K-Pop

Lyricist Seo Ji-eum explained the connection between the lyrics of IVE songs: “Eleven”, “Love Dive” and “After LIKE”

Lyricist Seo Ji-eum revealed the behind story related to the lyrics of the three title songs she wrote for IVE – “Eleven”, “Love Dive” and “After LIKE”.

Seo Ji-eum recently shared a memo note on her Instagram, saying “I wrote this note because I wanted to organize and make a conclusion about the connection between the three songs ‘Eleven’ – ‘Love Dive’ – ‘After LIKE’”.

The background of IVE’s debut song “Eleven”?

Referring to the starting point of “Eleven”, the lyricist wrote, “The little room symbolizing the heart of a girl that used to be covered with white wallpaper and decorated with monotonous furniture. One day, the girl, who was used to the cozy and comfortable feeling inside that room, finds a dot-like light in the corner of her room”.

Explaining the background of the story in her note, Seo Ji-eum said, “The small light changes its color every morning, afternoon, and night. It keeps getting larger and smaller all the time. The light can make you feel dizzy while staying still and looking at it but can also make you want to dance. It can look like a flower garden in full bloom but can also look like an underwater world. That light may come through the window above the room. The girl climbs up the ladder and looks out, and sees a strange view. That’s the great prism. Who could put that up there? No, that’s someone’s eyes. Who is looking into this heart so closely?”

Here is how the note of “Eleven” lyrics connected to the lyrics. According to Seo Ji-eum, “while room” means the pure, flawless, or oblivion personality and psychology of the girl. “Monotonous furniture” means her emotions and routines that don’t change and repeat every day. Put it all together, the movement of the dot-like light (the change of emotion) in the white and monotonous room (the girl’s heart) is further maximized. 

The fact that the “window to the room (the girl’s heart)” is put up high implies her tendency as an arrogant girl who does not speak her mind easily. 

“The light that can look like a flower garden in full bloom but can also look like an underwater world” is to describe an underwater garden with colorful flowers in full bloom and water-colored walls. This aqua garden means an ideal and mysterious space. 

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Seo Ji-eum noted, “This space later becomes an important background to explain the other two songs”.

Explaining the connection, she said, “One difference is that this space is not real in ‘Eleven’. It’s just a welcome to the white room”. She continued, “‘The great prism of light’ are memories from the future. ‘The giant eyes outside the window’ is the eyes of the speaker in ‘After LIKE’ and also the deep surface of the lake, which is the background for ‘Love Dive’”.

“Love Dive”, confidently diving into the emotions of an unknown love

The background of “Love Dive” is a deep forest with no people. In her note, the lyricist wrote, “There is a mysterious lake there. However, one day, footprints that appear to belong to the same person started to appear around that lake every day after day. I think I know who it is, but he disappears when the sun rises. I don’t know if the reason why I fell in love with the lake so much is because of my reflection in the water or his slight appearance that passed by, but I’ll dare to jump in for now,” explaining the main story of “Love Dive.”

Also, “If I go up to the water surface here, then I can see him every night. I don’t know if what he’s staring at is his reflection on the water or me fluttering under the water, but this eye contact is not bad. Now I call him to go in the water. Together, I want us to sink down and see what blooms at the bottom of this lake with our own eyes. We are willing to be the dazzling sacrifice in front of this lake called Love,” she wrote.

Seo Ji-eum described, “The lyrics often mentioned how I reflect myself in the other person’s eyes (connected to the outro of the lyrics of ‘Eleven’) and this song compares that to a secret lake.”

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Seo then presented the answer, saying, “’Eyes’ is the only way to get a glimpse of one’s mind, so at the same time ‘the lake’ represents my or even his mind.”

It is a dream that is like a deja-vu where “someone who I seems to know vaguely appears, but he disappears soon when the sun rises.” There is an unconscious character that I seem to have seen in my dream, and “the bold decision to jump” is likened to boldly jumping into this emotion, although I don’t know whether the object I love is me or you in my eye.

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“Through the surface of the water, our eye contact is not bad” is a process in which the boundary between you and me becomes blurred, and the sentence “I want to see what blooms at the bottom of this lake” suggests an underwater garden in the room of “Eleven” which leads to “After LIKE.”

After LIKE: “Cross the universe faster than the light, and I’ll will be standing there”

Lastly, Seo Ji-eum wrote down the background of IVE’s latest title track “After LIKE,” emphasizing the organic worldview of the three songs.

In the last note, “Black abyss, we woke up there. We lit up the light everywhere and ran frantically between the spectrum of light. A moment’s courage and a childhood kick brought us here in an instant. A place where time seems to have stopped in ecstasy, a universe of each other where dazzling tunnels continue endlessly and overwhelming emotions explode, a thrilling hot blue flame and a dangerously fluctuating heartbeat. It was the first time I felt this way toward someone. I’m not afraid of breaking up or any very distant future. Even if you forget everything one day, you know that all these memories will surely reach you and connect us again.”

There is also a sentence, “Look outside the window, cross the universe faster than the light, and I’ll will be standing there.” In “After LIKE,” the “black abyss” refers to waking up from the dark bottom of the lake in “Love Dive” (the universe of only us two).

“Lit up the light everywhere and ran frantically between the spectrum of light” is connected to us (blooming flowers in the light) who are free and dazzling in the emotion of love. The “spectrum of light” is all the memories we make (which we later reach out for in search of the girl in “Eleven”), and the blue flame is a state in which we put our everything in to fuel a fire hotter than the red flame.

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Seo Ji-eum said, “While writing the lyrics, I thought of the shape of lines such as light stretching, heartbeats, and graphs. It matches well with the fast-paced violin part inserted in the song,” she explained. “Crossing the universe faster than light means time travel, and I, who remembers everything, goes to the past (the girl in the white room of ‘Eleven’, who remembers nothing) and fills the room (kicking love awake),” she said. “And this connection continues indefinitely.”

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The U.S. Billboard also praised IVE‘s confident “self-love” message which was made by incorporating love into the lyrics of lyricist Seo Ji-eum, who is drawing attention with the bold messages that represent Generation Z.

Meanwhile, IVE released “After LIKE” and reached their 1st No. 1 on Melon in just a week.

Source: Daum

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