Dionysus

My initial attraction to Dionysus was due to its references to Greek mythology and the vibrant blend of trap and rock sounds. However, it was the song’s ambitiously experimental nature that solidified it as the best record of 2019 for me, no matter what the Grammy says. 

Noteworthy subject matter and sound aside, the rap line’s experimentation with rare rhyming structures and inventive figurative devices—similes, allusions, and analogies—to construct a unique lyrical form that makes each line pulsate with energy and excitement is simply breathtaking.

Just to give you a glimpse, in the first three lines of the first verse, we are treated to a mixture of dizzying consonance (소(soh), 스(seu), 손(sohn), 술(sool), 손(sohn), 소(soh), 스(seu), 속(sohk), 술(sool)) and assonance (first line-취(chwih), 치(chih), 디(dih), 니(nih)/ second line – 손(sohn), 손(sohn), 소(soh)/ third line-한(hahn), 탈(tahl), 잔(jahn), 찰(chahl), 랑(lahng)). Such structural styles are repeated throughout the song. These imaginative rhyming patterns and rhetorical figures, augmented with RM and J-Hope’s creative wordplays, render Dionysus one of the most original Korean songs I have ever heard.

I love every single line in the song, but my favorites are the ones that comprise the pre-chorus verse which goes like this:

창작의 고통 (chahng-jahk eui goh-tohng) (The agony of the creative artist)

시대의 호통 (sih-dae eui hoh-tohng) (To capture the zeitgeist)

나와의 소통 (nah-wah eui soh-tohng) (To connect with humanity)

Impressively, the rap line expresses their difficulties and aspirations as artists—the amount of time, effort, and energy it takes for them to come up with meaningful and creative lyrics that address the pressing issues facing current society and the millennial generation, and then convey them to ARMY and other listeners all over the world—using just two nouns connected by the preposition ‘eui’ in each of the three lines.

On a side note, RM has stated that although he wrote most of the lyrics for the songs in the Persona album, J-Hope took the lead as the primary writer for some of the verses in Dionysus, with SUGA writing his own verse. J-Hope was also instrumental in musical composition, and at one point in the song, he, being a perfectionist, revised the melody of his part nearly 20 times until it was just right.

Because Dionysus was a Greek god of wine and festivity, some listeners consider Dionysus merely a drinking party song. This interpretation is far from the truth. The Korean word for alcohol is ‘술 (sool),’ while arts is ‘예술 (yeah-sool),’ and like the sonic closeness of these two words, BTS is playing with the notion that both acts of drinking alcohol and watching an excellent artistic performance can engender a state of intoxication, being overwhelmed with exhilaration, mentally and emotionally.

Furthermore, Dionysus, who was killed as a child but later resurrected by Zeus, was also associated with arts, creativity, and freedom. In the song, BTS embodies this aspect of Dionysus, for they were also left for dead in the beginning and derided by the Korean and Western media as just another cookie-cutter k-pop idol band, but were reborn to become the biggest group in the world by freely and passionately pursuing their own creative ideas and styles, demonstrating a tenacity and a work-till-my-bones-ache mentality.

Love Yourself series and Map of Soul: Persona are conceptual albums, and by choosing Dionysus as their final song in the Persona album, BTS is announcing that they will continue to pursue artistic freedom, letting their desires and ambitions dictate their music, with its ‘shadows’ and all.

Lyrics:

Intro (V, J-Hope):

Soak up

Kylix, sipping

Arms folded, tipping

One sip

A Thyrsus, gripping

Grapes, eating

Soak up

Excited vibe, keep it

D style, rip it

Here, kill it

Let’s steal it

The illest

Verse 1 (RM):

Be intoxicated as if Dionysus

In one hand a wine glass

And in the other a Thyrsus

In the clear crystal glass

You see it brimming with arts

Art is much like alcohol

When you soak it up

You become intoxicated, fool

You don’t know what to do with

Come watch me perform my art 

With a mic made of ivy, rugged wood

Observe as I aim for something brand-new

See the effort that went into my art

Refrain (JK, J-Hope):

Till the sunup

Where the party at

Till I fall asleep exhausted 

Where the party at

Sing it

Sing again

Drink it

Drink again

We are born again

Pre-chorus (Jin, J-Hope):

Soak up

Agony of the creative artist

One sip

To capture the zeitgeist

Soak up

To connect with the humanity

One sip

Okay, now I’m ready for show

Chorus (V, Jimin, J-Hope):

All drink up from my glass

All drink in the work of the artist in madness 

One shot

Two shots

Be intoxicated with arts and sing

All drink up from my glass

All drink in the work of the artist in madness 

One shot

Two shots

Bang the gong and sing

Post-Chorus (JK, J-Hope, Jimin):

Soak up

Kylix, sipping

Arms folded, tipping

One sip

A Thyrsus, gripping

Grapes, eating

Soak up

Excited vibe, keep it

D style, rip it

Here, kill it

Let’s steal it

The illest

Verse 2 (V, JK):

I’ve taken the world stage

Hear the roar as I take the stage

Can’t you see my stacked broken thyrsus?

I’m finally reborn on the stage

Verse 3 (J-Hope):

When the night comes

Mumble, mumble, mumble

When the night comes

Tumble, tumble, tumble

Studio is filled with low beats of

Boom, boom, boom

Bass drum goes like

Dum, dum, dum

Refrain (Jimin, RM):

Till the sunup

Where the party at

Till I fall asleep exhausted 

Where the party at

Sing it

Sing again

Drink it

Drink again

We are born again

Pre-chorus (Jin, RM):

Soak up

Agony of the creative artist

One sip

To capture the zeitgeist

Soak up

To connect with the humanity

One sip

Okay, now I’m ready for show

Chorus (Jimin, JK, Jin, V):

All drink up from my glass

All drink in the work of the artist in madness 

One shot

Two shots

Be intoxicated with arts and sing

All drink up from my glass

All drink in the work of the artist in madness 

One shot

Two shots

Bang the gong and sing

Bridge (SUGA):

Any place in the world where we appear

There’ll be a stadium party

I first started as a K-Pop idol 

But am now reborn as an artist

But who cares whether I’m an idol or artist?

Let’s toast

What I do is art nearly at its finest

To achieve the level of the highest

I depend on no one but me to go get it

Let’s make a toast

One shot

Though I’m still insatiate

Break (RM):

Are you ready for this?

Are you ready to get hyped up?

Come on, let’s go!

Chorus (Jimin, JK, V, Jin):

All drink up from my glass

Al All drink in the work of the artist in madness 

One shot

Two shots

Be intoxicated with arts and sing

All drink up from my glass

All drink in the work of the artist in madness 

One shot

Two shots

Bang the gong and sing

Post-Chorus (RM, V):

Soak up

Kylix, sipping

Arms folded, tipping

One sip

A Thyrsus, gripping

Grapes, eating

Soak up

Excited vibe, keep it

D style, rip it

Here, kill it

Let’s steal it

The illest

Outro (J-Hope, V):

Soak up

Kylix, sipping

Arms folded, tipping

One sip

A Thyrsus, gripping

Grapes, eating

Soak up

Excited vibe, keep it

D style, rip it

Here, kill it

Let’s steal it

The illest