Lost by BTS: Brief Discussion

BTS, an acronym for Bangtan Sonyeondan, is currently the South Korean sensation all-over the world. They are the first boy band group from South Korea to ever make the Billboard Hot Hundred Chart. The song titled as “Lost” is one of their side tracks from their latest album You Never Walk Alone, released in 2017. It talks mostly about the struggles one faces as he or she transitions from adolescence to adulthood.

Since the song is originally written in Hangul – the language South Koreans use – the main focus is put on the English translation instead. But before getting into the actual imagery and symbolism of the song let’s talk about the structure in which the song is written. If we look at the first stanza, it goes something like this:

Nuneul gamgo ajik yeogi seo isseo

Samakgwa bada gaunde gireul ilhgoseo

Yeojeonhi hemaego isseo eodiro gaya halji Yeah

[Jungkook] Irido manheul jul mollasseo

Gaji mothan gildo gal su eoptneun gildo

I never felt this way before eoreuni doeryeoneunji

As you can see the word “seo” is repeated quite a few times at the end of most lines. They also tried to rhyme the words “gildo” and “before” with “seo”. As a result, even though we don’t understand their language, we can still feel the beauty of the lyrics because we know rhyming words are actually pleasant to the ears. Also since, BTS is gaining much popularity worldwide it is especially important for them to make sure their lyrics are structurally well-made while keeping the meaning intact since they have a vast range of international audience.

Now that the basic structure is out of the way, let’s focus on the meaning of the song. Lost is actually song of the Pop genre that uses a whole lot of metaphors, symbolism and allusions. To summarize the meaning of the song, this beautiful piece of auditory art actually talks about the struggles one faces while making various life choices. For example, in the first stanza, they use “deserts and oceans” as not only as a symbol for struggles but also the difficulties one faces in a dilemma. They compare themselves to wanderers where they are unsure of where they are going.

When we are children, the world is open for us. We can do whatever we like without anyone judging us. But as we grow up, we slowly learn about our limitations and the judgement people throw at us. We learn that there are certain things we should not do and certain things we are not supposed to do. The writers differentiate between childhood and adulthood by the limitations of choices. They ask the rhetorical question “Am I becoming an adult?” to summarize all these in a single line. Basically this verse means that the person (from whose viewpoint this song is written) comes to the realization that he’s growing up and now his actions should be limited.

When a person changes from a child into a mature person, there are times where he or she may feel confused. This confusion leads to frustration and failure and one may feel, as the title suggests, lost between various choices and dilemma. This song actually discusses it and also gives a solution for this through the allusion of the life of an ant. Ants always travel in a long straight line. Even if you distract one from its path, it still manages to find its way home. The writers compared humans to those ants, meaning that no matter how lost you feel, you will always know your way. You will always be who you are meant to be – good or bad – eventually.

The irony of the song lies between the title of the song and its internal imagery. While the song is called Lost, the whole song is about how you are never lost, even if you feel like it and how you will always find your way around.