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[Verse: Rumi, Zoey, Mira, All]
I was a ghost, I was alone (Hah)
어두워진 (Hah) 앞길속에 (Hah)
Given the throne, I didn't know how to believe (Hah)
I was the queen that I'm meant to be (Ah)
I lived two lives, tried to play both sides (Oh)
But I couldn't find my own place (Oh)
Called a problem child 'cause I got too wild
But now that's how I'm getting paid, 끝없이 on stage
[Pre-Chorus: Rumi, All]
I'm done hidin', now I'm shinin'
Like I'm born to be
We dreamin' hard, we came so far
Now I believe
[Chorus: Rumi]
We're goin' up, up, up
It's our moment
You know together we're glowin'
Gonna be, gonna be golden
Oh, up, up, up
With our voices
영원히 깨질 수 없는
Gonna be, gonna be golden
[Post-Chorus: All]
Oh, I'm done hidin', now I'm shinin'
Like I'm born to be
Oh, our time, no fears, no lies
That's who we're born to be
[Bridge: Rumi]
Waited so long to break these walls down
To wake up and feel like me
Put these patterns all in the past now
And finally live like the girl they all see
No more hiding, I'll be shining
Like I'm born to be
'Cause we are hunters, voices strong
And I know I believe
[Chorus: Rumi, All]
We're goin' up, up, up
It's our moment
You know together we're glowing
Gonna be, gonna be golden
Oh, up, up, up
With our voices
영원히 깨질 수 없는
Gonna be, gonna be golden
[Post-Chorus: Rumi]
Oh, I'm done hidin', now I'm shining
Like I'm born to be
Oh, our time, no fears, no lies
That's who we're born to be
[Outro: Rumi, All]
You know we're gonna be, gonna be golden (Oh)
We're gonna be, gonna be (Oh)
Born to be, born to be glowin' (Oh)
밝게 빛나는 우리
You know that it's our time, no fears, no lies (Oh, oh)
That's who we're born to be
Game 1: The Schwa (/ʌ/) – The “Vowel of Rest”
The Hurdle: The relentless drilling of the American schwa in words like up, up, up, and gonna.
The Structural Challenge: The Korean vowel system lacks the relaxed, uncommitted sound of the schwa, defaulting instead to more effortful or tense vowel positions.
The Synthesis: The song forces the speaker to learn the phonetic equivalent of a philosophical “rest state"—a moment of linguistic non-effort that is essential for achieving a natural, conversational American flow. This is crucial "shadow work” on the tongue, teaching the speaker how to relax the vocal apparatus, which mirrors the societal struggle to overcome han (tension) and achieve the “Morning Calm.”
Game 2: The Fricative & Liquid (/v/, /l/) – The “Work-Rest Codifier”
The Hurdle: The difficulty in transitioning between fricatives (/v/) and liquids (/l/) and the specific, non-native clustering of gl- and gol-.
The Korean tendency is towards ppal-li (fast, continuous effort).
The song forces the speaker to practice the “rest-work” coarticulation of be-lieve—carrying the tongue from a relaxed vowel into the stressed /l/ sound. This trains the speaker to integrate flexibility and sustained effort into their linguistic output, making the sound of the word “believe” a literal act of vocal mastery.
Game 3: The /aɪ/ Diphthong – The “Sovereign I”
The Hurdle: The difficulty in producing the full, open American diphthong in I’m done hidin' and now I’m shinin'.
The Ultimate Fix: The genius lies in the AAVE deletion of the final /ŋ/ sound (the “-in'” ending).
This removes the common “crutch” (the nasalization that simplifies the preceding diphthong).
It forces the speaker to produce the pure, open, “mouth-warping” /aɪ/ diphthong—the sound of the sovereign, self-confident “I.” This is the highest level of phonetic assertion, preparing the speaker for global, uninhibited self-expression.
The Philosophical Prize: I –> We –> Golden
The song’s structure models the sociological solution:
Individual Shadow Work: The verses focus on the difficult individual struggle: “I was a ghost… I’m done hidin'.” This is the brutal individual training (the phonetic boot camp).
Collective Reward: The chorus shifts the perspective to the unified, golden outcome: “We’re goin' up, up, up,” and “together we’re glowin'.”
The song is a comprehensive formula for transforming the Korean “self” (the individual, suppressed identity) into a member of the global, successful “golden” collective. It is a powerful example of cultural hard power using the aesthetic language of pop to achieve structural, linguistic, and psychological evolution.
