A list of BTS’ most socially-conscious, thoughtful, woke, non-love songs:
No More Dream * = about the pressure of the younger generation to follow the dreams of their parents/elders and give up the dreams of their own
길 (Road/Path) = about taking the untraditional path despite the uncertainty of the future
Intro: O!RUL8,2? = about pursuing your own dreams, taking chances, and living without regret
N.O * = about the machine-like nature of the current education system
팔도강산 (Satoori Rap) = about being proud of where you’re from and your dialect. acknowledges and unifies Korea’s vast linguistic/provincial diversity
Tomorrow = about making the future better by being the instigator for change and never forgetting who you really are
등골 브레이커 (Spine Breaker) * = comments on consumerism/materialism and respecting your elders
Jump = about remembering the hopeful dreams of one’s youth and growing up to become the hero of your own childhood
힙합성애자 (Hip Hop Lover) = about the power of music to change one’s life
Rain = comments on the repetition/monotony of life and that fact that one has to confront oneself in order to create change
BTS Cypher, Pt. 3: KILLER = haters? “i don’t give a fuck”
핸드폰 좀 꺼줄래 (Can You Turn Off Your Phone) = comments on society’s obsession with social media and the decline of face-to-face communication
2학년 (Second Grade) = about working hard and staying humble in order to reach the top
The Stars = about facing the ups and downs of life and never giving up no matter what
Wake Up = about continuing to work hard as others sleep & taking control of one’s life
The Most Beautiful Moment In Life, Part 1 (2015)
Intro: 화양연화 * = comments on the uncertainty of the future, the search to find one’s purpose, and the dangers of comparing oneself to others
I NEED U * = going beyond a classic love song, the song comments on the insecurity of youth
쩔어 (DOPE) * = about waking up the sleeping youth and breaking the stereotypes placed upon the younger generation by working hard to reach the top. reject rejection!
흥탄소년단 (Boyz with Fun) = about ignoring the judgement of other’s and doing what makes you happy
이사 (Move/Moving On) = about remembering/learning from the past while reaching for a higher place
The Most Beautiful Moment In Life, Part 2 (2015)
Intro: Never Mind * = about looking forward and working even harder if you feel like falling down
Run * = about not letting anything stop you from pursuing your passions
Butterfly = comments on the insecurities of youth & the fears of feeling dependent on someone
Whalien 52 = about loneliness & feeling like no one is listening/understanding
Ma City = comments on being aware/proud of your hometown’s history (& also calls out a Korean online terrorist group that targets minorities and leftists, especially people from Jeolla province, were J-Hope was born)
뱁새 (Baepsae/Silver Spoon) = comments on the concept of social status/privilege and the growing gap between the upper and lower class
고엽 (Dead Leaves) = comments on the difficulty of giving up something good for the better
The Most Beautiful Moment In Life: Young Forever (2016)
불타오르네 (FIRE) * = about how one should live however one wants to without labels & that it’s okay to lose
Save ME * = comments on the duality of youth (happiness and sadness) through depending on others and thanks ARMYs for accepting who they (BTS) are and letting them be who they are
Epilogue: Young Forever * = comments on the difficulty, but importance, of facing reality, moving forward, and following one’s dreams
House of Cards = comments on how ignorance can be bliss but that reality will always catch up eventually
Good Day = comments on brotherhood and the importance of lifting each other up to create a brighter tomorrow
Wishing On A Star = about not being afraid to have big dreams because the more you hope, the more likely it will come true
Intro: Boy Meets Evil * = comments on the dangerous addiction of greed/ambition
피 땀 눈물 (Blood Sweat & Tears) * = comments on the danger/ease of succumbing to temptation & losing the innocence of youth
Begin * = about brotherhood & how the other members shaped him to become who he is today
Lie * = about feeling trapped under the lies he told himself & losing his identity in the process
Stigma * = about struggling with his self-identity & his guilt because he can’t always be there for the people he cares about
First Love * = about how the piano guided him to recover his passion for music
Reflection * = about insecurity, loneliness, self-hatred & learning to love himself
MAMA * = about thanking his mom for always supporting him & telling her she can lean on him now
Awake * = about acknowledging his limits and imperfections but trying hard anyway & putting the other members before himself
Lost = comments on the uncertainty of growing up and finding one’s own path
BTS Cypher Pt. 4 = about not listening to those trying to bring you down & to love yourself
Am I Wrong = comments on the corrupt government system that doesn’t care about the general public and only focuses on pleasing the top 1%
21 세기 소녀 (21st Century Girls) = comments on the unjust treatment of females in current society & a women-empowerment message of strength and self-love
둘! 셋! (그래도 좋은 날이 더 많기를) (2! 3!) = about enduring/overcoming hardship by sharing your burdens and finding strength from one’s loved ones
You Never Walk Alone (2017)
봄날 (Spring Day) * = comments on government corruption by referencing the Sewol Ferry Tragedy & is about missing a friend that you haven’t seen in a long time
Not Today * = about empowering the underdogs/minorities/women of the world
Outro: Wings = about believing in oneself and having trust in one’s decisions in order to choose one’s own path
A Supplementary Story: You Never Walk Alone = comments on the importance of teamwork in order to dream bigger and reach higher
Love Yourself: Her (2017)
Intro: Serendipity * = about whether an individual is special because he is fundamentally different from others, or because of the relationships he foster with others
Pied Piper = comments on the possible all-consuming nature of fan culture & advises individuals to stay self-aware and maintain their personal lives as priority
MIC Drop * = about the satisfaction of rising above one’s haters by not wasting time on their meaningless words and instead focusing on one’s successes
Go Go = addresses the “YOLO” culture that has pervaded our generation, where the youth use consumerism as a means to escape the hopeless/purposeless feeling that saturates the societal work force
Outro: Her = about sacrificing one’s true self for the happiness of others. more specifically, about BTS’ gratitude/dependence towards their fans, and therefore, how the members try to hide their vulnerabilities and strive for “perfection” in order to please the said fans
Sea = about how the two emotional states of happiness and sadness are really one and the same, because one inevitably leads to the expression of the other. also about how hope can be birthed from a source of trial
Let Go = addresses the inevitability of ARMYs eventually leaving the fandom and accepts that we’ll eventually walk separate paths, so that in the future we can look back upon the past with fondness
Love Yourself: Tear (2018)
Intro: Singularity * = about facing the truth of one’s loneliness, but realizing that life is transient and that change is coming
FAKE LOVE * = about lying to yourself by hiding your weaknesses and living a life that is not true
The Truth Untold = about feeling inadequate to love others because you cannot love yourself first
134340 = about the feeling of resentment and loss of self-identity when dismissed from one’s previously held entity
Paradise = comments on how it’s okay to not have a dream nor fully understand your purpose in life; just don’t fall into the trap of adopting someone else’s expectations of yourself as your own “dreams”
Love Maze = about ignoring the opinions of others and living for yourself, even if the path may seem unclear
Magic Shop = thanks ARMYs for helping BTS become the best version of themselves and tells their fans that they trust you will take care of your own selves as well
Airplane pt.2 = about the satisfaction of observing their haters from the sky, as they fly to higher success. also about not forgetting where you come from and continuing to work hard with your initial intentions in mind.
Anpanman = about wanting to be a hero for others, even if it means sacrificing oneself
So What = about letting go of the worries one has built up in one’s head and running forward without regrets about things you can’t fix
Outro: Tear = about learning to deal with one’s self-hatred and self-destruction before being able to face one’s true self and reciprocate real love
Love Yourself: Answer (2018)
Euphoria * = about holding on to naive but painless dreams and refusing to wake up from the false comfort of “euphoria”
Trivia 起 : Just Dance = about turning even the negatives into positives by steadily pursuing your dreams and enjoying each moment as they come
Trivia 承 : Love = about the importance of balancing the relationship between live (살아) and love (사랑) to human (사람) existence
Trivia 轉 : Seesaw = about getting trapped on a metaphorical seesaw of manipulated emotions and urging himself to stop playing the game
Epiphany * = about the moment of realization that in order to truly love others, you must learn to love yourself first; the journey to self-love can feel lonely and endless, but the progression will leave you feeling powerful and free.
I’m Fine = about learning to not depend on others in order to feel self-worth and move on from downfalls
IDOL * = about accepting and loving yourself no matter the constrictive labels that others try to put on you
Answer : Love Myself = about the process of learning to forgive oneself and to live one’s life without the mask of conformity
Map of the Soul: Persona (2019)
Intro: Persona * = about the process of discovering one’s true self through questioning different versions of one’s identity, including the archetypes persona, shadow, and ego
Boy With Luv * = depicts the growth from ‘in love’ to ‘with love’ through discovering love and inspiration within oneself. also about how self-love is the greatest and most humbling power of all
Mikrokosmos = about finding the universe of potential that exists within every individual and uncovering strength from the pain
Make It Right = about leaving the haters in the endless desert and following one’s dreams towards the giving ocean
HOME = comments on the frivolity of wanting materialistic things and instead places importance of finding someone you can call “home”
Jamais Vu = about not having a do-over in life, but refusing to give up after trial & error and taking advantage of every second chance
Dionysus = about celebrating one’s successes and acknowledging that the only competition is the fight against oneself
=: live performance/dance practice
*:official music videos/trailers
Enjoyed this list? Check out A list of BTS’ UNOFFICIALLY RELEASED socially-conscious, thoughtful, woke, non-love songs
