Tony's Web
Friend
(친구)
| performed by | Kim Min-gi (김민기) | |
|---|---|---|
| lyrics and music by | Kim Min-gi (김민기) | |
| year released | 1971 | |
| album | Kim Min-gi (김민기), 1971 |
| 친구 | Friend | |
|---|---|---|
| 검푸른 바닷가에 비가 내리면 | If it rains on a dark blue seashore | |
| 어디가 하늘이고 어디가 물이요 | Which part is the sky and which water | |
| 그 깊은 바다속에 고요히 잠기면 | If quietly submerged in the deep sea | |
| 무엇이 산 것이고 무엇이 죽었소 | What are the living and what dead | |
| 눈앞에 떠오는 친구의 모습 | Friend's face looms before my eyes | |
| 흩날리는 꽃잎 위에 어른거리오 | Flickering with the flowers in the air | |
| 저 멀리 들리는 친구의 음성 | Friend's voice coming from a distance | |
| 달리는 기차 바퀴가 대답하려나 | Will the wheels of a train answer him | |
| 눈앞에 보이는 수많은 모습들 | Of the many figures before my eyes | |
| 그 모두 진정이라 우겨 말하면 | If each argues for his truthfulness | |
| 어느 누구 하나가 홀로 일어나 | Would there be anyone among them | |
| 아니라고 말할 사람 누가 있겠소 | To rise up alone and say it isn't so | |
| 눈앞에 떠오는 친구의 모습 | Friend's face looms before my eyes | |
| 흩날리는 꽃잎 위에 아른거리오 | Flickering with the flowers in the air | |
| 저 멀리 들리는 친구의 음성 | Friend's voice coming from a distance | |
| 달리는 기차 바퀴가 대답하려나 | Will the wheels of a train answer him |
| 친구 |
|---|
| 검푸른 바닷가에 비가 내리면 |
| 어디가 하늘이고 어디가 물이요 |
| 그 깊은 바다속에 고요히 잠기면 |
| 무엇이 산 것이고 무엇이 죽었소 |
| 눈앞에 떠오는 친구의 모습 |
| 흩날리는 꽃잎 위에 어른거리오 |
| 저 멀리 들리는 친구의 음성 |
| 달리는 기차 바퀴가 대답하려나 |
| 눈앞에 보이는 수많은 모습들 |
| 그 모두 진정이라 우겨 말하면 |
| 어느 누구 하나가 홀로 일어나 |
| 아니라고 말할 사람 누가 있겠소 |
| 눈앞에 떠오는 친구의 모습 |
| 흩날리는 꽃잎 위에 아른거리오 |
| 저 멀리 들리는 친구의 음성 |
| 달리는 기차 바퀴가 대답하려나 |
| Friend |
|---|
| If it rains on a dark blue seashore |
| Which part is the sky and which water |
| If quietly submerged in the deep sea |
| What are the living and what dead |
| Friend's face looms before my eyes |
| Flickering with the flowers in the air |
| Friend's voice coming from a distance |
| Will the wheels of a train answer him |
| Of the many figures before my eyes |
| If each argues for his truthfulness |
| Would there be anyone among them |
| To rise up alone and say it isn't so |
| Friend's face looms before my eyes |
| Flickering with the flowers in the air |
| Friend's voice coming from a distance |
| Will the wheels of a train answer him |
Kim Min-gi supposedly wrote the song in his senior year in high school. The story has it that one of his friends died in an accident on a high school camping trip, and he had to go visit the friend's parents to give them the bad news. He must have had a lot on his mind during the train ride, with the constant chugging of the wheels filled the air, which is probably what led to "Will the wheels of a train answer him".
Befitting the sad situation, the song evokes the heavy subject of life and death in the first verse, and that of the truth in the second. Was the accident of such a nature as to raise the question of truth? We don't know for sure, but the somber tone and enigmatic lyrics suggest such subjects. Whatever the author meant to say, it is a song that makes you think about how powerless and vulnerable we are, how precarious life is and how it can sometimes end tragically completely out of anyone's control.
