Nocturne lyrics (English Translation) – ITZY
π [Intro]
Ah-ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah
π΄ [Verse 1: Chaeryeong, Lia]
I lie in a place where there is no one.
I listen carefully to my heartbeat.
I let go of all the complicated standards.
La-la-la, a melody sounds in the silence.
π [Pre-Chorus: Lia, Yeji, Yuna]
Loud thoughts.
Tangled words.
So tell me whyβ
The silence was so clear, it can’t be hidden (Tell me).
Nobody knows (Knows)
Of my own ride (Ride).
The only way out I know:
A voice I hear coming (Who’s there?)β
I won’t look away. I’m taking it all.
β‘ [Chorus: Ryujin, Yuna, Yeji, Lia]
Pause. Nightmare. Fight.
(Getting up, wanna take offβwake up, wake up, take off.)
Everywhere is black and whiteβit’s so weird.
(Get up, wanna take offβwake up, wake up, take off.)
(Oh) In this sweet lie,
(Oh) You’ll find yourself waiting to stay.
Wake up. Pause. Sour fruit (Who’s there?).
I’ll light up this heavy darkness.
π [Verse 2: Ryujin, Chaeryeong]
In a dream that’s full of my shadows,
I can’t escapeβendlessly wandering.
Running, trying to catch anything.
Something that touched the tip of my fingersβit’s my two feet.
I’m slowly sinking, deeper and deeper.
Time, space, thoughtβI’m dizzy, round and round.
A tearβinstead of letting it flow, I swallow it.
Ooh, ooh, no, woah.
π [Pre-Chorus: Yeji, Chaeryeong, Ryujin]
Try to open your eyes.
I’m still the same.
I look the same as I was.
No matter how hard I try to run away (Tell me),
I’m closing my eyes again.
I’d rather stayβ
An illusion, like a dream.
A voice I hear (Who’s there?)β
Don’t give up. Life is yours.
β‘ [Chorus: Lia, Chaeryeong, Ryujin]
Pause. Nightmare. Fight.
(Getting up, wanna take offβwake up, wake up, take off.)
Everywhere is black and whiteβit’s so weird.
(Get up, wanna take offβwake up, wake up, take off.)
(Oh) In this sweet lie,
(Oh) You’ll find yourself waiting to stay.
Wake up. Pause. Sour fruit (Who’s there?).
I’ll light up this heavy darkness.
π [Transition: Lia, Yuna, Ryujin, All, (Yeji)]
Ooh-ooh-oohβ
I’ll bite a piece of darkness.
Ooh-ooh-ooh (Yeah)β
Goodbye to my shadow.
I could bear it for a while.
In a joy I’ve never experienced before,
At the end of a nightmare, you’ll find your own.
βοΈ [Final Chorus: Chaeryeong, Yuna, Yeji, Lia]
Eyes under the blanket open.
(Uh, uh, uh, uh)
This cold air feels like real.
(Uh, uh, uh, uh; Oh, no, woah)
I wipe my arm.
(Oh) The window I suddenly looked into (Oh)β
The sunrise that bathes me.
The endless night slowly brightens (Who’s there?).
It’s just a dream that’s not yours.
π« Lyrics Meaning & Emotional Core
“KIDDING” is a song aboutΒ the internal battle against one’s own demons. It uses the metaphor of a nightmare to represent the struggles of self-doubt, anxiety, and the pressure to conform, ultimately leading to a powerful awakening.
-
Core Theme: The Nightmare of Self-Doubt
The song’s central metaphor is the nightmareβa place where the speaker is trapped, surrounded by their own shadows, unable to escape. This represents theΒ mental prison of negative thoughts and insecurities. The “complicated standards” and “loud thoughts” that need to be let go are the societal pressures and internal criticisms that haunt us. -
The Silence Speaks
In the pre-chorus, the speaker notes that “the silence was so clear.” In the quiet, the truth becomes audible. The voice asking “Who’s there?” is theΒ call of the true self, the part of the speaker that refuses to stay lost. The decision to “not look away” and “take it all” is the first step toward recovery. -
Black and White Confusion
The chorus describes the world as “black and white,” which is “so weird.” This suggests aΒ lack of color, joy, or clarityβa monochrome existence that feels wrong. The “sweet lie” might be the comfort of staying asleep, of not facing the fight. But the speaker chooses to “light up this heavy darkness,” taking an active role in their own liberation. -
Sinking and Spinning
The second verse vividly describes the experience of being overwhelmed: sinking “deeper and deeper,” spinning “round and round” in a dizzying loop of anxiety. Swallowing tears instead of letting them flow is a powerful image ofΒ suppressed pain, the kind that builds up and weighs you down. -
The Return to Illusion
In the second pre-chorus, there’s a moment of relapse: “I’d rather stayβan illusion, like a dream.” The temptation to retreat back into comfortable falsehoods is real. But the voice returns, urging: “Don’t give up. Life is yours.” This is theΒ persistent call of hope, refusing to let the speaker surrender. -
Biting the Darkness
The transition is the song’s turning point. “I’ll bite a piece of darkness” is a powerful act ofΒ confrontation and consumption. Instead of being consumed by the dark, the speaker will consume it, make it part of themselves, and then say “goodbye to my shadow.” This is not escape but transformation. -
The New Joy
“In a joy I’ve never experienced before” suggests that on the other side of struggle lies aΒ deeper, more authentic happinessβone that could only be reached by passing through the nightmare. -
The Sunrise
The final chorus brings the awakening. “Eyes under the blanket open”βthe speaker emerges from hiding. The cold air feels real because itΒ isΒ real, not the false comfort of the dream. The sunrise that bathes them is theΒ light of a new day, a new understanding. The “endless night slowly brightens.” -
The Final Realization
The last line is the ultimate revelation: “It’s just a dream that’s not yours.” The nightmare, the fear, the self-doubtβnone of it was ever trulyΒ theirs. It was an illusion, an intruder, a story they were told but didn’t have to accept.Β Waking up is reclaiming your own narrative.
In essence,Β “KIDDING” is an anthem ofΒ awakening and empowerment. It takes the listener through the claustrophobic experience of a nightmareβthe shadows, the sinking, the dizzying thoughtsβand leads them to the realization that they have the power to light the darkness, bite the shadows, and wake up to a new day. The voice asking “Who’s there?” is the listener’s own, waiting to be heard. And the answer, when it comes, is:Β I am. And I’m taking it all.
