BTS Continues Introspective Theme of MOTS Series in “Black Swan”
Newly released single “Black Swan” off BTS’s upcoming album Map of the Soul: 7 contains some of the more personal lyrics found in their work.
The release was accompanied by an Art Film performed by MN Dance Company, which interprets the lyrics via modern dance. As the movements match the lyrics, I’ll not analyze this film here, but rather focus on the lyrics themselves and overall themes. One important note from the Art Film is that it begins with a quote by the dancer Martha Graham, who served as the motif for this release: “A dancer dies twice—once when they stop dancing, and this first death is the more painful.” This quote is directly referenced in part of the lyrics, as we’ll see.
Korean media articles about “Black Swan” note that it’s about BTS’s fear of not being moved by music the more they create music, but when they face their black swans deep within, they realize that music is all they have. “It delivers the confession of artists who have realized what music really means to them, through mature and autobiographical lyrics,” one article states. Their fears are characterized as “black swans” here, but taken in context of the album series, can also be read as their shadows. In my piece on “Interlude: Shadow,” I discuss how this series carries themes from Jung’s individuation process, a process which requires one to encounter and resolve one’s repressed traits and fears (the shadow) on the path to becoming one’s true self. “Black Swan” appears to be another way of interpreting this fight with the shadow, similar to the struggle seen in “Interlude: Shadow.”
The first verse begins by setting up what the previous quote referred to: “My heart isn’t racing / when I hear music”, “That would be my first death, I’ve been always afraid of.” The lyrics continue with “If this can’t resonate with me anymore / if it can’t make my heart flutter anymore / I may die once like this.” These lines express the fear of not loving music anymore, and if that happens, then what? If you die the metaphorical death of a creator, what’s next? The next lines worry whether or not that moment is now, and the following lines describe struggling against these feelings and fears, but even if they fight those off, they fall right back into them. “No song touches me now / I shout out a silent sound” conveys the frustration of losing that passion and trying to express it, but nothing comes out.
“A sea where all the lights fell silent
again grabbing my ankle that’s lost the path
I can’t hear anything
Killing me now”
The following stanzas describe the fear as a sea that pulls them under when they’ve lost their path, and how despite fighting against these feelings, it feels like there’s no way out and they’re slowing succumbing, being swallowed by the fear. The sea and the desert are recurring images in BTS’s work, and these lines suggest that the sea (the dreams they wanted to achieve, and now have achieved) may also have these downsides, this fear of “what happens if it doesn’t fulfill me anymore?” If they’ve reached their sea after struggling through the desert and that sea consumes them, what becomes of it all?
But the later verse provides a turn, a small thread of hope, as they realize they’re going deeper and ask to be let go, saying “I’ll plunge in / in the deepest place / I saw myself,” representing their encounter with the “black swans” or, in other words, their shadows. Yoongi narrates in the next lines that he comes back to himself in his studio, “A fierce wave / brushed past me darkly / I’ll never be taken away again / Inside, I saw myself,” reiterating that the moment has passed—he saw himself, the darker side deep inside, and is moving past it.
The next lines confirm this ray of hope and moving past the fear: “I open my eyes and into my forest jump, jump, jump / Nothing can swallow me / with all my might, I shout out.” These lines reflect turning towards one’s inner self (forest) and not allowing that sea of fear to overtake them, this time shouting out with sound rather than in silence.
Much like the fluttering feelings of new romantic love don’t last forever, our relationships with our passions change over time. When the façade breaks and we realize we may not love what we used to any longer, that we may not want to dedicate ourselves to whatever path we have chosen, that moment of clarity can be daunting. We may feel anxious or depressed as we acknowledge that the thing we so loved no longer provides joy or fulfillment. But the challenge is to overcome these feelings—to push back against the shadows and make a choice. We can choose to give in to fear, anxiety, depression, or whatever negative feeling we may be experiencing, or we can choose not to. Likewise, we can also choose to continue enjoying the thing we love, even if our relationship with it is now changed. Feelings are fleeting—they ebb and flow like the tides of the ocean. But our choices can be static. This, I believe, is the message of “Black Swan.”
Overall, “Black Swan” continues the themes of MOTS: Persona. In a behind video about the album, Namjoon mentioned how the “Love Yourself” message had become too grand for them. Because it became too big, he focused on the smaller things for the next series. He said: “So I looked into myself. I came back to my inner self. We decided that it was time to find and know ourselves. Instead of grand things, maybe it’s time to talk about the smaller things.”
With this mindset, they created MOTS: Persona both as an album about fans and an album about acknowledging the persona and all the good that came with it. With “Interlude: Shadow” and “Black Swan,” BTS continues this introspective theme by looking within and expressing some of the darker emotions there. So far, the MOTS series has told BTS’s own stories, rather than the more generalized stories of previous releases. Though previous releases of course contained some elements of themselves, their decision to look within and structure a series around developing the self is granting us a more intimate look at their personal narratives.
MOTS: 7 is being set up as an album of self-exploration and self-growth, and with the caliber of releases thus far, we can expect much greatness.