Did You Know?
that 바다 (ba-da) if we rearrange the letters to 받아 (bad-a), they are different words with entirely different meanings? one is a noun another is a verb, a declarative, informal, present tense– verb. but both are still pronounced similarly,
바다 (ba-da) = sea, ocean 받아 (bad-a) = to accept, to take, to receive, to endure, to suffer, to bear
and how amazing is it that both meanings are conveyed perfectly in this song ;)
somehow i (was) walk(ing) and (to my pleasant surprise it’s) the sea (that) i come to (and) from this sea i, look on the seashore (at those) countless grains of sand and the fierce and harsh wind still i, (it’s the) desert (that) i see i want to hold the sea, *swallowing you whole but then doing all that (will) make my throat thirstier than it was before i.. everything that i know, is it truly the sea..? or is it the blue desert oh no
들이켰어 actually means ‘pulling you/bringing you in close’ but his next lines were ‘makes my throat thirstier than it was before’ which is why 들이켰어 can also be interpreted as ‘swallowing/gulping you whole’ the metaphor :’)
also in the beginning when namjoon said he ‘came to the sea’, the –네 is a verb ending which indicates an admiration or a pleasant surprise, so essentially namjoon was walking mindlessly and somehow ended up at the sea, to his pleasant surprise. from here, we are let know how positive namjoon sees the sea as, and when he’s in the sea looking at the gazillion grains of sand and the harsh wind that blows, the sands to him, seem endless no matter what, like a desert.
which is why when namjoon said he wanted to hold the sea close to him, wanting it whole, he’s asking if that is okay, to take it all in, swallow them whole, swallow the pain away, even when he’s not sure if that would be right, if that would even take the pain away, because life can be like that. life is like that, vast, with all odds and ends. 받아.
and when hoseok says
i don’t know i don’t know if right now it’s the waves i’m feeling yeah i don’t know i don’t know if it’s the sandstorm that i’m still being chased away yeah i don’t know i don’t know if it’s the sea, if it’s the desert, if it’s hope, if it’s despair if it’s real, if it’s fake. shit
i know i know right now my hardship is I know I know to overcome it is by I know I know i have to straight up the only place i can rely on is myself think positive, swallowing dry saliva even when you feel uneasy, even when you feel the desert it’s the beautiful namib desert (that you feel)
im crying at how hopeful hoseok is, saying the desert is beautiful when he well knows how ruthless and unforgiving namib can be, did you know? that namib is the oldest desert on earth? that despite it’s geological nature of being almost entirely barren ‘an area where there is nothing’, like vietually no rain exists there, but there are still wildlife? that the only reliable source of water they got is from the fog, the mist that the harsh wind carries from the sea?
namib is a strange place where the desert meets the sea, and diamonds can be found, and its plants and animals grow in a barren dunes, some of which are overwhelmingly impressive and could not be found anywhere else in the world;_;; and to think how dreadful the weather is and the condition there, but still there are things that can survive, and in fact, flourish. there’s this plant called the ‘quiver tree’ i’m not sure if you guys have heard about it, but there’s this remarkable plant in namib where it cuts off it own brancges when the desert gets too draught to avoid its leaves from getting deprived of water, like how mind-blowing is that i cant even
and it’s this very same mindset is what i believe bangtan is trying to convey, that even though life can come with hardship, even though it’s inevitable that life comes with hardship, nothing is impossible if we have the guts and trust
a place where hope is, surely ordeal is there (too) a place where hope is, surely ordeal is there (too) a place where hope is, surely ordeal is there (too) a place where hope is, surely ordeal is there (too)
fyi 있다/있네 is colloquial and can be used to mean ‘there is/are’ OR ‘i/you/he/she/they have’ although 있다 is usually only used to mean ‘i have’.
있네 on the other hand, is used when you don’t have any knowledge prior to the existence of that something or if you thought you didn’t have that something with you, for example,
여기에 다 있네 = there’s everything here (i didn’t know they’ve evrything here) 어, 나 펜 있네 = ohh, i have a pen (i didn’t know i have a pen with me)
so when bangtan says 희망이 있는 곳엔 반드시 시련이 있네 they’re really, reminding themselves and us fans that whenever we reach our goals, breaking records and getting recognized etc., and we experience happiness, we are also going to face hardships and difficulties that naturally comes with it, bad things that we may never think of, they could happen, and we should expect them to happen, because life can be like that yeah
a place where hope is you know you know you know yeah yeah a place where hope is you know you know you know yeah yeah
and when yoongi says
i thought here is the sea but it turned out to be the desert “nothing special, small (not famous) idol”, was our second name being cut out of broadcasts, huh, can’t even tell how many times someone’s fill-in (empty spot), our dream ppl are saying our company’s small that we won’t make it i know i know i too, know (that) even during those years when the seven of us had to sleep in one room even with the belief, before sleeping, that tomorrow will be different even when i can see the shape of the desert mirage i couldn’t grab it then in this desert that seems to have no end, i pray that we would survive (that this is the) reality, i pray that it be not
in the end the mirage, i caught (it), and the reality, it became, and the desert i was once afraid we filled with our blood, sweat, and tears, and it becomes the sea but then amongst all this happiness, what are these fears? because this place is originally a desert, we know this all too well
and i wanna cry when they had their little conversation played back b e ca use
“i don’t want to cry, i don’t want to rest.” “i know that but, why don’t we rest for a little bit?” “no, no, no,” “i don’t want to lose, isn’t (the situation we are in) originally a desert..” “well then, let them all know everything,” “what’s a little more to being depressed, huh?”
fyi 더 울어야지 뭐 is rhetorical way of saying ‘we should cry/be miserable more in order to succeed’ the 뭐/what is just one of those colloquial words (in this context) that does not have a clear definition, since it’s not actually a question, nor a statement per se, but more like an interjection of 그래서/so/so what functionally, you say it like this when you have given up on something and accept thinsg as it is. so when hoseok says this, he is saying that continuing being depressed (going through hardships) is just perhaps natural in order to succeed, and that very fact, doesn’t even faze him anymore, which just goes to show how hard our babies must have had it in the past, and we can only know so much :’)
ocean, desert, the world everything is the same thing different name i see ocean, i see desert, i see the world everything is the same thing but with a different name it’s life again
when armys held up the slogan that last night of wings live tour final and the members cried so hard, it’s not just cos it reminds them of hardship or the fact they have us fans by them side by side since the beginning
우리 함께라면, 사막도 바다가 돼 if we are together, even the desert can become the sea
when armys put up the banner they were actually answering bangtan because remember when yoongi said “i thought here is the sea but it turned out to be the desert,” or when hoseok laments “i don’t know if right now it’s the waves i’m feeling, or if it’s the sandstorm that i’m still being chased away, i don’t know if it’s the sea, if it’s the desert,”
when armys held those banners they were saying that it don’t matter if you’re in the sea or the dessert you’re feeling happiness or despair, we’ll be there all the way, we can go through everything come what may because we’re in this together. we are in this together.
armys were actually consoling bangtan when they held those words because –돼 in this context gives out a commanding tone but in the softest, most reassuring way, affirmative, but gentle, the way a parent would to a child, or a loved ones would to their beloved. and it’s so beautiful because it just shows despite difference in ages, all fans are one when it comes to protecting and loving bangtan, and it’s all the same with the members towards us;_;;
when i wrote about how i feel the highlight reel “concludes everything" and "the sea gave it away, this is exactly what i mean.
it’s as if they were saying they were already there beside us from the start no matter what’s gonna happen because the sea can only get heavier as time passes by but it’s okay it’s always gonna be okay in then end because we’re there together. we’ll be together, right?
we have to (be in) despair, in order to face all of those trials we have to (be in) despair, in order to face all of those trials
honestly i feel 바다 resonates really really well with love yourself album because it reiterates everything about starting from within. and i can understand why it’s one of the hidden tracks, you can’t possible understand if you’re not a fan and only fans would purchase album’s physical copy, they just want us to hear them first T^T
bangtan was formed strong from the start, to guard, to boldly defend their music and value, their worth, amidst the pressure and prejudice that comes from being a small act. it was hard it was really hard but look at where we are now;;
which is why when namjoon said that they’re all gonna smile from now on i wanna cry because i’m so proudd look at this confidence they have now;; because they know they can get they had gotten through everything with fans by their side, they know they can go head strong now without fear now because of the trust they have us, in bighit. and because of the trust they have in all of us, they can take their mask off now;;
“just as always, mask on, and then there’s her, who always welcomes me with cheers, (my dear) i’m your star, and as if nothing’s wrong, i shine. (even still) the time i shine the most is when my mask (is) off.” –hoseok, outro: her
can you see me now?
i guess the first chapter is truly nearing the end now ohhh i’m so excited to see what 2018 has in store for us <33