(translated in 2020)

Xavier de Maistre is a fascinating, albeit obscure to many, figure in 19th-century French literature. Unlike other preeminent French writers of his era, such as Gustave Flaubert, Honore de Balzac, and Alexandre Dumas, he did not pursue writing as a career but was, in fact, a professional soldier.

He hailed from an aristocratic family that prized learning. His older brother, the infamous Joseph de Maistre, was a polemical author and philosopher who ardently supported conservative religious and monarchical traditions, contrasting sharply with the Enlightenment philosophies of his contemporaries, Voltaire and Rousseau, two 18th-century French thinkers advocating for liberalism and the progress of science and empirical philosophy, which influenced the founding fathers of America in drafting the U.S. Constitution.

Although de Maistre’s intellectual curiosity—everything from literature and music to painting—was as keen as his brother’s, he wanted more from life. Seeking adventures and travels, he became a soldier for the Sardinian kingdom and then later the Russian Empire, able to travel all over Europe.  

Unfortunately, during his stint as a young officer in Turin, Maistre was placed under house arrest for an illegal duel. For a peripatetic young soldier who was in moto perpetuo, this sudden sequester must have driven him up the wall. In an effort to pass time, he explored his chamber as if it were a travel destination and began penning a travel journal about his room, culminating in the book Voyage Autour de Ma Chambre (Voyage Around My Room).

Employing a conversational and tangential style, de Maistre invests his room traversal with an ambitious scale, the time spent on a sofa or bed as riveting as a journey across the Italian Alps. Although this book is not well-known to the general public, many writers throughout the years as diverse in genre and era as Fyodor Dostoevsky, Albert Camus, Susan Sontag, and Alain de Botton have been influenced by it.

As a prolific reader, when I first held BTS’s COVID-era album, “BE,” in my hands and saw the Korean title of the song “내 방을 여행하는 법” (내 – my, 방을 – room, 여행하는 – traveling, 법 – way), which literally translates to “How to Travel Around My Room,” I immediately thought of de Maistre’s book. I believe that RM, an avid reader of literature himself, very likely drew inspiration for the song’s motif from de Maistre’s book.

Forced to spend much of his spare time in his room due to the COVID-19 pandemic, RM initially feels frustrated and angry. However, much like the French soldier-cum-writer, he transforms his room into a place of travel. As he explores every space, RM embraces the unexpected benefits of seclusion; the silent moments offer opportunities leading to new perspectives and discoveries. The more he roams the room, the more ethereal his mind and body become.

In the intro and first verse, sung beautifully by Jimin and V, RM writes about “becoming crazy with frustration (답답해 미치겠어 (dahp-dahp-hae mih-chih-geht-s(uh))” every day, knowing he is confined to his room, unable to perform in front of ARMY. After all, a musician needs their audience, much like a doctor needs a patient and a teacher needs a student. He further expresses his wish that someone could turn back time to before the pandemic. However, recognizing his powerlessness to alter the situation, he decides to transform his ‘방 (bahng) (room)’ into “내 세상 (nae seh-sahng) (my own world)” in his mind.

In the Chorus (same as the Intro), RM is now letting his imagination run wild:

“떠나볼까 (ttuh-nah-bohl-kkah) (shall I go),” let me fly to my room/

“시선을 낮추고 어디든 막 (sih-suhn-eul naht-choo-goh uh-dih-deun mahk) (keeping eyes down, randomly look everywhere),” zoom/

“지금 나와 (jih-geum nah-wah) (come out (from the shell) instantly),” let me fly to my room/

Get me out of my blues/

And now I’m feeling brand new

In the second verse, RM is fully immersed in exploring his room to such an extent that it appears ‘낯선 (naht-suhn) (unfamiliar),’ even the mundane things like “오래된 책상 (oh-lae-dwen chaek-sahng) (dog-eared desk)” and “달라진 햇빛 (dahl-lah-gihn haet-biht) (different-looking sunlight).” By the way, the sunlight looks different to RM because he never thought of observing it in his room before the pandemic; thus, it seems new to him now. Moreover, now that he’s no longer bitter, RM recognizes that even a broken dream can have its beauty.

The final verse by SUGA and J-Hope is dichotomic. SUGA’s lines are somber, referring to his room as an ‘emotion trashcan,’ a term implying that it’s a receptacle for his emotional struggles. But the room accepts all his tantrums and always greets him. It’s his safe space, where “기쁨도 슬픔도 어떤 감정도 (gih-ppeum-doh seul-ppeum-doh uh-ttuhn gahm-juhng-doh) (happiness, sadness, any emotions)” are “받아주네 (baht-ah-joo-neh) (tolerated).”

In contrast, J-Hope’s lines are playful and humorous. He whimsically uses the toys in his room and the TV’s noise to imagine mingling with people in a crowded place. He also expresses contentment with delivery food, highlighting that it still serves its purpose of filling one’s stomach. J-Hope’s line “생각은 생각이 바꾸면 돼 (saeng-gahk-eun saeng-gahk-yi bah-ggoo-myun dweh) (Thought can be real if I change how I think; my translation: Imagination is all up to my mind)” is my favorite part of the song.

Like “Singularity,” the musical genre of this song is neo-soul, a style that perfectly complements V’s distinctive husky tone. Here, his rich baritone blends seamlessly with Jimin’s emotive high tenor, creating a soundscape that feels almost ethereal. Their vocals are the song’s true centerpiece, just as striking as the rap line’s poignant lyrics about the struggle of enduring solitude within the confines of a room during the pandemic.

In conclusion, BTS is using this song to share a special message with ARMY: COVID pandemic has made all of us weary, isolated, and lonely, but we need to keep our hopes up and try to find comfort through familiarity.

Lyrics:

Intro (Jimin and V):

Here I go, let me fly to my

Explore below, everywhere zoom

Come out, let me fly to my

Get me outta my blues

And now I’m feeling brand new

Verse 1 (Jimin, V):

Everyday

Driving me up the wall

Feel like it’s still day one

Wish for my time back,

I lost the whole year

Still not out of bed,

Feeling queasy all inside

It’s killing me slowly now

Anyway, 

Want to escape, any way

Alas, there’s no way out

My room is all I have

Why not reinvent my room,

To form my own world

Chorus (Jimin):

Here I go, let me fly to my

Explore below, everywhere zoom

Come out, let me fly to my

Get me outta my blues

And now I’m feeling brand new

Verse 2 (V, Jimin):

Everywhere

New perspective of my room

Composition feels unfamiliar

My mind’s reminiscing

Dog-eared desk, different-looking sunlight,

They look unique

I’m little less lonely now

Better way

I just found a better way

Sometimes we get to know

Broken is beautiful

Body feels ethereal

Flying to room’s edge

This thing’s so surreal

Chorus (V):

Here I go, let me fly to my

Explore below, everywhere zoom

Come out, let me fly to my

Get me outta my blues

And now I’m feeling brand new

Verse 3 (SUGA, J-Hope):

My room’s not big enough

To fit my ambitions

(but) Collapse into bed

Here’s where I’m the safest

Happiness, sadness, any emotion,

It’s all allowed in my room

Sometimes I throw tantrums,

But it tolerates me

And greets me 

They’re like people—toys in my room

Feels like I’m in bustling town—TV sounds

Imagination is all up to my mind

My room exists only for my travel

Delivery food—three stars

Let it happily fill you up, I’m full

Chorus (V):

Here I go, let me fly to my

Explore below, everywhere zoom

Come out, let me fly to my

Get me outta my blues

And now I’m feeling brand new

Final Chorus (Jimin, V):

Here I go, let me fly to my

Explore below, everywhere zoom

Come out, let me fly to my

Get me outta my blues

And now I’m feeling brand new