Holiday grew on me. I didn’t hate the song the first time I listened to it, quite the opposite. It was just a bit overpowered by Divine for me, to be completely honest. But it really has grown on me, and in deep diving into the lyrics like this, I’ve once again been blown away by the layers that this song has.
Let’s look at the lyrics Here is the audio to listen to as you read.
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 Genius. These are my own thoughts based on those translations and not meant to be a definitive interpretation.
This is an excellent example of subjectivity of music and art. At the base level, this is a song about needing a break, needing a holiday. It’s very clear. Very obvious. But as with so many SKZ songs, it has layers. Some other interpretations:
1. Another nod to Shinseon Noreum: Wanting to escape this world for something better, playing among the clouds without a care in the world.
2. Personal struggles: Whether it’s physical, mental, emotional, problems with relationships or work, this is something we’ve all felt. We need a break from the hard things. We need rest from struggle. And when it’s something chronic or ongoing, it gets really taxing.
“My friend, it’s been so hard / Look what we’ve done, it’s so bright, it’s time.”
3. Problems in the world: This is a broad statement, but I think pretty much everyone can relate with something that’s going on their country or around the world – cruelty, tragedy, hatred, division. There’s a lot of it, and it can be really overwhelming fighting for peace and safety and seeing nothing change.
“Instead of fighting, let’s give and share love and peace, one love / We need some rest.” This stood out to me in this vein, this desire to just have everyone stop fighting, to spread love and peace. It can feel really naïve to want that, but here we are.
4. Burnout: Kind of a combination of the first three, but a very deep need for SOMETHING – ANYTHING – to change “I’m so busy doing things I don’t like or want to do. I don’t feel like I have a purpose.” This is the kind of feeling that doesn’t really go away with just a holiday, and it’s different that just “needing a break.” This is a deep feeling of exhaustion, not just physically but mentally and emotionally. You’re tired with life, tired with an unfulfilling job or task. Or you’re just so insanely busy you don’t have time to rest day to day, the kind of routine rest that keeps burnout at bay. A holiday will help, but coming back to your everyday life will just bring the same issues.
There are so many lyrics that speak to this which I highlighted before. Talking about not having “my own free time” and wanting to go “outdoors.”
“The Earth is round, but tomorrow feels like / it has a sharp corner that I’ll crash into.” This one hit especially hard. Another day. Another start. There’s always tomorrow. But when you’re burnt out or struggling, it can be really hard to see tomorrow as anything but another day, the same thing over and over.
I love the lyrics and the musicality throughout this song. It feels like a conversation.
In the pre-chorus, we have a sort of internal monologue going on:
[Pre-Chorus: I.N, Changbin, Bang Chan, Seungmin, *Han*]
I just wanna feel the sun bring me to life (Life; The sun bring me to life)
I just wanna see me run under the light (*Under the light*)
During these first two lines, the music is light and and dreamy, like a daydream. I just want to do something that makes me happy.
Without a thought in my head, I’ma take a deep breath
Just fill up my chest, I don’t want any stress
As we transition into the 3rd and 4th lines, the beat comes back. Changbin talked about the beat in the intro video, that it was an aural representation of the hustle of daily life, the thing people want to escape from. And these two lines feel like shaking off the desire for more, pushing away the thought of rest and joy. “Nope, don’t think about that. If I think about how I’m not fulfilled or think about actual joy, I’m going to stress. Just take a deep breath and keep going.”
I just wanna be that bird flying so high (High)
But of course, you can’t not think about the what ifs, the ideal life. And the last line slinks in at the end.
And then whole song feels like one big conversation between two people:
- Verse 1, Verse 2 (first 4 lines), Pre-Chorus, Chorus: I’m tired. I’m lost. I’m stuck. I need a break.
- V2 (last 9 lines): You need a holiday. Better days will come. You should be proud for making it through moment by moment. If you take a break, nothing will fall apart. I promise.
- Bridge: Ok. I’m going. I have to. I’ll be back.
It’s stunning to me. I have no other words.
And then the music! There’s this distinct duality in the music that feeds the feeling of the lyrics. There are kids laughing at the very beginning of the song, so faint you can’t really hear them unless the music is cranked way up. There’s the dreamy, almost surreal four note piano riff throughout. These are all such idyllic sounds, and alone would have painted a very different picture.
But then you add that beat Changbin talked about representing the hustle of daily life. It makes the song sound upbeat in a way that the lyrics really aren’t. It really does feel like just going on and on and on and on… It’s a much simpler track than many of their others, but it suits the song so perfectly.
Fitting into the rest of the album, Changbin also made a joke in the intro video about pairing it with Do It so you don’t actually rest (which is actually hilarious). But there are a lot of ties to both “Do It” and “Divine.” There’s the same vibe of wanting to do your own thing, doing something that gives you purpose. And, as I mentioned earlier, this allusion to playing in the clouds above the cares of the world. It’s cheesy, but it’s true: When you love what you do, it doesn’t feel like work.
There are always things that we HAVE to do that we don’t want to – laundry, dishes, taxes, dealing with annoying/mean people. That comes with any job and any life unless you live alone in a cabin in the woods. And we’re not all going to get out dream job that never feels like work because it’s so perfect for us. But when you find purpose – in actual, paid work or in a hobby or in relationships – it absolutely changes something.
This is cheesy, too, but that’s how SKZ feels to me. I discovered SKZ in September of last year in a really odd place in life. It wasn’t particularly hard or tragic. I just felt a little stuck. Still do, to be honest. But watching their videos and listening to their music makes me happy. Doing these song analyses have made me happy. It’s a hobby I genuinely enjoy. It feels like a holiday from everything going on around me.
Anyway, I know we joke a lot about them needing a break, and we did especially when this song came out. They’ve talked about it, too. I also know that they’ve talked about CHOOSING to be super busy last year – tour, comebacks, awards shows, etc. But besides all of that, I’m sure they’ve all felt like this at least once in their life. Who hasn’t? Maybe they felt it today or yesterday or three months ago in the midst of encores, comeback promotion, awards shows, and year end shows. I hope at the very least that they do find purpose in what they do. It seems that they find enough to keep going, keep giving us great music. And that’s something I’m very grateful for.
Sources:
If you missed the other Do It posts, you can find them here:
Softly Judgmental Motivation | “Do It” by Stray Kids
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