Silent Cry: An Arrow to The Soul

Dear Stay, how have you been?

What a simple question right? Yet, the answer is not. Turning feelings into words is not easy. So, our artistic 3Racha decided to turn them into music. Silently, an arrow approached us with unexpected precision.

Stay, do you remember the first time you heard “Silent Cry”? The title certainly captures the attention. “Silent Cry”, what a beautiful oxymoron. How could a cry be silent? Oh, but most of them are. The same way ice burns, this song cicatrizes a scar inside you which perhaps you were not even aware of.

But what is the charm of this track? Let us dive into it together.

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At the beginning of the song, we can hear the rain falling. Briefly after, some steps that mark the accents as if they were drums are added to the ongoing teardrops, causing the rhythm of your heartbeat to accelerate with them. Those elements, along with the cadence of the melody, create an atmosphere of heavy tension. Suddenly, a cut makes the footsteps disappear before the opening of a door can be heard.

As the door closes, we listen to Felix, Lee Know and Han say:

“You, pretending to be unaffected, just like that

(You) are smiling but I can hear it in your words”

This is when we realise that it is Stray Kids who has opened the door and entered our room to talk directly to us.

Chan exposes our lie:

“You always say "I'm okay" but I can see everything

How your heart sobs when you're alone”

Felix and Seungmin describe the truth:

“After turning off the lights in your quiet room

You, who used to smile brightly, are slowly dying

In this empty space, with nobody inside of it

Sometimes only your long sighs can be heard at night

How your heart sobs when you're alone”

It is at this point that we realise that the wound is there, that it exists. Although we had not seen it, they saw it.

Hyunjin’s next verses mark a transition towards the warmth that Stray Kids is about to bring us.

“In reality, your eyes are dry, ayy

I can't find an oasis in your heart

You're still wandering, ayy

I take one step closer, ooh”

The music shifts from being as heavy as sadness to being confident, fortifying – almost epic. Bang Chan, Han and Changbin state:

“I'll listen to your silent cry

So that you don't get tired in a lost corner of your heart

Through the cracks in the door of that poorly closed space called 'you'

There is a silent cry that only I can hear

The silent cry that you've been hiding for a while”

And that is when 3Racha said what they came to say. You are not alone. I am with you. I understand you. Share your burden and allow yourself to heal.

From here until the end of the bridge, the members encourage “You can show your tears that you've been quietly hiding” because they are there to “[...]listen to your familiar self-talk too.”.

Changbin:

“I'll cry with you

Stop holding it in, let it go, go, go

When you lose strength, I'll hold you (I'll)

Just lean on me, 'cause I won't let you go”

Hyunjin and Lee Know:

“I don't think it's easy to just hold it in

There are many times when you can't even do so

If you don't feel like it, then why do you smile?

I'll say "It's okay" to you”

In the dance break, they give us time to recover from the sobs, as if we should be breathing along with Felix. As soon as the music drops again, we return to the swirl of feelings until Chan concludes the song with a request:

“Don't be the only one hurting

Give me your silent cry woah”

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After all, don't Stray Kids come into our lives when we need them the most? As much as we wish we had met them earlier, the secret is that they show up just when you need them.

Dream of music,

Hilda

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Before you go, let me recommend you this amazing video by Alan Pines:

Written and designed by: Hilda

Edited by: Malo