Meaning of Leaves by Ben&Ben
Leaves, which was released on 7 April 2017, is one of the more notable tracks in Ben&Ben’s discography for a couple of reasons. For instance, it was nominated for an Awit Award, in the category of Best Inspirational Recording (via the Philippine Association of the Recording Industry) in 2018. But perhaps more importantly is the fact that the track was well received by the K-pop community, so much so that also in 2017, Ben&Ben dropped a Korean rendition of Leaves and in 2021 released a remix alongside K-pop artist Young K. And as for the original version of the song, it came out as part of the band’s debut LP, an eponymous, 2016 project, and its music video was directed by Alvin Tatco.
Writing & Production
Ben&Ben frontmen, twin brothers Paolo Benjamin and Miguel Benjamin, wrote this song, with it being produced by the entirety of the band.
The Lyrics
The lyrics of this track reflect the musings of a vocalist who is dealing with the emotional turmoil of his relationship with the addressee seemingly nearing its conclusion. The reason Ben is relatedly in his feelings is because, as expressed in the bridge, he ‘never thought that the day’ would come whereas he would be compelled to disassociate with this loved one.
There’s a lot going on in this piece, as in us listeners being tasked with using our imaginations to put certain pieces together. But perhaps the simplest way of understanding the narrative, even though it is never specified, is by presuming that the addressee is Ben’s significant other. And as implied in the final line of the chorus, either one or both of them (but, all lyrics considered, most likely the addressee) did something that requires a challenging degree of forgiveness. As for the vocalist, he is pledging to “hold on for as long” as he can. But going back to the bridge, it can also be ascertained that he’s concurrently tempted to call it quits.
In any event, Ben has adopted the understanding, using a metaphor related to seasons basically, that whereas hearts may be broken in the moment, as time progresses they “will eventually heal”.
