the word “tomorrow” is a perpetual promise. the idea of a new day, a new dawn, a new opportunity. yet, with the obligations of school or work that demand much of our time and effort, tomorrow can become something to dread. another day of doldrum; life ad infinitum. to a certain extent, we have control of our tomorrows. however, social obligations and the fear of falling into the unknown often prevent us from completely letting go of the burdens we carry, no matter how exhausting they may be.
BTS’s song “tomorrow” is a promise. it’s a promise to pursue and persist a tomorrow. it proffers a lyrical hand, telling the listener that it’s true that life isn’t fair, that it’s a shame that it must be so hard, and that they understand how soul-crushing stagnancy can be.
같은 날, 같은 달
same day, same month
24/7 매번 반복되는 매 순간
24/7 every moment that repeats every time
하루를 벌어 하루를 사는 게 빠듯하단 걸 느꼈을 때
realizing that it’s hard even to live from hand to mouth,
many people around the world, especially young ones who are trying to find their place in it, live hand to mouth. in a hyper-competitive society where simply getting by requires more and more effort, living and working only to meet immediate needs because there is simply no way to prepare for the future if you cannot survive the present has become the modus operandi for many.
매일매일이 ctrl c, ctrl v 반복되네
every day repeats itself like ctrl c, ctrl v
갈 길은 먼데 왜 난 제자리니
why am i remaining in the same place when there’s a long way to go
the schedules we create that are supposed to allow us to build and secure our future, like diligently attending school or work, repeat endlessly like copying and pasting. there seemingly is no avenue to escape because society tells people that going to school and doing well to get a good job is the only way to be definitively successful. so many people feel trapped in this cycle, relegated to a life of endless repetition if they stay the course, but the crippling fear of failure and uncertainty if they don’t.
내일은 오늘보다는 뭔가 다르길
that tomorrow will be somewhat different from today,
난 애원할 뿐야
i can only beg
even following the conventional societal path, success and happiness are not always guaranteed. so this begs the question: is it worth it? is it worth it to spend these years toiling away for a chance at success in something we may not care about in particular? or should we hope for a new tomorrow, and follow a new dream?
니 꿈을 따라가 like breaker
follow your dream like breaker
무너진대도 oh 뒤로 달아나지마 never
even if you collapse oh don’t run back never
a dream doesn’t have to be large or grand or require a grand shift away from what we are doing in our lives presently. perhaps if there are smaller dreams to pursue that will make our tomorrows different for the better, we should work towards them. we can doggedly pursue our dreams with persistence and perseverance.
해가 뜨기 전 새벽이 가장 어두우니까
because the dawn right before the sunrise is the darkest,
먼 훗날에 넌 지금의 널 절대로 잊지 마
you, in the future, never forget yourself of now
the sun will always rise after a dark night and then set again after a bright day. life works like this cyclically. humans are the antithesis of stagnancy. we are always moving, always changing, always growing, for better or for worse. our of each proverbial dark night comes a bright dawn where it seems like a new world has emerged from the pitch black. progress can be thought of in this way. eventually the present becomes the past, and the changes we make shape our future.
지금 니가 어디 서 있든 잠시 쉬어가는 것일 뿐
wherever you’re standing right now, you’re just taking a short break
포기하지 마 알잖아
don’t give up, you know it
너무 멀어지진 마 tomorrow
don’t get too far away, tomorrow
sometimes the promise of a new tomorrow, a new dawn, doesn’t seem possible. the present day is simply too much to bear or too hard to change. and that’s okay. we don’t always have to go up to move forward. life is not linear. it’s okay to feel stuck, to feel stagnant. if you need to rest, rest. but don’t let the promise of a new day slip out of grasp.
우리가 그토록 기다린 내일도 어느새 눈을 떠보면 어제의 이름이 돼
[the] tomorrow that we’ve waited for so badly soon becomes the name of yesterday as we open our eyes
내일은 오늘이 되고 오늘은 어제가 되고 내일은 어제가 되어 내 등 뒤에 서있네
tomorrow becomes today, today becomes yesterday, and tomorrow becomes yesterday and stands behind my back
삶은 살아지는 게 아니라 살아내는 것, 그렇게 살아내다가 언젠간 사라지는 것
life is not something you live along but something you live through, something you live through and gets disappeared someday
there are only a finite number of tomorrows. eventually they will expire. so with that knowledge in mind, perhaps it is prudent if we have patience, but continue to press forward. it doesn’t matter the size of the step. what counts is that we keep trying. that we work towards progress. because life continues to flow on, and we are always caught up in the current.
멍 때리다간 너, 쓸려가 if you ain’t no got the guts, trust
if you keep spacing out, you’ll be swept away, if you ain’t no got the guts, trust
if you can, live consciously. pay attention to your actions and the choices you make. don’t let the days slip away ad infinitum. it’s scary to break the patterns. to make change. to face the unknown. but try to trust in yourself. to trust in the people who trust you, because surely they have a reason. trust that change has the potential to lead to better.
tomorrow, 계속 걸어 멈추기엔 우린 아직 너무 어려
tomorrow, keep walking, we’re still too young to stop
tomorrow, 문을 열어 닫기엔 많은 것들이 눈에 보여
tomorrow, open the door, we’re seeing too many things to close the door
there are so many things we don’t know, and can’t know until we experience them. there is so much in the paths of our lives left to walk. there is so much potential that lies down the road. so don’t shut the door to possibility quite yet. there are so many paths that you can take.
어두운 밤이 지나면 밝은 아침도 있듯이,
like there is a bright morning arriving after a dark night,
알아서 내일이오면 밝은 빛이 비추니, 걱정은 하지 말아줘
there will be a bright light shining on you when tomorrow arrives, so don’t worry about a thing
이건 정지가 아닌 니 삶을 쉬어가는 잠시 동안의 일시 정지
this is not a stop but a pause for a brief rest in your life
it’s natural to need a break. regardless of what we are working towards, it is impossible to always walk forward without periodically sitting down to rest. even if you feel defeated, that’s alright. there is always room for hope of a brighter dawn and a new day. and if you need to sleep to see it come, that’s okay.
니 꿈을 따라가 like breaker
follow your dream like breaker
부서진대도 oh better
even if you crash oh better
니 꿈을 따라가 like breaker
follow your dream like breaker
무너진대도 oh 뒤로 달아나지마 never
even if you collapse, oh don’t run back never
we can never be the person we were in the past or live the life we used to live. change is inevitable, but we can work to make it positive. regardless of the things that trip us up and make us fall, we can always get up again and keep going. we can continue.
so, we walk down our own flower paths at our own pace. we hold out room for hope. we persist.
포기하지 마 알잖아
don’t give up, you know
너무 멀어지진 마 tomorrow
don’t get too far away tomorrow
lyric translation credit: DoolsetBangtan
