Tokyo by RM (@rkivelovelines' explanation based on her interpretation)
'Tokyo' is predominantly a song of inherent loneliness, apparent inherent distancing from oneself, self-doubt, and longing; the helpless and desperate desire to return, making it an extremely heart-wrenching yet brutally truthful track we all bawl our eyes out to spend our sleepless and worrisome nights with and wrap around ourselves like a warm blanket on the chilly nights. Namjoon clearly portrays to us his innermost concerns from the past (the time he wrote this) through his empathetic, soulful, poetic, honest yet symbolic lyrics and I'm in love with his mind.
The way I see it, Namjoon is confessing his most private and well concealed concerns to us, confiding in us about his pain and fear, and his desire of escaping from the clutches of loneliness and helping himself, indirectly stating how one can't always be strong even in the light of dawn.
[Verse 1] Wake up in Tokyo, feel like a torso I know it's time to go
It could be a perpetual night for a "torn soul". "Wake up in Tokyo, feel like a torso" when I first heard 'Tokyo' I misheard "torso" for "torn soul", the second time it was "tourist" before finally hearing "torso" and I realized what an amazing and extremely clever auditory effect. Namjoon has applied here as all 3 words fit.
A "torso" is the upper half of the body till the abdomen, excl. The head and upper limbs, primarily lifeless; it's a fragment of the body. A "torn soul" is in fragments, assembled in one place, damaged and further decaying. And a "tourist" is a foreigner from another state who doesn't belong in 'Tokyo', a place foreign for Namjoon, since he is Korean, making him stand out as a visitor.
Mornings are vulnerable periods for some and Namjoon is no different. The mornings bring into his mind unwanted thoughts of self-doubt and being an outsider in an unfamiliar place as 'Tokyo' makes him a "tourist", these thoughts bite at his soul, tearing it apart, making it a "torn soul" of damaged and decaying fragments, lifeless; like a "torso". These thoughts are perhaps detaching him from his innerself. His comfort selfwhere he has a sense of belonging, to himself, where he isn't a "tourist" or a fragmented "torn soul" or a lifeless and incomplete "torso", a place in himself where he feels free and without pain, and he longs to return to that space because he knows it's time to go.
I see Pinocchio wearing a poncho, That's me some time ago
In the story of Pinocchio, he was once locked in a birdcage, that's when he started lying, and his nose started to grow, perhaps Namjoon compared himself to Pinocchio here because he too was lying, to the world, to himself; being dishonest to himself which trapped him in his own mind and the added influx of unwanted thoughts related to the negative impacts of growing fame, mistreatments, all of which took him further away from his innerself, thereby detaching him more but he felt comforted by our continuous and unhindered love, trust and support, perhaps these elements of affection and warmth sent out by us melted the growing coldness in him and comforted him, like a "poncho" which keeps us warm during winters, but perhaps he felt his lies were being sheltered and protected, and that didn't sit right with him so he got out of the phase of lying.
Learnt, and started being honest with himself, the strings which got cut by the sharp edges of a bar (maybe one from the cage of his mind) are finally reunited and completed. This isn't there in the lyrics but I think it's something in between the line and has possible connections with 'Trivia: Love'.
Do I miss myself? Do I miss your face? I don't know I don't know
Because they were written around the same time. He questions if he misses himself, his inner comfort zone or if it's the 'face' that he put up that he misses. "Face" and "phase" are onomatopoeic synonyms, maybe he is referring to the "face" he put up in his lying "phase", he is "torn" and lost as he "didn't know", as one must get lost before finding themselves, this is where his journey of self-discovery and self-love began (which is evident in 'Intro: Persona').
Life is a word that sometimes you cannot say, And ash is a thing that someday we all should be
The 2nd verse is what makes 'Tokyo' so brutally honest yet empathetic and soulful. 'Life' is a very heavy word in itself, with several meanings, flowing in various different directions, very crucial, sensitive, and significant, hence it's not something that can be casually uttered everywhere and anywhere, one might catch themselves doing the same. It's something meaningful, dynamic, and heavy as life itself where for some, life may even become a burden and it becomes difficult to actually confess the same.
Life is real! Life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal; Dust thou art, to dust returnest, Was not spoken of the soul. – A Psalm of Life, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 1807–1882
Namjoon raps, "And ash is a thing someday we all should be", this lyric, in particular, reminds me of the poem, "The Psalm of Life" where a similar line is there both have the same meaning; that we have risen from dust hence we shall return to it, completing the never-ending cycle of life. Both literally and metaphorically, the words hold true, considering the food chain, our existence is embedded in the soil; a seed planted in the soil, grows into a tree which supplies us oxygen to breathe, and both cremation and burial of the corpse lead us to ash and soil anyway, more so in case of cremation but ash can easily refer to dust here too.
When tomorrow comes, How different it's going to be
Considering a deeper side of the story, our journeys begin from zero, from nothing, from dust and we rise, we grow, we get higher but everything comes to an end, every spotlight shining now must turn elsewhere in the future. Bangtan rose from the dust and ashes like phoenixes, but Namjoon is conscious of the fact that someday all of this will pause and never play again, that he rose from the ashes along with Bangtan and a soloist hence someday he must return to the same to complete the never-ending loop of "life". Again, Namjoon questions the unpredictability, uncertainty, and dynamics of life, contemplating how a day can make a difference for the better or the worse because the possibilities are endless.
Why do love and hate sound just hate same to me?
The question of love and hate being similar is something really interesting to note, if one gives it enough thought, they'd realize one is loved and hated for the same reasons, considering Bangtan, the fact that they had started to rise, back in that time was exactly why they received so much love and appreciation yet their very growth in success was getting them more hate and insults, clearly depicting how an issue can be the cause of love for some, and hatred for others, making love and hate essentially and metaphorically similar in meaning and nature, because the ground issue remains unchanged. And it applies for everyone, not just Bangtan and that perhaps gives the song its essence of longing and loneliness; hatred makes one feel lonely and long for love, the 2 being same; one is sweeter while the other is bitter. Negative remarks leave greater scars, perhaps all the hate received is what made him question his worth, fill his mind with unwanted thoughts of not being accepted by a certain part of the mass and trap himself in his mind, mark himself as the outsider/tourist, the combined effect of his anxiety, concerns and unwanted thoughts, biting at his soul, tearing it apart into fragments like a torso (without the limbs and head), bringing in the context of the first verse describing the loneliness he feels within.
I can't sleep Homesick, babe I just wanna Stay right next to you
If I could choose my dream, I just wanna stay right next to you
In the chorus, he yearns for love, safety, protection, and the warmth of embrace. "I can't sleep, homesick" as an outsider or alien, it's difficult to relax for a while becomes acceptance becomes a key concern, he yearns for love n safety, protection and the warmth of embrace as he goes, "If I could choose my dream, I just wanna stay right next to you", that his dream and one true desire is to receive our love for as long as possible, to be in our figurative embrace, protected and loved, learning to heal, love and find himself.
In conclusion, Namjoon presents his feelings, portraying his emotions and concerns, painting his insecurities and past lies in monochrome, and narrating his story in lines with melody and beats all around. 'Tokyo' is a track with a hidden "loop", he talks about his loneliness and wished for it to fade with a loving embrace. But they actually remained latched on to us, be it dawn or dusk. Might hide temporarily but they always come back and we find ourselves longing for love again and it becomes a loop and that's how life goes on.
Compiled by @_goldenclosets
Thread by @rkivelovelines on twitter
