[Korean Culture & Language] The Three Lines on My Neck

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Do you have a favorite color? What color do you think best symbolizes your life? 


문문(Moon Moon), a South Korean Indie pop artist, sings about the colors that represent his life in his song “물감(paints)”.

The lyrics are as follows:


내 목에 줄 세 개 

내(my) 목(neck)에 줄(line) 세 개(three) 

The three lines on my neck


내가 살아온 

내가(I) 살아온(lived) 

The life that I have lived


그때에 느낀 색깔 

그 때 (Then) 느낀 (Feel) 색깔 (color)

The colors that I’ve felt then


두고두고 담아왔던 생각 

The thoughts that I haven’t expressed yet.


위로 풀었지 

I squeezed them on top


빈틈도 없이 가득 

Filled (the palette), leaving no space


파란 빨간 초록 물감으로 

With blue, red, and green paints.


엄마는 남이었지 

My mom was a stranger (to me)


불러본 적도없이 

I’ve never called (someone a mom) before

…

그 흔한 조명없이 밝았던 아이었지 

I was a kid who was bright without a light


대부분 열이붙던 내 나인 파랑이었지 

That’s when my age was ‘blue’ 


내 목에 줄세개 

The three lines on my neck


내가 살아온 

The life that I have lived


그때에 느낀 색깔 

The colors that I’ve felt then


두고두고 담아왔던 생각 

The thoughts that I haven’t expressed yet.


위로 풀었지 

I squeezed them on top


빈틈도 없이 가득 

Filled (the palette), leaving no space


파란 빨간 초록 물감으로 

With blue, red, and green paints.


이별로 취해야지 

I got drunk on ‘goodbyes’


저 별로 날아가지 

I flew to that star

(‘이별’ usually means goodbyes’. However, it also sounds like ‘이 별(this star)’ in Korean. This is probably why the singer wrote ‘저 별(that star)’)


하루를 별일없이 사는건 바보같았지 

I was like a fool to spend days without doing anything.


낮에는 노랠했지 밤에는 주정했지 

I sang during the days, and I got drunk during the nights


뜨겁던 스물일곱 여름은 빨강이었지

It was red hot when I was 27


Below is a picture of 문문. He actually has three lines tattooed on his neck.


‘파란색(Blue)’ reflects his miserable childhood, ‘빨간색(Red)’ his passionate twenties, and ‘초록색(Green)’ his hopes for a brighter future.

https://shirahoshi.tistory.com/

 

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