English translation and Korean lesson with the lyrics of House of Cards (Full Length Edition) by BTS, from the 2016 album The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever.
Produced by: Slow Rabbit
Written by: Slow Rabbit, Brother Su, “Hitman” Bang
Find it here: Youtube • Spotify • Apple Music • Amazon Music
Verse 1:
또 위태로워 또 위험해
At risk again. In danger again.
또 = again, once more
위태롭다 = to be risky
위험하다 = to be dangerous
So bad (why) 우린 yeah
So bad (why) We… yeah
우리 = we, us, our
더 버티기도 지탱하기도
Enduring it any longer, holding out any longer,
더 = more
버티다 = to bear, to endure
-기도 = X and (used with verbs, adjectives. Not nouns) (버티기도)
지탱하다 = to hold out, to bear through
So hard (hard) 안 돼
So hard (hard). We can’t do it.
(It doesn’t seem to flow when you translate this line by line, but if you pull the English out of these last 3 lines, you’re left with “우린 더 버티기도 지탱기도 안 돼.” which is a complete sentence meaning “We can’t endure it any longer, can’t hold out any longer.”)
안 = to not do X (X being the accompanying verb/adjective)
되다 = to become
안 되다 = for something to not work, not be okay
Pre-Chorus:
이미 알고 있어도
Even though I already knew,
이미 = already
알다 = to know
-고 있다 = present progressive tense. IE: “to be knowing” instead of “to know”. Curiously, this is the most common way to say “to know” in Korean. (알고 있어도)
-어도 / -아도 = even if X, even though X (있어도)
멈출 수가 없었어
I couldn’t stop.
멈추다 = to stop
-ㄹ 수 없다 / -을 수 없다 = to not be able to do X
No way, no way, no way 쓰러져
No way, no way, no way. It’s falling over.
쓰러지다 = to fall over
시간이 지나 갈 수록
As time passes,
시간 = time
지나가다 = to pass, to go past
-수록 = as X happens, the more X happens (지나 갈 수록)
더 망가져 가기만 해
it just gets more destroyed.
망가지다 = to break down, to be ruined
-기만 하다 = to only do X
No way, no way 또 무너지는 걸 ah
No way, no way. It’s collapsing again. Ah
무너지다 = for something to collapse in on itself
Chorus:
카드로 만든 집 그 속에서 우린
A house of cards. Inside of it, we,
-로 / -으로 = with X, via X (카드로)
만들다 = to make
집 = a house
그 = that, those
속 = the inside of something
-에서 = inside X (속에서)
끝이 보인대도 곧 쓰러진대도
though we can see the end, though it’s about to fall…
끝 = the end of something
보이다 = to be seen, to be visible
곧 = soon
카드로 만든 집 바보같이 우린
A house of cards. Like fools, we,
바보 = a fool
-같다 = to be like X (바보같이)
헛된 꿈이래도 이대로 조금 더 stay
though the dream is futile, stay like this a little longer.
헛되다 = to be empty, vain, futile
꿈 = a dream
이대로 = like this
조금 = a bit, a little
Verse 2:
내일이란 게 없듯이
As if there’s no tomorrow,
내일 = tomorrow
없다 = to not be found, not exist
-듯 = as if X (없듯이)
다음이란 건 없듯이
as if nothing comes after this,
다음 = next
지금 내겐 눈 앞에 너를 뺀 모든 게 지독히 깜깜한 어둠이지
right now, everything in front of me apart from you is horrible pitch-darkness.
(The saying “everything before my eyes is pitch-dark” is a Korean idiom. It means to feel anxious or hopeless about the future, to have no idea what to do.)
지금 = now
내 = I, me, my
-에게 = to X, for X (내겐)
눈 = an eye
앞 = the front of something
-에 = at X, on X (앞에)
너 = youi
빼다 = to take out, to remove
모든 = every
게 = a thing
지독하다 = to be potent, venomous
-히 = turns a 하다 adjective into an adverb. IE: “potent” becomes “potently” (지독히)
깜깜하다 = to be pitch-black
어듬 = darkness
-지 = adds a nuance of “you know” or “Don’t you agree?” (어둠이지)
입버릇처럼 말해
Out of habit I say,
입 = a mouth
버릇 = a habit
-처럼 = like X (입버릇처럼)
말하다 = to say, to speak
우린 결국엔 안 돼
“We won’t work in the end.”
결국 = finally, in the end
그래도 난 계속 바래
But even so I keep wishing.
그래도 = even so, however
나 = I, me
계속 = continually
바라다 = to wish, to hope
마지막도 너와 함께라면 I’m okay
Even at the end, if I’m with you, I’m okay.
마지막 = the end, the last of something
-도 = X too, even X (마지막도)
-와 / -과 = “and” when followed by an accompanying noun. Otherwise “with”. (너와)
함께 = together
-면 = if/when X (함께라면)
Pre-Chorus:
이미 알고 있어도
Even though I already knew,
멈출 수가 없었어
I couldn’t stop.
No way, no way, no way 쓰러져
No way, no way, no way. It’s falling over.
시간이 지나 갈 수록
As time passes,
더 망가져 가기만 해
it just gets more destroyed.
No way, no way 또 무너지는 걸 ah
No way, no way. It’s collapsing again. Ah
Chorus:
카드로 만든 집 그 속에서 우린
A house of cards. Inside of it, we,
끝이 보인대도 곧 쓰러진대도
though we can see the end, though it’s about to fall…
카드로 만든 집 바보같이 우린
A house of cards. Like fools, we,
헛된 꿈이래도 이대로 조금 더 stay
though the dream is futile, stay like this a little longer.
Bridge:
시간을 slow down
Slow down time.
조금만 더, 머물러 줘 oh
Please stay just a bit longer. Oh
머무르다 = to stay
-어 주다 / -아 주다 = adds a nuance of “for” or “as a favour to” someone (머물러 줘)
Please Baby calm down
조금만 더
Just a bit more.
더 위태로워 더 위험해
More at risk. In more danger.
So bad (why) 우린 yeah
So bad (why) We… yeah
더 버티기도 지탱하기도
Enduring it any longer, holding out any longer,
So hard 또 무너지는 걸 ah
So hard. It’s collapsing again. Ah
Chorus:
카드로 만든 집 그 속에서 우린
A house of cards. Inside of it, we,
끝이 보인대도 곧 쓰러진대도
though we can see the end, though it’s about to fall…
카드로 만든 집 바보같이 우린
A house of cards. Like fools, we,
헛된 꿈이래도 이대로 조금 더 stay
though the dream is futile, stay like this a little longer.
