With every new BTS album announcement, there’s the long-awaited comeback trailer. And this year’s features BTS’ Suga’s “Shadow” with lyrics whose meanings have ARMYs feeling concerned and reflective for the K-pop group. In the interlude track, 26-year-old BTS member Suga raps about everything from the pressures of rising fame, to the idea of “shadows”—something ARMYs are interpreting as an allusion to the group’s experience with stalkers.
It’s an issue that other members of BTS have spoken out about before. BTS’ V recently called out ‘sasaengs’ for stalking the group in an impassioned video broadcast for his fans. “You know how we get on planes by ourselves?” he asked, rhetorically. “We actually want to fly on a regular flight. But when we travel long distance or short distance, fans may know beforehand that we will be boarding and sit next to us, or in front of us.” And while that wouldn’t be so bad if people actually kept their distance, V explained that there are some fans who take things too far.
“There are those fans,” he said, pausing. “In those private spaces, we don’t get to relax as much as we want to. So we were a bit uncomfortable. [And] to be frank with you, we don’t want you to do that. […] It’s really scary.” Now, many are recalling V’s statements on stalkers after hearing Suga’s latest verses.
While Suga’s “shadow” metaphor can also be taken at face value as a reference to troubles he’s already expressed in the past (a.k.a there’s that old adage of, say, living in one’s own shadow), some ARMYs can’t help but take it more literally. With verses like “I run but the shadow follows,” BTS’ “Shadow” interlude might also be trying to send yet another message to the sasaengs that trouble them.
What do you think? Read Suga’s lyrics to “Shadows” translated into English below:
INTRO
Source: Instagram
I wanna be a rap star / I wanna be the top / I wanna be a rockstar / I want it all mine / I wanna be rich / I wanna be the king / I wanna go win / I wanna be…
I wanna be a rap star / I wanna be the top / I wanna be a rockstar / I want it all mine / I wanna be rich / I wanna be the king / I wanna be me / I want a big thing / Oh boy let me see
VERSE 1
Source: Instagram
I got a big dream yeah
Woo I wondered everyday how far I’d go
I came to my senses and I find myself here
Yeah, hmm, shadow at my feet
Look down, it’s gotten even bigger
I run but the shadow follows
As dark as the light’s intense
I’m afraid, flying high is terrifying
No one told me
How lonely it is up here
I can leap in the air but also plunge
Now I know running away could be an option too, pause
People say, there’s splendor in that bright light
But my growing shadow swallows me and becomes a monster
Up high, high, and higher, higher
I only go higher and vertigo overtakes me
I rise, rise, I hate it
CHORUS
Source: Instagram
I pray, pray, hoping to be okay
The moment I’m flying high as I wished
My shadow grows in that blasting stark light
Please don’t let me shine
Don’t let me down
Don’t let me fly
Now I’m afraid
The moment I face myself brought lowest
It so happens that I’m flying the highest
Please don’t let me shine
BRIDGE
Source: Instagram
Don’t let me down
Don’t let me fly
Now I’m scared
Don’t let me shine
I wanna be a rap star
I wanna be the top
I wanna be a rockstar
I want it all mine
I wanna be rich
I wanna be the king
I wanna go win
I wanna be…
I wanna be a rap star
I wanna be the top
I wanna be a rockstar
I want it all mine
I wanna be rich
I wanna be the king
I wanna be me I wanna be…
OUTRO
Source: Instagram
Yeah I’m you, you are me, now do you know
Yeah you are me, I’m you, now you do know
We are one body, sometimes we will clash
You can never break me off, this you must know
Yeah yeah can’t break me off, whatever you do
Yeah you’ll be at ease if you admit it too
Yeah succeed or fail, whichever way you flow
Yeah you can’t escape, wherever you go I am you
You are me, now you do know
You are me, I am you, now do you know
We are one body and we are gonna clash
We are you, we are me, this do you know
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