Woman in the Rain

“I cannot forget that woman in the rain, I cannot forget her. The yellow raincoat, the dark eyes, I can’t forget them.” –Shin Jung Hyun, Woman in the Rain [translated lyrics]

Program acara musik “Immortal Songs 2: Singing the Legend” menayangkan edisi spesial “Battle of Kings” dalam episode 71 dan 72. Dalam edisi spesial ini, hadir sebagai penampil adalah mereka yang pernah memenangkan trophy “Immortal Songs 2”. That was an epic match-up, a do or die battle between the winners to choose the King of the kings. For this unimaginable battles among the best, the legend who appeared in that episode was beyond imagination too. Dia adalah Shin Jung Hyun, the everlasting Godfather of Korean rock music. He’s the founder of Korean rock music, and he’s also the living legend of Korean popular music. He’s surpassed legend and become a part of mythology. Amazingly, for the first time in “Immortal Songs 2”’s history, everyone was on their feet when he entered the studio.

Salah satu dari dua belas tim penampil yang hadir dalam edisi spesial tersebut adalah Park Jae Bum alias Jay Park. Ia tampil dalam episode 72, yaitu bagian kedua dari edisi spesial “Battle of Kings”, dan membawakan salah satu lagu hits Shin Jung Hyun yang berjudul “Woman in the Rain”. Episode ini mengudara pada tanggal 27 Oktober 2012 di stasiun televisi KBS, serta pada tanggal 17 November 2012 di channel KBS World. As expected from the king of performance, Jay Park, he re-arranged the rock-blues song into an R n’ B dance song and showed a marvelous dance performance. Namun sayangnya, meskipun menjadi favorit penonton untuk dapat memenangkan edisi spesial tersebut, Jay tidak memenangkan satu round pun.

Jay Park ketika membawakan lagu "Woman in the Rain" pada program "Immortal Songs 2" Episode 72

Satu tahun kemudian, lagu “Woman in the Rain” kembali ditampilkan dalam program “Immortal Songs 2”. Kali ini dalam episode 127 yang merupakan edisi spesial “Autumn Men”. Episode ini ditayangkan pada tanggal 16 November 2013 di stasiun televisi KBS, serta pada tanggal 7 Desember 2013 di channel KBS World. Dalam episode tersebut, lagu ini ditampilkan oleh salah satu kolaborasi yang unik, yaitu vokalis utama boy group B1A4, Sandeul, dan aktor veteran, Choi Min Soo. The most charismatic man, Choi Min Soo, meets the youngest contestant of the show, Sandeul. Surprisingly, the unconventional duo of two generations marvelously brought an impressive deep blues rendition of “Woman in the Rain”. They showed the novel harmony of 22 years old innocent boy and 52 years old autumn man. The performance was Min Soo’s style, and everyone was impressed that Sandeul could pull it off.

Sandeul dan Choi Min Soo ketika membawakan lagu "Woman in the Rain" pada program "Immortal Songs 2" Episode 127

Dirilis pertama kali pada tahun 1963, “Woman in the Rain” adalah lagu debut Shin Jung Hyun. It’s the first Korean rock song, and was released when he organized the first Korean rock band, Add4. It’s an experimental blues song that incorporated both guitar and violin sounds. It’s the song that’s the root of Korean rock. The lyrics talk about a guy who misses the woman he saw in the rain. He couldn’t forget that girl somehow. He couldn’t get rid of her image from his mind no matter what. Everything about her on that night still is lingering and won’t go away. There’s no need to talk about it out, there’s nothing more to say, he knew he fell in love right at the moment when they walked together under the rain in silence.

I personally love the Choi Min Soo and Sandeul’s remake version very much. They gave an unexpected and surprising ending in their performance. Moreover, the new arrangement was so great. Sandeul exuded different air on that performance, and for the first time I saw him as a mature gentleman, not an innocent boy anymore. I was so in love with his ad-libs in that performance. They mixed “Woman in the Rain” with another song called “Alley”, but instead of ruining the song, the mixing was empowered the original song itself. Overall, Choi Min Soo and Sandeul showed an amazing collaboration, and they deserved the high score that they got on that episode.

“With a warm smile, she held her black umbrella for me. Watching the raindrops fall, without words, we walked in silence.” –Shin Jung Hyun, Woman in the Rain [translated lyrics]

“Idji mothal bitsokui yeoin geu yeoineul idji mothane

(I cannot forget that woman in the rain, I cannot forget her)
Noolran reinkoteue geomeun nundongja idji mothane

(The yellow raincoat, the dark eyes, I can’t forget them)

Dajeonghage misojimyeo geomeun usaneul batchyeo june

(With a warm smile, she held her black umbrella for me)
Naelrineun bitbangul balrabomyeo maleobsi maleobsi geolreotne

(Watching the raindrops fall, without words, we walked in silence)”