An analysis of the lyrics and song meaning from “Mago” by GFRIEND
Being such a hit in the K-Pop community and giving a lot of attention to GFRIEND, “Mago” is a magical earworm retro inspired song that has many layers . For casual listeners, and people who don’t check translations in general, it could be overlooked. So I thought it could be nice and non redundant to share my analysis and interpretation of the lyrics and, of course, to open discussions for new ones!
First, the lines in English could recall an euphoric love song with my life is waiting for you (yes, you) / my heart is beating for you (yes, you) and I’m all for this interpretation since I pretend Taeyeon’s “What Do I Call You” is a love song because its English verses give me nice romantic vibes, so I ignore the sour context for my own pleasure.
However, the song is presented as an empowering one, you are able to see a self-dialogue using the mirror in the following verse giving the meaning of “my life is waiting for you who is smiling at me in the mirror” (the mirror room in the music video was a nice touch and see a call-back to “Room of Mirrors” that used the same tool to talk to oneself).
The blossoming night begins
Write it down just for me
The first page Yeah
6960 Magic
Dancing toes go Crazy
Raise a glass to me NowEvery Do’s and Don’ts
They all bore me
I’ll fly away on a broom
Look at me
Don’t be afraid, I won’t get hurt
We know that the first chapter of the “回 (hui)” series is about confusion and indecisiveness (represented with a crossroads and a labyrinth), the second is about temptation and moral dilemma (represented with an apple, known as a symbol of knowledge and the forbidden fruit) and the third is about confidence and celebration (represented through the witches’ festival), and they are exuding this here.
“No more fairy tale” could also be a nod to “Apple” and its dark fantasy tale imagery. They burn a tree there, and here they evoke a new beginning anthem with a “phoenix imagery” i.e. purification by fire and embrace all their sides and complexity as modern witches, also known as the women of our century:
In the midnight
In this midnight
In the blessed flame I fly rebornI am the light and the darkness
Lies or truth I can be both
Whatever I choose, so it’ll be
Joy or sorrow
All this will be me
Something I often see being asked is what the word “Mago” means? The girls said in one of the interviews that it was intended to be ambiguous and open for the overall idea the song is trying to convey, either it’s the Korean goddess, from the East Asian creation myth, or the word for wizard / magician in other languages like Spanish and Portuguese (I have seen fans also comparing with my girl).
The album description available on Melon says (thanks to Papago): “I sing about myself, who has blossomed anew and proudly became the master of life” and “The key point is the movement of a witch turning her hand over her head, as if she were shouting a spell” giving a clear meaning for this choice.
Another choreography key point mentioned in the description was inspired by the disco genre. Although it may be a digression, the music video seems to be heavily aware of the history of disco (if anyone is interested to learn about the Disco Demolition Night). It’s good to understand how the music video for “Mago” captured so well this sentiment of feeling free on a dance floor, a sentiment that minorities know well and it’s completely attached to their history. A nice touch was an underground passage for a women-only club. I hope it felt reassuring for LGBT+ women in Korea (and their fanbase in general).
There is a Weverse article about BTS and TXT that acknowledged and touched this subject:
To the genre’s pioneers disco is a paean to diversity and minority rights and a means of resistance. In the early 1970s, DJs were mixing American funk, Latin groove, and European electronica, while flooding the dance floor with the message urging love for one another. Dance stage was no longer just for couples but a space where hundreds of people can have fun together. When disco captured values transcending gender, race and class into what seems like harmless dance tracks at first, “Disco Demolition Night” turned out to be a symbolic event that was maybe destiny, a former rock radio DJ leading a mass torching of disco albums in a baseball stadium. The club scene survived after disco; yet the task of shedding light on what opportunities disco extended to black, Latino, Italian, woman and gay artists fell to those outside the clubs.
It’s no coincidence that amidst today’s issues of hate and resistance against diverse self-identities, people are not just hoping for the return of disco but demanding it as a necessity. In times of explosive race and class conflicts, disco is not “retro” but ongoing.
Back to “Mago” in GFRIEND’s musical context, it wouldn’t be so far fetched to see “we can dance in this moon night again” as the huge disco ball illuminating the dance club like a moon (and maybe a nod to their latest big hit “Time for the Moon Night”).
My life is waiting for you
Yes, you
Her smiling¹ at me in the mirror
Hakuna matata
My heart is beating for you
Yes, you
And here’s the iconic and possible ambiguous verse if you don’t know the overall message. The “you” it’s directed to the person in the mirror, she’s smiling “at me”. The girls talk with their own (finally!) confident reflection that was waiting for them for a long time. Here’s where I draw a parallel with “Room of Mirrors” from the previous album, a temptation arc that deals with the ugly sentiments and decadence of one’s spirit, they can’t stand look themselves in the mirror, they see just the ugly parts (full English translation).
My trembling and wavering heart²
Meet me again
I’m running and running again to you in that empty mirror
Turn around as if you’re possessed and blame me
Why don’t you have it?
It’s the same facial expression¹ though
Run away for me³
There is a clear character development from 回: Song of the Sirens to 回: Walpurgis Night, now things are different and that’s where i see a symbol that they went through some type of purification (symbolically by fire):
Go on and judge me now
I won’t ever waver²
MAGO MAGO
Dance a dance for me³
It’s such a unique way to tell a story about understanding the importance of self-love, talking about self-image using a mirror:
No one’s here, all the four directions are blocked
Turn around, it is only me
Who can love you
That’s all, folks! “Eye of the Storm” is another song with a beautiful metaphor about the time inside the eye of the storm in comparison with Yuju’s own life, how she found herself in the middle of chaos. That’s another favorite of mine.
The storytelling in the “回 (hui)” series is so rich that I could analyze many songs and the dialogue between them. I also have seen an interesting tweet talking about the message of the last song of each album:
There are many possible parallels and messages resonating in a personal level, so feel free to share your own stories!
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