𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿
park jongseong
— ★ | bonus chapter | #02
lover album analysis.
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Lover • Min Hyerin
Singer/Songwriter Min Hyerin opens up about all thirteen tracks featuring on her debut album, "Lover".
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TRACK #001 — Lover
“Lover is a song that I wrote about my boyfriend. And as cliche as it is, I wrote it the same night that I met him.”
“I believe it's safe to assume that he lovestruck me, for sure. Though we had just learned each other's names at the time, he made me feel comfortable in his presence and it was easy to talk to him.”
“I felt as if I had known him for years, which led to the creation of the line, ‘Have I known you twenty seconds, or twenty years?’.”
“Funny enough, there was a small incident leading to the lyrics of the song getting ruined. My mind was blurred, so I didn't remember all of the lyrics I had written down.”
“But, Jay helped me repiece it together and make the song it is today. For all the memories I attach to it, Lover is very special to me, which is why I decided to make it the title track.”
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TRACK #002 — Enchanted
“Track number two, Enchanted, was a song I wrote more recently, than anything. I reminisced on that time in my life when I had first met my boyfriend. I met him at a party that a friend of mine at the time had taken me to.”
“I was never much of a party person, I don't like how crowded and chaotic it gets. So, I found an empty room — or what I thought was empty, and stayed there. That's where I met Jay. Turns out, he was also hiding away from everyone.”
“That night, we exchanged names and learned a lot about each other. But, I ended up having to leave because the person I came with wanted to go home, and I was the designated driver.”
“I left the room that night without getting his number or anything, and I realized just before I was about to leave the party. When I went back to the room to ask, he was already gone.”
“When I got home and went to sleep, he was on my mind. I wondered if he knew how.. enchanting it was to meet him.”
“It kept me up at night. And though the odds were low, I could only hope that it wouldn't be the last I ever saw him.”
“Those times were a reflection of the bridge. 'This is me praying that this was the very first page, not where the storyline ends. My thoughts will echo your name until I see you again’.”
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TRACK #003 — Begin Again
“Begin Again is a song I wrote about when I realized that my feelings were true, and not just infatuation.”
“I dated once before in Highschool. My relationship wasn't very healthy, but it was all I knew. I thought love like what I wished to experience only existed in the movies, but I longed for it.”
“After meeting up with Jay for the first time in person since we met at the party, I believe that day was the day I had finalized my feelings towards him — even without realizing it properly at the time.”
“I think I was worried it was going to be awkward, and that we weren't going to click like we did fully at the party. But, my worries were dismissed when I saw him again when we met up at a café.”
“We talked for a while. He listened to everything I had to say, and seemed genuinely interested in my hobbies and the things I had to say. I was so bewildered.”
“The song itself is based on that day entirely as I looked back at it. ‘But on a Wednesday, in a café, I watched it begin again’.”
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TRACK #004 — “Slut!”
“Despite its very bold title, the song is actually sweet and kind of melodical. During the process of getting to know Jay more, I was shamed a lot by someone I knew back then just for merely believing we stood a chance.”
“I realized then, if I was going to be shamed for being able to believe that I could be loved, it would be worth it if it was true.”
“I stopped caring what certain people had to say about it. I stopped caring whether or not I was ‘pretty enough’, or ‘smart enough’. I took a chance and I'm glad I did.”
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TRACK #005 — Innocent
“Track number five, Innocent, is about someone I used to be very close friends with. The friendship itself was filled with toxicity, and I failed to leave even after being given plenty of chances to do so.”
“I believed that this person could change — that they could find kindness in their heart to reflect and learn from their issues.”
“And, if leaving and ending the friendship was going to help them change and also help my own mental health, then I would.”
“So, I did. Things didn't go peacefully, it was one argument after another. I coincidentally ran into them at a Halloween party that I decided to attend with some of my close friends a little while after officially ending the friendship.”
“Things happened, they said some things, and shared secrets to others that I had let them in on when I was still friends with them.”
“Innocent is a song I wrote about them because even after the hurt I experienced because of them, I thought that deep down, there was a part of them that was, indeed, innocent.”
“I hoped that by writing this song and putting it out there, maybe there would be a chance they'd hear it one day. On the radio, or maybe someone else played it.”
“Maybe, they'd reflect, and realize that every day is new. That hatred can be unlearned, and it was never too late to become brand new.”
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TRACK #006 — Mirrorball
“Mirrorball is actually a song I wrote during my senior year of high school. Back then, I felt so unseen. Like I couldn't be myself out of fear of people not liking me.”
“I felt trapped, and alone mentally. The thought of being alone physically terrified me even more. It expresses silent desperation.”
“To feel like you have to change every little thing about yourself to fit in with certain people. So when people look at you, they'll see parts of themselves reflected in you.”
“I didn't plan on including this song in the album. I didn't think people would like it. But, one of my closest friends liked it so much that I decided to include it for them.”
“I didn't realize how much love it would get. But, I'm incredibly grateful.”
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TRACK #007 — Invisible String
“Following along with the whole ‘lover’ theme, Invisible String is also about my boyfriend, Jay.”
“We have so much in common, and it felt like we were destined to meet. Everything fell into place so naturally, and conversations between us flew by without any effort.”
“He and I felt connected. We felt comfortable with each other to talk about deeper subjects comfortably. Everything between us felt like it was meant to happen.”
“The night I was writing this song, I was thinking a lot about the idea of soulmates. How fate pulled two people together, almost as if an invisible string was tied around them — pulling them together.”
“This idea sparked a lot of ideas of my own. I ended up staying up until three in the morning messing around with my guitar and putting together the lyrics.”
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TRACK #008 — Say Don't Go
“Yet another song I wrote in high school. I wrote about my past relationship, and how it felt as if I had to beg this person to show if they cared about me, or the relationship itself.”
“I felt rejected completely, and it hurt me a lot. I wanted and desperately needed comfort. Whether in words or physical touch, like something as simple as a hug.”
“I was the only one holding onto what was left of us. I did everything I could to try to relight the spark we had at the beginning, to feel anything.”
“I remember the night that fully broke me and led to the point of the break up, was the night that I had mentioned the way I felt.”
“Hurt, and humiliated. I told them I loved them. But I was met with a pit of silence.”
"Once again, I didn't originally plan on including this in the album. I found it in an old notebook of mine that I used to use to write songs.”
“I recorded it for the fun of it, but it ended up being well liked by my friends and boyfriend. So, once again, I included it for them.”
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TRACK #009 — This Is Me Trying
“This Is Me Trying is a song I hold close to me. Another one I wrote in high school, during the same time I wrote mirrorball.”
“I wasn't in the best state mentally. Much like mirrorball, I express the idea of feeling unseen. I wanted my efforts to be acknowledged so badly.”
“I was struggling mentally, and everyday, I tried my hardest to live through it — to not let the effects of such depressing thoughts get in the way of the friendships and relationships with people I had built in that time.”
“It was hard, definitely. Because nobody seemed to care. They couldn't see how hard I was trying to hold it together. To know what I was going through at that time. It felt like every effort put into my life was not enough.”
“In the song, I pointed out the stuff I could have done, that would have changed everything and affected things forever. But instead of committing such acts, I chose not to. That itself, is the ultimate act of trying.”
“This is me trying was actually referenced in a way in mirrorball, with the line ‘all I do is try, try, try’.”
“Since mirrorball was included on the album, I decided to include this one too as it holds a personal meaning to me, the trajectory of my life back then. I was able to express things in the lyrics that I wasn't able to in normal sentences.”
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TRACK #010 — Call It What You Want
“I wrote this song about my relationship. Similar to the song “Slut!”, I express how I do not care what others have to say about us.”
“I let them call it what they want, because in the end it never mattered to me as at the end of the day, I'm fully aware of the love that we share for one another.”
“That is all I need. If others do not support our relationship, then so be it.”
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TRACK #011 — Fearless
“Definitely a shift in mood in comparison to previous songs. Fearless is very lighthearted, and happy. A typical cliché love song you'd hear anywhere.”
“But, I had a lot of fun piecing this one together and it became something special to me, especially considering it is about the one I love most, and the experiences we had together.”
“Fearless kind of goes through.. the way love makes you act. How you're willing to do these things you'd never imagine yourself doing, just because it's with the one person you love.”
“Like, for example, as referenced in the song itself, dancing in a storm together. You're no longer fearing doing something when you're with your lover.”
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TRACK #012 — Lover ft. Park Jongseong
“A spinoff of the original song, lover. It's quite funny how we came to writing and recording this version, though.”
“During the process of rewriting the original song, I found out that my boyfriend could sing. It came out as a surprise, because we were just writing lyrics together and he was demonstrating how the words would flow by singing it out himself.”
“After that, I pretty much begged him to sing with me. At first, he refused. He said he wanted lover to be exclusively mine, and in the moment I dropped it and we continued writing the original version of the song.”
“It wasn't until after we finished writing it did I bring up him singing it with me again. It took a lot of convincing, but he eventually agreed and I'm so, so happy he did.”
“We wrote brand new lyrics for him to sing together. It was really fun. In the bridge, he harmonizes with me really well. I'm seriously so proud of him.”
“Jay's voice is really, really sweet. His voice is calming, and I could listen to it for hours. Honestly, I truly believe he can be an artist himself if he ever wanted to. And if that day ever comes, I will be there to support him the whole way.”
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TRACK #013 — Daylight
“I chose Daylight to be the ending track because of the meaning behind it. Yes, it is a love song. But, there's a different meaning to it as well.”
“It's about leaving a time of darkness and embracing forgiveness for yourself and others.”
“I think it's a song with a softer tune to it, and I think it was the best fit to end off the album. Especially after going through all of the different songs and feeling different emotions, and going through all sorts of experiences.”
“Happiness, love, sadness, uncertainty, regret and so on..”
“To end off the album in a state of peace. To come to the realization that things will never be perfect, but being okay with that.”
“Personally, I love Daylight. It was quite therapeutic to be able to write and record. And I sincerely thank Jay, and our group of friends for supporting me in the process of it all.”
“And, of course, to everyone across the world who took the time of their day to listen to and support my music. I appreciate it more than words can express.”
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★﹐authors corner ．﹗﹑
guys if you couldn't tell already i love taylor swift 🥰
hanging onto every little thread of lover i can find fr. my favorite book ever to write 🥲🤞
february 21st, 2024 — 12:03am.