I was participating in the Leo thread and it just reinforced for me how silly it is for non-native Korean speakers to think they can judge the relative merits of different Korean lyricists. Unless you have a native level fluency AND a deep understanding of the cultural context, you are just relying on some translator's interpretation which is heavily reliant on their own knowledge and skills. Even if you are using a translator who is talented enough to convey the true meaning and spirit of the lyrics while maintaining the writer's original style, you're not likely seeking out the same for groups you don't stan. How can you judge who is better or worse?
For example, the lyrics of Mino's Fiance seem incredibly simple on the surface and makes the song sound like a run of the mill love song. If all you read was an regular English translation, you pbly wouldn't think much of it. However, for people who get the references for the blue bird and the allusions to court ladies and even know the history behind the sample, the lyrics have much deeper and complex meaning.
So, the Leo thread there seem to be a few different interpretations of the lyrics including taking them very literally as being about having sex and killing and saying the phrases are just random words with zero meaning behind them.
So, I took a crack at a few lines and this is what I wrote.
"F*** that hoe in my bank. Yeah, that sh*t stopped breathing"
My interpretation of the line is "in my bank" isn't referring to a location, rather it is referring to the money he has or even his ability to earn money. The "hoes in his bank" could then either be gold digging women who are attracted to him due to his wealth, or, more likely, it's referring to haters who are trying to stop him from achieving success. The "that shit stopped breathing" part could be close to the original version of the song in meaning that the women were so overcome by his display that it took their breath away for a moment or that he stopped his haters cold with his talent or alternatively literally killed them.
"Took that b**** to the store"
I'm taking that as slang usage. There was a meme a long time ago that basically equated "going to the store" with "going crazy". So, he could be driving the gold diggers or haters crazy. I kinda think he might be using it to mean he schooled them as in took them to school, but admittedly I've never heard anyone use store instead of school in that way.
Right or wrong, this is me as a native- English speaker interpreting English lyrics. Others have different views on it. Maybe mine is correct. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm assigning to much meaning into the meaningless.
And that's just for two lines in a horrible dumb rap that some trainee dashed off at the last minute in my native tongue.
I wouldn't try to judge Korean lyrics.
