A huge part of the lyrics for this follow-up single to the international hit ‘Gangnam Style’ is chosen for their sound quality rather than their meanings. In fact, it’s even considered elusive and subversive in Korea.
Allangamolla (the core hook of the song) literally means “I don’t know if you know” in a dialect spoken in the South-Western region in Korea. From the video, you see a Psy who boasts of being a gentleman while he is behaving like anything but that. In addition, Allangamolla is not really a type of language you expect to hear from a gentleman — not even a country gentleman (with all due respect to the dialect). But later in the song, he’s heard singing in a dialect slang from another region. This character is basically a boastful fake gentleman who is a country bumpkin with no integrity — and the dialect is definitely not out of a sense of regional identity.
Repeatedly in the song, you hear Psy saying something that sounds like the name “Maria.” I see a lot of Korean bloggers claim that it is a pun, implying a woman named Maria. In Korean, it is a filler that ends a sentence sometimes like “you know.” If it involves a certain Maria — well, it’s in the ears of the listener.
‘Gentleman’ uses more English, more conscious of the growing global market after the unexpected international popularity of ‘Gangnam Style,’ and a huge part of the words are chosen for their sound quality rather than their meanings. Even for a native Korean, the meanings of the song is not readily clear.
Even a lot of the sexual connotations (so blatantly obvious to non-Koreans) pass unnoticed to many unsuspecting Koreans. For example, as Psy shouts “wet Psy,” a bucketful of water pours over him and, when translated into Korean, it really just means that — being soaked. Nothing else. In the same way he sings “mother father gentleman.” Not many Koreans would know that there is a common English expression like 'mother-f***ing.' And the literal translation is of course utterly horrible in any language. But nobody in their right mind actually means it literally as they say it... (hopefully).
It is probably Psy’s sneaky way of being elusive and subversive (which he has a reputation for in Korea) in his conservative home country — dodging criticisms (and even censorship) from the highly restrictive Korean music governing body (yup, such thing still exists in Korea) and the society’s judging eyes.
Apparently, this music video is even banned from the national broadcasting company channel in Korea because it shows a scene at the beginning where Psy kicks a traffic cone in the street (‘defacement of the public property’…)
A huge part of the lyrics for this follow-up single to the international hit ‘Gangnam Style’ is chosen for their sound quality rather than their meanings. In fact, it’s even considered elusive and subversive in Korea.
Allangamolla (the core hook of the song) literally means “I don’t know if you know” in a dialect spoken in the South-Western region in Korea. From the video, you see a Psy who boasts of being a gentleman while he is behaving like anything but that. In addition, Allangamolla is not really a type of language you expect to hear from a gentleman — not even a country gentleman (with all due respect to the dialect). But later in the song, he’s heard singing in a dialect slang from another region. This character is basically a boastful fake gentleman who is a country bumpkin with no integrity — and the dialect is definitely not out of a sense of regional identity.
Repeatedly in the song, you hear Psy saying something that sounds like the name “Maria.” I see a lot of Korean bloggers claim that it is a pun, implying a woman named Maria. In Korean, it is a filler that ends a sentence sometimes like “you know.” If it involves a certain Maria — well, it’s in the ears of the listener.
‘Gentleman’ uses more English, more conscious of the growing global market after the unexpected international popularity of ‘Gangnam Style,’ and a huge part of the words are chosen for their sound quality rather than their meanings. Even for a native Korean, the meanings of the song is not readily clear. Even a lot of the sexual connotations (so blatantly obvious to non-Koreans) pass unnoticed to many unsuspecting Koreans. For example, as Psy shouts “wet Psy,” a bucketful of water pours over him and, when translated into Korean, it really just means that — being soaked. Nothing else. In the same way he sings “mother father gentleman.” Not many Koreans would know that there is a common English expression like 'mother-f***ing.' And the literal translation is of course utterly horrible in any language. But nobody in their right mind actually means it literally as they say it... (hopefully).
It is probably Psy’s sneaky way of being elusive and subversive (which he has a reputation for in Korea) in his conservative home country — dodging criticisms (and even censorship) from the highly restrictive Korean music governing body (yup, such thing still exists in Korea) and the society’s judging eyes. Apparently, this music video is even banned from the national broadcasting company channel in Korea because it shows a scene at the beginning where Psy kicks a traffic cone in the street (‘defacement of the public property’…)
Bo from Tuneslated.com
Thanks for your time to explain that, Im off to look at Gangnam style now. kamsahamnida
Thanks for your time to explain that, Im off to look at Gangnam style now. kamsahamnida