SNSD – Divine lyrics

The way this was planned to be Jessica's departure song (or their last song as 9 before her alleged hiatus) and really sounded like it - a sad but endearing, bittersweet melody - but then, in retrospect, takes on a much more heart-wrenching and wistful sentiment... really makes it special and one of their best, and saddest, ballad tracks.

"When our own paths open up
I’ll surely remember this wish
The journey we both walked together
We’ll make that our proof, forever"

Just... all the lyrics, but especially these lines in the bridge. In a way this kind of mirrors Forever 1: as the girls (in the context of the song when it was released, Jessica and the other 8) were going separate ways, the journey they've made, the memories they shared, and the wish (a reference to SONE maybe?) are what ties them together from then on and always, and something they can each reminisce about fondly. But the departure obviously didn't go the way they had expected, and now looking back the lyrics make it feel like the wish was to be cherished with a heavier heart, and that it really was the end of the journey (again, for Jessica with OT8). The cruel irony that Jessica was the one that sang "We are always one"...

Of course we can only speculate as to how they handled that breakup backstage. Personally I'd like to think they've found closure after all these years, and whether Jessica still keeps in contact with any of the members or not (would be nice if she did) doesn't bother me much, and honestly it shouldn't bother anyone anymore - after all SNSD has been 8 for longer than they've been 9. But what's certain is those first years of SNSD were a beautiful chapter of their lives, and maybe that's what "We can be divine" is all about. OT9 may not be one anymore, but for however long they were one, they created a powerful Girls' Generation together, and that shared journey to them is sacred, and it lives on, even as they eventually find themselves on separate paths in life.

For those who first knew them as 9 this song is maybe the one good thing that came out of 0930. This was always a ballad dedicated to Jessica, and the one single time they sang it live at Tokyo Dome felt like it was them saying goodbye to her for one last time. Hopefully enough time has passed and there isn't as much of an emotional burden now, and maybe we'll get to hear it live again if they ever do a 20th anniversary concert!