EXO's Wolf - A Lyrical Analysis and why it's a MASTERPIECE

    I'm glad it was done by someone.... Kudos to original post.


    Here's the link :-


    https://www.reddit.com/r/kpopthoughts/comments/uwmzvm/a_lyrical_analysis_of_exos_wolf_and_why_it_truly/?




    Let's get into it, shall we?



    Yes I am being serious, this isn't me meme-ing. I genuinely had no clue Wolf was considered cringe by others until one of my friends told me. A little odd, yes, but I enjoyed the oddness of it. Upon reading the lyrics, however, I could see what people meant. But all I could see was the lyrical GENIUS in it.


    To set the record straight—they are obviously not actually singing about wolves, but rather using the wolf as a metaphor. Wolves are in packs, bounded together strongly, just like our main character here is to his group—a pack mentality. His heart is yearning for a 'beauty', someone straying far from his own group of people who are rugged and wild, yet he knows that if he strays from the norm and goes after this beauty who is so different from them, he'll be pushed aside. The entire song is basically about forbidden love and the themes and problems that can arise from that.


    Analysis of each lyric section (repeated lines not included)

    Quote
    I get a feeling all at once, in one bite
    I will put you in my mouth like cheese
    I’ll smell your scent, enjoy your color
    And eat you more elegantly than wine

    Here we set the stage for the beauty by using comparisons of cheese and wine, two things generally considered luxurious. The beauty in question is just like the aesthetic that comes with that. Our protagonist is just getting to know her, still in his mind that he wants to hurt her in some way because that's the way he's been taught to act.

    It's here however that he starts to realize that he actually doesn't want to hurt her. That's not why he's pulled toward her—it's because he likes her. He wonders what's happening to him, why this "appetite" of his (aka his usual distaste for people) is disappearing. But soon enough he realizes that he's fallen for her, someone outside the norm of what he is supposed to like.

    Quote
    Hey, just bite her
    Then shake her so she’ll lose her conscious
    Hey, do it with a style you’ve never used
    Get rid of her before that full moon sets

    All mentions of biting is actually in reference to how he usually treats others—rudely and without much empathy. Just do what he does with everyone else, just perhaps, a little differently? But! Remember! If you do! Do it before anyone else finds out, or that will be the end of you in the social circle you've always been a part of.

    Quote
    Yes, wolf, I’m a wolf, awoo
    (I love you) I’m a wolf and you’re a beauty
    Yes, wolf, I’m a wolf, awoo
    (I love you) I’m a wolf and you’re a beauty

    Being a wolf just generally means a bad guy, and the beauty is in reference to her being a good girl. The good vs the bad, very much like beauty and the beast.

    Our protagonist is slowly realizing, as he's being invited into this other world which the beauty is living, he doesn't hate it as much as he'd been led to believe he would. He gets not only to know the beauty better, but also himself.

    Quote
    Look at her, she’s fallen into fear
    She can’t understand the situation before her eyes
    “Will that dirty wolf guy eat me in the end?”
    That’s not it, I have fallen in love

    However; the girl can't quite understand why he's the way he is. She's always known him as a bad guy, but now that he's suddenly treating her well, he doesn't know why he is. Is he planning something? Will he end up treating her like shit, just like he has to everyone else? But the protagonist can't bring himself to tell the girl that he's actually fallen for her and is trying to better himself.


    Pretty much a continuation of the previous things I said. The internal conflict he has with himself and the love he has for her at its peak.

    The climax of it all—the external and internal conflict comes to the surface. His group (the moon) tells him that he can't have anything to do with her. He's a wild beast. She's much too proper and good for him, that's not the kind of people he's supposed to be with. But, our protagonist has had a change of heart. No longer does the old group and their ways hold as much importance to him. He realizes, as he's opened himself up to the rest of the world, he has found many other things he enjoys. Perhaps his old friends would call it "simple", but that's fine for him. He loves that girl and more importantly, he's found himself.

    At the end of the day, our protagonist decides that he's better off following his heart. He realizes that the love he feels for the girl is stronger than his will to stay with the bad guys, and that he's changed. Perhaps he's never been like them? Perhaps it's always been something hidden within him, just lying in wait for the right opportunity to come forward. Just perhaps, the meeting with the beauty was beneficial for the big bad wolf at the end.


    Conclusion (& TL;DR)

    Wolf is a song about forbidden love and forcing yourself out of your comfort zone and any potential false life you might be living. Our protagonist, a bad guy who's life always has been like that, is shaken up when he meets a girl who's very different from himself. Upon getting to know her, he finds that he's fallen for her, and the initial intent to hurt her is whipped away. The girl, while uncertain at first, understands the guy's true and sincere love once he lets go of his past, no longer identifying himself with it.


    The song has garnered a lot of criticism and is regarded as one of the most cringe kpop songs in regards to both lyrics and music. However, I beg to differ with everything I've written so far. Had the lyrics not been so outrageously 'weird' and taken so much inspiration from wolves and pack mentality (which is a great metaphor), this song would never have been what it is today. No 'awooo'. No 'chogi wa'. No 'saranghaeyo'. Wolf is a true hallmark on the kpop scene and EXO wouldn't be what they are today without it—and all of it comes from the genius that is its lyrics.

    It is, truly, a masterpiece.



    TL;DR: Wolf is about forbidden love disguised behind the metaphor of wolves and pack mentality. It's also a masterpiece.

    I love Pikachu.

    Always have, Always will.


    "Pika-Pi"

    I love Pikachu.

    Always have, Always will.


    "Pika-Pi"

    :eyes:


    Never actually read the lyrics of wolf so thanks for this. Personally I liked Wolf when it came out (as a non fan) i found it weird too that people didn’t like it. I like how Op explained it, I never realized but it’s kind of genius. Lol

    It looks like this song and Cat and Dog can do a Hi 5 in term of being weird and misunderstood. One is about a relationship between a good girl and bad guy another song is about loyalty. This also make me think if Wolf was a possible inspiration for Cat and Dog in terms of using animals as the metaphor of a relationship.


    Iconic song anyway.


    The influx of wolf based fanfics in KPOP after EXO released Wolf was unreal. I remember seeing it somewhere (Possibly on Twitter)

    I love Pikachu.

    Always have, Always will.


    "Pika-Pi"

    Justice for Wolf :pepe-sad:

    Legend Lee Know


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    The cheese in this masterpiece kept me from taking EXO seriously for years (I think I've said this a million times). After 2016 happened and I was practically devouring everything EXO had released until then, I rewatched it and even though I overlooked the cheese this time, everything else was simply iconic. Wolf is a masterpiece indeed.

    On the contrary, I've never found it cringe worthy and it's the reason I'm Exol. Once I watched the Wolf MV, everything in me changed. Not only did I get into Kpop, I was addicted to Exo, my standards of many things changed!


    I love Wolf. :pepelove1:

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