Baby, just don’t give a damn.”
We can see that this problem continues into So What in the above verse, “somebody call me right one, somebody call me wrong.”
Just like how the speaker told “Her” in Love Maze to “let them be them, let us be us,” the speaker tells “Her” again that “I’m not gonna care about [people’s opinions]” and suggests that “She” should follow suit, “why don’t you do the same?”
We can see that though “She” is trying and doing “Her” best, “She” still continues to worry and has moments of weaknesses where “She” feels like giving up, “in a sigh, lots of worries are hiding, stop thinking about it… in the moment you want to give up…”
The speaker, knowing “Her” inner battles, tells “Her” to stop dwelling in “Her” worries and consider the question: So what?
So what if some people think we are wrong? So what if some don’t like us? So what if some people think differently to you and me? There are people who think we are right, there are people who like us, and the world will continue to spin.
So what good are your sighs and worries? (You know that the answer is that they are good for nothing)
So what?? What??
3. 고민보다 Go Go
Yoongi raps the following lyrics:
There’s nothing that works out as I wanted
There are even fewer places for me to hide
It’s already been a while since the dice was rolled
If you dawdle, you’ll be swept away oh bae
90% of your worries are an imaginary swamp that you created
Just go go instead of worrying
Don’t be scared, cheer up
Shout it out
So what, what
The lyrics “Just go go instead of worrying” in Hangul is literally 고민보다 Go Go, the title of one of their song “고민보다 Go (Go Go)”
We discussed how the title 고민보다 Go can have both positive connotations (e.g. Let’s go and keep working hard!) and negative connotations (e.g. Let’s go buy that! Let’s just get drunk who cares?), and how the song explored the dangerous and negative side of “YOLO” culture.
In Love Maze and in So What, we see an arguably healthier side of “YOLO” energy as the speaker and “Her” have not given up hope in their future the way the speaker in 고민보다 Go has.
In 고민보다 Go, we saw that the speaker was convinced that their future will be full of debt and difficulties, and this belief drove them to seek and engage in unhealthy and irresponsible activities so that they could feel like they were “living a life”.
Unlike the speaker in 고민보다 Go, we can see the speaker in So What still believes in the brightness of their future and “Hers” because they continue to gently press “Her” forward and remind “Her” that most of “Her” worries are just in “Her” head. In fact, because you only live once (고민보다 Go), “She” needs to let loosen up a bit and cheer up, “cheer up, shout it out.”
The metaphor of the “imaginary swamp” is extremely fitting as it evokes an imagery of a sticky, muddy, unpleasant environment, where thoughts and worries stick around, mingle and muddle, and suck all of the host’s emotions and energy to make them muddle-headed. As we all know I’m sure, it is difficult to think clearly when you’re deep in thought and feeling swamped with worries.
The speaker counsels “Her” that nothing ever works out and that no one, especially them, can hide from the world and public scrutiny, “there are even fewer places for me to hide.” From the perspective of Namjoon, Yoongi and Hobi (and really all of BTS), with the cameras on them nearly 24/7, it is almost impossible to run away and hide from every little misstep, mistake or misspoken word.
We can really feel the speaker’s acceptance of their fate through the lyrics, “it’s already been a while since the dice was rolled.” Life is a game and there are external forces beyond our control. Whether you like it or not, the dice has been rolled and we all need to move forward with whatever number we rolled and let ourselves experience the punishment, reward, or nothingness that we get from landing on a square.
We can’t change the outcome of the dice, we can’t control the external forces and events that will happen by landing on the square, we can only allow ourselves to experience whatever life throws at us.
So don’t worry bae, worrying will not change the outcome and most of it is actually not that important in the grand scheme of things.
So 고민보다 Go!
4. The reality is: You have no control over others too
Hobi raps the following lyrics:
Ay Some say they hate their work
Ay Some say they only want to rest
Ay Their pain and devastation,
Ay when all those rage at me,
Ay what else can I do uh
Since there’s only one answer
let’s just trust it and run
So what?
The lyrics reveal to us that there are people who are telling the speaker that “they hate their work” or “they only want to rest.”
Because of their tiredness and negative view of life, this leads to feelings of pain and devastation which, unfortunately (but… very naturally) manifests into rage that is shared with or is directed at the speaker.
I want to point out that the lyrics “rage at me” may not necessarily mean someone is yelling and raging at the speaker. It could simply mean that the speaker’s friends were complaining about their lives to the speaker.
If we were to assumed that Hobi wrote the above lyrics, this could also be interpreted as ARMY sharing with Hobi their pain and devastation through letters, messages etc. And, when Hobi reads and hears those frustrations that ARMY is feeling, ARMY’s emotions of pain and devastation can be felt by Hobi as the emotions rage at him.
But, because the speaker can’t really do anything to help solve other people’s problems, the speaker shrugs with a sigh, “ay, what else can I do uh.”
The truth is: Most of the time, we cannot fix other people’s problems.
Only the people suffering can fix their own problems, we can only try and support them.
More importantly, we shouldn’t let their rage and negativity affect us. If for example, somebody is raging at you because they are jealous you got that job, their rage has actually nothing to do with you. That rage is a manifestation of the pain inside of them.
So what if they are jealous? Should you give them the job? Fill your heart with hate of them? Stop living your life because of them?
No. You let go BTS says. Let the bad energy go, keep calm and carry on.
Trust it will all work out and keep running.
5. Truly living
Namjoon raps the following lyrics:
I don’t wanna die right now
I don’t wanna
I don’t wanna fight right now
I don’t like worries Life is long
Just go I wanna live right now
The break is broken, so step on the accelerator
However you do,
where’s the fun if you knew all about a person’s life
Pain is my medal
So, so what?
Although I am going to be discussing these lyrics from the general perspective of the speaker, I just want to point out one thing.
Namjoon’s lyrics, “I don’t wanna die right now” echo his lyrics from Answer: Love Myself, “But I don’t wanna die anymore.”
If you have been following Namjoon’s journey, especially from 바다 (sea), Always, and through to I’m Fine, this is an incredibly comforting and happy sign that all is good.
Now, it is widely known that the greatest cosmic paradox is that Death is the best teacher of Life. Death gives meaning to Life and Death makes time and Life precious just like how scarcity can make a simple rock become a rare gem. If you’re living life fully, Death takes nothing away because you’re already fulfiled. Ironically, it is mostly us who throw away our lives and waste every second of it.
Because of the speaker’s consciousness of Death, the speaker is motivated to live right now even though Life is long (42.195km to be exact), “I don’t wanna fight right now, I don’t like worries Life is long… I wanna live right now.” The lyrics convey to us that though life is long, there is an end. And since there are so many things to do and to explore in life, it is best to make the most out of your journey.
The lyrics, “the break is broken” reflects the reality of life that time will never stop moving forward and every second that passes brings us closer to our paradise of dreams.
So, just step hard on the accelerator of Life and have fun. Or lightly. Or not at all. You will still move along anyway.
However you want to enjoy it, it’s your life.
The lyrics, “where’s the fun if you knew all about a person’s life” convey to us the understanding that Life can only be fun because there is something we can explore. Imagine if we knew all about Life and we knew each person the moment we met them, exactly how they were going to react to things, etc. Life would be pretty boring if that was the case.
Thus, the fact that you need to expend energy to get to know a person and learn about them, especially if that person is the complete opposite of you, is actually a wonderfully positive thing.
Lastly, the lyrics: “pain is my medal” I feel needs a little bit more discussion.
Though I haven’t read Jung’s Map of the Soul (which BTS’ next album Map of the Soul is based on), I have a feeling that based on these lyrics, Map of the Soul discusses the importance of pain in our lives.
To really live life… to allow yourself to fall in love, to try to run to the top, to try and become the world’s biggest boyband, to allow yourself to explore the oceans, the continents, music, creativity, different cultures, food, people, languages etc; To really allow yourself to experience all of it against the backdrop of social norms and laws (e.g. who you should marry, how rich your company is, what is or isn’t culturally appropriate for certain groups of people, etc)… Pain is inevitable. We saw this in 바다 (sea) where the boys recited over and over “we need to be in despair [i.e. in pain] for all our hardships.”
Pain is a necessary ingredient for growth. If we protect ourselves and hide away from people, conversations, events, etc because we are afraid something will hurt us, we will never be truly free and we can never grow.
Pain is therefore a medal. It is something one can be proud of and it is something that can represent your achievements and growth.
However, it is important to remember the teachings of Magic Shop that one should always work towards having an open heart.
Since an open heart does not harbour pain and anger, pain is something that should never be suppressed or ignored (I suspect Jung may have something to say about this too). Thus, it requires one to be able to heal themselves on an ongoing basis by opening their heart and letting all of the pain go.
Pain is my medal, 가져와 bring the pain, let go.
6. Let go
I refer to the following lyrics:
We are we are we are
Young & wild & free
Your worries worries without no answer
Don’t fall into them and stay in them
Even if you’re in danger on the boundary,
let’s cut through the wind while laughing and chatting
Sometimes run like a fool
With mistakes and in tears, we just go
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
So what
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
Let go
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
So what
I like you to close your eyes and think about a moment in your life where you felt you were truly alive and happy. Do you remember your heart beating strongly and confidently? Do you remember how expansive you felt? Do you remember the emotions, enthusiasm and joy pouring freely out of your heart, happily overwhelming all of your senses? At that moment, I’m sure, with that energy coursing through your veins, you felt like you could take on the world.
Most likely at that moment, you were not thinking about your worries and problems. If anything, you felt recharged, inspired, and nothing could stop you from doing what you wanted to do.
That feeling is the spiritual attainment one can access if we live our lives without fear. That feeling is the spiritual level that is being described in the above verse.
We can see in the above lyrics that the speaker (and hopefully “Her” too) have chosen to give up on their worries and things they have no control of and have chosen to accept the inevitability that sometimes they will make mistakes, sometimes they will do something utterly stupid, and sometimes they will feel pain. But when this happens, they will choose to continue on living their lives, in tears, laughter and chatter.
There are so many things that can happen to us that can make us feel like our world is ending. When someone says something nasty to you. When you get dumped. When you get scolded in front of everyone. When you slip and fall on your butt on stage. When you walk around the whole day with coffee foam on your nose. When you sing off tune at a concert. When you get tongue twisted and say “Spread your legs” instead of “Stretch your legs” (New Zealand joke) on live TV during a serious covid-19 press conference, etc.
But honestly…how important are these events and the tsunami of worries and emotions that come along with it? As BTS said, 90% of our worries are worries we created for ourselves.
So what if someone said something nasty to you? So what if you got dump (Hint: Find someone better and more awesome for you!)? So what if you got scolded in front of everyone? So what if you slipped and fell on stage? So what if you had a brown nose for one day? So what if you stuffed up at a concert? So what if you got your tongue twisted on live TV? None of the above should stop you from carrying on with life, improving yourself, meeting new people, experimenting and finding out what you’re good and bad at, and enjoying it to the fullest.
It is painful yes, it can be humiliating yes, but you can choose to let it all go. We can choose to have a good cry, eat some chocolate, laugh it off, and acknowledge (where applicable) that we were a fool. And honestly, let’s face it. Who hasn’t been a fool?
We are the tiniest microscopic speck of dust in a random tiny planet spinning around one of the billions of suns in our galaxy. If you reflect on your life in that context, our problems are really not big problems at all. We can all be young, wild and free together with BTS and enjoy our limited life on this random blue planet in space if we choose to.
So all of that pain, fear and worries that you have?
It’s good for nothing. Let go.
Author’s Thoughts
Oh my goodness and there we have it! The last piece of the puzzle! IT FITS! WHEW!
Words can’t explain what an incredible ride this has been and I’m so so grateful for all of you who have accompanied me on this journey.
The Love Yourself series is a masterpiece of literature. There is so much creative and artistic merit in their lyrics and the way they have expressed and explored concepts of love, pain, fear, hate, life and death just blew me away.
But, I have to say that my absolute favourite thing about the Love Yourself albums is the use of the singular pronoun: “Her”.
The person(s) that have been represented by the pronoun “Her”, are mostly not (if not all) a singular biological female.
And yet, millions of people and ARMYs in the world were able to relate to the love, pain, fear, hate, etc explored in their lyrics, and many were unable to distinguish that the love of some of the songs related to a singular person (gender unknown), and some related to a group of people (mix of gender). Some ARMYs and listeners would surely be heterosexuals, some surely would have been part of the LGBTIQ+ family, and some would be undecided.
This quite literally proves that love, pain, fear, hate is universal to humans. We all feel the same thing, we all can feel the emotion of love, pain, fear, hate, etc. This is why we are all able to relate to the speaker and why we are able to imagine “Her” to be whoever we imagined “Her” to be. For example, people who haven’t read my theories may imagine Outro: Her to be about a singular female when it could have been about a group of men (BTS themselves).
This logic leads us to realise that the pronoun “Her” is literally just a label that humans have created to describe a group of people in our society. This label means nothing to our emotions and feelings.
Emotions like love don’t understand man-made labels. We love because we love. It doesn’t understand that we are not meant to love a person because that person is a “He” or “She” or “They”. We love dogs not because it is called a “dog”, but because this big-eyed fluffy licky thing with paws made your heart flutter and feel overwhelmed with love for a reason (or maybe even for no reason).
“Her” is a label, “Him” is a label, “Them” is a label. They are just man-made concepts used to conveniently describe a group of people that share certain characteristics. But Love? It is the most natural thing in the world and it does not abide by the laws and labels created by humans.
Anyway, what is YOUR favourite thing about the Love Yourself albums? Or what is your favourite takeaway?
After leaving your comment below, please do take a few more mins to read my last post!
Thank you, thank you, thank you so much all. I really hope you’ve enjoyed my blog.
💜💜💜💜 G
Lyric sources:
Doolset 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 So What is based on my interpretations of its lyrics. Please enjoy.