https://youtu.be/Bjm920Fyo34 Taeyang (original)
https://youtu.be/DwDLjPLMJls AKMU (cover)
*these videos are the lyric videos so that people can see where the lyrics were changed
During freshmen year, I could never quite figure out why I liked Akdong Musician’s (AKMU) version of “Eyes Nose Lips” more than Taeyang’s original song. After listening to both songs on repeat for this blog, I think I started formulating why.
Taeyang’s “Eyes Nose Lips” begins with an ominous piano as Taeyang apologizes to the lover addressed in the song. His voice comes off firm, upset, remorseful. About a minute in, the chorus starts, and Taeyang’s voice becomes desperate as he describes the “eyes, nose, and lips” of his lover and how he misses her. AKMU’s version starts with the same lyrics, but already the feel of the song is different as a more acoustic version plays, accompanied with drums and guitar. Paired with that is Chanhyuk’s voice, which sounds softer and more innocent, giving the sound more of a first love feel compared to Taeyang’s version which sounds like a deeper, longer relationship. Chanhyuk splits the first verse with his sister, Soohyun, whose sweet voice contributes to a more innocent, first love feel to the song. The introduction of another voice also makes the song sound as if it were sung from two points of view. The lyrics are the same up until the second verse. In the original, Taeyang focuses on reminiscing about his lover and wondering if he’ll still be able to run into her once and a while; it’s a verse about longing. Chanhyuk, however, echoes the end of the chorus “I’ll call you a memory,” and seems to advise himself to not let the break up consume him. Before this assignment, I wasn’t aware that AKMU had changed the lyrics, but it feels like their style so much more, musically and just experience wise as Taeyang is about ten years older than the brother/sister duo.
