Gangnam Style was the surprise hit of 2012 and now PSY is back with new single Gentleman. The track and video premiered on Friday (April 12th) and no doubt you’ve all spent the weekend either dancing to it or desperately trying to avoid it. But what do the lyrics mean?

Luckily, as a professional translation provider, Language Insight is here to help. Gentleman features PSY’s now customary mix of English and Korean lyrics, with some early listeners thinking he says the F-word on his new track. However, to avoid any confusion, below is the English translation of the lyrics, according to numerous sources.

Gentleman, PSY

I don’t know if you know why it needs to be hot

I don’t know if you know why it needs to be clean

I don’t know if you know, it’ll be a problem if you’re confused

I don’t know if you know but we like, we we we like to party

Hey there

If I’m going to introduce myself

I’m a cool guy with courage, spirit and craziness

What you wanna hear, what you wanna do is me

Damn! Girl! You so freakin sexy!

Ah Ah Ah Ah I’m a…

Ah Ah Ah Ah I’m a…

Ah Ah Ah Ah I’m a mother father gentleman

Ah Ah Ah Ah I’m a…

Ah Ah Ah Ah I’m a…

Ah Ah Ah Ah I’m a mother father gentleman

I’m a, ah I’m a

I’m a mother father gentleman

I’m a, ah I’m a

I’m a mother father gentleman

I’m a, ah I’m a

I’m a mother father gentleman

I’m a, ah I’m a

I’m a mother father gentleman

I’m a, ah I’m a

I’m a mother father gentleman

I’m a, ah I’m a

I’m a mother father gentleman

I don’t know if you know why it needs to be smooth

I don’t know if you know why it needs to be sexy

I don’t know if you know darling, hurry and come be crazy

I don’t know if you know, it’s crazy, crazy, hurry up

Hey there

Your head, waist, legs, calves

Good! Feeling feeling? Good! It’s soft

I’ll make you gasp and I’ll make you scream

Damn! Girl! I’m a party mafia!

Ah Ah Ah Ah I’m a…

Ah Ah Ah Ah I’m a…

Ah Ah Ah Ah I’m a mother father gentleman

Ah Ah Ah Ah I’m a…

Ah Ah Ah Ah I’m a…

Ah Ah Ah Ah I’m a mother father gentleman

I’m a, ah I’m a

I’m a mother father gentleman

I’m a, ah I’m a

I’m a mother father gentleman

Gonna make you sweat.

Gonna make you wet

You know who I am Wet PSY

Gonna make you sweat.

Gonna make you wet.

You know who I am

Wet PSY! Wet PSY! Wet PSY! Wet PSY! PSY! PSY! PSY!

Ah I’m a mother father gentleman

I’m a, ah I’m a

I’m a mother father gentleman

I’m a, ah I’m a, I’m a mother father gentleman

Mother father gentleman

Mother father gentleman

It’s easy to see how the line “I’m a mother father gentleman” could have been misheard!

What is PSY trying to say?

Just like Gangnam Style, Gentleman appears to be highlighting a similar irony – that of men who call themselves gentlemen when they’re anything but, and who are happiest hanging around dance clubs. More importantly, the song comes with another catchy dance move, labelled the ‘arrogant dance’, which PSY this time performs in a pair of MC Hammer-style trousers. He may well have been inspired in his fashion choice after performing with the rapper at the American Music Awards in 2012.

Many critics have dismissed PSY’s second attempt at a global smash, saying that it was the element of surprise that made Gangnam Style so popular as it seemed to come out of nowhere. However, while Gangnam Style notched up 1.5 billion views on YouTube (which makes it the most-watched video in history), at the time of going to press Gentleman had garnered almost 53 million hits, which is pretty impressive.

PSY is probably the best-known of the stars spearheading the K-pop movement. When he is not performing on stage with the likes of Madonna, he has used his fame to call for peace between South and North Korea. “It’s a tragedy. We are the only countries divided right now,” he said at a recent press conference.

The star also hopes that language won’t be a barrier to enjoying his music. He notes that this is why he writes songs with lyrics that people can sing along to in Korean or English. His 50,000 fans were certainly singing along when he debuted the single at a concert in Seoul last week. “I tried to find Korean words that people from any country can easily sing along,” he explained.

To find out the translation of Gangnam Style and other popular foreign-language records like 99 Luftballons, read our previous blog post.