Learning Korean through music: 연인 3/3 (Angel) by 자우림

A post from another site of mine that I originally wrote on 2004.01.03. YouTube has the acoustic version of this song.



Remember, the translation is done as literally as possible, in order to help the student.

Original post from 2004:

This is the first song from their second album, the pink one.

It has a strong guitar riff right from the start.


Song lyrics
1)인생은 잔인한 연인, 천사의 얼굴을 하고, 그대를 아프게 하죠
작은 것들이 그대를 울릴 때는 내가 그 곁에 있어줄께요
내개 기대요
해줄 수 있는 일은 많이 없겠지만
나만은 그대 곁에 같은 모습으로, 언제나 머물 거에요
아무것도 바라지 않을거예요
그대 곁에 언제나 머물거에요

언젠가 마지막 날엔, 미소를 띄운 얼국로, 그대와 같은 순간에
조용히 눈을 감아요
마지막 순간까지 그대 곁에 내가 있어요

Life is a cruel lover, makes the face of an angel, and hurts you
When the small things make you weep, I will be there beside you
Rely on me 
There aren't many things I can do, but
I am the only one who will always be beside you, always the same
I don't want anything
I'll be with you always
Sometime during the last day, with a smiling face, at that moment when I'm with you
Quietly close your eyes
I'll be with you 'till the last moment

인생-life
잔인하다-cruel
연인-lover
천사-angel
얼굴-face
아프다-to hurt. 아프게 하다-to make hurt
작다-small
울다, 울리다-to cry, to make cry
곁에-beside
기대다-rely, lean on
같다-same
모습-figure
바라다-hope, want
마지막-last
미소 (를 띄다)- smile (to put on a smile)
조용하다-quiet

그 대: 그대 means 'you', but is a form rarely if ever used in conversation. It has romantic or classic undertones (For example in the Korean version of Gibran's The Prophet he calls the people he addresses 그대) and is usually only heard in music and poetry.

아프게 하다: Putting -게 하다 right before the 다 in a verb makes it transitive, i.e. changes it from 'to hurt (to feel pain)' to 'to hurt (someone else)'.
Here are a few more examples.
싸우다. To fight. 싸우게 하다. To make (someone) fight.
작다. To be small. 작게 하다. To make small.

얼 굴을 하고...:얼굴 is a noun so it may seem strange to put 하다 (do) after it and treat it as a verb, but it can be done and is the equivalent of the English 'make'. To make a face.

해 줄 수 있는 일은 많이 없겠지만 - There isn't much I can do. The grammar is quite different from English so it could use some explanation.
This is how it is formed:
하다-to do.
해 주다-to do for someone.
해 줄 수 있다 - To be able to do for someone.
해 줄 수 있는 일 - Something one can do for somone.
So up to this point we are still explaining the subject, the things that one can do for someone. And then we have 많이(a lot) 없겠지만(Nothing - future/uncertain tense). This way of detailing the subject beforehand is very common, and also very important.
Here is another example. 책이 많다 - There are lots of books. Now let's put some more detail into these books. Since 책을 일고 싶다 means 'I want to read a book', we can take the 읽고 싶다 and put it in front of the word 책, where it will become 읽고 싶은 책 (A book I want to read). And then by connecting it to 많다, we have 읽고 싶은 책이 많다, which means 'There are a lot of books I want to read."
Some other examples:
갈 수 있는 나라 - Countries (I) can go to
보고 싶은 사람 - A person (I) want to see
싫어 하는 일 - Things/Work (I) hate