An Angel's Voice

Yoon Do Hyun - Mus...

Aw........Phooey!

Well, at least 2 people took me seriously (Thanks!).

Anyway, yeah......about the song. It's not new - from 2005 but has special meaning for me because this is what a good Bae-pal of mine would sing during some of the most monotonous and torturous times when we used to wait for your royal highness together. And what luck - she has a wonderful voice to match the song, which I quite loved from the beginning. There was one day when a lot of things were not going well for me and on top of that, I was so bored/annoyed/cold waiting (another mishio "fit", that's all - hahahaha) that I thought I would finally lose it altogether. I think she was the only one to get an expression out of my stone-stiff face, and it was with that very same song.

And I don't know when.....at some point, I must have heard it enough that even I have memorized the lyrics to it - hee, that's quite a feat for someone that doesn't speak any Korean. Pure and simple rote memorization can do the trick sometimes, but the original band performs this song with so much feeling that it's hard not to understand the meaning even if you don't "get" the individual words. Good thing that I'm still sane enough not to have tested human subjects with my rendition just yet :)

Yep, like fendi said, Korean songs, and most songs in this universe, tend towards themes of love & relationships. And as vegas also pointed out, this one has a sad undertone, but I'm the perennial sucker for tragedy so it suits me well.

The singer is Yoon Do Hyun, the lead of the Yoon Band. The first time I heard his voice, I was convinced that he was born to sing "rock" - he has just the right amount of coarse edginess to it. Their music doesn't appeal to everyone but the group is the pride of Korea - one that is revered for their nationalistic interests and commitment to Korean culture.

KBS World had this blurb about them:

The Yoon Band is a rock band consisting of 4 musicians:
vocalist Skitter D.H.(Yoon Do-hyun), guitarist Baby J (Huh Jun), drummer Jin (Kim Jin-won) and bass guitarist Taehee (Park Tae-hee). They are named after the team’s vocalist, Yoon Do-hyun, also the producer of the band. The band has a total of 8 albums and one DVD as of 2006. Its first album was released in December 1994. Audiences say that the band is the most Korean-styled rock group, because they use such traditional instruments as the Gayageum (a Korean musical instrument with 12 strings) and the Daegeum (Korean traditional wooden flute) for recording, in addition to their basic rock instruments. The band also composes and arranges its songs based in a true Korean state of mind. The band sang songs like "Oh, Pil-seung Korea (Oh, Victory to Korea)" and "Arirang" in front of the home crowds of millions cheering during the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup games. With their Korean fight songs for the national soccer team, the band became Korea’s indisputable leading rock band. The Yoon Band won best song awards from all 3 of Korea’s main broadcasters, KBS, MBC and SBS. The band was also acknowledged for their contributions on improving human rights in Korea through their musical activities. The band was once nominated for the first World Peace Music Awards in 2003. The band won the "Best Musicians Award" from the Board of Korean Music Producers. The Yoon Band are recognized as some of the best musicians in the local pop music scene, with sales of over 2 million albums, and more than 100 live concerts a year, each usually drawing more than 500 thousand people.

Anyway, the Song "사랑했나봐" translates as "Must have been love" and is the lead track of the Yoon Do Hyun's solo project album called "The Difference." The lyrics, if you are ambitious enough to hum along....

이별은 만남보다 참 쉬운건가봐
차갑기만한 사람 내 맘 다 가져간걸

왜 알지 못하나 보고싶은 그 사람

사랑했나봐 잊을수 없나봐
자꾸 생각나 견딜수가 없어
후회하나봐 널 기다리나봐
또 나도 몰래 가슴 설레어와
저기 널 닮은 뒷모습에

기억은 계절따라 흩어져 가겠지
차갑기만한 사람 빈 가슴 애태우며
난 기다리겠지 어설픈 내 사랑은

못되게 눈돌리며 외면한
니 모습 모른척 할래
한번쯤은 난 뒤돌아보며
아파했다 믿을래

바보인가봐 한마디 못하는
잘지내냐는 그 쉬운 인사도
행복한가봐 여전한 미소는
자꾸만 날 작아지게 만들어
멀어지는 니 모습처럼

언젠가 다른 사람 만나게 되겠지
널 닮은 미소 짓는
하지만 그 사람은 니가 아니라서
왠지 슬플것 같아 잊을수 없는 사람


What? You still here? Reading this boring entry?
(Love ya!) And yes, I added fillers in between just to test your patience! *wink* hahaha

Sooooo, wanna know why my friend sings this song with so much zest and energy?
Actually all those times she spent "waiting" for Mr.Royal Highness during the TWSSG filming last year (and she was kind-of a regular), this album and this song in particular was a frequent favorite heard playing within the makeup trailer when it was his turn to get his face "done."

It's so interesting how this seemingly minor detail can catch a fan's interest, right? Dunno why - but for me, it felt nice to have some mental imagery of what it's like for him when he's getting ready for his work day, no?

No one will really know if it's something he's picked or even requested. But even if not........I wonder........YJ-ssi, what was going through your mind then? Did he hum along? (wanna hear, wanna hear!!!) but.....will never know that either....

For face value, the melody is nice and despite the sad tone, it's catchy and invited me to sing rather than do anything to dampen my mood. But that's me. And, that's why I wanted to know your impression and what thoughts popped in your head when you listened to this song, that's all.

Oh,and I so finally get it too, why my friend sings this song all the time! All this practice - she must be hoping to audition live for him one day! :)

Hey sweet pal,if you're out there - keep up the singing! It does brighten my mood so much! You're an angel and I hope he gets to hear your beautiful voice one day!