8 of Our Favorite Lyrics Written By Stray Kids’ Hyunjin

Stray Kids‘ Hyunjin is an incredibly talented idol, no matter from what angle you look at him. He’s a phenomenal dancer and performer. He commands the stage with his presence, vocals, and rap skills. On top of that, Hyunjin is extremely artistic, and that, of course, can be felt more than anything in the songs he has written. His love for art gives him a truly unique perspective when it comes to seeing the world and writing about it. With lyrics that touch our hearts, beautiful and heartbreaking imagery, and songs that create a unique atmosphere, Hyunjin‘s pen is breathtaking. Here are some of our favorite lyrics to show it!

Note: For Korean lyrics, when official translation isn’t available, credits go to Genius English Translations.

‘Love Untold’ (SKZ-REPLAY, 2022)

Broken shapes of pastel
It’s like a group of different colors
Because I’m being overwhelmed of my emotions
It’s like when it’s mixed and dyed black
Maybe my universe was bright because of you
I never lost my smile in it
But now, in this dark world without stepping on a shadow
Drawing you is my only day

‘Love Untold‘ is one of Hyunjin’s most perfect songs. This specific part of the song shows how Hyunjin uses all the sides of his artistry to inspire his lyrics and his music. These lyrics, full of regret, nostalgia, and longing, hit differently, knowing that Hyunjin uses pastels to paint as a way to express himself. The imagery he uses reaches beyond the song, and it makes this one of his most personal songs.

‘Cover Me’ (ROCK-STAR, 2023)

On nights when the moon shines this bright
I cry out, hoping for someone to cover that light
And when night suddenly turns into day
I accept the warm light shining down

‘Cover Me‘ is one of Stray Kids‘ most beautiful ballads. The melodies and vocals are gorgeous, but the meaning behind the lyrics makes the song hit even more. While the song explores the complexity of loneliness, the lyrics in the chorus perfectly embody how the night feels lonely, but it is ever-present during the day, too, despite the need for someone to be less prominent. ‘Cover Me‘ is a masterpiece for a million different reasons. There are a billion beautiful details about the song that make it so good, and a big part of those reasons lie in the lyrics.

‘untitled’ (2023)

You were always full of tears, in your good heart
It was always raining, and I gave you thunder

‘untitled’ is a complex song that explores the fallout of a relationship. Here, I.N and Hyunjin put themselves in the shoes of someone who chooses to end a relationship where they felt they brought more pain than good because their intentions weren’t love but convenience. Not being able to love someone the way they love you, feeling like you were never enough, is a kind of pain that ‘untitled’ explores, and this lyric shows the imagery of them coming in and making the storm worse.

‘DLMU’ (THE SOUND, 2023)

The ideal is just an illusion
The reality is, in fact, cruel
There’s no such thing as perfect

Before ‘Cover Me,’ ‘DLMLU’ was the first song Hyunjin had written for Stray Kids as a group. Released as a b-side in Stray Kids‘ first full-length Japanese album, ‘DLMLU’ stands for ‘Don’t Let Me Love You,’ and similarly to ‘untitled,’ Hyunjin’s lyrics explore the delusion of love as well as feeling not good enough. The pre-chorus, specifically, has some of Hyunjin’s most devastating lyrics as the reality breaks the illusion given by love. ‘DLMLU’ is about self-doubt and self-hatred, and when darkness overcomes you and makes you believe you make what you love, worse.

The scars are still here, as is your scent
The petals have withered, but the thorns are still there

The pre-chorus continues into a realization of the hurt and what remains of the healthy love there once was. Even after the love is gone, the hurt and pain remain. The imagery of a rose and its thorn perfectly represents the toxicity that ‘DLMLU‘ explores. With that duality between being beautiful and being capable of hurt, ‘DLMLU‘ makes it clear that at the end of the day, all that is left isn’t the beauty of the rose but the pain it brings.

‘Contradicting’ (2023)

Started out as a novel
But while writing the last chapter it ended up as poetry

You guessed it by now. Hyunjin loves to explore duality and complex feelings in his songs – ‘Contradicting‘ does not shy away from it. This specific lyric is another case of Hyunjin using other art forms he loves and using them as inspiration for his lyrics. Hyunjin talks about books and poems and is known to be passionate about them. Here, he uses those two forms of literature to exemplify how love can start as something but end as something completely different – from prose to verse.

‘long for you’ (2024)

The white flower we planted together has bloomed
I do not dare pick it
Now it withers away

Hyunjin is a professional yearner when it comes to his lyrics. ‘long for you’ is the song to prove it. With its simple yet haunting melody, ‘long for you’ creates a unique atmosphere to explore longing, yearning, and heartbreak. It also comes back to themes Hyunjin explores in ‘DLMLU:’ the fear of ruining something you love. These lyrics, specifically, are about leaving something untouched so that it can’t be ruined. As these lyrics are followed by “So I can keep loving you, so I could be loving you, and more,” it explores, in the most heartbreaking way, that feeling of not wanting to touch what you desire more than anything.

‘ice.cream’ (2022)

I see ice as a cream
After the breathtaking taste
Everything is just bitter

If there’s a song to prove Hyunjin‘s unique perspective and incredible talent as a songwriter: it’s ‘ice.cream.’ The imagery he uses in the song is gorgeous, mindblowing and pure genius. The play on words between “I see ice as a cream,” ice typically related to harshness, and “ice cream,” which is usually related to sweetness, is incredible. This lyric hurts even more with the lyric from the second verse: “I delude myself into thinking that someone who’s cold to everyone is only warm to me.” ‘Ice.cream’ explores the hurtful experience of loving someone for whom you think you’re the exception. It’s about the delusion of love and what it can lead you to believe. And it’s the perfect example of Hyunjin‘s exceptional lyricism.

What’s your favorite song written by Hyunjin? What’s a lyric you would add to this list? Be sure to let us know by tweeting us at @thehoneypop or visiting us on Facebook and Instagram.

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