Through lyrics that continuously use fire as a metaphor for his experiences and passion, the song “Arson” serves as J-Hope’s answer to the uncertainty that he has been experiencing throughout his entire album, “Jack in The Box.”

More specifically, he describes his battle with his past, present, and future inside each song by explicitly referencing them here in “Arson,” similarly to a closing argument of a court case or conclusion of an essay.

His battle with his past is seen in Verse 1 where he parallels the ideas of the first part of the album; describing the songs before Music Box : Reflection. In that verse, he writes about his unending passion for his craft and his rise to fame. He describes them by using words usually associated with fire in order to show how much his passion burned to the point where it’s comparable to showering in petrol; a very flammable substance.

Then, in the chorus, J-hope describes his present situation, paralleling the ideas of the second half of the album; the half of the album after Music Box : Reflection. In this chorus, he is wondering if he should keep pursuing his passions or take a rest as he has already obtained so much and reached so far in his career; continuously using fire as a metaphor through asking the question if he should keep his passion alight or give up and put out the flame.

Next, he further addresses this present question by going more into detail about how he feels. J-Hope writes that he had no idea how far his passion and the work of his team would bring them. He knows that they started that fire of pursuing their dreams but he had no idea the fire would result in the whole world in flames of their hard work and passion. He also writes that he feels as if he’s finished his part in the success of BTS (the group that he is a member of) and wonders if it could be best to silently leave while they are at their peak (in his opinion). There have been many interviews where BTS refers to the lifetime of a singer being short so those lines might be referencing that sentiment.

Additionally, he dives back into his past feelings of pain that he felt from the experience of the group’s success. While doing this he continues to use fire in his lyrics as a metaphor to describe the scorching pain he feels and describes as repercussions of his fame and success. He also expresses the fear and uncertainty he feels for the present situation which at the time of releasing this album was his military service. He has no idea what to do, he is lost in his decisions at the end of laying out all his feelings in both the song and the album.

It is then that he repeats the question that he’s had for the entire song. It is a question that he’s had, whether explicitly stated or not, throughout each song in the album. The question of whether he should continue letting his passion burn or silently blow the flame out.

The choice J-hope makes is made clear in the outro as the very last word of the song is “Arson.” It is with this he decides to let his passion continue to burn, no matter what. Even with the fears and worries he had in the past, has in the present, and has for the future, he chooses to light the world on fire with the song in his heart once again.

He chooses arson.

AS OF 6-27-2024:

This is what I originally wrote on Genius.

Disclaimer: It can be edited by someone else on Genius.

The ANALYSIS Is INSIDE THE ABOUT SECTION OF THIS POST

​j-hope – 방화 (Arson) (English Translation)
― Genius English Translations – ​j-hope – 방화 (Arson) (English Translation)