BTS' "Mikrokosmos" Lyrics Have A Deep Meaning That'll Make You See The World In A New Light

One BTS song that will always be close to ARMYs' hearts is the group's 2019 Map of the Soul: Persona track "Mikrokosmos." That's because when you look at what BTS’ "Mikrokosmos" lyrics mean, they're all about the love the band has for their fans, who they consider their brightest stars who are always by their side. To add on to the emotional feelings ARMYs experience when listening to the track, BTS used "Mikrokosmos" as the closing song throughout their 2019 Speak Yourself tour, meaning whenever fans hear it, they can't help but think of attending the group's concerts, which are always filled with a sea of fan light sticks. You need to read the song's full English translation because it will give you the feels.

BTS released "Mikrokosmos" in April 2019 and, ever since, ARMYs have spent all their time unpacking the song's lyrics in an effort to understand the meaning of the track as fully as possible. They find more meaning with each passing day.

As you’ve probably guessed, “Mikrokosmos” means microcosms, but there’s more to it than that. Some fans thought the title of the song itself may have been a reference to an early 20th century Hungarian composer by the name of Béla Bartók. According to Spinditty, Bartók “took great pleasure in melding the musical material of common folk tunes with the ever-evolving styles and techniques of the classical music contemporary to his day.” That, in turn, led him to create the “Mikrokosmos,” a six-volume piano composition guide that was designed so Bartók’s son, Peter, could learn to play piano. Apparently, the compositions become more complex as you go through the volumes, and conclude with “two volumes of music intended to be professional performance-quality pieces.” So, they’re meant to help aspiring pianists learn the ropes of playing piano.

Now, what does all that have to do with BTS? Well, it falls right in line with everything else BTS is doing at the moment in terms of spreading a message of wholeness and self-realization. But while Bartók may have been inspiration for the song (we may never know), the lyrics to “Mikrokosmos” don't really have much to do with BTS' message of self-realization.

Instead, "Mikrokosmos" is more of a love song, and it seems like the boys might be using the word to mean how one person in a world of 7 billion can seem so small, but still mean so much.

Here’s a look at the first verse, according to a translation by Genius:

Glittering starlight / Building with blinking light / We're shining / In each room's own star / Some light is ambition / Some light wandering / The lights of people / A precious one / Dark night (do not be lonely) / Like a star (We shine) / Do not disappear / It's a big one / Let us shine / How beautiful this night looks is so beautiful again / Those stars are not our lights, they are ours

From there, the songs slips seamlessly into the chorus:

You got me / I dream of you / I got you / In the dark night / Each other's light / We were saying the same thing / The shining starlight at the deepest night / The shining starlight at the deepest night / The deeper the night, the brighter the starlight

Both the first verse and the chorus convey a message of love, which is emphasized even further in the second verse. Here’s a look:

One history in one person / One star in one person / Shining with 7 billion lights / 7 billion worlds / The night view of seven billion living cities / Maybe another night in the city / Let's shine / You shine brighter than anyone / How beautiful this night looks is so beautiful again / That darkness is not moonlight, it's us

When you put all this together, it’s clear BTS has put quite a lot of thought into this song and this album as a whole, which is why it never gets old. While the Speak Yourself ended in 2019, that hasn't stopped BTS from performing their finale song. The boys performed "Mikrokosmos" as part of their YouTube Class of 2020 performance in June, and then again on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon that October.

Only time will tell when BTS performs this classic track next.