(Early Access) IU 'Eight' Explained SCRIPT

Here's the script for IU Eight explained video. 

We're working on the video and it'll be up soon!
 

IU and SUGA have collaborated on their recent song Eight. Eight is another song from her ‘age’ series including 23 and Palette. IU actually commented on this song, 

‘The songs I released before were written in an essay format where I was talking directly to the listener. But in my song ’Eight’, I used several metaphors and a made-up persona that I call ’you’ to tell my story of my 28, like a short novel. 

I can't be sure if this comes from my personal state of emotions or if it comes from the overall atmosphere of our society that is amidst hard times, perhaps both, but I’ll always remember my 28th year as a period of constant helplessness and lethargy, along with a longing for the 'orange island' where there was no sadness and 'we' were able to be free.

Now being true to her explanation, the song is basically a journey through her own story or memory of becoming 28 and how she feels about it. Many other YT channels, for example Bookish Theory explained the primary meaning behind this Music video in IU’s perspective pretty well so go check them out. But, today I want to try to provide you with an alternative theory on the music video. And yes it’s about her friends Sulli, Hara and 종현. (자막 disclaimer ; personal opinion 이고 아이유 의도를 대변하지 않을 수 있다. 특히 슬프고 안타까운 사건인 만큼, 이 해석은 그냥 대안적인 해석으로 받아들여달라.)

(v.o) You can see IU walking into a futuristic room with a big machine. 

Then she presses the record button and activates the machine. 

You can see the word ‘omnibus’ on the record tape, which means, she is going to record fractions or separate stories that happened in her memory. 

Then there’s a lizard on top of the ceiling trapped, looking down on her.

The screen says ‘will you save all your memories’ and it proceeds. 

You can see the eight sign light up and IU dives into her memories. 

The eight sign can be, seen as the infinity sign meaning the memories will be saved and live on forever. Also Eight technically represents her age 28, also SUGA’s who is the same age as IU. Plus, fun fact, if you add 28+28 it becomes 56, the release date of her MV. May 6th. 

So are you happy now
Finally happy now are you

뭐 그대로야 난
다 잃어버린 것 같아

IU enters the house and looks around. It’s a place she has been before. Notice that there’s a peach shaped light. While Sulli’s nickname was Peach, IU has a song of her own titled Peach, which is known to be dedicated to Sulli.

We can see memories of her lying on the floor of the house and smiling to somebody that’s with her. And if you see her nails in the present, they are all worn off, symbolizing that time has passed and she has gone through pain. Also she has twenty seven pearls attached onto her arm which shows that this is part of her memory of the past 27years. (앨범 사진 삽입)

The lyrics start by asking someone whether they are finally happy now. This is probably asking her three friends if they are happy now, far away from the cruel reality, doing good in heaven. She goes on as if shes talking to them. She says that she’s doing the same as usual, but feels like she has lost everything, meaning all of her friends.

모든 게 맘대로 왔다가 인사도 없이 떠나
이대로는 무엇도 사랑하고 싶지 않아
다 해질 대로 해져버린
기억 속을 여행해

She’s now scared to love someone, because of the fear that they might suddenly leave her again without saying goodbye. This expresses how she felt of suddenly losing her friends. IU then opens up the rooms and wanders around as if she’s looking for someone. She’s traveling through her old memories. 

우리는 오렌지 태양 아래
그림자 없이 함께 춤을 춰
정해진 이별 따위는 없어
아름다웠던 그 기억에서 만나
Forever young

IU remembers the good old days when she had fun with sulli. She dances without shadows underneath an orange sun, she refuses and denies the farewell and says ‘lets meet in the beautiful memory.’ She’s reliving her memories and enjoying the times she was happy with her friend. Also theres a lizard at the house. This lizard probably symbolizes 구하라 and 종현. 하라’s nickname was Iguana, and Jonghyun was Charmander(파이리). Sulli and IU probably talked about them a lot or hung out often since they were all friends with each other. (설리-아이유, 종현-설리, 하라-설리, 하라-아이유 등 사진 첨부)

(우우우 우우우우 우우우 우우우우
Forever we young
우우우 우우우우) <- 이부분에 V.O

(the background of this music video is a two-story country house. Sulli actually lived and was found at her last moment in her two story country house. Also Sulli posted pictures of IU cooking home food for her. They were known to be close friends that hung out at each others house a lot, just as you can see in the MV) http://www.spotvnews.co.kr/?mod=news&act=articleView&idxno=323678 

이런 악몽이라면 영영 깨지 않을게 (IU also says that it’s a nightmare since, it’s not reality and sulli is now gone, but still she doesn’t want to wake up from the happy memories)

섬 그래 여긴 섬 서로가 만든 작은 섬
예 음 forever young 영원이란 말은 모래성

작별은 마치 재난문자 같지
그리움과 같이 맞이하는 아침
서로가 이 영겁을 지나
꼭 이 섬에서 다시 만나

SUGA expresses this imaginary memory world as an island that was made by each other. In that island they are all forever young, since all her friends have passed away relatively during their young ages and also time doesn’t flow in a memory. 

He express farewells as a ‘disaster alarm’ as it’s sudden, scary and unpredictable. 

In the MV, both IU and SUGA are riding on a plane. Which could mean either their huge success as artists, or a metaphoric vessel that enables them to travel through memories. IU sees a lizard on the window, but as the plane meets turbulence and the sudden emergency message appears, the lizard disappears. This again, expresses what it was like for IU when she heard the tragic news. She couldn’t do anything about the situation, trapped inside a plane or a busy schedule. Actually, IU on her first Seoul concert day, she mentioned Sulli, on how sad she was, and how she thought Sulli was present at her concert. But on her second concert day, Hara’s tragic news hit her during the concert.

지나듯 날 위로하던 누구의 말대로 고작
한 뼘짜리 추억을 잊는 게 참 쉽지 않아
시간이 지나도 여전히
날 붙드는 그곳에

IU wakes up from the nightmare within her memory. She checks if the lizard is ok, but the lizard is no where to be seen. Then she checks the open door and sees a girl in a white dress. The girl starts to run in the imaginary world where the sun is orange and the girl is fearless, jumping off a cliff.  

우리는 서로를 베고 누워
슬프지 않은 이야기를 나눠
우울한 결말 따위는 없어
난 영원히 널 이 기억에서 만나

IU you says we all lie down on each other like a pillow. We have good chats. There’s no sad ending here. IU will be always able to meet her friends in this memory that she’s saved. 

(V.O) The girl in white, falls through the sky and hugs the lizard who can now fly like a dragon. 

The girl rides on the dragon and IU sees them through the airplane window and sheds a tear of happiness and sorrow. This scene probably means that IU’s friends are up in the sky, meaning heaven, together, flying and doing whatever they want happily. 

(V.O) Now IU wakes up from the memory world because the memory saving process is complete. We can hear an echo-ish sound of the lyrics -------- (are you happy now, finally happy now 재생) she shows three different stages of facial expression. 

First, right after crying, she is confused and sad. She didn’t want to wake up (마지막 가사 첨부). 

Next, she shows a slight smile. It’s because she got to relive the happy memories and meet her friends and now she’s reassured that they’re happy up in heaven. 

Last, she makes an ice cold look, staring towards the camera. Or the viewers of this video. It’s almost as if she’s mad.

Thus, she’s first asking her friends if they’re finally happy now and also, she’s asking all the hate commenters watching, if they’re finally happy with the tragic incidents and seeing IU herself struggling as well. 

Lastly, we see the EIGHT’s E and I getting split. This would mean that the I, as in IU has now came back to reality after being altogether with her 3 friends. She is now once again alone, but goes on with life, as 28 year old IU.