To me, this is about depression that is not recognized. That people just say, just smile! Think about good things! It’s them recognizing the depression, that it’s real, that you are seen and they know it’s not easy. That your sadness they will acknowledge, and that your silent suffering is actually louder than bombs. That they feel the same way - and encourage you to hang on - don’t give up your life.
My opinion: this was the time they truly became global. With that came a different reality. They and their fans weren't just youths struggling with school and careers. As global artists, they now saw themselves and ARMY struggling with so many real world problems. BTS is saying "we see you. And even though we're successful now, we won't rest. We know ARMY is struggling, so we will keep fighting. If not us, then who?" "Louder than bombs" feels like a war cry. But also a reference to their lightsticks. To be more than just their music and concerts... They will step onto bigger stages in our behalf ( which they have since done by representing ARMY at the UN).
I've always thought of Louder than bombs was an endorsement in triumph over adversity, with a continuance to fight and achieve and an acknowledgement to Army that behind all cheering, they acknowledge the sadness we may be hiding.
I see this song as an acknowledgment of the pain of both BTS and Army and how us fighting together through the pain can make a a movement of love that is louder than bombs (overshadowing the suffering we all are facing in the world). Yes, hearing the stories of pain can cause fear but if we all know that we're in this together the fear subsides and we can fight it off as a collective.
All I can say is that 'Louder Than Bombs' is a masterpiece! I only wish that we could get to see it performed live one day. Every single one of them shines in this song. They are all super talented individually as we all know but together they are perfection!
I much prefer the note from Genius: "Louder Than Bombs is about hope for better days and fighting the bad ones. As BTS have mentioned on Vlive that the song appears to be symbolizing the loudness of bombs to two things: Pain and success." I personally interpret it as them acknowledging that behind ARMY's smiles (and theirs) there's still sadness but despite the distance to ARMY created by BTS's succes they want to be there for us in whatever way they can. I feel that it's a promise to us and an affirmation of the bond between BTS and ARMY.
I have always thought this song is about how there are so many bad things in the world and how so many ARMY have said so many times how BTS has "saved" them. But, while all of that can be so overwhelming if you listen to it alone, if we listen together it can be louder than bombs. Listening to the positivity in their songs, from so many ARMY, can be louder than the "bombs" that are going off in people's lives. I think they are telling ARMY they are always here to listen and if their music helps us they will keep doing what they can to help. But at the same time, I think they are saying it can't and isn't just them that makes their music louder than those "bombs" and maybe ARMY is louder than the "bombs" in their lives. Does that make any sense? 💜💜💜💜
At first listen, I got the impression that no matter what was thrown their way, from any direction on this earth, they're going to keep singing no matter what. That they'll keep listening and hearing what army has to say and either celebrate or cry with them. Please don't @me for saying this, but the groundwork for BTS' and Army's journey has been built on anger/revenge (not in a hateful way). BTS was never supposed to be where they are and multiple attempts were made to make sure that they and army didn't exist. All in the name of jealousy and hate. They fought hate from a place of sheer determination, willpower, and love of what they do. Army saw how genuine they were and their character through their actions. The guys have literally saved lives through their music and army returned the love to them, fought off the haters, and made BTS untouchable. They understand that army always has their back no matter what. Sounds corny, but it's a bond that I personally don't think could ever be broken. Maybe this is their way of saying no matter what, army will hear us, we'll be loud AF to the haters , and we'll never stop singing. Unstoppable. 😁💜
I also really struggled with the meaning of this song. This is my rough interpretation. I look at the change of the refrain, "Louder than bombs I break", "Louder than bombs, yeah" "Louder than bombs I say", and "Louder than bombs I sing". "Louder than bombs I break" is that emotional/metaphorical break when we are aware of someone's pain and we feel crushed by it. The verses with this section talks about that pain. The "Louder than bombs, yeah" section is the acknowledgment (and acceptance) that pain/crap happens (blows up our world). It happens to all of us. (In my compassion training we see this universal pain as our common humanity--we cannot get away from it, its what ties us together). The third part of the song with "Louder than bombs I say", the verses are "I say" I'm not avoiding your pain anymore. "They say..." these negative things about me, and no matter what I do I am still lowly. BUT! ..."I say" , louder than a bomb, if not me than who? (If I am not going to lean into someone's suffering, than who will?) The final section "Louder than bombs, I Sing!" I promise, no matter how bad it gets, I will sing towards you. BTS' way of being there for ARMY, or anyone who finds solace or strength in music. 🤷♀
I love this song, I particularly love that depending on where my headspace is at it means something completley different. If I’m doing OK, it means - ‘hey, glad you’re doing OK, and we’ll keep trying to protect you’ or when I’m in not such a good headspace, it means, ‘keep going, we’ll take the bombs for you until you’re ready to deal with them yourself.’ For me, the joy of BTS music is that multiple interpretations of the song are OK. You feel it your way and I’ll feel it mine, neither is right or wrong because everyones feelling are valid. Hope this comment makes sense for you.
Without fail, I weep. Again. This is one of my very favourite songs not only for the music of it but for what it means and the impulse which moved it. RM is said to have wept so many times when he was writing it and thinking of the stories he had heard. Despite many attempts to find the quote I have been unable, but I read somewhere that a mother in a war ravaged area said that after the shelling which meant they all had to huddle in shelter, was over, the silence was louder than bombs, and that Joonie had written this song partially in response to this quotation.He linked that to his experiences when he would read ARMYs stories and feel their power and pain was louder than bombs. So I think that this song is a response to ARMY who are suffering, assuring them that BTS feels the force of their stories and will always stay with them and support them, but encouraging them not to stay silent. It's not my academic or studied response after analysing the lyrics, but feels true, to me.
Roscoe! I can see your point on not only focusing on the pain in the world. What I get from LTB is a message to those that feel alone and unheard in their pain that they aren't alone nor unheard. They (the guys) will speak up for and sing to/for those in pain louder than the bombs of pain, loneliness, etc...🤷🏾♀️ Joonie, completes me also!😁 J.o... 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
My personal interpretation for this is that no matter how people (or even ourselves) tries to mute us, we will continue to tell our story, louder than bombs. I love how our boys' lyrics are just art, they can be seen in different ways depending on a person's background, mood, need, etc 💜♥️
I know hes just reading the lyrics but the way he reads them is so funny to me, since his voice is already deep but also hes speaking super close to the mic so it sounds deeper and hes reading it as if its a poem so it sounds so poetic 😭😭 and he has a straight face so i find it hilarious. “Somethin’er than something. Hmm.🤨” 8:16
I have always thought this song is a result of RM reading about the struggles that ARMY has written to him about. Some places literal bombs. It is saying we hear you-it breaks us. We promise we will keep singing for you because we are the ones who chose this life. As Suga's verse says those around us are jealous and are always slinging sh*t at us but if not us who
To me, this song is a shout for help... I mean, sometimes things were so difficult to them that they needed to put this out of their chests. (There are other cowriters, Troye Sivan and others, but I think BTS gave the theme) My thought is it because RM said this song is too difficult to sing (??) and of course the problem are not the high notes... And after seeing RM crying at the Festa dinner I think that they sent messages to us a lot of times and we didn't understand them...
As loved as this song is, I haven't deep-dived into it myself, but I think it is meant to give us some comfort in reminding us that we are not alone in the pain and sorrow that we may be feeling despite some of us trying to hide it. And also them saying they are very aware of the struggles we may face individually despite the cheers and happy smiles we always want to give them, and the guys asking us to continue telling our stories regardless... I'm sure there's more to it. 💜
This is one of my favorite songs...I think the meaning of louder than bombs changes throughout the song. At the start they talk about silent sorrow and that louder than bombs I break and then talks about the facial expression being a mask. I think up until this point they are talking about pain. About hearing of the pain the world but mostly of the fans who up until some point I am sure they only saw as happy and cheering for them but started to learn of their pain as well especially as stories of how BTS saved people started to come out. When we get to RM's verse I think he is just being honest. He does not feel like he is anything or can do anything but we the fans tell him he is bright and a light. He wants to continue to say don't give up but also feels overwhelmed by everything (as we do) and collapsing mute. Again the reference to silence louder than bombs. Then they talk about the darkness existing everywhere and not giving up although swallowed by night (I think it is to say they also understand and have experienced darkness) then the fight for you we'll shine. We feel it together sorrow and pain...we picked this game. I think perhaps this is to say they have now chosen to stand with others to feel the sorrow and pain together and the song changes to louder than bombs I say. They have now chosen not to be consumed by the darkness, pain and sorrow but to stand and fight together. The reference to "They say the pain I own is hypocrisy" I believe I remember I think it was Suga talking about this at some point saying that after you gain success and money people think you cannot be depressed or have real hardship and talking about pain is hypocrisy because they have everything but just because you have everything does not mean you don't experience anxiety or pain etc anymore. (basically saying you can't say your life is bad or anything is wrong because look how good you have it or better than others you have it). "If it is not us. okay who is going to do it" This line alone is like saying It is ok if it isn't us we don't need to do it but someone needs to do something and no one else seems to do it so who else is going to? The end feels like a promise to be there for us and be with us even in our pain no matter what....louder than bombs I sing. I could be wrong about my assessment but that was my interpretation....likely also coming from that I deal with anxiety and this song was one of my lifelines at the start of the pandemic when I was in a severe lockdown in another country and some days was not dealing with it well...the louder than bombs I break (but a silent breaking inside) was something I was experiencing and I am sure made it's way into how I interpreted the song in some ways....this was before the spotify story was out so it was just what I thought.
I am glad you made reference to how throughout the song Louder Than Bombs is how they break, say, and sing. You are the first that I've read make mention of this and this is how I also interpreted LTB ... well said.💜
No matter how bad we feel inside they will be there to shout over it to make it better, don’t hide your pain from them, if it’s hidden they won’t know how to fight it. We all have fears they will try to make it brighter for us as we should for them.
The way I think about these lyrics are always in reference to RMs breakdown of MOTS7 lyrics and when speaking about LTBs, if memory serves me (ARMY feel free to correct me), he says he thought about the sad letters and posts on weverse he'd read by ARMY and yet when army would come to concerts they'd show them their bright smiling faces... and from that context the description and lyrics makes sense. They listen, internalize their stories and continue singing on.
I always interpreted this song as BTS saying that as ARMY grew and they met more people from all over the world, they heard more and more stories of people's struggles and hards times. ARMY frequently talk about how a BTS song or lyric helped them through a hard time in their lives and how much that song means to them as a result. I think BTS is acknowledging that and the responsibilities that comes with it to keep writing and singing songs that speak to people this way. They could write only fluffy pop songs that are fun to dance to and less controversial but lack story and emotional growth. They're choosing to write songs that talk about their own insecurities and struggles because they know ARMY will appreciate them, even though it can be overwhelming to be that vulnerable so publicly. But it's important too. There are probably a lot more meanings behind it because BTS songs are like that but this is the one I always resonated with 💜
basically what I hear from those lyrics is that they had a moment where, as we all do when we grow up, they realized that people don't always show what they're feeling or going through. So here they're saying they see the hardships and pain behind the smiling faces at their concerts and they're never going to be blind to it again. Then there's some encouragement to not give up and some acknowledgement that it's the same for them - the part where it says "they say the pain I own is hypocrisy" I read as saying that people don't think their pain is real because they're rich and famous so everything must be great for them, therefore they also don't show what they're feeling either. But overall I think it's saying I see you, I'm the same as you, let's not give up, and if all I can do for you is to sing, I'm going to sing louder than all your pain and fear.
Their voices make ears perk up. People pay attention to the sounds of BTS. Their singing reaches more ears than all the ears that hear bombs exploding. (More than all the gunshots in America? Yes!!) They don't have to raise their voices for them to be singing louder than bombs. That's what I think. ("Joonie, you complete me." teeheehee. BTS completes me! )
I've always loved this song, but for a long time had no way to describe what it meant to me. By listening to other people, what I've come to is along the lines of Langston Hughes' "Harlem." While we may think our private heartaches are of no consequence, that energy builds, and when it finally comes to the surface - as it should - it is louder, and perhaps more significant, than bombs. (Think Fake Love after JK and the waterfall: what was hidden becomes overwhelming.)
Good job on being able to recognize who is singing without looking at the lyric video! Early in my journey, I remember being amazed that my daughter could pick out every members’ voice in a song. Now I’m so happy to be able to also. 😊
I think in louder than bombs "we wil never stop singing" is BTS promising their fans that they will stick with fans not just through the fans' good side which is cheering BTS and singing with BTS but also their dark side which is the struggle each person goes through in life. I feel like with this song BTS wants to tell fans they don't see fans as just fans but as people with a story and pain and scar as well as success or growth. And they want to encourage fans to speak their truth, to not shy away from sad experiences of their life and promising that they will be there for the fans, though not in person but through music.
This is my all time favorite song. Its so haunting. Such a vibe. I make the kids shutup no one is allowed to interpret it when it comes on. I cant explain the emotional attachment i have with it. Just hit me on another level. My respect for the boys skyrocketed after i heard this one. 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
I've always associated the bombs of this song to the ubiquitous Army bombs in a BTS concert. BTS knows that for every Army that waves it in the stadium, they each have stories to tell of their own pains and harships that get touched by the songs they produce. It's touching to see placards from Armys flashing: "Thank you for saving me" or "Namjoon, you are my angel". BTS continue to empower Armys by singing and saying speak yourself and love yourself and they communicate back by sharing their own struggles in their songs. So this is my take on this song.
In that first sentence she missed out "of Army" around the world. This is their promise to us that they see our pain and feel it too. They know we feel comfort from them and their songs so they will never stop singing for us. It's dedicated to army Captain.
I think reading the lyrics while listening to the song helps feel the emotion they are trying to convey. It takes away the feeling in my opinion if you dont
To me, the song is a reaction to the stories of pain around the world that ARMY tells them. Also, don't forget, the light sticks are called ARMY bombs, which is probably why they chose to sing about bombs.. Real bombs are loud and cause massive amounts of damage. They are saying that they will sing louder than those bombs, as if to drown out the noise of the things causing us pain and suffering. They don't really feel capable of helping us through difficult times but they acknowledge that we see them as capable of such a thing. As Suga says, if they don't do it, who will? So, they will continue to sing for us. The song is a promise to never stop singing for ARMY and to be there for us when we need them. So many of us talk about how they have helped us, given us strength when we needed it, and, for many people, literally saved lives. They understand how much ARMY gets from their music and promise to never stop singing.
It also took me a long time to understand the message of the song. The conclusion I’ve come to is that it’s a promise from BTS to us (whether that be ARMY or the world at large) that they see our pain which we try to hide with smiles, and they won’t run from our pain like they wanted to in the past but face it and try their hardest to help us through their music. Louder than bombs (of war, hate, bullying, death, mental health issues, …) I will sing. It’s like the Big Hit mission statement of “music and artist for healing” or the Love Yourself campaign, or all the charity they’re doing. Also, just fyi Troye Sivan is an Australian singer (and actor, and he also used to be a personality type youtuber as a teen). JK is a big fan of his (I think V, Jimin and RM too?) and always used to mention him in interviews as his dream collab partner so it was really cool to see them work together years later. I was actually a Troye fan first back in 2013-2016, so Jungkook and RM’s cover of his song “Fools” was my first time hearing their voices!
How interesting to read all the comments, as many perspectives as every human being who has written. That has amazed me, that we can all feel different things. For me this song has always meant a deep cry, a realization that we all experience sorrow and pain as humans and that we always want to hide it, to pursue "happiness". However, this pain makes us fight, create resources, get ahead, and to talk about it is to put it on the table, not out of self-pity but to recognize that we all suffer and that we are all the same. BTS sings with their soul, their life, their tears and pain, and also their growth, knowing that there are people who see their shine more than themselves, just as they see the "bombs" shine at their concerts. But higher than the bombs is reality, and each person will create their resources, they will continue singing, because growing up is recognizing that we can be honest with what happens to us, and always move forward, pushed by life, until the day we die. Beautiful song, with a lot in the musical and in the vocal and poetic. I love how they can express themselves so beautifully and I understand why every Army loves this song. It's a song that touches your human soul without you even knowing why, that makes it a great song!!!
After their last Dinner "Break" Show I realized why they didn't do that song live even all world Army's beg to hear it. They didn't write it, but they choose that song with reason. They put all their pain and depression to that song. Already then they felt they need their break (free time, soli time call it how u want). This song is still my top 3 but now I feel it even more and more precious these song to me.
It's about the fear of knowing that what we show is not what we feel, bts urges us to speak about it saying that no matter what happens they'll listen to us as they are also not showing what they are really going through but we know and they know that life isn't easy, those feelings hidden will eventually break, louder than bombs, but it is okay because as army we will listen to bts and vice versa. The pain we go through and hide (from the moment I knew the expression you had on your face was not your reality) as we all know we have struggles but we often keep them inside which is not good. We should speak louder than bombs before we could break apart louder than bombs. The lyrics has it all. And each one interpretes it according to his/her life events 💜
I'm sad I missed this Live ... but I love, love, love this song. I agree with most of the interpretations commented bc this song is dynamic. Cap'n I thought you would have picked up on the transition as the song builds of how they BREAK louder than bombs, SAY louder than bombs and, finally, SING louder than bombs! Note the verses around the changes and it may give you more clarity. Just a lil bread crumb ... 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
I think it means BTS knows there fans deal with pain and sadness, but try to only show happiness to them and BTS also has pain and sadness and try’s to only show happiness to Army. This is just a guess I could be wrong.
Ok...I think an 👽 has invaded our Captain!....these have been WAY TOO SHORT lately....especially for Roscoe! We just get comfy on the couch and "poof" it's over.....somebody call Capt. Kirk, Spock....somebody! 😬😳🤭😆 btw....Bookish Theories has a better explanation....they use fancier words than my Barnish Theories 😄💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
Hello, I just came across your channel. Nice Reactions! I love that you listen to the music first before dissecting the lyrics. I think that's so key to knowing whether or not you're going to like their music. Because there's cadences and parts of their voices that draw you in more so than the lyrics. At least that's how I like to engage in music. Still after 4 years of being in the fandom it's alway about how the music makes me feel and how they ride the beat whether it's a rap song or the vocalists, there's always someone in the group I can relate to vocally. Thanks!
Amo essa música assim com tantas outras deles. Não tenho uma opinião formada sobre o que falam na letra. Acompanho bts à menos de 1 ano, mas acredito que tudo que eles cantam tem sempre muito sentido e sentimento. Fala sempre da vida no geral, de pessoas que querem um lugar ao sol e na vida! ❤
[Are we still being careful of not giving Spoilers? Can a moderator please double check this if we are? I didn't intend to, but I ended up with an essay, sorry] I love this song. It's one of those BTS songs that has so much depth and layered meaning. Take from it what you *need.* The Easter eggs of this song tear away layer upon layer, altering the perception of its meaning and what each thing can symbolize. From *my* first listen, I heard it mostly as something directed at ARMY, that they can see, behind our smiles at them, the pain that we deal with. They are aware of our individual stories of how dark our lives have often been. That pain we don't express to them is louder than bombs (either literal explosive bombs, or the cheers & screams of excitement waving our ARMY Bombs). They don't feel worthy of all the praise we give (Joonie's verse: chef's kiss!), but they'll continue holding our hands(as fellow struggling life journey-ers), going forward with us, making music to support us, singing louder than the painful bombs going off around our lives, BECAUSE if not them, then WHO??(Sort of "Ready or not, you're called to Serve. What will your answer be?") I sometimes hear the progression from being overwhelmed by the realization of SO MUCH PAIN, to questioning "why me? I'm nothing and unworthy", to accepting the responsibility, to then affirm with determination, promise, and battle cry that they are always with us in this fight, with their weapon, Music, singing louder than bombs (Music, protecting us). And I can break down line by line the different ways I've interpreted this song, but what do you need to get from it? The members have certainly talked about this song and some of what it means to them, but I'm reasonably sure they didn't intend that any one interpretation should be set in stone. When I heard MOTS:7 on its release, I thought very strongly that it sounded like an excellent "goodbye" album, preparatory to the group starting whatever their plans were for enlistment. A last "hurrah", if you will, with the world tour(that got cancelled) being a great opportunity to see us all, around the world, one last time together, before military obligations forcefully set us into the unknown. They did a lot of soul searching with that album, and reflected back on their last seven years from their beginnings to "where do we go from here & why" (much like they did with the anthology). Then COVID lockdowns happened and the rug just was pulled out from under everybody. We were all in this LimboLand, and BTS just continued to share themselves with us, trying to uplift us while sharing that they were struggling with this just as we were. Their attempts to connect with us in this extraordinary isolation led to more and more things that hadn't been done before, earning them the Wall Street Journal Magazine's Innovator of the Year in Music award (great videos btw), and they just went through the stratosphere in these last two years of being mostly in LimboLand. Finally, we hear in Festa Dinner "The News", and it turns out that the "goodbye" I heard in MOTS:7 wasn't so far-fetched, and was reflected in Proof.
LOL I check the explained after this video because I also couldn't pin point how to explaine song, even I believe I understand what they are saying(btw I don't know Korean and English is my 2nd language so this will make even less sense 😋). Bookish Theories able to express my understanding way better than I do. But yeah I can only say "at the end they will keep supporting us by keep on singing to us".
This was the most requested song by ARMY for BTS to sing at the LA concerts. They said they would but lied. We're butt hurt about it. VOTED ON BTW for a RUN BTS episode
To me, this is about depression that is not recognized. That people just say, just smile! Think about good things! It’s them recognizing the depression, that it’s real, that you are seen and they know it’s not easy. That your sadness they will acknowledge, and that your silent suffering is actually louder than bombs. That they feel the same way - and encourage you to hang on - don’t give up your life.
This. 100%. Freaking spot on.
My opinion: this was the time they truly became global. With that came a different reality. They and their fans weren't just youths struggling with school and careers.
As global artists, they now saw themselves and ARMY struggling with so many real world problems.
BTS is saying "we see you. And even though we're successful now, we won't rest. We know ARMY is struggling, so we will keep fighting. If not us, then who?"
"Louder than bombs" feels like a war cry. But also a reference to their lightsticks. To be more than just their music and concerts... They will step onto bigger stages in our behalf ( which they have since done by representing ARMY at the UN).
I've always thought of Louder than bombs was an endorsement in triumph over adversity, with a continuance to fight and achieve and an acknowledgement to Army that behind all cheering, they acknowledge the sadness we may be hiding.
I see this song as an acknowledgment of the pain of both BTS and Army and how us fighting together through the pain can make a a movement of love that is louder than bombs (overshadowing the suffering we all are facing in the world). Yes, hearing the stories of pain can cause fear but if we all know that we're in this together the fear subsides and we can fight it off as a collective.
All I can say is that 'Louder Than Bombs' is a masterpiece! I only wish that we could get to see it performed live one day. Every single one of them shines in this song. They are all super talented individually as we all know but together they are perfection!
I much prefer the note from Genius:
"Louder Than Bombs is about hope for better days and fighting the bad ones. As BTS have mentioned on Vlive that the song appears to be symbolizing the loudness of bombs to two things: Pain and success."
I personally interpret it as them acknowledging that behind ARMY's smiles (and theirs) there's still sadness but despite the distance to ARMY created by BTS's succes they want to be there for us in whatever way they can. I feel that it's a promise to us and an affirmation of the bond between BTS and ARMY.
I have always thought this song is about how there are so many bad things in the world and how so many ARMY have said so many times how BTS has "saved" them. But, while all of that can be so overwhelming if you listen to it alone, if we listen together it can be louder than bombs. Listening to the positivity in their songs, from so many ARMY, can be louder than the "bombs" that are going off in people's lives. I think they are telling ARMY they are always here to listen and if their music helps us they will keep doing what they can to help. But at the same time, I think they are saying it can't and isn't just them that makes their music louder than those "bombs" and maybe ARMY is louder than the "bombs" in their lives.
Does that make any sense?
💜💜💜💜
At first listen, I got the impression that no matter what was thrown their way, from any direction on this earth, they're going to keep singing no matter what. That they'll keep listening and hearing what army has to say and either celebrate or cry with them. Please don't @me for saying this, but the groundwork for BTS' and Army's journey has been built on anger/revenge (not in a hateful way). BTS was never supposed to be where they are and multiple attempts were made to make sure that they and army didn't exist. All in the name of jealousy and hate. They fought hate from a place of sheer determination, willpower, and love of what they do. Army saw how genuine they were and their character through their actions. The guys have literally saved lives through their music and army returned the love to them, fought off the haters, and made BTS untouchable. They understand that army always has their back no matter what. Sounds corny, but it's a bond that I personally don't think could ever be broken. Maybe this is their way of saying no matter what, army will hear us, we'll be loud AF to the haters , and we'll never stop singing. Unstoppable. 😁💜
💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
One of the best comments I have read
I also really struggled with the meaning of this song. This is my rough interpretation.
I look at the change of the refrain, "Louder than bombs I break", "Louder than bombs, yeah" "Louder than bombs I say", and "Louder than bombs I sing".
"Louder than bombs I break" is that emotional/metaphorical break when we are aware of someone's pain and we feel crushed by it. The verses with this section talks about that pain.
The "Louder than bombs, yeah" section is the acknowledgment (and acceptance) that pain/crap happens (blows up our world). It happens to all of us. (In my compassion training we see this universal pain as our common humanity--we cannot get away from it, its what ties us together).
The third part of the song with "Louder than bombs I say", the verses are "I say" I'm not avoiding your pain anymore. "They say..." these negative things about me, and no matter what I do I am still lowly. BUT! ..."I say" , louder than a bomb, if not me than who? (If I am not going to lean into someone's suffering, than who will?)
The final section "Louder than bombs, I Sing!" I promise, no matter how bad it gets, I will sing towards you. BTS' way of being there for ARMY, or anyone who finds solace or strength in music.
🤷♀
Even RM said this is their most requested song from ARMY. this song is a masterpiece.
This is one of my all time favorite BTS songs
I love this song, I particularly love that depending on where my headspace is at it means something completley different. If I’m doing OK, it means - ‘hey, glad you’re doing OK, and we’ll keep trying to protect you’ or when I’m in not such a good headspace, it means, ‘keep going, we’ll take the bombs for you until you’re ready to deal with them yourself.’
For me, the joy of BTS music is that multiple interpretations of the song are OK. You feel it your way and I’ll feel it mine, neither is right or wrong because everyones feelling are valid.
Hope this comment makes sense for you.
Without fail, I weep. Again. This is one of my very favourite songs not only for the music of it but for what it means and the impulse which moved it. RM is said to have wept so many times when he was writing it and thinking of the stories he had heard.
Despite many attempts to find the quote I have been unable, but I read somewhere that a mother in a war ravaged area said that after the shelling which meant they all had to huddle in shelter, was over, the silence was louder than bombs, and that Joonie had written this song partially in response to this quotation.He linked that to his experiences when he would read ARMYs stories and feel their power and pain was louder than bombs.
So I think that this song is a response to ARMY who are suffering, assuring them that BTS feels the force of their stories and will always stay with them and support them, but encouraging them not to stay silent. It's not my academic or studied response after analysing the lyrics, but feels true, to me.
Roscoe! I can see your point on not only focusing on the pain in the world. What I get from LTB is a message to those that feel alone and unheard in their pain that they aren't alone nor unheard. They (the guys) will speak up for and sing to/for those in pain louder than the bombs of pain, loneliness, etc...🤷🏾♀️
Joonie, completes me also!😁
J.o...
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I love how haunting it is. It always gives me chills.
My personal interpretation for this is that no matter how people (or even ourselves) tries to mute us, we will continue to tell our story, louder than bombs.
I love how our boys' lyrics are just art, they can be seen in different ways depending on a person's background, mood, need, etc 💜♥️
I know hes just reading the lyrics but the way he reads them is so funny to me, since his voice is already deep but also hes speaking super close to the mic so it sounds deeper and hes reading it as if its a poem so it sounds so poetic 😭😭 and he has a straight face so i find it hilarious.
“Somethin’er than something. Hmm.🤨” 8:16
I have always thought this song is a result of RM reading about the struggles that ARMY has written to him about. Some places literal bombs. It is saying we hear you-it breaks us. We promise we will keep singing for you because we are the ones who chose this life. As Suga's verse says those around us are jealous and are always slinging sh*t at us but if not us who
To me, this song is a shout for help... I mean, sometimes things were so difficult to them that they needed to put this out of their chests. (There are other cowriters, Troye Sivan and others, but I think BTS gave the theme)
My thought is it because RM said this song is too difficult to sing (??) and of course the problem are not the high notes... And after seeing RM crying at the Festa dinner I think that they sent messages to us a lot of times and we didn't understand them...
As loved as this song is, I haven't deep-dived into it myself, but I think it is meant to give us some comfort in reminding us that we are not alone in the pain and sorrow that we may be feeling despite some of us trying to hide it. And also them saying they are very aware of the struggles we may face individually despite the cheers and happy smiles we always want to give them, and the guys asking us to continue telling our stories regardless... I'm sure there's more to it. 💜
This is one of my favorite songs...I think the meaning of louder than bombs changes throughout the song. At the start they talk about silent sorrow and that louder than bombs I break and then talks about the facial expression being a mask. I think up until this point they are talking about pain. About hearing of the pain the world but mostly of the fans who up until some point I am sure they only saw as happy and cheering for them but started to learn of their pain as well especially as stories of how BTS saved people started to come out. When we get to RM's verse I think he is just being honest. He does not feel like he is anything or can do anything but we the fans tell him he is bright and a light. He wants to continue to say don't give up but also feels overwhelmed by everything (as we do) and collapsing mute. Again the reference to silence louder than bombs. Then they talk about the darkness existing everywhere and not giving up although swallowed by night (I think it is to say they also understand and have experienced darkness) then the fight for you we'll shine. We feel it together sorrow and pain...we picked this game. I think perhaps this is to say they have now chosen to stand with others to feel the sorrow and pain together and the song changes to louder than bombs I say. They have now chosen not to be consumed by the darkness, pain and sorrow but to stand and fight together. The reference to "They say the pain I own is hypocrisy" I believe I remember I think it was Suga talking about this at some point saying that after you gain success and money people think you cannot be depressed or have real hardship and talking about pain is hypocrisy because they have everything but just because you have everything does not mean you don't experience anxiety or pain etc anymore. (basically saying you can't say your life is bad or anything is wrong because look how good you have it or better than others you have it). "If it is not us. okay who is going to do it" This line alone is like saying It is ok if it isn't us we don't need to do it but someone needs to do something and no one else seems to do it so who else is going to? The end feels like a promise to be there for us and be with us even in our pain no matter what....louder than bombs I sing. I could be wrong about my assessment but that was my interpretation....likely also coming from that I deal with anxiety and this song was one of my lifelines at the start of the pandemic when I was in a severe lockdown in another country and some days was not dealing with it well...the louder than bombs I break (but a silent breaking inside) was something I was experiencing and I am sure made it's way into how I interpreted the song in some ways....this was before the spotify story was out so it was just what I thought.
I am glad you made reference to how throughout the song Louder Than Bombs is how they break, say, and sing. You are the first that I've read make mention of this and this is how I also interpreted LTB ... well said.💜
No matter how bad we feel inside they will be there to shout over it to make it better, don’t hide your pain from them, if it’s hidden they won’t know how to fight it. We all have fears they will try to make it brighter for us as we should for them.
This song makes me emotional.
The way I think about these lyrics are always in reference to RMs breakdown of MOTS7 lyrics and when speaking about LTBs, if memory serves me (ARMY feel free to correct me), he says he thought about the sad letters and posts on weverse he'd read by ARMY and yet when army would come to concerts they'd show them their bright smiling faces... and from that context the description and lyrics makes sense. They listen, internalize their stories and continue singing on.
I always interpreted this song as BTS saying that as ARMY grew and they met more people from all over the world, they heard more and more stories of people's struggles and hards times. ARMY frequently talk about how a BTS song or lyric helped them through a hard time in their lives and how much that song means to them as a result. I think BTS is acknowledging that and the responsibilities that comes with it to keep writing and singing songs that speak to people this way. They could write only fluffy pop songs that are fun to dance to and less controversial but lack story and emotional growth. They're choosing to write songs that talk about their own insecurities and struggles because they know ARMY will appreciate them, even though it can be overwhelming to be that vulnerable so publicly. But it's important too.
There are probably a lot more meanings behind it because BTS songs are like that but this is the one I always resonated with 💜
basically what I hear from those lyrics is that they had a moment where, as we all do when we grow up, they realized that people don't always show what they're feeling or going through. So here they're saying they see the hardships and pain behind the smiling faces at their concerts and they're never going to be blind to it again. Then there's some encouragement to not give up and some acknowledgement that it's the same for them - the part where it says "they say the pain I own is hypocrisy" I read as saying that people don't think their pain is real because they're rich and famous so everything must be great for them, therefore they also don't show what they're feeling either. But overall I think it's saying I see you, I'm the same as you, let's not give up, and if all I can do for you is to sing, I'm going to sing louder than all your pain and fear.
Their voices make ears perk up. People pay attention to the sounds of BTS. Their singing reaches more ears than all the ears that hear bombs exploding. (More than all the gunshots in America? Yes!!) They don't have to raise their voices for them to be singing louder than bombs. That's what I think. ("Joonie, you complete me." teeheehee. BTS completes me! )
This! It's exactly how I feel!
looooove louder than bombs. so haunting. and the vocals are immaculate
I've always loved this song, but for a long time had no way to describe what it meant to me. By listening to other people, what I've come to is along the lines of Langston Hughes' "Harlem." While we may think our private heartaches are of no consequence, that energy builds, and when it finally comes to the surface - as it should - it is louder, and perhaps more significant, than bombs. (Think Fake Love after JK and the waterfall: what was hidden becomes overwhelming.)
Good job on being able to recognize who is singing without looking at the lyric video! Early in my journey, I remember being amazed that my daughter could pick out every members’ voice in a song. Now I’m so happy to be able to also. 😊
I think in louder than bombs "we wil never stop singing" is BTS promising their fans that they will stick with fans not just through the fans' good side which is cheering BTS and singing with BTS but also their dark side which is the struggle each person goes through in life. I feel like with this song BTS wants to tell fans they don't see fans as just fans but as people with a story and pain and scar as well as success or growth. And they want to encourage fans to speak their truth, to not shy away from sad experiences of their life and promising that they will be there for the fans, though not in person but through music.
This is my all time favorite song. Its so haunting. Such a vibe. I make the kids shutup no one is allowed to interpret it when it comes on. I cant explain the emotional attachment i have with it. Just hit me on another level. My respect for the boys skyrocketed after i heard this one. 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
Maybe that the pain expressed in the world is louder than a bomb,or at least should be
I've always associated the bombs of this song to the ubiquitous Army bombs in a BTS concert. BTS knows that for every Army that waves it in the stadium, they each have stories to tell of their own pains and harships that get touched by the songs they produce. It's touching to see placards from Armys flashing: "Thank you for saving me" or "Namjoon, you are my angel". BTS continue to empower Armys by singing and saying speak yourself and love yourself and they communicate back by sharing their own struggles in their songs. So this is my take on this song.
V s vocals are most ubderrated in this song. Listen to his parts again it just stumps me evey time
In that first sentence she missed out "of Army" around the world. This is their promise to us that they see our pain and feel it too. They know we feel comfort from them and their songs so they will never stop singing for us. It's dedicated to army Captain.
I think reading the lyrics while listening to the song helps feel the emotion they are trying to convey. It takes away the feeling in my opinion if you dont
The lyrics add another dimension - but the song stands alone as a masterpiece.
I read every comment because I’m also looking for an answer. Great job, ARMY!!
I think RM said on a
Vlive that this one is very hard (to sing?). Mayyyyyybe we’ll hear it in the October Busan concert??? 🙏🏼
One of my favorites 💜
To me, the song is a reaction to the stories of pain around the world that ARMY tells them. Also, don't forget, the light sticks are called ARMY bombs, which is probably why they chose to sing about bombs.. Real bombs are loud and cause massive amounts of damage. They are saying that they will sing louder than those bombs, as if to drown out the noise of the things causing us pain and suffering. They don't really feel capable of helping us through difficult times but they acknowledge that we see them as capable of such a thing. As Suga says, if they don't do it, who will? So, they will continue to sing for us. The song is a promise to never stop singing for ARMY and to be there for us when we need them. So many of us talk about how they have helped us, given us strength when we needed it, and, for many people, literally saved lives. They understand how much ARMY gets from their music and promise to never stop singing.
I feel like we always say the boys save us but we saved them too. 💜💜💜
It also took me a long time to understand the message of the song. The conclusion I’ve come to is that it’s a promise from BTS to us (whether that be ARMY or the world at large) that they see our pain which we try to hide with smiles, and they won’t run from our pain like they wanted to in the past but face it and try their hardest to help us through their music. Louder than bombs (of war, hate, bullying, death, mental health issues, …) I will sing. It’s like the Big Hit mission statement of “music and artist for healing” or the Love Yourself campaign, or all the charity they’re doing.
Also, just fyi Troye Sivan is an Australian singer (and actor, and he also used to be a personality type youtuber as a teen). JK is a big fan of his (I think V, Jimin and RM too?) and always used to mention him in interviews as his dream collab partner so it was really cool to see them work together years later. I was actually a Troye fan first back in 2013-2016, so Jungkook and RM’s cover of his song “Fools” was my first time hearing their voices!
How interesting to read all the comments, as many perspectives as every human being who has written. That has amazed me, that we can all feel different things. For me this song has always meant a deep cry, a realization that we all experience sorrow and pain as humans and that we always want to hide it, to pursue "happiness". However, this pain makes us fight, create resources, get ahead, and to talk about it is to put it on the table, not out of self-pity but to recognize that we all suffer and that we are all the same. BTS sings with their soul, their life, their tears and pain, and also their growth, knowing that there are people who see their shine more than themselves, just as they see the "bombs" shine at their concerts. But higher than the bombs is reality, and each person will create their resources, they will continue singing, because growing up is recognizing that we can be honest with what happens to us, and always move forward, pushed by life, until the day we die. Beautiful song, with a lot in the musical and in the vocal and poetic. I love how they can express themselves so beautifully and I understand why every Army loves this song. It's a song that touches your human soul without you even knowing why, that makes it a great song!!!
After their last Dinner "Break" Show I realized why they didn't do that song live even all world Army's beg to hear it. They didn't write it, but they choose that song with reason. They put all their pain and depression to that song. Already then they felt they need their break (free time, soli time call it how u want). This song is still my top 3 but now I feel it even more and more precious these song to me.
It's about the fear of knowing that what we show is not what we feel, bts urges us to speak about it saying that no matter what happens they'll listen to us as they are also not showing what they are really going through but we know and they know that life isn't easy, those feelings hidden will eventually break, louder than bombs, but it is okay because as army we will listen to bts and vice versa. The pain we go through and hide (from the moment I knew the expression you had on your face was not your reality) as we all know we have struggles but we often keep them inside which is not good. We should speak louder than bombs before we could break apart louder than bombs. The lyrics has it all. And each one interpretes it according to his/her life events 💜
you should watch the fmv of this song...its sooo good
Was that the one by Elissa?
I'm sad I missed this Live ... but I love, love, love this song. I agree with most of the interpretations commented bc this song is dynamic. Cap'n I thought you would have picked up on the transition as the song builds of how they BREAK louder than bombs, SAY louder than bombs and, finally, SING louder than bombs! Note the verses around the changes and it may give you more clarity. Just a lil bread crumb ...
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i use this song as a ringtone...love it ✌️💜
LTB is my most favorite one from BTS songs💜🔥
I think it means BTS knows there fans deal with pain and sadness, but try to only show happiness to them and BTS also has pain and sadness and try’s to only show happiness to Army. This is just a guess I could be wrong.
Love this song 💜
Sadness and fear.. wait what's going on here😅 perfect rhymes
Ok...I think an 👽 has invaded our Captain!....these have been WAY TOO SHORT lately....especially for Roscoe! We just get comfy on the couch and "poof" it's over.....somebody call Capt. Kirk, Spock....somebody! 😬😳🤭😆
btw....Bookish Theories has a better explanation....they use fancier words than my Barnish Theories 😄💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
Thanks Roscoe!! 💜🤘I have those same headphones - they're fantastic especially for songs like this.
Yes!!! If only I could get them to work with my streaming software consistently 😩
I think the bombs are the bad things that happen in the world. BTS and ARMY have to be louder than those bombs by spreading positivity and hope.
Hello, I just came across your channel. Nice Reactions! I love that you listen to the music first before dissecting the lyrics. I think that's so key to knowing whether or not you're going to like their music. Because there's cadences and parts of their voices that draw you in more so than the lyrics. At least that's how I like to engage in music. Still after 4 years of being in the fandom it's alway about how the music makes me feel and how they ride the beat whether it's a rap song or the vocalists, there's always someone in the group I can relate to vocally. Thanks!
Amo essa música assim com tantas outras deles. Não tenho uma opinião formada sobre o que falam na letra. Acompanho bts à menos de 1 ano, mas acredito que tudo que eles cantam tem sempre muito sentido e sentimento. Fala sempre da vida no geral, de pessoas que querem um lugar ao sol e na vida! ❤
[Are we still being careful of not giving Spoilers? Can a moderator please double check this if we are? I didn't intend to, but I ended up with an essay, sorry]
I love this song. It's one of those BTS songs that has so much depth and layered meaning. Take from it what you *need.* The Easter eggs of this song tear away layer upon layer, altering the perception of its meaning and what each thing can symbolize.
From *my* first listen, I heard it mostly as something directed at ARMY, that they can see, behind our smiles at them, the pain that we deal with. They are aware of our individual stories of how dark our lives have often been. That pain we don't express to them is louder than bombs (either literal explosive bombs, or the cheers & screams of excitement waving our ARMY Bombs). They don't feel worthy of all the praise we give (Joonie's verse: chef's kiss!), but they'll continue holding our hands(as fellow struggling life journey-ers), going forward with us, making music to support us, singing louder than the painful bombs going off around our lives, BECAUSE if not them, then WHO??(Sort of "Ready or not, you're called to Serve. What will your answer be?") I sometimes hear the progression from being overwhelmed by the realization of SO MUCH PAIN, to questioning "why me? I'm nothing and unworthy", to accepting the responsibility, to then affirm with determination, promise, and battle cry that they are always with us in this fight, with their weapon, Music, singing louder than bombs (Music, protecting us). And I can break down line by line the different ways I've interpreted this song, but what do you need to get from it?
The members have certainly talked about this song and some of what it means to them, but I'm reasonably sure they didn't intend that any one interpretation should be set in stone. When I heard MOTS:7 on its release, I thought very strongly that it sounded like an excellent "goodbye" album, preparatory to the group starting whatever their plans were for enlistment. A last "hurrah", if you will, with the world tour(that got cancelled) being a great opportunity to see us all, around the world, one last time together, before military obligations forcefully set us into the unknown. They did a lot of soul searching with that album, and reflected back on their last seven years from their beginnings to "where do we go from here & why" (much like they did with the anthology). Then COVID lockdowns happened and the rug just was pulled out from under everybody. We were all in this LimboLand, and BTS just continued to share themselves with us, trying to uplift us while sharing that they were struggling with this just as we were. Their attempts to connect with us in this extraordinary isolation led to more and more things that hadn't been done before, earning them the Wall Street Journal Magazine's Innovator of the Year in Music award (great videos btw), and they just went through the stratosphere in these last two years of being mostly in LimboLand. Finally, we hear in Festa Dinner "The News", and it turns out that the "goodbye" I heard in MOTS:7 wasn't so far-fetched, and was reflected in Proof.
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LOL I check the explained after this video because I also couldn't pin point how to explaine song, even I believe I understand what they are saying(btw I don't know Korean and English is my 2nd language so this will make even less sense 😋). Bookish Theories able to express my understanding way better than I do. But yeah I can only say "at the end they will keep supporting us by keep on singing to us".
Has Rosco done a reaction to the song Run BTS yet????
Hi, it’s 55 year old Korean ARMY. Have you done “Fake Love”, Blood, Sweat, Tear”, “Boys in Love”, “Boys with Love”, “I need you”, “Run Bantan”…
A song that is too hard to do live per RM. The song is loved by many all over the world. It really makes you stop what your doing and listen.
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This was the most requested song by ARMY for BTS to sing at the LA concerts. They said they would but lied. We're butt hurt about it. VOTED ON BTW for a RUN BTS episode
They do not lie.
@@cyann410 have you seen run BTS you delusional person
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Please react to a song ARMY made for BTS on our Anniversary one year called "7 Reasons"💜💜
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