The purpose of this post is to share my thoughts on Yesung’s title track “咲き誇る時を待つのは” of his new Japanese album. I know I have been yapping a lot about Yesung lately, but this one is really not a result of my fangirl moments. I felt like he kept asking fans about the song and MV — what they thought about it. Like it was an invitation to think a bit deeper. But at the same time, it also seemed like he didn’t want fans to think too deeply until we confused ourselves?
Anyway, here are my thoughts. But before we delve into it, I don’t think I am one who thinks deeply enough. I like things to be clear. Like black is black and white is white. However, as I grew up and older, we all know that the world isn’t as simple as that. Questions can be left unanswered coz there simply is no clear-cut answer to them. I guess it was with certain life experiences that I started to feel more deeply. To form my own thoughts to things that seem difficult or seem to have no answer to.
That’s enough of my rambling. On to my thoughts on the song and MV.
On first listen, I don’t know why but it didn’t seem like a song that got imprinted easily in my mind. I had to listen to it on repeat for a couple of times before the tune got into my head. Maybe it’s also coz my Japanese isn’t any good and I can’t pick up the meaning of the lyrics, that makes it harder to feel the song. Words have power that can convey emotions. Which is why I say I want to learn certain languages like Japanese or Korean. Music is that motivation. I can’t fully feel and appreciate a song without understanding its lyrics. Worse, I can’t sing along when I don’t know the language. I’m not going to try any Korean song lest I butcher it.
When the MV came out and Yesung explained to look at it simply as it is. A girl who is afraid of the light and a guy who is afraid of the dark, find each other and learn to love the other side they were afraid of. The part about being afraid of the light, reminded me so much of the drama/movie “タイヨウのうた“. The main character, Kaoru Amane, has a condition called XP and is unable to go into the sun, so she fears the light and embraces the night. She falls in love with a regular guy, who helps her experience what it’s like to be out in the day like any other person. (Sidenote: I love the song “Good-bye Days” sung by YUI in the movie version. I sing it often in KTV.)
Then, there’s the scene where Yesung stands in the dark with shooting stars? falling from the sky. He kinda explained the light from the shooting stars as his fans (ELFs). We are his light that shines through when he feels lost in the darkness. I don’t know, but the shooting stars coming down felt like a scene from Makoto Shinkai’s “君の名は。“
There is also this scene where the girl runs to catch up with the guy to return his torchlight. She covers her head with her hood to shield herself from the sun (light). For a moment, her fear takes over and suddenly she finds herself in this void with the hood over her head. It seemed like some fans had trouble understanding what was going on with that scene. I think you have to look at it metaphorically. It’s not that she is physically transported to a different place by the magic of her hood, but she is metaphorically transported to the dark that she finds comforting. It’s like going back to your comfort zone.
The few Japanese words that I understood and stood out for me most was the phrase “本当会いたかった” meaning “(I) wanted to see (you)” with the emphasis on missing someone. To me, it expresses longing for someone and hoping to close that gap (whether in a literal sense to be next to someone or metaphorically to be closer in heart/in a relationship with someone).