BTS' Spring Day turns 8: The bittersweet masterpiece that never left the charts and ARMY's hearts

When you’re part of a fandom, you’re almost part of a family. It’s like sitting around a bonfire, absorbing the lore, the do-you-remembers, inside jokes, soundtracks, and laughing over irrelevant details that outsiders might not understand. You go through the difficult times together, even though you might not have even met most of the fanbase. Yet, this knowledge that you share a deep love for an artist, a film, a franchise, keeps the love, curiosity, and hope alive. 

In the BTS fandom, it’s the song Spring Day, that the fans hum togetjer often, while sitting around the metaphorical bonfire. Ironically, the song, which just completed eight years of release has a Twitter page on its own. It’s not just a page: It’s a person, as she continually reminds everyone that, she indeed, is the queen of the discography and to please never stop charting the song. It’s she, too, who reminded us that the song has completed eight years. See what I mean when I say there’s just so much happening in the fandom that it might perplex an outsider? It’s difficult to explain to anyone about the day when all BTS songs turned up on Twitter to engage in a fun battle, about, who really is the best. Spring Day never backed down, of course. 

But today, it’s the time of Spring Day, the song of grief, loss, and yet, a renewal of hope. It’s the song that signifies a parting, yet with the bittersweet knowledge you’ll meet again. The track’s multitude of accolades and chart-topping achievements aside, there’s a quietly whimsical, soothing calm woven into every word. Each line reverberates with a different emotion, especially the How long do I have to wait, how many nights do I have to pass to meet you, and finally the line that ARMY has been quoting since the boys left for military service: Till the cold ends, until the spring day comes again, and until the flowers bloom again. Please stay here, a little longer.

The music video follows the mood of the song, where the boys treasure their fun, good times and later search for each other, in a world that just keeps spinning fast. Yet, even if the world moves on, you’ll always still find each other. And, that’s this sentiment you carry with you.

The band has performed the song innumerable times, sometimes with laughter, inventing their own choreography, and the last time in Busan 2022, was a real punch to the gut for fans, as it was the last time they performed it together, before they announced their military service. Amid a sea of purple balloons, confetti, there were still quite tears on both sides: RM, the leader, stands on the stage, as if to take it all in, and the others continue engaging with the crowds, reminding them that it’s never goodbye, and never the last time, they’ll be back when the winter ends, and spring begins.

The winter ends for  BTS this year as RM, Jimin, Jungkook, V and Suga will return by June.