Songs from "When The Devil Calls Your Name" K-Drama
WHAT-IS: "When the Devil Calls Your Name (Korean: 악마가 너의 이름을 부를 때; RR: Agmaga Neoui Ileum-eul Buleul Ttae) is a 2019 South Korean television series starring Jung Kyung-ho, Park Sung-woong, Lee Seol and Lee El. It is inspired by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's work Faust." (Info via Wiki).
SYNOPSIS: "The series is about a man who sold his soul to a devil ten years ago to obtain fortune and fame. As his contract is soon to expire, he tries to make a deal with the devil using his life as collateral."
Woven in to this story, is how his decisions had affected and intertwines with the people he meets, had met, and had chosen to leave behind, including aspiring singer-songwriter "Kim I-gyeong".
I was here for the devilish-premise, and quite frankly viewed it largely as a "gimmick" up until episode 4, where the conceit is/was revealed, and it became more than just a "comedy" to me - my emotional landscape of "regret" gripped tight and weirdly breathless, and of a "past" I no longer question as "fictional" or "real"... "Do I remember all my regrets?" = No I do not, but I think they still exist, somewhere buried, somewhere secret, to protect myself...?
The series on tvN aired from July 31 to September 19, 2019, in a finite series of 16 episodes, and I am grateful I gave myself a chance to watch it in the first place, continued watching. and experiencing it. I watched this in its original (South) Korean language, with English subtitles. I listed this as "#2" on my TOP TEN KDRAMA FOR 2019 too!
This post however, is not about the series itself, but with a focus on the SONGS/MUSIC, which I had initially debated to post on THIS movie/tv-blog (which very few people read), or my music-blog (which quite literally no one consistently reads lol) ... so I will risk being accused of "spamming" myself, and post on BOTH.
I listen to most of the songs from "When the Devil Calls Your Name", and I am inevitably left with wet eyes, and a emptiness in my heart, a sadness I cannot explain, of a lingering regret I might not be fully aware of ... all of which is made even more fantastical, as I do not understand the Korean language, and do not at any level understand the lyrics or what they are meant to say! But the melody, the tone of singing, the quiver in the regret, is what grips me at my core, and I let myself emote into the void, not knowing the lyrics ... but maybe that is enough for me ... and I'd rather treasure the music as it means to me (very self-centred and selfishly speaking, I know), and not what it is meant to be, from the lyricist, the performer, the musicians.
If "language" be the barrier to "verbal understanding", then let MUSIC be the bridge that provides a net for "communication"! There is nothing quite like a GOOD SOUNDTRACK to push a film or television series forward toward excellence, as far as I am concerned!
Featured here are video for the K-Drama, featuring performances by Sondia (who broke my heart in "My Mister" when I first heard her voice, even as IU did with her role) as the singing voice for actress Lee Seol (as "Kim I-gyeong"), and even from the actor Jung Kyung-ho (who plays the lead as "Ha Rip" / "Seo Dong-cheon") himself who sung in a couple of the songs too.
All song titles and credits via Wikipedia. My apologies if credit is given wrongly, please advise, thanks!
(Above): "The Street You Left" (간과 쓸개) / "The Road You Left" 그대 떠나 없는 거리.
Music+Lyrics: Park Sung-il.
Artist: Liver and Gallbladder.
(Above): "Trap of Love"
Music: Park Sung-il.
Lyrics: Oh Hyun-joo.
Artist: Jung Won-young.
(Above): "When I Am in Busan" (부산에 가면)
Music + Lyrics: Ecobridge.
Artist: Jung Kyung-ho.
(Above): "Soliloquy" / "Talk To Oneself" (혼잣말)
Music: Park Sung-il.
Artist: "Kim Yi Kyung / Kim I Gyeong" is credited (Sondia).
Lyrics: Seo Dong-sung.
(Above): "Where Is The Dream" (꿈은 어디에)
Music: Park Sung-il.
Artist: Jung Kyung-ho.
Lyrics: Seo Dong-sung, Ko Nae-ri, Park Sung-il.
(Above) "My Song" (나의 노래)
Music: Park Sung-il.
Artist: Sondia.
Lyrics: Seo Dong-sung, Ko Nae-ri, Park Sung-il.
(Above) "You Bring No Sadness" (그대는 슬픔이 아니다)
Music: Park Sung-il.
Artist: Sondia.
Lyrics: Seo Dong-sung, Ko Nae-ri, Park Sung-il.
(Above): "The Day We Met" (우리가 처음 만난 날)
Music: Park Sung-il.
Artist: Sondia.
Lyrics: Seo Dong-sung, Ko Nae-ri, Park Sung-il.
(Above) "The Street You Left (Live Ver.)" (그대 떠나 없는 거리)
Music: Park Sung-il.
Artists: Sondia & Jung Kyung-ho.
Lyrics: Seo Dong-sung, Ko Nae-ri, Park Sung-il.
Below is the sequence aired on television ... there is no English subtitles, but the
1. "Say/Talk to Oneself (Acoustic Ver.)" (혼잣말 (Acoustic Ver.))
Music: Park Sung-il.
Artist: Sondia.
Lyrics: Seo Dong-sung, Ko Nae-ri, Park Sung-il.
(Above): "You Bring No Sadness" (그대는 슬픔이 아니다 Busking Ver.)
Music: Park Sung-il.
Artist: Sondia.
Lyrics: Seo Dong-sung, Ko Nae-ri, Park Sung-il.
I'll end this blogpost with the scene where the devil sings to his the human - who still longs for the memory and love of the man whose shell the devil had inhabited on Earth, and subsequently admitting the heartbreaking realisation, and acceptance of the truth she had tried so hard to ignore...
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