#a song nobody knows
안녕하세요 여러분! Hey everyone! I got yet another request for a breakdown! If you have a song you’d like to see broken down, let me know! I linked my full-length lessons about the featured grammar points throughout as well in case you want to learn more about them!
I translated all these lyrics myself, but I did refer to this lyric videoandNaver Dictionary to help me out :) Let’s start!
나를 스쳐가는 그대 / 내 말을 들어줘 / 걸음을 멈추고 / 내 노랠 들어줘
You brush against me / Listen to what I have to say / Stop in your tracks / And listen to my song
- 나를 = me
- 나 is the informal way to say “I,” while -를 is an object particle. More about particles here!
- 스쳐가다 = to brush against; to pass by
- 그대 = you -> This is a poetic/romantic way to say “you” and isn’t really used in everyday spoken Korean.
- [verb stem] + 는 allows you to describe nouns with that verb. 나를 스쳐가는 그대 literally means “you who brushes against me.”
- 내 = my (informal)
- 말 = words
- 듣다 = to listen; to hear
- 듣다’s stem ends in ㄷ, so it becomes 들어줘 when conjugated.
- [verb stem] + 아/어주다 means that a verb is done forsomebody and can be used when pleading that someone do something for you. In this case, he’s commanding that you listen to him.
- Literally, this line means “listen to my words.”
- 걸음 = step(s) -> from the verb 걷다, meaning “to walk”
- 멈추다 = to stop
- -고 is a connector that means “and.” This line means “stop in your tracks and…”
- 노래 = song
축 처진 고개들과 / 비틀거리는 그림자 / 그렇게 나는 불청객이 돼 / 아무도 모르는 yeah / 노래를 부르며 yeah
Among the drooping heads / And staggering shadows / I become an uninvited guest / While I sing a song / That nobody knows
- 축 처지다 = droop; hang; sag
- 고개 = head
- Attach -들 to nouns to make them plural
- [verb stem] + ㄴ/은 allows you to describe a noun with that verb in the past tense. So 축 처진 고개들 literally means “heads that drooped.”
- 과/와is attached to nouns to mean “and” or “with.” 과 is attached to nouns ending in a consonant, while 와 is attached to those ending in a vowel.
- 비틀거리다 = stagger; stumble; falter; totter
- 그림자 = shadow(s) (it can still be implied that a noun is plural without the -들 depending on the context!
- 그렇게 = like that
- 불챙객 = uninvited guest
- 되다 = to become
- These lines were a little tricky to translate, but I think it essentially means “the drooping heads and staggering shadows, like that, I become an uninvited guest” as if he is an uninvited guest because the drooping heads and staggering shadows make him one.
- 아무도 = nobody
- 모르다 = to not know
- 아무도 모르다 sounds like a double negative – nobody doesn’t know. But in Korean, this is the correct way to say “nobody knows”! When using indefinite pronouns like 아무것도, 아무데도, (nothing, nowhere), etc., you need to use a negative verb like so.
- 부르다 -> when paired with 노래, means “to sing.”
- [verb stem] + (으)며means “while [verb]” and is used when two actions are happening at the same time.
아무도 모르는 / 노래를 부를래 / 지나가는 너의 / 마음을 붙잡을 수 있길 바라며
I’ll sing a song / That nobody knows / Hoping that I can grasp your heart / As it passes
- [verb stem] + ㄹ/을래(요) means “I will [verb]” or “I want to [verb].” It expresses a strong intention to do something.
- 지나가다 = pass; go by
- 너의 = your(informal)
- 너 means “you” (informal), and -의 is a possessive marker.
- 마음 = hear
- 붙잡다 = grasp; grab; hold
- [verb stem] + ㄹ/을 수 있다 = can [verb]
- [verb stem] + 기를 바라다 = to hope that [verb]
- Those last two lines literally mean “while hoping I can grasp your passing heart.”
That’s about it for this breakdown! Hope it was helpful :) See you in the next lesson! 화이팅!
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