When you play The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2 in order, you will find this song nestled between “Butterfly” and “Ma City.” If The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1 was about entering adulthood full of uncertainty, this Part 2 talks more about barreling forward into the future while trusting each other to be there. All of them actively participated in the making, and the rap line, in particular, poured their heart into track number four, or “Whalien 52.” Together with “Hitman” Bang, BrotherSu, Pdogg, and Slow Rabbit, they showed that the bitterness of life wouldn’t stop them from facing the future with fire in their hearts and both of their feet as their gasoline, despite not being heard.
WHALE AND OCEAN
This song is based on the world's infamous yet loneliest creature, the 52-hertz whale, or the Blue 52. While the other whale species’ pitch is between 10-29 Hz, this whale has a higher frequency pitch that can't be found in any other whale, 52-hertz. It was found back in the 1980s, and though the whale itself has never been sighted, the scientist called it the “World’s Loneliest Whale.” The title of the song combined the word "whale" and "alien" or "alienated," with 52 as the sound frequency of the Blue 52.
This song opens with the classic monologue of RM, inviting us to hear his story while the guitar is strumming in the background, and a playful-like piano sound can be heard. SUGA then starts the song by addressing the whale head-on.
The worst way of being silenced is not by getting criticized, dismissed, or being considered strange or unreasonable. The worst way of being silenced is by not being heard and understood. In the back of SUGA’s voice, you can hear the bubbling of water as if someone or something is swimming past you while you’re underwater. Most likely, it’s the sound of you struggling to talk while the ocean is closing on you, trying to silence your voice. It resonates with what the scientist had said about the Blue 52, how it’s the reflection of human’s biggest fear of not being heard and not being understood.
“My pain is unmixable water and oil. The attention is only on me when I breathe above the water's surface. A lonely kid under the ocean.”
What’s the first thing you do when you are drowning? Swimming or trying to get to the surface. Past the first chorus, we can see the water surface that j-hope mentioned as a metaphor for the line between their stage persona and who they really are. If he wanted to be heard, he had to get above the water's surface; he had to go on the stage and sing his songs. Behind the stage, he’s just a lonely kid who wants the world to know his value, so he had to swim to the surface. But sometimes, even though we’re above the water's surface, we could also be a deserted island no one knows exists, like what Jung Kook sang in the chorus.
“Could someone like me, who’s like an isolated island, shine brightly as well?”
During the bridge, the music is more silent with only the whale-like sound and the piano that accompanies RM singing about getting lost in the vast ocean. With a voice full of despair, he questions why the blue ocean his mother once talked about was “too dark and full of whales that speak other languages.”
The highlight of this song is the whale-like sounds we can hear in the background. When you close your eyes, you can almost imagine yourself sitting on the pile of rocks on the beach, with the wind caressing your face and a pod of whales singing to each other in the ocean in front of you. It makes you want to sing along, swinging your body side to side and just letting yourself go for a while. They end this song with a beautiful high-pitched whale-like sound, almost sounds playful but somehow heart-wrenching with the strained sound, as if it’s been shouting to the world for a long time.
HOPE FOR THE ALIENATED
BTS is famous for making bright music with dark lyrics, and gloomy songs with hopeful lyrics. This song is no exception. While talking about being alienated from the world, the anxious feelings of never getting understood by others, and the uncertainty of the future, this song somehow sounds hopeful.
“Trapped by those walls, even if I get suffocated, I go towards that water surface.”
“I go towards my future. I believe in the blue sea and my hertz.”
“This one endless signal will reach, someday, even the other side of the world.”
The sound of the Blue 52, even without a pod, still managed to reach someone. Its high-pitched cries, while unable to be heard by its own species, reached humans all around the world. Though the Blue 52 was singing alone in the ocean, its singing has touched people’s hearts and made them feel heard and less alone in return. Its loud loneliness intrigued people to hear and learn more and inspired thousands of people to listen closely to the silent shout of those around them.
BTS has always been vocal, encouraging their fans and the general public to speak themselves. As RM said, “no matter who you are, where you are from, your skin color, your gender identity, speak yourself.” Your voice might not reach its intended audience, but it will keep resonating through the world and eventually get caught by someone. Like how the Blue 52 never stopped singing until it reached humanity's ears, we, as people, shouldn’t stop speaking up for ourselves, because no one ever knows how much power their voice could have once it’s heard. For all we know, it could shake up the world like Blue 52. And perhaps, we’re not as alone as we think we are.
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Written By: RAM
Edited By; Aury
Checked By: Shelley
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