The Meaning Behind RM's New Single "Wild Flower" Is So Moving

RM's debut solo studio album, "Indigo," is here, and fans are already moved by the thoughtful and emotional themes that play out through his poetic lyrics. Listeners will notice that the new song he teased with Pharrell isn't on the album, and that's because the project was carefully curated (but fans can definitely expect that collaboration soon).

RM's lead single, "Wild Flower," sits at track No. 9 on "Indigo," so you may want to start listening to the album now, because in a note to fans on Weverse, RM asked them to listen to the album from beginning to end to experience it the way he intended. Afterward, you can press play on his live performance from behind NPR's Tiny Desk and watch his new music video for "Wild Flower," a track that explores RM's outlook on life and mixed feelings about his success and fame.

RM's "Wild Flower" Meaning

In verse one, RM raps, "Even before the start I imagined / An end where I could applaud and smile / That's what I wished for," according to YouTube's English translation. It seems RM hasn't yet been able to reach the point where he can look back and applaud and smile, and he may not ever get there, as he goes on to deliver the lines, "When everything I believed in grew distant / When all this fame turned into shackles / Please take my desire away from me."

Despite his unfulfilled desires, RM still strives to embrace his true self, and these existential themes echo throughout "Indigo." In the chorus, sung beautifully by Youjeen, RM encourages himself (and, in doing so, his listeners) to shine by lighting a "flowerwork."

RM's "Wild Flower" Music Video

The video that accompanies "Wild Flower" is a visual masterpiece. It sees RM deliver his verses in various scenic but caustic locations: the eye of a storm, a dark space where fire embers fall from the sky, and a packed stadium — all juxtaposed against shots of the BTS leader standing in a serene lavender field. Fittingly, fireworks explode throughout the video, a callback to RM's encouraging term "flowerworks."

Watch RM's "Wild Flower" music video below, then check out the lyrics in English to understand the full impact of the song.

click to play video

RM's "Wild Flower" Lyrics in English

INTRO
Flower field, that's where I'm at
Open land, that's where I'm at
No name, that's what I have
No shame, I'm on my grave

When your feet don't touch the ground
When your own heart underestimates you
When your dreams devour you
When you feel you're not yourself
All those times

VERSE 1
I yearned for the flames
I yearned for a beautiful fall
Even before the start I imagined
An end where I could applaud and smile
That's what I wished for

When everything I believed in grew distant
When all this fame turned into shackles
Please take my desire away from me

No matter what it takes
Oh let me be myself
Oh every day and every night
Persistin' pain and criminal mind
Nights the beating of my heart kept me up
The mournful crescent moon hung beyond the window
I do wish me a lovely night
Over my status is an oversized life
Desperately holding onto a balloon drifting by
I ask where you could be right now
Where you go, where's your soul
Yo where's your dream?

CHORUS
Gonna scatter across that sky
Light a flower, flowerwork
Flower flowerwork
Gonna shine across that sky
Light a flower, flowerwork
Flower flowerwork

VERSE 2
Where's my end finally gonna be
Everything's so exhausting, from A to Z
When's this wretched mask finally gonna come off
Yeah me no hero, me no villain
I'm barely anything
Idling repeats, memories turning vicious
Lying in a field, I set my sights onto the skies
Now I can't remember what I wanted so badly
I trusted I was happy, now a mere memory

Yeah I been goin', no matter what's in front
No matter what it may be
Memories of holding onto dawn's edge and spitting things out
Society's all for the loudest voice
And here I am, still speaking silence
It's an aside, a boat in full bloom
To face all the prejudice and misunderstandings
I don't care much for being tossed into the air
Grounded on my own two feet
Amongst the flowers without names
I can't go to the stars again, I can't
Underfoot, I just go
To a destination without a purpose
Not even knowing my own sadness
Even making friends with the shadows
I be gone

CHORUS
Gonna scatter across that sky
Light a flower, flowerwork
Flower flowerwork
Gonna shine across that sky
Light a flower, flowerwork
Flower flowerwork

VERSE 3
Paused and turned out to be gloriously barefooted
Nothing was ever meant to be mine
And don't tell me like you gotta be someone
Because I'll never be like them
(Light a flower)

Yeah, my start was poetry
My one and only strength and dream that protected me so far
Burning fireworks to flowerworks
Boyhood to eternity
I'll stay in this barren field
Ah, I'll return someday

CHORUS
Gonna scatter across that sky
Light a flower, flowerwork
Flower flowerwork
Gonna shine across that sky
Light a flower, flowerwork
Flower flowerwork

OUTRO
Flower field, that's where I'm at
Open land, that's where I'm at
No name, that's what I have
No shame, I'm on my grave
When your feet don't touch the ground
When your own heart underestimates you
When your dreams devour you
When you feel you're not yourself
All those times