If there is one pre-debut/early SKZ song I wish they would perform now, it would be this one. There’s just something about it that scratches my brain in the same way “CHEESE” or “GET LIT” do. It’s loud, a little chaotic, and filled with so much determination bordering on desperation to prove themselves that was a real hallmark of a lot of their early music.
Let’s take a look at the lyrics.
Note: I’ve used the English translations for Mixtape (from StrayKSubs Survival Show English captions), but the lyric distribution from SKZ2020 OT8 version. I could not find English translations for SKZ2020 anywhere, but from what I could find, no lyrics were changed. If some lyric distributions are incorrect, that’s my error (and my inability to tell if Hangul is bolded/italicized or not).
Couple disclaimers: I’m a pretty new STAY, and I don’t speak Korean. I am using my limited SKZ knowledge and the English translations from the StrayKSubs English translations. These are my own thoughts based on those translations and not meant to be a definitive interpretation.
Here is the audio to listen to as you read the lyrics.
A little background to this song. It was first performed as a new song in episode eight of their “survival show” for a busking mission. They don’t give any backstory to the origins of the song in the show. But right before Mixtape was released, they did a VLIVE called Happiness Train to reflect on the month or so since the end of the survival show and to unbox and talk about each song on Mixtape. (A truly delightful hour and a half, by the way.)
Still, they didn’t say much. Felix revealed it was a Back to the Future concept, and Hyunjin said it was a message to his older self who has become successful in the future. It has some of the same feel of “Hellevator” and “Spread My Wings” in that they are comparing and contrasting two concepts, specifically present and future. It’s a lot of side by side comparison of them now (2018) and them successful down the line.
They see their future selves on the red carpet, surrounded by cameras, admired for their stubbornness and talent. National treasures. Their present feels more frustrated, as shown in the first few lines of verse two:
Brr-ah, I’m still scared, no visible exits, goals no, ayy, ayy
Ayy, even though I keep looking I’m lost,
Can’t trust me anymore, at least me arrr
Uh, even so everyone runs, toward that dream you run
Can’t hide the shaking pupils
My passion, it all erupts
Like I said, it echoes a lot of the same themes in “Hellevator” – the “hell” of K-Pop training one day paying off with the ideal of debut.
The whole sounds echoes this as always. It’s loud. Rock. Electric guitar. The “yayayas” are basically yelled. The choreography is powerful and full of so much energy. It’s like they’re screaming at their future selves, waving wildly, to remember how far they’ve come and the work they put in to get there.
One line really stood out to me, and I noted it in my annotations:
Can’t nobody else do it like you
It’s very similar to a line in verse two of “Do It:”
Who else can do what I was going to do in my place
This notion of “only you can do something the way you are going to do it” is something I talked about in my post about “Do It.” It’s something that Stray Kids has talked a lot about over the years, and a theme that shows up in a lot of their music. They want to do things their way. And it’s been a journey from “we want to do our thing” to “we are doing our own thing, and it works.”
This line really got me thinking about the similarities between “YAYAYA” and “Do It.” They are mirror images of each other.
“YAYAYA” is looking forward. They’re speaking to their future selves. They see the possibility of success and fame. They see people loving them for their stubbornness, for their talent. I can just imagine them as trainees, laying on the floor of the studio, sweating, dreaming together, talking about what it would be like to walk the red carpet and get recognition for their hard work. Especially on their survival show, they were so close, one step closer to debut, to fame, to doing what they were passionate about in front of thousands of people.
Fast forward eight years, and they’ve done that. They are embodying the future selves they were talking to in this song. It’s like they’re describing pretty much every year end and award show they attended last year. Red carpets. Cameras flashing. Fans cheering. Winning awards. Breaking records. Brand deals. Coming off a very successful world tour.
And as I talked about in my posts about “Do It” (specifically my post about “Photobook”), the whole album felt like a reflection point. They were looking back at the last eight years in gratitude and celebration. The song “Do It” feels like they’re speaking the younger versions of themselves in “YAYAYA” – trust your instincts, keep going, just do it.
Look at these verses side by side:
YAYAYA Bridge
Not afraid of anything
This is obvious
Can’t nobody else do it like you
Do It Verse 2
Just do it, quit testing the waters, for rеal, stop it
Who else can do what I was going to do in my place
Turn every doubt into flexes before the day ends
I do as I do, just as I did yesterday, as I do today and as I’ll do tomorrow
Two very different times in their careers, and they’re saying basically the same thing.
In YAYAYA, they’re determined, almost desperate to make it work, to be seen for their way of doing things. In Do It, they’ve done it, they’ve experienced the fruits of their labors.
I wonder if they ever look back at this song and think about how they saw themselves. I wonder how that feels, to be in the place that they dreamt about and fought for all those years ago.
This is incredibly parasocial, but I am so proud of them. I was not a STAY during pre-debut/Mixtape era. I’ve only been a STAY for a little over six months. But I am incredibly proud and in awe of what they’ve been able to accomplish by being themselves and working hard. If little “YAYAYA” Stray Kids could see themselves now…
Sources:
“YAYAYA” by Stray Kids (Mixtape Version)
“YAYAYA” by Stray Kids (SKZ 2020 Version)
Stray Kids x Happiness Train VLIVE
“Stray Kids” Survival Show, Ep. 8 (specifically the StrayKSubs English subtitles for this song)
“YAYAYA” Busking Mission from Survival Show, Ep. 8
You can find the posts for the other songs on Mixtape here:
Back to the Beginning | “Hellevator” by Stray Kids
Teenage Angst in Eight Part Harmony | “BEWARE (Grrr Law of Total Madness)” by Stray Kids
Coming of Age: A Double-Edged Sword | “Spread My Wings” by Stray Kids
Shining Brighter Because of the Darkness | “GLOW” by Stray Kids
Leave a Reply