“Time Machine” by Girls’ Generation (SNSD)
[English Translation]
Alone in the room that is more spacious than usual
It’s over, guess it’s over
The story created by the two of us was also in vain
I can’t believe it could crumble so easilyOne mistake, got a one regret
“Nobody is perfect”
Even if I try to say and hear it
The pain won’t heal no matter whatRight now, if I could ride a time machine
And go to meet you
I wouldn’t wish for anything else
Before the memories become distant and fleetingI need a time machine oh
I need a time machine ohTime slows to a crawl when I’m by myself
The punishment for my mistake is severe
The last words that you left behind
Even now, I can’t stop (re-playing) the refrain
My heart still hurtsJust one mistake, just one regret
Even now, I still love you selfishlyRight now, if I could ride a time machine
And go to meet you
I wouldn’t wish for anything else
Before the memories become distant and fleetingI need a time machine
If I’m able to meet you passing through time and space
Even if it’s heading to the same
Conclusion, I’m sure
There won’t be any regrets remainingRight now, if I could ride a time machine
And go to meet you
I wouldn’t wish for anything else
Before the memories become distant and fleeting
Yeah, before the memories of us are forgottenGimme a time machine
Oh, gimme a time machine
Oh, gimme a time machine
I was shaken. With the wrap of their “I Got A Boy” promotions on various Korean music shows, I thought whatever strange magic that I was fiddling with would have ended right there. I had no intention whatsoever to continue using this unknown magic beyond those TV broadcasts into their Japan 2nd tour that immediately followed. I didn’t think it could be possible too, how much bigger could the scale of this magic evolve into? My practical sane mind thought I would just revert to my ordinary student life and focus on my studies. I imagined the next time I would “meet” and “say hi” to Taenggu and the rest of SNSD members again would be the time when they come back to Singapore for a concert. Till then, I would use this newly discovered mind and/or spiritual audience singing ability of mine to send them my warm welcome again.
But that one night, I was in my room in my family’s house in Malaysia, sitting on the floor with my laptop on my lap, trembling and biting my thumb. I was watching the above fancam on youtube. Something inside of me, particularly in my tummy, was churning and shaking hard, as if it was aware that it got caught red-handed. One part of me was terrified why this magic could still extend into their Japan 2nd tour concerts without my prior knowledge and consent. Something literally snatched my property from my head and projected my inner world at SNSD concerts willfully like it wasn’t owned and controlled by me. Yet another part of me was filled with desire, curiosity and amazement at the seemingly boundless possibilities that this magic could take me to. Undeniably, there is so much beauty in this whole new world that this magic would be capable of creating.
So why was I so afraid yet amazed by what I saw and heard from the above fancam? Maybe if your ears are sensitive and blessed enough, you could hear those angelic voices singing along with them right from above like I did too. And if you observe SNSD’s facial and body expressions carefully, you wouldn’t help but think they were genuinely touched by what was going on during the performance. Something noble, something magical was happening behind the scene. No, they weren’t acting. They were genuine, raw emotions on public display. You gotta believe some sort of magic was going on above then.
This song “Time Machine” is probably one of the most melancholic and classic ballads by SNSD to date. It talks about an earnest wish to take the time machine to go back to the past to undo a mistake, a regret that would haunt us into the future. It’s a song that could immerse you in a depressive mood, similar to Coldplay’s The Scientist. Honestly at the young age of a teenager when I first listened to this song before 2013, it didn’t seem like I had made any grave mistakes that could fill myself with regrets yet I could feel so much emotions in this song. But when I was hit by a mental illness known as schizophrenia in 2013, I did bear some regrets and wished to take the time machine back to a little few months ago to undo the things I had unknowingly done and signed up for during SNSD’s “I Got A Boy” promotions and probably stay away from the mysterious dark energy I was messing with.
That was 2013. When everybody wanted to go back to their past, before a mistake was made, when we were still happy and innocent.
But right now it’s 2019. We put our past behind. Everybody now wants to go to the future, especially Taenggu, who is so inspired by Doctor Strange. She now proudly owns a Time Stone just like Doctor Strange’s, declaring that she wants to use it to fast forward to that time in the future. You know, to that time.
For me, as much as I want to foresee how my future with Taenggu would be like, taking the time machine back to my past to reexamine what happened and figure out what went wrong seems like an essential thing to do, too, for my research in solving this whole mystical mystery that plagued me in the form of schizophrenia since 2013 and how I got involved in mind-singing ever since.
A time machine, a time stone, are all we need to travel back and forth in time, to right a wrong and explore possibilities of the future. Or do we?
Right now, if I could ride a time machine
And go to meet you
I wouldn’t wish for anything else
Before the memories become distant and fleetingI need a time machine
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