Behind The Songs - 2 Cool 4 Skool

Image Source: LOVE YOUR SELF 轉 Tear

Whenever BTS win an award or achievement, the 1^st words generally out of their mouths is for their fandom, 'ARMY'. Unlike what the western media would have you believe, their fandom is not limited to just young teenage girls, but covers a wide demographic of men, women, and children; from all backgrounds and ages.

And don’t be fooled into thinking that the only thing going for them is good dancing and pretty faces. A question that comes up time and again is “how can you like something if you don’t even understand what they’re saying?” In an age where translations are available at the touch of a button on your computer or smartphone this isn't even a serious question.

We will aim to answer that question, because BTS deserves worldwide recognition for what they produce. Ever respectful, and always humble, these 7 South Korean young men put their souls on display for the world to see with their music & lyrics. Lyrics that can fire up the blood and get you dancing, but also those that speak of heartache, of yearning, which you may not understand through a first listen, but do understand inside because you feel it through their melodies and the emotion behind their voices. Not content with singing of love and romance, BTS don’t shy away from tackling more socially conscious issues and struggles that affect people globally regardless of linguistic barriers.

We will look through their discography from debut to the present, covering all of their albums and EP’s both Korean and Japanese; and analyse the lyrics of one song chosen with the help of ARMY's on Twitter and Facebook, from each album; to delve behind the songs at the lyrics that inspire so many people. - Shinara Hussain

Debut & 1st album

2 Cool 4 Skool

Months prior to debuting BTS steadily created a following via Twitter, video blogs, Fancafe posts, and YouTube; building up a relationship and creating a buzz amongst their fans.

Excitement grew amongst industry people about this 7 piece hip hop group that were due to debut under a little known company called BigHit Entertainment. Officially debuting in South Korea on 13th June 2013 with their lead single No More Dream, from their 1st single album - 2 Cool 4 Skool. Promotions began with No More Dreams and We Are Bulletproof pt.2

Image source: 2 Cool 4 Skool

The track list includes 2 hidden tracks only available on the physical album:

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro: 2 Cool 4 Skool" (ft: DJ Friz)	Pdogg RM	Supreme Boi	1:03
2.	"We Are Bulletproof Pt.2"	·         Pdogg ·         “Hitman” Bang ·         Supreme Boi ·         RM ·         Suga ·         J-Hope	Pdogg	3:45
3.	"Skit: Circle Room Talk"		Pdogg	2:11
4.	"No More Dream"	·         Pdogg ·         "Hitman" Bang ·         RM ·         Suga ·         J-Hope ·         Supreme Boi	Pdogg	3:42
5.	"Interlude"		Slow Rabbit	0:54
6.	"좋아요" (Joayo / I Like It)	·         Slow Rabbit ·         RM ·         Suga ·         J-Hope	Slow Rabbit	3:51
7.	"Outro: Circle Room Cypher"		Pdogg	5:23
8.	"Skit: On The Start Line" (Hidden track)			2:40
9.	"길" (Gil / Road/Path) (Hidden track)			3:50

(source: BTS Wiki)

'No More Dream' entered the Billboard World Digital Songs chart at no.14 for the first time on June 29th 2013, and stayed there for 3 consecutive weeks. 
(source:Billboard Chart Archive)

The highest chart position for the album was at no.5 in the Gaon monthly charts. 
(source: gaon chart)

By the end of 2013, the album had garnered sales of 24,441, placing it at the position of no.65 in the Gaon yearly charts. (source: gaon chart)


The results of our poll revealed that ARMYs wanted a lyric analysis of their debut single No More Dream. 

Hey you, what’s your dream? Hey you, what’s your dream? Hey you, what’s your dream? Is that all your dream is? I wanna big house, big cars & big rings But actually, I don’t have any big dreams Haha, I live quite comfortably Even if I don’t dream, no one says anything Everyone is thinking the same way as me I completely forgot about my childhood when I had a lot of dreams Don’t worry about college, I’ll at least go to a school that’s far away Ok mom, I’m going to the library right now What is the you that you’ve dreamed of? Who do you see in the mirror? I gotta say Go on your path Even if you live for a day Do something Put away your weakness Why aren’t you saying anything? You don’t wanna study but you’re scared to quit school? See, you’re already getting ready for school Please grow up, you’re all talk dude, you have a glass mentality, boy (Stop) Ask yourself if you’ve ever worked hard for anything Hey you, what’s your dream? Hey you, what’s your dream? Hey you, what’s your dream? Is that all your dream is? That’s a lie, you such a liar See me, see me, ya you’re a hypocrite Why’re you telling to go a different path? Take care of yourself Please don’t force me (Lalalalala) What’s your dream, what’s your dream? (Lalalalala) Is that it? Is that it? Sick of the same day, the repeating days Grown-ups and my parents keep instilling confined dreams to me Number one future career is a government worker? It’s not a forced dream, a ninth inning relief pitcher Throw a fast ball at the waste of time that is night study sessions Rebel against the hellish society, dreams are a special pardon Ask yourself about your dream profile Become the main subject of your life that has always been suppressed What is the you that you’ve dreamed of? Who do you see in the mirror? I gotta say Go on your path Even if you live for a day Do something Put away your weakness Hey you, what’s your dream? Hey you, what’s your dream? Hey you, what’s your dream? Is that all your dream is? That’s a lie, you such a liar See me, see me, ya you’re a hypocrite Why’re you telling to go a different path? Take care of yourself Please don’t force me (Lalalalala) What’s your dream, what’s your dream? (Lalalalala) Is that it? Is that it? Don’t know how to live Don’t know how to fly Don’t know how to decide Don’t know how to dream now Open your eyes now Dance a dance now Dream a dream now Stop hesitating, stop being indecisive, wussup! That’s a lie, you such a liar See me, see me, ya you’re a hypocrite Why’re you telling to go a different path? Take care of yourself Please don’t force me (Lalalalala) What’s your dream, what’s your dream? (Lalalalala) Is that it? Is that it? To all the youngsters without dreams.

Pre-chorus repetition of “Hey, what’s your dream?” – interrogating the young people, knowing that they won’t have an answer to the question because young kids in Korea aren’t allowed to have their own dream, just to do whatever their parents ask of them. “All their dream is” to please their parents. Suga only knows that his “dream” is to become rich and successful, but nothing past that i.e. not HOW to be successful or what he wants to do with his life. (https://genius.com/Bts-no-more-dream-lyrics?referent_id=13602607#note-13602607) Children have dreams when they’re young, but when they grow up they forget about what they want and just work towards plain, respectable jobs that pay well. Teenagers don’t think about their futures, because they just let their parents decide for them. Demands for children to speak up and share their concerns with their parents and society. “Glass mentality” – glass can shatter easily. The translation for this lyric on the MV is “weak mentality” – young people can have weak minds; they’ll say they hate school and studying but aren’t strong enough to actually do anything about it. BTS wants them to speak their minds. In Korea, civil servants and public officials are seen as the most desirable jobs (and the jobs most parents want their children to get) because they’re stable and respected jobs. However, they’re quite plain jobs so the children might not want this and might have a different job in mind, despite being forced to have the same dream their parents have. (https://genius.com/13602607) A relief pitcher is someone who enters a baseball/softball game after the starting pitcher has been removed due to injury. Essentially, they follow what the starting pitcher has already started (Like how children are supposed to follow what their parents have already decided). (https://genius.com/13602607) “Night study sessions” refers to the after-school classes children are typically forced to go to to increase their chances of getting into a respectable university. (https://genius.com/13602607) “Hellish society” is a reference to the nickname “Hell Joseon”, used to describe the current state of Korea i.e. how rigid the education system is and the lack of career prospects for young people. (https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/k-town/8098832/bts-lyrics-social-commentary-political) Asks people to take a look at themselves and discover what their life is about and what they want to achieve. The “dream” that young people say they have is just a lie; their real dreams are being stifled. Asks the older generation to stop forcing children to live the lives the older people want, and to worry about their own lives instead. Children aren’t taught how to make their own decisions and how to succeed; just that they have to attend school and be good students. Parents and teachers are hypocrites for teaching students to work hard but not allowing them to actually work on their own dreams and ambitions. States their target audience explicitly, and is also in English so international fans can receive their message telling them that it’s okay to not have dreams. No child should have certain dreams forced upon them.

Contribution by Charlie Murray

Taken from their own experiences, RM, Suga, & J-Hope write No More Dream as a harsh commentary on South Korea’s strict education system where children are typically made to attend after-school classes to increase their chances of attaining a placement into the highly esteemed S.K.Y. universities (Seoul National, Korea, & Yonsei). It also highlights the culture of the older generation imposing their dreams on young people.

In an interview with HIPHOPPLAYA in 2015, RM reiterates that students not having dreams of their own still existed.  “A student that just studies hard even though they don’t have a dream’ is exactly who I was. It’s not something I was trying to pull out old stories for, but something that was purely my own story.” 

(source: HIPHOPPLAYA)

Official MV for No More Dream

The MV shows these aimless rebellious boys stealing a school bus, joining other neighbourhood dreamless boys as they graffiti what looks like an abandoned school. The word ‘Stigma’ can be seen in one part, does this hint at the stigma against young people who aren’t trusted enough to be able to make their own choices? It criticises the lack of passion in the youth of today, urging them to follow their own dreams and not just what society imposes them. 

(source: Billboard)

We end our 2 Cool 4 Skool segment on this wonderful unboxing done by none other than BTS' very own Min Yoongi!

Thanks to:
BTS Radio UK research & editing team

And a Special thanks to Robyn Sneddon for letting me bounce ideas off of her late at night!

Please come back next time where we will be checking out O!RUL8,2? 

Read about O!RUL8,2? at the following link: Behind the Songs - O!RUL8,2?

Meanwhile if you have anything you'd like to add or have any ideas why not contact us. Leave a comment below or alternatively we can be found on:

Twitter: @BTSRadioUK

Facebook: BTS Radio UK

YouTube: BTS Radio UK

Or you can email us at btsradiouk@gmail.com

Please subscribe to keep up to date with new content.