Tohoshinki (TVXQ) or Dong Bang Shin Ki (DBSK) as they are known in South Korea where they originated from,are a five member acapella boy group consisting of U-know Yunho the leader,Hero Jaejoong , Xiah Junsu and Max Changmin.
9095 is from the groups fourth Japanese album The Secret Code.This song was composed by the groups lead vocalist Jaejoong.
Kanji + English Translation
従順そうな執事で 「こちらへ」と導かれ
回廊の火を点けて 「赤を右に」と言った
壊れた回転扉 床には極楽鳥花
繻子の壁を這うタランチュラ 踵返し笑った
where’re you going? baby
楡の揺り椅子(いす)で待って 七つ数えるまで目を開けないで
You guide me like an obedient butler, “This way”,
You light the flame in the corridor, “Red to the right”, you said,
A broken revolving door, bird of paradise flower on the floor,
A tarantula creeps across the silk wall, you turn and laugh,
where’re you going? baby
Wait on the elm rocking chair, don’t open your eyes to the count of seven
pret(プレ) un(アン)… 首筋に夜の雫が… 声にできないほど
deux(ドゥ)… ネジ式積み木の城で… 指の隙間へと
trois(トゥロワ)… 絡み合った蜘蛛(くも)の糸は… このままずっと
上がり出した砂時計 9095(ninety ninety-five)… 5…
Ready One, A drop of night on the back of your neck is… you just can’t say it,
Two,In a spiralling brick castle… spider webs become entangled in the spaces between your fingers…
Three,The hourglass has kept rising like this, 9095… 5…
長い回廊に響く 「どこかで会ったでしょうか？」
「青は赤の左に」
錆び付いた天使の羽根 貘が捨てた昨日の夢
先は手の鳴る方へ 目隠しをして
Echoing down the long hallway “Have we met somewhere before?”
“Blue is to the left of red”
Angel feathers rusted together, the chimera/tapir blindfolds me with yesterday’s discarded dreams, its hands rustling like before
who are you? tell me baby
それは誰も映らない 鏡の中にその手を入れるとき
who are you? tell me baby
No one was reflected in the mirror the time you put your hand into it
et(エ) quatre(カトゥル)… 背中まで麝香の香り…
熱い呼吸の音
cinq(サンク)… 空白に浮かぶ瞳… 許されないのなら
six(スィス)… その涙が生き返ったら… どうしてもっと
目覚めてゆく化石たち 9095(ninety ninety-five)… 95…
and four,That musky fragrance on your back… the sound of a hot breath,
five,If you allow your pupil, suspended in blank space (of your eye), to revive your tears,
Six,Why, the more fossils that keep waking up 9095… 95…
もう何も探さないで そばにいるから
目を開けてしまったのなら 戻れなくても…
それでもいいのなら そっと
Don’t look for anything again, because I’m near you
If you open your eyes completely, you can’t turn back…
If that’s alright, gently (open your eyes)
pret(プレ) un(アン)… 首筋に夜の雫(しずく)が… 声にできないほど
deux(ドゥ)… ネジ式積み木の城で… 指の隙間(すきま)へと
trois(トゥロワ)… 絡み合った蜘蛛(くも)の糸は… このままずっと
上がり出した砂時計 9095
A drop of night on the back of your neck is… you just can’t say it,
In a spiralling brick castle… spider webs become tangled in the spaces between your fingers…
The hourglass has kept rising like this, 9095… 5…
et(エ) quatre(カトゥル)… 背中まで麝香(じゃこう)の香り…
cinq(サンク)… 空白(くうはく)に浮かぶ瞳…
six(スィス)… その涙が生き返ったら… どうしてもっと
目覚めてゆく化石たち 9095
That musky fragrance on your back… the sound of a hot breath,
Your pupil, suspended in blank space (of your eye)…
If you revive your tears…
Why, the more fossils that keep waking up 9095… 95…
Source: Likeahero.net + frapbois.tistory.com
Romanization by: nivani @dbsg
Kanji + Eng. trans by: bright_story @dbsg
9095
Interpretation by stanza
You guide me like an obedient butler, “This way”, You light the flame in the corridor, “Red to the right”, you said, A broken revolving door,
bird of paradise flower on the floor, A tarantula creeps across the silk wall, you turn and laugh
where’re you going? baby
Wait on the elm rocking chair, don’t open your eyes to the count of seven
So the song begins with a girl leading a guy,most likely a boy friend or lover somewhere.
She lights the way and says red is to the right.
Red is said to be an emotional color. Often depicted as violent it has ties as being used to represent sun gods,gods of war,anger as well as blood-lust. It is also used to symbolize Love and Passion.
In this instance I believe red is being used to symbolize the chaos and passion in the lovers relationship, a fact that I believe strengthens this view are the following lines about a broken revolving door and birds of paradise on the floor.
If a revolving door is broken you are stuck,you can't get in or out. This is illustrating how the relationship is. He feels like they are stuck and there is nowhere out .
In most translations of this song there's talk about artificial birds of paradise being on the floor. Birds of paradise are flowers that symbolize magnificence and if they are artificial it means they are fake. This is another symbolism to the couples relationship. It may seen great and perfect on the outside but in actuality its all false.
Next they see a tarantula
tarantulas are large spiders with a low-levels of venom but have a very painful bite.They also don't use webs to trap their victims but take then down with their fangs,it is also said that they let out silk from their feet to allow
easier momevent for slippery and vertical surfaces. So if its creeping among a silk wall it can be said that its been their quite a while,passing,crawling or whatever spiders do across this once bare wall. Also as a spider a tarantula can also indicate the feeling of being trapped or entangled in a relationship. I think in the song a taranrula is used to represent the problem in the relationship the couple has, the fact that its said to be in a silk wall of its own making indicates the couple has waited a long time to address this issue.
She turns and laughs
"Where you going baby"?
Because this is sung collectively by the whole group I believe she is saying this and the fact that she turns and laughs at him may be because he wasn't ready to discuss what's happend just yet and wanted to flee. One can almost picture her laughing condescendly at him to bait him. He respond saying to sit on an elm rocking chair and not to open her eyes till the count of seven. Elm symbolizes rigid structure ,darkness,pressure ,blind rage and also devotion and loyalty.
A rocking chair can mean time itself.
Ready One,
A drop of night on the back of your neck is… you just cant say it,
Two,In a spiralling brick castle…
Three,spider webs become entangled in the spaces between your fingers…
The hourglass has kept rising like this, 9095… 5…
A drop of night- night meaning darkness,she's hiding something,if its at her neck it can symbolize her vulnerability but not submission as she's not willing to come clean.
A spiraling castle- a castle is a strong stable foundation but its spiraling it means its just spinning. This means that their discussion seems to be going nowhere,he has a solid idea of what she's done but she's not willing to tell him just yet.
Spider webs- spider webs indicate time and space. So it can mean they've been in this state so long and the spider webs are used for the reader to think much time has passed without any change.
Hour glass rising- an hour glass rising indicates time going backwards.
9095 - in an interview Jaejoong said that 9095 means the key to his heart.For this song I think he used 9095 to symbolize the males heart.
So one can say that the guy wants to go back in time because this girl has broken his heart so he wants to go back when it was whole again,perhaps even the beginning of the relationship.
Echoing down the long hallway “Have we met somewhere before?”
“Blue is to the left of red”
Angel feathers rusted together,
the chimera/tapir blindfolds me with yesterday’s discarded dreams, its hands rustling like before
Echoing means its already been said. I think he is recalling where they first meant due to the stanza before this one.I think this is the effect of the hourglass rising and going to 9095 - To the beginning when they were happy.
Blue is to the left of red. Here I think he is realizing he has a choice in all of this.Before she was leading the way,to the red path. Now he's going to the blue path. Blue represents truth and the clarity of mind,it also represents wisdom ,heaven (path has angel feathers)and tranquility.
In this path he runs across a tapir that blindfolds him with his dreams of yesterday.
A tapir is a demon from Chinese mythology. In Japan it is called a Baku and they are said to aid humans by eating nightmares or the evil spirits who cause these dreams.
In the song the Baku seems to be doing the opposite,his dreams of yesterday are his nightmares.The nightmares are what in actuality his girlfriend and done to him. In having chosen this path,he is realizing he can't disregard his fears or her betrayal.
who are you? tell me baby
He can't recognize the person she's becoming
who are you? tell me baby
No one was reflected in the mirror the time you put your hand into it
No reflection can mean the person has no soul
It is also said the mirror is the reflection of the
soul. it doesn't lie,it is absolute truth. So the mirror can symbolize his soul ,from what she is done,he feels she's tainted his soul so he can no longer see the truth,he's doubting himself.
and four That musky fragrance on your back…
He's smelling some others persons scent
five ,the sound of a hot breath,
The lies she been hiding at the back or her neck are revealing.perhaps she's cheated on him
six ,If you allow your pupil, suspended in blank space (of your eye),
She's not looking at him
to revive your tears,
She's showing no remorse or guilt
Why, the more fossils that keep waking up 9095… 95…
Kind of like skeletons in the closet,more things are coming into light. He wants to go back to 9095.
Don’t look for anything again, because I’m near you If you open your eyes completely, you can’t turn back…
If that’s alright, gently (open your eyes)
He's reassuring her that he'll always be there for her, If she accepts him and what shes done to him they could go back to the beginning and she can't turn back.
Thing is he never says seven. Throughout the whole song he's counting down in french from one through six but in the first stanza he says she can only open her eyes when he counts to seven.
Ready One A drop of night on the back of your neck is… you just can’t say it,
Two,In a spiralling brick castle…
Three,spider webs become tangled in the spaces between your fingers…
The hourglass has kept rising like this, 9095… 5…
and four That musky fragrance on your back…
five,the sound of a hot breath,
six, Your pupil, suspended in blank space (of your eye)…
If you revive your tears…
Why, the more fossils that keep waking up 9095… 95…
So one can say that these lovers are in some sort of limbo. She remains with her eyes closed and he's counting down never reaching the number seven because he can't forgive her and he knows once she opens her eyes,its over.
In the last 6 seconds of the song, Jaejoong mutters something in korean backwards. He says
"A person like you is unable to hear what I'm saying (i.e. my story)"
It seems he is telling the listener or his Girlfriend that they will never understand his struggle
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Red:
Denotation-
Any of various colors resembling the color of blood; the primary color at one extreme end of the visible spectrum, an effect of light with a wavelength between 610 and 780 nm.
Connotation- Blood-Lust,Violence,Passion
Tarantula:
Denotation-
any of several large, hairy spiders of the family Theraphosidae, as Aphonopelma chalcodes, of the southwestern U.S., having a painful but not highly venomous bite.
Connotation- Foreshadowing, bad things to come
Eyes:
Denotation:
the organ of sight, in vertebrates typically one of a pair of spherical bodies contained in an orbit of the skull and in humans appearing externally as a dense, white, curved membrane, or sclera, surrounding a circular, colored portion, or iris, that is covered by a clear, curved membrane, or cornea, and in the center of which is an opening, or pupil, through which light passes to the retina.
Connotation: Represent clairvoyance,omniscience and a gateway into the soul.
Neck-
Denotation-
the organ of sight, in vertebrates typically one of a pair of spherical bodies contained in an orbit of the skull and in humans appearing externally as a dense, white, curved membrane, or sclera, surrounding a circular, colored portion, or iris, that is covered by a clear, curved membrane, or cornea, and in the center of which is an opening, or pupil, through which light passes to the retina.
Connotation: Submission,Vulnerability
Hourglass:
Denotation:
an instrument for measuring time, consisting of two bulbs of glass joined by a narrow passage through which a quantity of sand or mercury runs in just an hour.
Connotation- Present,Future,time passed.
Sources-
http://www.dbsknights.net/2009/03/secret-behind-secret-code-revealed.html
Dictionary.com
www. Umich.edu/umfansf/other/m_search.html
Likeahero.net + frapbois.tistory.com
Romanization by: nivani @dbsg
Kanji + Eng. trans by: bright_story @dbsg
