Winter Bear: Review - Shufei Chen

Winter Bear:

A Song Review

By

Shufei Chen

It was an ordinary afternoon on an ordinary day and I was taking an ordinary nap. But little did I know that when I woke up from this nap, something a little out of the ordinary would occur. Yes, indeed, our very own Kim Taehyung or V of BTS decided it would be fun to drop his very own produced song called ‘Winter Bear’. Now ‘Scenery’ was dropped approximately 8 months ago so this was very unexpected. At first for me I was confused as to why this song was dropped out of nowhere before I realised that it was in fact 1000 days of I Purple You and this song, hit harder.

First listening to this song, accompanied with a video directed by Tae, starting with the camera clicks of him taking photos then the soft music playing with the guitar is all I needed to feel the tears well up in my eyes. Once the song started, and the voice came in, the tears did indeed fall but the beauty of this song was not missed. Taehyung’s deep voice accompanied by the guitar in the verse. Followed by the chorus which showed off his higher vocal range. Finally, the song showcasing an instrumental with the build up of string instruments from the cello to the violin and the addition of drums and a wind instrument makes the song have all the wintery feels. The video that came alongside the song showcased Taehyung in different cities and him have the happiest time which makes it all the more touching. And yes, the song was in all English which I only realised upon a second replay.

When I had finished, I decided to look up the lyrics. From the lyrics the song felt deeper and more emotional. Turning to social media after, many ARMYs made the connection that the song was for his grandmother and there’s no lie when I say that listening back to it, it did indeed make sense.

Thus, more tears were shed.

But ultimately, this song showcased many sides of Taehyung that we may not see on a regular basis and it did indeed showcase his talent and his passion for art and music. 

And this song will be played over and over again.

So, Thank You, Mr Kim Taehyung for gifting us with this piece of art.

And we all purple you!