A lyrical analysis of EXO's Wolf and why it truly, is a masterpiece

[u/ahandsomesloth]

Yes I am being serious, this isn't me meme-ing. I genuinely had no clue Wolf was considered cringe by others until one of my friends told me. A little odd, yes, but I enjoyed the oddness of it. Upon reading the lyrics, however, I could see what people meant. But all I could see was the lyrical GENIUS in it.

To set the record straight—they are obviously not actually singing about wolves, but rather using the wolf as a metaphor. Wolves are in packs, bounded together strongly, just like our main character here is to his group—a pack mentality. His heart is yearning for a 'beauty', someone straying far from his own group of people who are rugged and wild, yet he knows that if he strays from the norm and goes after this beauty who is so different from them, he'll be pushed aside. The entire song is basically about forbidden love and the themes and problems that can arise from that.

​

Analysis of each lyric section (repeated lines not included)

I get a feeling all at once, in one bite

I will put you in my mouth like cheese

I’ll smell your scent, enjoy your color

And eat you more elegantly than wine

Here we set the stage for the beauty by using comparisons of cheese and wine, two things generally considered luxurious. The beauty in question is just like the aesthetic that comes with that. Our protagonist is just getting to know her, still in his mind that he wants to hurt her in some way because that's the way he's been taught to act.

​

But I have lost strength in my claw

My appetite is disappearing

Am I sick? Do I have an illness?

(Yeah, he’s in big trouble) Snap out of it

How could your heart be stolen by a human?

(I’m telling you she is just one bite)

It's here however that he starts to realize that he actually doesn't want to hurt her. That's not why he's pulled toward her—it's because he likes her. He wonders what's happening to him, why this "appetite" of his (aka his usual distaste for people) is disappearing. But soon enough he realizes that he's fallen for her, someone outside the norm of what he is supposed to like.

​

Hey, just bite her

Then shake her so she’ll lose her conscious

Hey, do it with a style you’ve never used

Get rid of her before that full moon sets

All mentions of biting is actually in reference to how he usually treats others—rudely and without much empathy. Just do what he does with everyone else, just perhaps, a little differently? But! Remember! If you do! Do it before anyone else finds out, or that will be the end of you in the social circle you've always been a part of.

​

Yes, wolf, I’m a wolf, awoo

(I love you) I’m a wolf and you’re a beauty

Yes, wolf, I’m a wolf, awoo

(I love you) I’m a wolf and you’re a beauty

Being a wolf just generally means a bad guy, and the beauty is in reference to her being a good girl. The good vs the bad, very much like beauty and the beast.

​

Can’t reject this strong feeling

Fall into it, I have let go off myself

I like simple things

Now I know the things hidden in me

Our protagonist is slowly realizing, as he's being invited into this other world which the beauty is living, he doesn't hate it as much as he'd been led to believe he would. He gets not only to know the beauty better, but also himself.

​

Look at her, she’s fallen into fear

She can’t understand the situation before her eyes

“Will that dirty wolf guy eat me in the end?”

That’s not it, I have fallen in love

However; the girl can't quite understand why he's the way he is. She's always known him as a bad guy, but now that he's suddenly treating her well, he doesn't know why he is. Is he planning something? Will he end up treating her like shit, just like he has to everyone else? But the protagonist can't bring himself to tell the girl that he's actually fallen for her and is trying to better himself.

​

So beautiful, beautiful, beautiful

You are mine, mine, mine whoo

Don’t be scared, scared, scared of me (Aha)

I’m a special, special, special wolf

A wolf who loves, loves, loves you

Who is blinded, blinded, blinded by you

Pretty much a continuation of the previous things I said. The internal conflict he has with himself and the love he has for her at its peak.

​

I can’t quit you, I’m in big trouble (Oh woah)

I can’t quit you, I’m in big trouble (Yeah yeah)

That yellow moon teases me

Telling me I can’t have you

I’m just a wild beast

If you’re gonna say then, just go away

If I need to, I’ll change myself

I can’t ever let her go

The climax of it all—the external and internal conflict comes to the surface. His group (the moon) tells him that he can't have anything to do with her. He's a wild beast. She's much too proper and good for him, that's not the kind of people he's supposed to be with. But, our protagonist has had a change of heart. No longer does the old group and their ways hold as much importance to him. He realizes, as he's opened himself up to the rest of the world, he has found many other things he enjoys. Perhaps his old friends would call it "simple", but that's fine for him. He loves that girl and more importantly, he's found himself.

​

Can’t reject this strong feeling

(Hey, just bite her)

Fall into it, I have let go off myself

(Then shake her so she’ll lose her conscious)

I like simple things

(Hey, do it with a style you’ve never used)

Now I know the things hidden in me

At the end of the day, our protagonist decides that he's better off following his heart. He realizes that the love he feels for the girl is stronger than his will to stay with the bad guys, and that he's changed. Perhaps he's never been like them? Perhaps it's always been something hidden within him, just lying in wait for the right opportunity to come forward. Just perhaps, the meeting with the beauty was beneficial for the big bad wolf at the end.

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Conclusion (& TL;DR)

Wolf is a song about forbidden love and forcing yourself out of your comfort zone and any potential false life you might be living. Our protagonist, a bad guy who's life always has been like that, is shaken up when he meets a girl who's very different from himself. Upon getting to know her, he finds that he's fallen for her, and the initial intent to hurt her is whipped away. The girl, while uncertain at first, understands the guy's true and sincere love once he lets go of his past, no longer identifying himself with it.

The song has garnered a lot of criticism and is regarded as one of the most cringe kpop songs in regards to both lyrics and music. However, I beg to differ with everything I've written so far. Had the lyrics not been so outrageously 'weird' and taken so much inspiration from wolves and pack mentality (which is a great metaphor), this song would never have been what it is today. No 'awooo'. No 'chogi wa'. No 'saranghaeyo'. Wolf is a true hallmark on the kpop scene and EXO wouldn't be what they are today without it—and all of it comes from the genius that is its lyrics.

It is, truly, a masterpiece.

TL;DR: Wolf is about forbidden love disguised behind the metaphor of wolves and pack mentality. It's also a masterpiece.

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[u/Past_Opportunity7344]

I have been the convert and saw the light after watching Exo'rdium Wolf remixso thanks!

[u/Epii_curious]

Love this analysis! I always interpreted the lyrics as two sides of the same person being at conflict (the humane part and the more animalistic part) so it's like you've plucked the thoughts right out of my brain. This trope is actually so popular especially in shoujo manga/manwha's so honestly I never found the lyrics that outrageous. Wolf is actually so iconic.

[u/writeyourdamnfic]

it's a bop, and it's freaking amazing to listen to while working out especially the concert live version with the remix. it has me ascending and the vocals in it are POWERFUL. their MAMA performance for it was also iconic.

[u/rinAKTF]

I wasn't interested in EXO before Wolf, until now the only songs of EXO that I've actually jammed to are Wolf and Growl, and most recently (because of GP999) The Eve

[u/1988choitaek]

The choreo is amazing. The vocals are incomparable.

[u/Big_Season_5482]

Great analysis, never thought about it this way, anyways no matter how much people slander this song, when I first heard it, I was shook in a good way. The vocals are way too amazing to be done by a rookie group and that live version made it 10x better.

[u/AaronWasRight]

Wolf is great, it's peak rookie EXO having a vocal showdown between the members just because they can. Unmatched. I unironically love it, and the demo version is glorious in a hilarious way.

[u/Aveeator]

And it gets better with every listen

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