The first song from BTS’ Suga’s upcoming solo album has finally arrived, and it’s a much more vulnerable track. It hasn’t been long since BigHit Music announced Suga’s plans to release his final mixtape in his trilogy series, which he’s been working on under the alias Agust D since 2016. ARMYs were overjoyed to hear the news because the album will be released just a few days before the start of his first solo world tour. Suga premiered a pre-release track “People Pt. 2,” along with a music video on April 7. The track features K-pop superstar IU’s soft and heavenly vocals to help harmonize on the chorus. This is also the artists’ second collaboration, as Suga wrote, produced, and was featured on IU’s single “eight” in 2020.
“People Pt. 2” delves into the concept of a relationship between people that continues to exist even after love, farewell, fear, and sadness have passed. Fans are gradually picking up on the song’s message, with lyrics drawing a connection to Suga’s previous release of “People” and, more specifically, songs he has done with his BTS bandmates. Here are Agust D’s “People Pt. 2” lyrics in English, explained — and some of the references to Suga’s other songs you may have missed.
“People Pt. 2” builds on Suga’s lyrical motif of sandcastles.
Suga has previously explored the symbolism of sandcastles in not only “People Pt. 2,” but also in two other works. “That’s why I’m the cautious type/I want, a sincere connection with others/Forever’s something like a sand castle, you know/It comes crumbling down at the calmest of waves,” says the verse in “People Pt. 2,” according to an English translation shared by Genius. As relationships change and grow apart, the lyrics emphasize Suga’s hesitation towards one’s affection and the insincerity of the word “forever.” He emphasizes the desire to establish a grounded and genuine relationship.
Fans noticed that he showcases this point further in IU’s “eight,” where he raps, “Island, yeah, this is an island, a small island we made together/Yeah, mm, forever young, the word ‘eternity’ is a sandcastle.” “eight” discusses both IU and Suga highlighting their adult lives and their experience of being 28 years old at the time of the song’s release. The song delves into the idea of losing childhood innocence, as well as the changes that life brings, and how time continues to move forward even when we aren’t ready for it.
The line also shows the use of sandcastles to explain long-lasting words such as forever with the word “eternity.” The lyrics are similar to those of “People Pt. 2,” in that eternity is not infinite when it comes to connections and that, like a sandcastle, it will crumble over time. It’s also worth noting the use of sandcastles in this song, as it builds on the symbolism of childhood and separation from one’s youth.
The last song (so far) to explain the concept of sandcastles comes from Jason Derulo’s widely popular song, “Savage Love,” of which BTS featured on the remix version. In his verse, Suga raps, “Perhaps love is nothing but a list of fleeting emotions/It always comes with conditions, what do I love?/”Maybe the word ‘forever’ is just a sandcastle that collapses helplessly even before a gentle wave.” Sandcastles is a literary depiction of illusion and fragility, and similar to his use of the word for “eight” and “People Pt. 2,” sandcastles directly correlate with the idea of love or a relationship that is bound to fail even in the most insignificant circumstances.
“People Pt. 2” has a connection to BTS’ “I’ll Be Missing You” cover, too.
“People told me that the song tells a story I wanted to share with others and that it also appears I’m talking to myself, which is true,” Suga says in the ending scene of “People Pt. 2.” This song was written when I couldn’t do anything [because of] Covid-19, when I thought, ‘I lost everything,’ so it conveys the message I wanted to tell myself.”
Suga has previously expressed a sense of being lost due to the uncertain end of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, which he reiterated during BTS’ announcement to focus on solo work in 2022. Suga even rapped about his feelings about the pandemic in a cover of P. Diddy’s “I’ll Be Missing You” in 2021, for which he and J-Hope created their own Korean rap lyrics. “We’re now used to our routines taken away/But still can’t give up living on/We’re more worn out because we don’t know where this ends/We’re an island we made ourselves because we couldn’t trust each other,” Suga’s verse reads.
The verse not only corresponds to IU’s “eight” line, which discusses a figurative island meant to separate the two people in a relationship, but it also indirectly correlates to the theme of sandcastles, specifically how, like sandcastles, a relationship can be destroyed due to one’s lack of trust for one another.
“People” and “People Pt. 2” explore how everything is fleeting.
“People” by Agust D is about the people who came into Suga’s life and how people will always grow and change, for better or worse. The song is also a self-evaluation, demonstrating how, while the people around you are subject to change, you, too, can change without even realizing it.
“People change, just like I have changed/There is nothing that lasts forever in this world/Everything is just a happening that passes by,” Suga says, emphasizing his dissatisfaction with the word “forever” and how everything is a fleeting part of life. “People Pt. 2” echoes this sentiment of how time can be so difficult as we grow past certain relationships, but there is always hope to love. I actually can’t stop crying!