선우정아 (Sun Woo Jung Ah) – 뱁새 (Baepsae)

 

 

Apparently BTS also released a song called “Baepsae,” which ignited interest in what exactly “baepsae” meant. I mean, there’s the literal definition: baepsae is a type of bird called the crow-tit, but anybody with an elementary thought process might see why that might be a bit awkward of a name for a song. Also, wtf is a crow-tit, anyway? If you Google “crow-tit,” you just get a bunch of BTS stuff, but you do also get these ADORABLE PICTURES OF ADORABLE BIRDS. It looks like they might be native to East Asia and parts of Eurasia, which is why it’s not so easy to find information in English.

Then some people looked further to see there is an old Korean phrase, 뱁새가 황새를 따라가면 다리가 찢어진다 (“If a crow-tit tries to walk like a stork, he will break his legs”). More wtf. But the way one of my Korean friends explained it to me, it’s basically like trying to keep up with the Joneses; putting on airs when you don’t have any airs to put on, then realizing putting on air isn’t that great of an idea, after all (because, well, I mean… it is air).

A lot of the BTS explanations call it “silver spoon,” but that sounds like the phrase about being born with a silver spoon in your mouth, which is pretty much the exact opposite (and I think is a reference to the teacher in the song, not the members themselves). In that case, the silver (or gold) spoons are the Joneses that everyone else is trying to keep up with.

Ultimately, the lyrics of Sunwoo Jung-a’s song sum up a perfect, self-explanatory “crow-tit” situation.

 

 

한국어:

 

새 옷을 차려 입고 거울 앞에 섰는데

어색하기가 짝이 없구나

그토록 탐을 냈던 값비싼 외투인데

이건 내게 어울리지 않아

이건 내게 어울리지가 않아

 

나도 쟤처럼 멋들어지게 차려 입으면

훨훨 날아갈 줄 알았어

점점 걔 같은 옷들로만 가득 찬

나의 인생을 보며

쓴웃음만 이걸 다 갖다

 

버릴 수도 없고 해서

입고 나왔는데

쥐구멍 찾아 숨고 싶구나

그들에겐 꼭 맞는 어여쁜 외투인데

나한테만 어울리지 않아

나만 엄청 어울리지 않아

 

나도 쟤처럼 멋들어지게 차려 입으면

훨훨 날아갈 줄 알았어

점점 걔 같은 옷들로만 가득한

나의 인생을 보며

스쳐가는 생각들 내게도

그런 날이 올까…

 

나난나나 나도 좀 날아보자 나도 새다

같이 좀 날아가자 넌 너무 빨라

 

나도 쟤처럼 넓은 둥지에 태어났다면

쟤처럼 비싼 깃털이 남아돈다면

쟤처럼 힘센 날개를 달아본다면

훨훨 날아갈 줄 알았어

그러나 나는 나

 

새 옷을 차려 입고 거울 앞에 섰는데

이건 내게 어울리지 않아

이건 내게 어울리지 않아

이건 내게 어울리지가 않아

 

 

English:

 

I dressed up in new clothes and stood in front of the mirror

but I guess there is no partner for awkwardness

I had wanted such an expensive coat so much

but this doesn’t suit me

This doesn’t suit me

 

I thought I would be able to flap my wings and fly

if I also dressed up magnificently like them

As I look at my life,

slowly filling up with clothes like theirs,

all I can really do is smile wryly

 

I couldn’t throw the clothes away, either

so I put them on and went out

but I just want to find a mouse hole and hide

This is a beautiful coat that suits them perfectly

but it doesn’t suit me

I’m the only one it doesn’t suit at all

 

I thought I would be able to flap my wings and fly

if I also dressed up magnificently like them

As I look at my life,

slowly filling up with clothes like theirs,

the thought that crosses my mind is:

will that day come to me, too?

 

Me, me, I want to try to fly a bit, too; I’m a bird, too

Let’s fly a bit together, you’re so fast

 

If I were born in a big nest like them

If I were covered in expensive feathers like them

If I could test my strong wings like them

I thought I would be able to fly

but I am me

 

I dressed up in new clothes and stood in front of the mirror

This doesn’t suit me

This doesn’t suit me

This doesn’t suit me