#hs1 analysis

[twopoppies]

This audio is real or? https://twitter.com/eversincenyyyy/status/1670395476015759361?s=46&t=BRJY4ZQz89uxpR8KiGdarQ

Yeah. It’s an interview from 2017 when he was promoting HS1. From the way it sounds to me, he was absolutely unprepared for someone to ask him so directly if it was about Louis. So he stumbled around trying to use his prepared answer, but also knowing that he couldn’t lead people into thinking the song was about a man. Especially not about the man half his fandom believed he’d been involved with for the past five years. Especially not at the very beginning of his solo career.

What I find really interesting is that the very next interview he did was with Zach Sang. And he was asked a very similar question: “Was Sweet Creature written about a specific person?”

The way he answered very much sounds to me like this was more along the lines of his prepared answer, but also he was making up for his blunder previously.

Interviewer: Harry, was Sweet Creature written about a specific person?

Harry: *deep breath* um...in my opinion, I think most songs are written for one listener, in my personal opinion, in the way that I think, you know, people write books, they probably write them for one reader. and uhm...yeah I think it's a really amazing way of being able to say something to someone that, maybe they'll never know it's about them, maybe there's one thing in there that only they will know is about them. I think it's...you know like I said it's so much easier to say something in a song than it is to say it to someone. and I think it's...it's really amazing to be able to communicate through that and be able to wrap up everything you want to say in three and a half minutes and say it in a song.

And he goes on to say:

Interviewer: So does this person know that the song is written about them?

Harry: .....um...I actually don't know. I think the thing that's important to remember is it's not always necessarily...um...the first thing that you might think of but I obviously...would never...tell someone that what they thought was wrong. I think the best thing about music is that everyone can take away different things from stuff--

I don’t have a recording from this interview, but this is taken from a transcript written that day.

If the song was about his sister, why wouldn’t he just say so?

At the end of the day, his point is that he’s not going to tell anyone they’re wrong about their interpretation of his music. So, if you think it’s about Gemma, go ahead. If you think it’s about Louis, go ahead. Stop creating so much drama and just enjoy the music.

In reference to this

[foxes-that-run]

Only Angel

Only Angel has similarities to Meet me in the Hallway, they 2 of the 10 Haylor songs with Hallways. To me, it is related to So it Goes... which refers to when Taylor performed in the 2014 Victoria's Secret show. Harry performed Only Angel at the 2017 VS show. I have always heard this song to be an assurance to Taylor that she is his 'only angel', like in As it was, she cannot be replaced with girls that 'look just like her' in MMIH Possibly because he was seen with Nadine Leopold soon after the 2014 VS show. It also references Van Morrison's Tupelo Honey which Harry included on his mix tape.

At 2 minutes into this Nashville performance Harry sings "Told her Little Brother" (2.09), further confirmation it is Haylor, with Austin Swift being younger than Taylor unlike Kendall's brother.

Only Angel was last played live in November 2021. It wasn’t at Coachella or after Harry’s House.

Original Lyrics

On 7 December 2023 the demo was leaked with different lyrics. Studio version is like a simplified, shortened and cleaned up radio edit. In the original, the muse has more agency (they knock), Harry has considered proposing 1000 times but it hasn't worked out and it's more explicit. The song also ends, then comes back like their relationship.

Close your eyes, shut your mouth and see That I'm still the only one who's been in love with me I'm just happy getting you stuck in between my teeth And hoping you don't shout about it Now I know a bunch of people who would waste your time But I wouldn't let it happen to a friend of mine We can write ourselves a story without doing lines 'Cause believe me, we can live without it, She's an angel[...] Broke a finger knocking on my bedroom door I got splinters in my knuckles crawling on the floor Could never take you home because your skirt's too short And my mother would be mad about it I must admit I married you a thousand times Had to change my tune when I found out what it’d be like But I meet you in the hallway almost anytime And we won't have to talk about it, yeah, She's an angel[...] She wants to be an angel just you wait and see. But it turns out she’s a devil in between the sheets and believe me I am all about it. Huh. Painted on you on your back, I knew we’d get along. But I caught you staring in the mirror way too long. I could love her if I didn’t think I’d do it wrong. I’m gonna have to take you home, She's an angel[...]

Lyrics

I saw this angel I really saw an angel Open up your eyes, shut your mouth and see That I'm still the only one who's been in love with me I'm just happy getting you stuck in between my teeth And there's nothing I can do about it

The first verse, Harry is so drawn to his muse he can’t help winding up with her. They liken their connection to an addiction in MMIH, Clean and Grapejuice.

The “only one in love with me” is Harry calling himself a narcissist and I think refers to Fool’s Gold where he said “Yeah I know your love's not real / That's not the way it feels /That's not the way you feel”

But, like in Fools Gold and Stockholm Syndrome he can’t help himself, he desperately wants to be with this muse

Broke a finger knocking on your bedroom door I got splinters in my knuckles crawling across the floor Couldn't you take home to mother in a skirt that short But I think that's what I like about it

This verse starts with 2 references that are in other quite sad songs, but set to a dance beat. Something Harry later did so well in As it was:

Taylor also referred to Harry knocking on her door in Suburban Legends but very sadly “You don't knock anymore and my whole life's ruined”

Harry also referred again to being on the floor in Fine Line “And I don't wanna sleep in the dirt”

The short skirt is a reference to Style “And I got that good girl faith and a tight little skirt”

She's an angel Only angel She's an angel My only angel

This line to me is a response to Is it over now? “Your new girl is my clone”. To me, Harry was saying he only has one angel, as in Victoria’s Secret model, Taylor having performed in 2 VS shows in 2013 and 2014.

After 1989 was released and they broke up they both spent a lot of time with a lot of models. Read into that what you will, to me the role the VS after party plays in So it goes and IDWLF, and the clone line has me noodling on if they were both seeking each other rather than the models.

I must admit I thought I'd like to make you mine As I went about my business through the warning signs End up meeting in the hallway every single time And there's nothing we can do about it

I love ‘went about my business and want to make you mine’ to me it encapsulates what I imagine wasted Harry’s chill attitude at that time.

Ending up in hallways links this to MMIH and the 10 other mentions of hallways in their respective songs.

Told it to her brother and she told it to me That she's gonna be an angel, just you wait and see When it turns out she's a devil in between the sheets And there's nothing she can do about it Hey, hey

This line about her brother is thought to narrow the muse to KJ and TS, in the above live performance in Nashville Harry said little brother which would be Austin Swift. Harry also got on with Austin.

To me, she’s an Angel/devil is here is similar to Style, where Taylor had “good girl faith and a tight little skirt” both play on the idea of someone seeming good but being wild. Kiwi is also similar “hard liquor mixed with a bit of intellect”

She's an angel Only angel x3 Wanna die, wanna die, wanna die tonight x3 My only angel She's an angel x3 My-my-my only angel

The refrain is repeating that she’s the only angel for him, and he wants to go to heaven.

Harry included Van Morrison's Tupelo Honey on his Another Man Mix Tape from an article while he was making this album. The outtro "She's an angel", which is also how Tupelo Honey ends. As Harry said to Rolling Stone:

“I don’t know much about Van Morrison’s life, but I know how he felt about this girl, because he put it in a song. So I like working the same way.”

[rachthepoet]

Meet Me in the Hallway Analysis

Another of Harry's songs gets underappreciated for the sole reason that people do not grasp the profoundness injected into it. This song is a masterpiece in uncertainty's devastation, utilizing time and setting for the emotions' amplification. The somber sound itself offers a perfect way to orient the listener to the delicate curation of HS1, making it one of my favorite openers, too. It delves into themes of longing, heartache, and an all-consuming desperation for reconciliation. Additionally, we are introduced to a theme that weaves itself fervently throughout HS1 — reflection and grieving. Too often, it's stuck side by side with self-regret and destruction, too.

Here's a deep dive into Harry Styles' Meet Me in the Hallway, from a poet.

Metaphors, baby, Metaphors!

The title itself is a metaphor and a core one at that. The term Meet Me in the Hallway purposefully mirrors the saying Meet Me in the Middle. This song has an intense tinge of a plea — specifics, the plea to reconnect and resolve unfinished business, to find a compromise. But, one party is always hurting more than the other. Per usual though, let's go a bit deeper. A hallway is a temporary, empty place to be stuck in. It's used to reach a destination but is never the destination itself. This is such a key detail in the perspective of the song. It's torturous, to be stuck in this limbo, never reaching the point he longs for, always being pushed back down on this hallway floor. It's a form of stagnancy, and one can easily spiral if left to their own devices in such circumstances.

There's another metaphor at work, a pretty big and overarching one — comparing love to addiction. I definitely think Meet Me in the Hallway is about love, but, more so, the loss of it. As many have vocalized one time or many, love can feel like a drug. Enveloped in the moment, it can make one see the world differently, and maybe it can even take your pain away. But, so easily, one can become reliant, and dependent, finding themselves immersed in the withdrawal pains when it's snatched away from them all at once. Essentially, that's what this song encompasses and illustrates — the withdrawal. Partnered with the bargaining, standing in the metaphorical space between closeness and distance. Trying to find a way to meet halfway physically and emotionally in a desperate effort to take the pain away. He needs them, and can't live without them, even as they mutilate him.

A last thing to mention is not really a metaphor, but more a running theme across his works that is always going to be prevalent — miscommunication. There's a significant struggle with lack of communication, now also highlighting bad coping mechanisms. Both, as one comes to see, find themselves in recurrence of this debut album of his.

Lyric Pull Apart

[INTRO] Two, three, four...

Something so decadent to the ear, but simultaneously so devastating to the gut. I love how this song — and the debut album — starts off with a hushed counting off. Starting with a hushed tone gives an intimacy to it, something so intriguing, as this opener chronicles a loss of intimacy.

[VERSE 1] Meet Me in the Hallway Meet Me in the Hallway I just left your bedroom Give me some morphine Is there any more to do?

Meet Me in the Hallway: Again, this is a rearrangement of the plea to meet me in the middle. Stopped at this first line to digest, but this is only the first in many moments of begging to work it out, interwoven with many pleas of wanting to get better and get better — but still finding oneself stuck in the hallway, stuck in the in-between, with no direction as to where to head to get to the destination at the end. A small detail I feel like people always miss is how his vocals echo, solidifying that particular image of him down and out. Sitting out in the hallway, back up against the wall, maybe with the head tilted back too — pleading in withdrawal.

Meet Me in the Hallway / I just left your bedroom: Just like the hallway is a metaphor, the bedroom is one as well. Take the setting and turn it into poetics. The bedroom is considered an intimate space, yes? The speaker's walked out, there's been a separation of intimacy, and is on his way out into the cold, but isn't all the way out. Remember, the hallway is an in-between space, always a method to the destination but never the destination itself. He's stuck in this agonizing leeway, and maybe he keeps returning back to them on his own or they keep convincing him, even with the knowledge that this addiction is detrimental to him on all levels.

There's some hidden detail just in the way it's phrased. I just left your bedroom gives some backstory. They were recently together and intimate, maybe an unwritten this will be the last time we do this (but they said that the last time, and the time before that). Inserting an emotional distance, but concurrently physical. And, back to bouncing off the bedroom metaphor, the relationship could be in such a place where the speaker feels like a stranger, like he's no longer welcome. Lost intimacy.

I just left your bedroom, this specification of "yours", as it's not his or theirs together. Again, lost intimacy. Marking the bedroom as the other party's in turn sets the other one's rules in place. The speaker has no sense of control, which can serve as a double meaning. No control in the relationship, but, at the same time, losing control of the self. The hallway is something more neutral, less intimate, a stark contrast to the bedroom — and that's where the speaker's been thrown.

Give me some morphine: Morphine is not only a pain medication, but it's also extremely addictive. Could this be him begging for it as the only close substitute to come close to the effect this person's love has/had on him? The love that's been ripped away? Here, and written in the undertone of the song's beginning to end, is a sense of hopelessness. This person's love is a drug to him, so he's bringing in another addictive drug to try and supplement. And, like much incorporated in this song, it's injected with metaphor — a simple one, more broadened, trying to search for the supplement to ease the pain. A supplement to the other who left him in urgency for something to take the pain away. It suggests that the speaker has fallen into a state of desperation, seeking any form of escape from the agony, even if unhealthy and just as destructive.

Is there any more to do?: Hopelessness! This song chronicles a moment of anguish, grasping at straws to try and salvage the intimacy and relationship, not wanting to lose the one who's taking the pain away. Even with the knowledge it might not be healthy, and even with the knowledge it's only a temporary solution. He's become dependent. And finds himself in the weakest state.

[CHORUS] Just let me know, I'll be at the door, at the door Hoping you'll come around Just let me know, I'll be on the floor, on the floor Maybe we'll work it out I gotta get better, gotta get better I gotta get better, gotta get better I gotta get better, gotta get better And maybe we'll work it out

Just let me know, I'll be at the door, at the door / Hoping you'll come around: I see this chorus as a surrender, a fall from grace on the hallway floor. The chorus' repetition captures this essence, I believe. He's ready to take the person back whenever they are willing. He's right at the door — trying to get closer to the past intimacy of the bedroom — ready to try and work it out, to try and meet in the middle, and push down the pain they've caused him. But will it ever really be forgotten? And he's hoping, even whilst drowning in hopelessness. It's on the other person to come around, for maybe he has run dry, exhausted. Stuck in the silence, the waiting.

Just let me know, I'll be on the floor, on the floor / Maybe we'll work it out: He's on the hallway floor, as all of his guards and dignity have fallen limp. Not putting up any fights to the withdrawal and pain, but rather letting himself succumb to the emotion. Surrendering himself to an addictive love, even if it's destined to harm him in the end. And he's saying maybe we'll work it out. Hoping, maybe, very tentative and insecure in his diction — like he's been in this same spot of desperation before. He's experienced the come down from the high too many times. Yet, a small part of him will still go back. He'll still fall to his knees if the other party welcomes him back in. Again, still a small part of him that tries to hope amid the hopelessness.

The lines before these and the two here now mirror each other, and there's an intention to that. When one's in despair, spiraling within yourself, you can repeat oneself over and over to try and communicate the tortured spot one's in. Repeating the same point again and again, even if phrased a little differently.

I gotta get better, gotta get better [x3]: What was that about repetition? It could be just for rhythmic purposes, granted, but it feels like it's something told to himself, repeating it like a mantra. A mantra that reflects both a personal struggle to heal and a stronghold on the aspiration to improve the situation with the other party. And it's sung in almost a yell, and very self-chastising. He's placing himself at fault, this confession into how he feels — and, because of the urgency the repetition evokes, it could be something that's been plaguing him, weighing him down to the floor. Maybe he knows he's not been handling things well, like one would with a drug addiction, and needs to get better to work it out. Even if it's not a guarantee. And, once more, the repetition, in this section and in other moments of the song, pushes forward the feelings of hopelessness, desperation, and even submissiveness.

[VERSE 2] I walked the streets all day Running with the thieves 'Cause you left me in the hallway (Give me some more) Just take the pain away

I walked the streets all day / Running with the thieves: These lyrics continue along the path of melancholy and introspection, and the sense of solitude is further painted. The speaker is wandering hopelessly, searching for something to replicate his drug — much like how substance abusers spend their days walking the streets looking for more. Then. Any saying that includes "running with the..." implies associating oneself with a group of people without necessarily identifying within it. A thief is someone who seeks something they don't possess. In this song, he's waiting desperately for someone who isn't returning back to him, so he feels the connection to the thieves — he seeks something he no longer possesses.

There's also an air of reminiscence to Liam Sparkes' quote in Another Man, speaking of tattooing Harry's butterfly:

"The butterfly on his torso is based on an old French prison tattoo inspired by Papillon. Traditionally, it would mean the wearer is a thief — something to do with the double meaning of 'Je vole', which translates as both 'I steal' and 'I fly'." — Liam Sparkes

This can bring in some more theorization of symbolism, as butterflies can represent someone's yearning for freedom or metamorphosis. He's been trapped in this metaphorical prison, in the hallway setting, for so long that he dreams of running with the thieves as a sense of freedom. Even if that freedom is self-destructive, it would still be freedom from this hopelessness and melancholia. Then, the illusion of metamorphosis, where he thinks these bad coping mechanisms will give him the feeling of open wings, but he's just shot down instead. The dichotomy and this could be a stretch, I fear, but I like sharing anyhow.

Running with the thieves could indicate he's let himself get carried away by things around him, to take his mind off the pain, engulfing himself in self-destructive things. Almost like he's fallen into the dramatic justifying thoughts: What's the point of anything if this love is lost? If the one I love won't let me in, might as well throw my entire self away. With this withdrawal of losing intimacy and connection with the other person, there's a lack of meaning to anything he does. So why not go and run about? Indulge himself in a self-induced ticking time bomb?

'Cause you left me in the hallway (Give me some more) / Just take the pain away: He points the finger to the other person as the cause of his agonizing isolation in the hallway, as they've neglected him in the limbo, for he has no indication of where they stand. He's been left somewhere in the middle of an unfinished relationship, hoping for more. Hoping for the person to take his pain away. And, through all this, I feel there's an indication that he's the only one holding out hope anymore. He blames his irresponsible actions from the lines before on the fact that he's been, again, left in the hallway, framing anything he does destructively as a cause-and-effect phenomenon. Again, the hallway is such a temporary and empty place to be, a way to get to the destination but never the destination itself. If one's standing endlessly in the hallway, especially in a moment of stagnancy with no direction out, you're nowhere meaningful — and that can be torturous.

I love how Give me some more plays off the earlier Give me some morphine, which can be both an emphasis and a branch off, diving deeper into the desperation. Screaming into the echos of the hallway "Give me more!". More effort from the other person, some more hope or signals that would make him believe they're working towards making things better too. And maybe this will take his pain away. Even if that soothing is superficial, he's desperate for something to take it away.

[CHORUS] Just let me know, I'll be at the door, at the door Hoping you'll come around Just let me know, I'll be on the floor, on the floor Maybe we'll work it out I gotta get better, gotta get better I gotta get better, gotta get better I gotta get better, gotta get better And maybe we'll work it out

The chorus returns, with the spiraling repetition and aching. We have the metaphors of the hallway, the bedroom, but what about the door? Each piece of the setting listeners have been placed in holds such symbolism to it. The door could be a metaphor for entering back into the relationship, for the door is what separates the bedroom (intimacy) and the hallway (isolation). He's waiting for their permission for him to open the door and enter the room — circling back to how the speaker's the only one who still wants this companionship. He's the one having the desires, this desperation, a need — but the other person is failing to even meet him in the middle, to meet him in the hallway, even as he's now collapsed on the floor, overtaken by the pains of his withdrawal and melancholy.

[OUTRO] We don't talk about it It's something we don't do 'Cause once you go without it Nothing else will do

We don't talk about it / It's something we don't do: Here we go again, this man and his communication issues. I've said it before, and will probably say it a million more as it's inevitable to come up —struggle with communication is such a common theme across HS1, across his discography entirely. The two of them don't talk about their issues — maybe they're scared that if they start talking about it, it'll be like tugging on a loose thread, only a matter of time before they both unravel. There's a fear of loss, and a fear of having to grieve the companionship, as the love has grown — say it with me now — addictive.

'Cause once you go without it / Nothing else will do: Once he's had a taste of what this person could be for him, how they can take the edge off, he feels that anything and anyone that follows will pale in comparison. Drugs, such as morphine, are so highly addicting that people often feel like they can't live without it and nothing else is as good — after they've felt that surge in their body, or the relief, even if it was illusionary.

Within the confines of Meet Me in the Hallway, in its somber after-hours feel, themes and conceptualizations were set up to be returned to throughout the debut album. This song also has a lot to do with the self, which is fitting to lift the opener of a debut and reintroduction. But this relationship with the self isn't healthy all the time, and I think it's beautiful that we do explore darker themes often in his work. Writing songs can be a form of catharsis, and we are the gifted to be able to hear it, and maybe find our own release.

Thank you for reading, you’re absolutely incredible! If there are any songs you’d like me to make an analysis of, please send your request to my inbox! along with any questions or insights you might have yourself!

[ivomartins]

helloo omg it's vivi i just noticed that you answered the asks (while scrolling through hsr tag i need the update so bad i can't live like this)

dogging on hs is a full time job and we're employees of the month 🤞 ntm on hs tho bc i will end up playing hs3 if it's ever released bc i need to see my li happy.

im new to rc so i can't say much about the writers but i think what you said does make a lot of sense. when new characters were introduced in hs2 it had the same tone as hs1. i would say there was a slight improvement bc astaroth and hunger were 10x more interesting than hs1 characters but the dialogue and their way of speaking was the same as hs1. like how do you pride yourself on being soo much better than mortals and speak exactly like them? why are you, as lucifer, speaking like a frat boy? make it make sense.

anyway, as opposed to hs, the immortals are actually different from mortals. lane noticing the lack of human warmth and emotions on cains face, despite how serene and aristocratic he looks right off the bat immediately showed us that they're not easily understood and they operate differently than humans. and the dialogue flows so much more naturally in hsr and different characters have their own distinguished way of speaking. (interesting that cain sometimes speaks so formally like during the church scene, but at other times uses mortal slang. just how long has he been roaming around earth?)

tbh now that ive analyzed the flying scene, he does seem somewhat sincere and like you said, they're both only looking out for themselves so they have a sense of kinship. (also love that lane is so unbothered about saving humanity or whatever and specifically said shes only going to translate what she needs... im obsessed with her)

but is it insane of me to hope that he's just being nice for the sake of using her? ive been ranting to everyone who would listen about how much i adore the church scene, it was the exact balance of unsettling and sensual, psychedelic and dreamlike. it had so much tension and i loved how cain was portrayed in it. but he's being suspiciously sweet and protective of her, cute, but i miss the tension 😭 he and lane are some of the most interesting characters ive seen in a while and id hate for them to lose everything that makes them unique to a generic romance so early.

what about your theories on how they could've known each other earlier? and what do you think about cain's past?

not this entire ass essay 😭 i love a good religious horror media what can i say. since ur just as obsessed w hsr as i am it's fun talking to you but this is a lot to think ab and reply to pls take ur time 😭💓

(ps to answer what you asked about choices, i haven't touched it since i got back into rc 🤞)

we truly are the pioneers of hs shit talk and i love this for us <3

i chuckled at your comment about lucifer talking like a frat boy because why is that so fucking true 😭

it really is just in the book's nature i think because if you look at the massive growth of alice's writing between hs1 and hs2, it's wild how the writing for hs2 still isn't that much better except in certain areas (hunger is masterfully written, for example, and the emo vibe was captured pretty well too since alice is an angst grandmaster)

like heaven's secret is simply, intrinsically, a haphazard low-quality story - because that was the foundation in hs1 and so it's only natural hs2 and hs3 will be the same. and i'm not hating on it when i say that because i definitely get why some people love it but as someone who's a bit of a snob and doesn't like harry potter vibe stories, it's just not for me

i'm living for your thoughts and analysis of hs:r though omg i didn't catch on to cain's manner of speech swinging between formal and informal, that's so interesting?? but YES overall i'm also hoping that we'll get more of the intensity we got with the church scene and that the dark undertone to their dynamic will prove to be an actual Theme and not just a one-off thing. i would actually GRIEVE if cain's route devolved into basic lovey dovey shit 😭

have you checked out dmitry's scenes? what did you think of them? 👀

when it comes to cain's past and his history with lane, i... have no clue tbh like that's just how good the suspense is. generally i'm expecting cain to be somehow tied to the event/entity/power that caused lane's memory gap because her dreams are clearly very significant and she dreams of him at the start of the book + that could be the reason why she got so woozy in the church scene instead of him seducing her with his power, because of whatever tie that binds them through that. but we know so little about him and his motivations that it's hard for me to theorize anything about his past. i adore pre-established dynamics though so i honestly think we're in for some juicy shit regardless of our theories. i can't wait!!!

shut up i lived for your essay and gave you one of my own pls 😭♥️ you're totally good!! i'm having just as much fun chatting with you angel <3

i haven't touched choices since the nanny affair 😭 though i do miss the good OG books sometimes ngl like open heart s1 remains ICONIC and forever in my heart and also the werewolf book uhh i forgot its name but it was sooo goood. there's not even a comparison with rc though whew it was such a huge upgrade for me especially since i started off with arcanum of all books - truly could not put it down

[homestuckconfession]

I keep forgetting hs2 Roxy is transmasc. I've always been a transfem Roxy (+relatedly, transmasc Dirk) truther when it comes to thematic readings of hs1, so while I'm aware their being transfem isn't "canon", I just can't picture a transmasc reading of their character on a thematic level.

IK pq recontextualises some of their feelings about Dirk to be gender envy, but imo it's just less grounded than tfem Roxy and is way less interesting to me. I've never seen any thematic analysis of hs1 (Or even 2, really) that gets really deep into a transmasc Roxy reading.

And like yeah you can hc whatever you want, but to ME personally "representation" is kinda a boring reason to write a character in a particular way. Like you can do it but I have a hard time caring about it even in fanwork, let alone an official* sequel.

.

[davekat-sucks]

That Minvol video was so good. It has everything, a character analysis of Dirk Strider and his massive flaws and self-antagonism, then not even halfway through the video jumps basically to postcanon to examine not only Dirk Strider as the main antagonist, but also as a metanarrative writer.

The way he critiques the epilogues is what I’ve always wanted, not calling out the ideas in of itself as bad, but how sloppily the epilogues can try to articulate the world and conflicts of Earth C. He can see the narrative is trying to say how people can change foe the worse and how isolation can alienate you from your friends and maybe how we need to take care of our community as our community cares for us, but that tangles with the actual setting examining the existence of canon as the fabric of reality’s existence, and how the reason these characters feel so “out of character” is a conglomerate of “it was foreshadowed” theories from HS1, the candy timeline being corrupted (even though many meat timeline characters were also OOC) and a general desire for to make social commentary or political allegory, maybe a hint of inserting headcanons with a dash of “for the sake of continuing Homestuck”

And then Minvol dunks on Homestuck^2 and James Roach’s remake, Beyond Canon. Basically Dirk sucks as a villain, gets jack shit done and has nothing compelling to say or show for his plan, no symbolism or analogy to the characters or their philosophies just silly random animals. Also more characters being really flat and stiff.

Then it’s all set up for the grand finale: Eridan’s Bizarre Adventure, or Homestuck if it had the balls to be good.

10/10 Minvol, FunkMcLovin and OptimisticDuelist weep at your creation.

The true Prince has arrived. Even the Meat timeline that was suppose to be the correct choice, it still is fucked up in its own ways. It may not have the overbloated drama and bullshit Candy has, but the mess it left behind is just as bad and will likely get just as worse when James Roach and HICU does continue it. It's sort of funny that Dirk was another self insert for Hussie and he still sucks as a villain in the sequels as said antagonist and metanarrative. They clearly wanted Ultimate Dirk to represent as the 'bad side of the fandom'. Just like how they did for Caliborn. But Ultimate Dirk doesn't even capture that kind of charm or likeability that Caliborn had. Even his beef against Ultimate Calliope is dull. I hope he can still be sane if he does continue to read or just moves on for his mental health. Until then, Mivnol is awesome and everyone should subscribe to him and check out his vids. Model by nozomii12 Throne by (ロ_ロ)ゞ Pose by etsumi-bm

[ialwaysknewyouwerepunk]

lucky again - a close reading

this one digs deep my friends!!! join in for some good old heartache of which you can’t tell if it feels good or not ! sponsored by: home - one direction

faith in the future, track 4

LYRIC ANALYSIS

You give and give until it’s gone away Just tell yourself you’ve got another day

// "when you give so much and it's not enough", don't let it break your heart // "there are problems in this empty bottle but we drained all that", angels fly

WE HAVE TIME - recurring in this song, but also. alotofotherplaces // "time takes time to heal it," dlibyh // "time for us is never over", the greatest // "so one more night i'm gonna choose", face the music // "let's buy some time", face the music // "just have patience, it's not how you spend the time it's if you waste it", all this time // "the love it takes is worth it all this time", all this time // "maybe if you'd taken more time", headline // "sit down in the space and time", she is beauty // "i'm on my way with some time to borrow", angels fly // "and time can always heal ya, If you let it make its way into your bones", holding on to heartache

You’ve lived that life you just don’t see it yet I see how hard you’ve worked to be yourself

imposter syndrome - result of all of those voices constantly trying to mess with your brain and your idea of you - theme of being hard on yourself // hs1, walls

you have to work hard just to be yourself in a world that limits people like them

"you've lived that life" then in the context of the next line: you are living an authentic life, true to who you are. you don't need to prove it to anyone and you don't need to be out to have lived that life

If you believe that guy is superman There selling tickets at the cinema Whatever gets you through the darkest night Just find the light out In the madness Hold tight

general interpretation: "if you think that dude there is superman, if you look up to him, see him as an example, that's fine, really, bc it helps you get through hard times. i won't judge your way to cope."

and then we dig into the layers: (good post by @bluewinnerangel as well with more diggings)

just some guy. he's playing the role of superman, trying to sell tickets to his movie so he earns money with the job he's done

he's def not superman bc his main objective is to get rich doing those superhero movies

cinema as the grand symbol of playing pretend: that guy pretends he's all that but he's really just a regular ol dude. commonpeoplejustactlikeyoureoneofus

cinema/playing pretend seen as the best way to get through the madness/darkness of life

then a lil deeperdeeper into the larryverse layers: "that guy" is making you believe he's this amazing dude, helping you, he's selling tickets at the cinema, he's getting you out there and getting you on the big screen. but yeah idk i buy his sales pitch

DARK <> LIGHT: recurring images - dark as a symbol for depression, pain, tough times in life. losing your way, being lost to yourself -> metaphor of being lost in the dark "through the darkest night" // through the dark // "i was stumbling looking in the dark with an empty heart" "when you're lost, i'll find a way, i'll be your light", home (this is just. louis in short. louis in summary. yeah. this whole album and shit and. underlying message is. this. home. ye !) // all the lights couldn't put out the dark running through my heart", lights up // "you showed me a power that is strong enough to bring sun to the darkest days", matilda // "back dancing in the dark", the greatest // "because we faded into darkness" "that keeps me drifting back to darkness", holding on to heartache

"the light out" in this verse meaning hope - in whatever way possible, hold on (don’t think about frozen 2′s ‘the next right thing’ don’t do it)

"hold tight" // just hold on

Cos i’m a hard  Man to lose But I figured it out  Then made my way back  To a life I would choose We were lucky once I could be lucky again

i'm a hard man hehe

i figured out how to lose myself, but i found my way back - the advice i'm giving you now is what i've had to follow myself in my life // "i've woken up from my sleep", bigger than me

"i'm a hard man to lose" - listener expects this is directed to "you", that it's hard for "you" to lose him. but the expectation is subverted by "i figured it out" -> double (possible) meaning of i figured out how to make you lose me. i figured out how to push myself away so far you had to let go // too young, walls, habit

LIFE central theme on fitf - what is a full life? seems to be a lot on louis's mind "back to a life i would choose" - i lost my way but found my way back, because this life isn't one i stumbled in my chance, it's one i actively want and choose // walls (album) -> connects to "you've lived that life" as something he's had to tell himself too in connection to his career: this is the career i choose, not just keep doing because i don't have a choice/alternative. i know who i am and i know what i want to do in life, i'm not just living blindly stumbling through the dark

-> career angle adds up to the "we" vs "i" pronouns there: "we were lucky once", as in together with one direction we got really lucky with our careers -> i could be lucky again

// "i roll and I roll 'til i change my luck", fireproof

Before the world it got so serious Before the time it got away from us I’d meet you at the favourite subway stop We’d grab some food and meet the lads for one

serious world, serious life, responsibilities getting in the way of himself/themselves, their relationship - lost sight of the simple things in life -> bringing that back into focus is a big thing on fitf as well as harry's house

+ focus on friendship making a life flourish, feel real

If you believe that guy is superman...

Cos i’m a hard  Man to lose But I figured it out  Then made my way back  To a life I would choose We were lucky once could be lucky again

we -> i: underlines again his focus on himself, on how he found his way back to his core, his desires and dreams -> adds to career angle: group -> solo

possible interpretation of 2nd chorus can also be: we were lucky once, we could be lucky again - no strict exclusion of "we" - aren't we all always part of larger entities anyway? + stricter about 1d: the band could be great again someday

I’m a hard man to find But you figured it out  And I love you for that Look back  On a time I was lucky once,  I could be lucky again

more directed to “you” than to himself, although that meaning still adds up imo

he was lost in the dark and “you” found him / they were both lost in the dark and “you” found him -> he was the light in the darkness

“that guy” playing superman is long forgotten - “you” also found their way to what’s really important in life, and knows that the best way to get through the dark is together, following love

SYNTHESIS

In a first layer of this song, it’s about Louis and his relationship with his career. Especially thanks to the ‘superman’ line, a dude just making money, finding ways to success through fame and money. He’s talking to “you”, but he might as well be talking in the mirror. On Faith in the Future it is a common theme that the advice Louis is giving is as much to someone else as to himself. He’s gone through a lot of ups and downs in terms of his career, obviously closely related to his personal life and identity, so it’s all intertwined, and this song reflects that. He’s lost his way, then found it again. He’s been at the bottom, felt like he gave it his all with nothing to show for it. Most of all: he’s kept trying, trying, trying. Giving it another day. He finds his current reality complicated and hard, and sometimes he looks back to earlier, simpler times with a bit of nostalgia, or even melancholy. But he figured out where his priorities lay, where his heart is, and knows a little better how to listen to it now. Fame and money are not the main objectives, and achieving those alone doesn’t mean success (anymore). He doesn’t look up to that guy/superman. And a good work-life balance, as literal that sounds, is translated into Louis’s work. All of these emotions, that he’s been applying to his own life, is something he then directs to “you” in this song, which I think is equally valid. His “you” has the same struggles, the same identity <> career hurdles they have to get through. So, Louis is holding out the palm of his hand.

The twist in the song, in the last chorus, is what really makes this song special and what makes that deep, personal connection between who he is and what he does even clearer. Who he loves and what he does individually are so deeply related that he can’t see success in one area without the other. Being lost to himself is just as lost as being lost to his “you”. He found his way back to himself - and this is where I fucking love this song - when “you” also found him. It’s not even clear anymore who got lost first, who lost who, when he lost himself or the other, or “you” lost him, because it doesn’t even matter. Who’s counting, when in the end you’re both found?

So, the luck involved here, that could reflect on his career going well, is supported by the chosen path to love and self, his heart where “you” and he are nestled in the core. The foundations are stable, so now we can grow again.

bc their art is at its best when they’re together bc together they’re the greatest and when they’re true to themselves they’re true to love and then the art just fucking follows

listening to: too young, dlibyh, satellite, keep driving, through the dark, fireproof, home

[dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram]

Your notes on the bear anon - particularly how we (and more importantly THEY) view their closets today - is more interesting to me than attempting to dissect the past. I have a very small set of core beliefs (no truths here) about the past and the rest of it I acknowledge I’m never going to ever understand or have resolution on but that’s ok bc my fundamentals haven’t yet changed. Still pretty confused about the present tbh in terms of how they feel about their closets today as individuals.

We learn about the past from the present and vice versa anon - I can't really separate the two. I think in some ways we're looking at things very differently - because I think in some ways where they are now, or at least where Harry is now, is relatively straight forward and it's how they got there that's a question.

As someone who has just been spent an evening with 50,000 other people who paid hundreds of dollars to see Harry - there is a tent pole explanation for what's going on that can bear a lot of the weight. Harry is a mega-star and fantasy-boyfriend Harry is absolutely central to his level of success.

I also feel like we have lots of indicators about how he feels about his closet. He seems pretty committed to the choice he's made, but I think he's fully aware of the cost and what he's had to give up. I think he feels he should be out and would like to be out, but not in a way that would change the path he's on. He seems reasonably aware of the dynamic - thinking of the things he said to his therapist from stage and the decision to do My Policeman.

There are a couple of questions that stem from this analysis - the first is why he doesn't come out a bit - make it explicit that he's attracted to men in a way that is understood as coming out by society. I think the fantasy boyfriend element could be maintained as long as his audience believed he was attracted to women.

And I have three explanations, which I don't think are incompatible with each other. The first is that I'm very sure that both the record label and Harry see the options as much narrower than I do (I think one of the things to understand about Harry is he thinks his options are much narrower than they appear from outside - I think his fear of being arrested demonstrated that very strongly). The second option is that he has a strong: "fuck off you don't get this part of me" reaction. But while I think he does feel like that (and he's basically said so) - I'm not sure it's core to the decisions he's making.

Then the third explanation is that coming out in a way that is compatible with maintaining a fantasy boyfriend audience wouldn't be true for him - and he doesn't want to come out in any way unless he can do it in a way that is true for him. I tend to think this is quite a big factor - and the longer he doesn't come out in some way - the more I think he can't come out in a way that is compatible with a fantasy boyfriend audience.

The other question is about the path Harry took. Given that in the very first interview he gave out of X-factor he talked about his attraction to men - I don't think the desire to be out (and the feeling that he should be out) are new. I also don't think it's that surprising that he ended up here - what your label is prepared to invest in you really matters in the music industry - and Harry moves towards success and large audiences like plants move to the sun.

What interests me is at what moments he felt like he had a choice and how he felt about taking that choice. I suspect it didn't really feel like a choice on within 1D - because it wasn't just jeopardising his career, but the whole band. But there must have been points in his solo career where he did feel like he had a choice (even if who he was and how he experienced the world meant that what he chose was pretty inevitable).

That's why I find the songs on HS1 so interesting - and the possibility that it was during the process of writing that album, not including Medicine and really focusing on servicing the fantasy boyfriend audience in this very particular way - that Harry made his choice.

**********

With Louis - the first question is what's the choice he's making and what is the trade-off - and there are much fewer indicators of what's going on.

If he's with Harry, then I think the reasons for his closet are reasonably straight forward. If they're together it's probably theoretically be possible for Louis to come out without outting Harry - but I don't think it'd make anything easier or improve anyone's life.

How he feels like that is probably very complicated and dependent on the nature of their relationship. But I think in some ways in these circumstances, it'd be much more simple to be in the closet for your partner's career than your own - it's much easier to come to terms with your competing desires if there's no idea that you'll someday have to resolve them.

I think if he's not with Harry, then there are lots more questions - particularly because I don't think it would hurt Louis' career to be out, if anything the opposite (although the point that the record labels and pop star themselves probably see the options as much narrower than I do is relevant here as well).

Therefore the options about how Louis feels about his closet - and the decisions and trade offs he's making are almost certainly a lot more personal and we don't have many points of reference that might indicate what they are or how he feels about it.

I do think they're together (and the fact that we get so few glimpses of what's going on for Louis and the closet makes me think it's more likely), so I'm not the one who is going to be really thinking through the options, but I am interested in these questions and what other people htink

[alarrytale]

do you think larry have had a break up but missed each other and got back together again? Because song like Love You Goodbye sound like a break up and HS1 also sounds like they weren’t speaking/ broken up. In the meantime they could have had sexual experiences with other people (Woke up the girl who looked like you, Harry's music videos also hint him sleeping with multiple people: female orgasm and WS etc). Ehat do you think of that? Have a nice day❤️

Hi, anon!

I think you all are messing with me at this point. Of all the blogs you can send asks to about lyric interpretation and analysis, you chose mine? Someone who answers an ask every other day about why you shouldn't fret over their lyrics and trying to tell you all not to take every lyric so literally?

I've explained why i believe they haven't broken up too many times to count. If you think 'Love you goodbye' sounds like a song about H and L breaking up, and HS1 like a break up album, then you do you. You can believe anything you want 💚

[magicalqueerenergy]

I’m looking for a song analysis doe meet me in the hallway. I’m a new fan so I didn’t get a chance to hear People’s reactions to it when it was released. It seems like a sad, haunted track

Hi, love, I am so sorry to be so late in answering this!! I wasn’t actually a fan when Harry released HS1 so I would maybe go to a more established blog for this one! @whoreforlarrystuff is one of my favorites to kind of read through personally, and she may be able to direct you to another blog if she can’t give you an analysis

I will just say that my own personal belief is that HS1 heavily revolves around a possible, short-lived breakup between Harry and Louis that I believe might’ve happened contextually. I do believe their together now and have been again since like late 2016-early 2017, but I do think they broke up and that’s what Meet Me In the Hallway is about. Could be totally wrong, I’ve never read an analysis on the song actually so! Again!

I would maybe send an ask to a more established blog like @whoreforlarrystuff or @bluewinnerangel who might have an analysis they know about or be able to analyze it themselves!

thank you for the ask nonnie!!

[angel---eater]

both june and roxy struggle *immensely* with compcis. i could write an entire essay abt how roxy started with almost obnoxiously cisfemininine imagery that he clung to hard but then was so much happier after transitioning to void blue im ngl. roxy fuckin bloomed after godtiering. the colour thing isnt a 1-to-1 match for every character obviously, i mean, dave is right there going from red to... more red. but theres a ton of stuff to dig into for both a transfem and/or a transneutral read of him (davepeta thriving for one as a half olive-blood, a femme-coded colour in hs1, and exclusively using they/them) (better example i think would be vriska going from one femme-coded colour to another in cerulean to light-aspect yellow, and the general consensis on her being transfem coded**). but i cant help but notice a distinct and matching signifigance to colour + gender and struggling either with themselves or with their aspect with roxy and june

june's shirt symbol being jade's green, but then as she goes through the story shes taken over by blue (god tiering), and her dissonance/dissociation with herself and her life in candy. shes just not happy. her life in candy was great at the start and she loves her partner and son, she loves being a parent, but theres a continual feeling of emptyness and Wrongness that imo goes beyond (bdum tiss) her usual brand of dissociation. losing her father but trying to fit into his shoes with fatherhood and all the suits. something just isnt right. roxy brings this up HERSELF in candy in hsbc, and june just kinda glazes over it. yaint right june!! something needs to change and the something is you! she hasnt embraced her aspect completely yet and she needs to

roxy's everything being COVERED in pink. the desperation for a boyfriend (his crush on dirk, also being very obviously interested in jake, the only boys he knows). trying so hard to connect to his mom but failing until he actually meets rose. the continual lalondian misunderstanding of each other. being introduced to blue through godtiering and stumbling through it (trying and failing to recreate the matriorb until hes quite literally in his element), feeling that maybe its an awkward fit, until finally getting to explore himself in meat (and candy, but in a slightly different direction). he has embraced his aspect completely and that has changed him for the better

roxy seems to thrive when hes on his own - not isolated like how he was pre-game, but at peace with it. just calm and quiet, peaceful and in his element (aspect). june hasnt had that yet. i dont think we know what that looks like for her yet, cause she hasnt found it

so much of homestuck is about actively watching these characters. its MEANT to be voueyristic. we as the reader are put in a distinct (and literal in a meta/literary sense) 'watching through the window' position. we're supposed to watch these characters grow and transition from state to state. sometimes in a non-trans way, but sometimes very VERY much in a trans way. im not surprised at all that june was planned and im wondering how long roxy's route was planned too

i think in particular for trans characters in hs, embracing your aspect is KEY. watching the trans character embrace their aspect is key

**if anyone has any specifically transfem meta/analysis for vriska please send it my way because i keep feeling like ive missed something major there. idk whether its a general gap bc i cant pick up on really specific lived experiences that i just, yknow, wont live. i just havent actually seen a lot digging into this in canon. which to my own mind even sounds fuckin crazy but also i dont usually pay as much attention to vriska when it comes to my own meta/analysis. so much of her is already super plain to see and right on the page for me that i dont actually have to dig very far for my own reading. like she full on just tells us whats going on with her a lotta the time. Understanding Vriska[tm] and her problems like this isnt a badge of honor but it does come in useful lmao

regardless, reading the epilogues and HSBC is ESSENTIAL for understanding june egbert and what both hussie and the current writing team are putting down for her. being trans is part of her heros jouney, like for real her egg cracking NEEDS to happen for her to truly become a fully realized heir of breath. shes supposed to embody change, but she hasnt actually changed yet. not like how roxy has truly become a rogue of void and shaped himself from both 'everything' (binary gender) and 'nothing' (gender outside of binary). june can completely dissapate herself into the wind around her but cant quite break outta that shell yet. who KNOWS what she could do as an heir of breath after having this realization

[twopoppies]

Hi Gina! Do you recall if anyone did a lyric analysis of Only Angel being about Harry? I just listened to hs1 and it struck that it sounds like self reflection written as a hey I’m singing about a hot girl - no rainbows here song.

Hey Maura. Yeah, I remember @old1ddude had that analysis early on and it always made sense to me. Here’s my ONLY ANGEL SONG ANALYSIS tag.

[foxes-that-run]

Sweet Creature

Harry said that Sweet Creature is about one person, and that he will never say who, adding if he would never tell them it wasn't about them. I think the protagonist has changed since it was written. It was a closer in the Live on tour set, and often emotional like this time in New York.

It was played once on HSLoveOT at Wembley. Harry talked about Gemma first bringing him to London for xfactor and he’d “like to play a song for her tonight”. He thanked London. So its matured in meaning and he sung it to Gemma, who had a baby 8 months later:

19 February 2016

At the Troubadour (at 21:40) on it's launch 19 May 2017, Harry said Sweet Creature was written a few weeks after his birthday 1 February 2016. It was written at the Village in Los Angeles. There is a photo of him at the studio on the 19th February. He also said it was the first song he wrote “for” the album (1:22). Harry said that one song (two ghosts) was written before leaving the band but everything on debut except 3 songs were written between July and December 2016.

Sweet creatures opening melody is similar to Blackbird by the Beatles. Blackbird is a McCartney song, interestingly, Harry was photographed with Ringo at the Clive Davis Grammy party. From I'm Not Happy (possibly the same night) and Pop Tart it might have been the first time they saw each other after the 2015 BBMAs 8 months earlier, 1D had been touring for most of that.

Cry “O sweet creature!” then kiss me hard

‘Sweet Creature’ appears in Shakespeare’s Othello. A tragedy, Othello is newly married to the beautiful (and faithful) Desdemona. The villain, Lago resents Othello and drives him mad by insinuating that the handsome and charismatic Cassio had an affair with Desdemona. Lago tells Othello that he heard Cassio talk in his sleep:

In sleep I heard him say “Sweet Desdemona Let us be wary, let us hide our loves.” And then, sir, would he gripe and wring my hand, Cry “O sweet creature!” then kiss me hard…”

It’s a really interesting reference. On one hand, Harry is singing with genuine affection and fits the imagined role of Cassio. However, as described in Woman Harry was jealous and he’s also the villain, messing with CH, in a laughably effective way.

If the Othello reference holds, Desdemona had also not cheated on Othello. But by 28 February Harry tweeted 'You can shake an apple off an apple tree.' And by April 29 that may have changed (Illicit Affairs / I did something bad).

Lyrics

[Verse 1] Sweet creature Had another talk about where it's going wrong But we're still young We don't know where we're going But we know where we belong

In out of the Woods and interviews about it Taylor talked about the relationship being tentative and plagued by challenges and poor communication.

Harry did not know where he was going, One Direction was broken up and although he started recording he had not signed a solo record deal.

TS and HS were unable to let each other go for years, often singing about belonging, or eventually being together. Particularly Someday, Satellite, As it Was, The 1 and End Game.

[Pre-Chorus] And, oh, we started Two hearts in one home It's hard when we argue We're both stubborn, I know But oh

'Two hearts one home' references Hopelessly by Crosby, Stills and Nash hoping on Harry’s Another Man Mix Tape. “They are One Person / They are Two Alone”, Nash was longing for Joni Mitchell, an idol of Taylor’s. This line is often read as referring to Gemma and when played it again in 2023 Harry agreed. However I think it wouldn’t have been dropped from the set if it was about Gemma.

In 2016 though, his 'home' was not a building. In the first 2 minutes of the Fine Line interview with Zane Lowe Harry talks about not feeling at home and feeling lost in his house in London on a 5 day 1D break, and glad when it ended. Taylor was a home of the heart, a part of his world and separate to the band. Woman Exile has more on ‘home’.

The idea of one’s sweetheart being home is in the Notebook, Harry’s favourite movie. Old Noah says it to his kids when they ask him to come home with him, his wife is his home.

[Chorus] Sweet creature, sweet creature Wherever I go, you bring me home Sweet creature, sweet creature When I run out of road, you bring me home

‘When I run out of road’ reminds us of the amount of Driving in Haylor songs. But this is referring specifically to Harry’s anxiety going solo and trust/hope that Taylor would be there for him. 7 months later in New Years Day she agreed: “I'll be there if you're the toast of the town, babe, Or if you strike out and you're crawling home”

[Verse 2] Sweet creature Running through the garden Oh, where nothing bothered us But we're still young I always think about you and how we don't speak enough

I think here though the Garden is the beach at Taylors Rhode Island home, (bought when they first dated) where the 1989 and 1989 TV covers and rolling stone beach shoot was. This shoot is referenced in the videos for Style and End Game.

Similar lyrical references are in Cruel Summer (snuck in through the garden gate to seal our fate), Blank Space (Rose Garden filled with thorns) and Betty (In the Garden would you trust me).

Not speaking is also a common theme, best put in Fine Line: "Spreading you open Is the only way of knowing you", and The 1: "And if you wanted me, you really should've showed."

And he posted this when it was released

[rachthepoet]

Two Ghosts Analysis

Too often am I forced to bear witness to people publicly admitting they walk right over this song and ignore the beauty under their noses. While I can't deem it a criminal offense, I dream I could. But, fair enough, let's get serious now.

This song is a melancholic and nostalgic reflection of a relationship lost to the past, where the theme of grieving returns after a breather is found in the preceding song. Lots of personification and metaphor at play here, giving way to stunning prose to catalog a relationship that's reached its expiration date. This can be an eerie feeling, in which everything looks the same, one's still with the same person — yet something's happened and shifted the dynamic. Or, something that's changed both people in a way that, when together, romanticism ceases to exist. The soul of the relationship is no longer there, it's dead.

Here's a deep dive into Harry Styles' Two Ghosts, from a poet.

Lyric Pull Apart

[VERSE 1] Same lips red, same eyes blue Same white shirt, couple more tattoos But it's not you, and it's not me

Same lips red, same eyes blue / Same white shirt, couple more tattoos: Attention to detail is forever a soft spot for me, and I will love it forever. For, these are the details one will always remember about a person that one once let themselves become so interwoven with. It serves another purpose too, curating context clues about the partner in question for the listener. Two ex-lovers see each other after the relationship ends, or maybe right before. The line, couple more tattoos, indicates a passage of time, and more indication of change. Yet, with that, there's a repetition of the word same three times in two lines, which brings in the conceptualization of sameness.

With sameness being emphasized, it drives the point home of how things are the same but they're simultaneously not. Establishing this will only uplift the contrasts to come, and it reminds me of the saying that you can't recreate the same memory twice. Even as one tries to find their way back, dancing the same steps, will it ever truly be the same if things have been so different in this passage of time apart?

Same lips red, as many conclude, could be referencing a lip rouge, or lips that naturally pull redder. Though, also, lips can be reddened through being kissed or being bitten, even getting chapped. I love how many different directions one could go in painting the scene in their head. Same eyes blue feels more straightforward in its meaning as a simple description, but there could also be another layer to unpeel — blue often is used to represent sadness, which can add more emotional nuance to this scene being set. I believe these two lines are referencing the speaker's ex-lover.

Same white shirt can be very literal, as in wearing a simple plain white t-shirt in how I visualize it, but also a more abstract reference to just plain, casual dress. It also, deeper, could be a shirt hat was shared between the two, indicating intimacy as we build the history between the two in this setting scene of the first half of the first verse. But that might be a reach, I know. Then, couple more tattoos as mentioned before can indicate a passage of time, and in a concept of sameness, this would be the detail to break the illusion that things haven't changed. The tattoos can be, you know, tattoos, but also anything that permanently marks the body if one wants to lean into the more abstract. I believe these two lines are referencing the speaker himself.

But it's not you, and it's not me: Clever allusion to such a classic breakup line — it's not you, it's me — but there's a subtle shift in its language, shifting the blame away from both. This implies that circumstances and forces bigger than them may have been the reason for their relationship dying off. It's no one's fault that this isn't working.

Despite the sameness illusion highlighted previously, the two aren't the people they were the last time they stood here, face to face. Looks can be deceiving, as the internal state of both parties is so different now. We're both here, but we're not us.

[VERSE 1] Tastes so sweet, looks so real Sounds like something I used to feel But I can't touch what I see

Tastes so sweet, looks so real / Sounds like something I used to feel: A somber symphony of the senses rounds out this study of the speaker himself and this person that's removed from his life, but it's a constant reminder that they're not forgotten. Rather, he's haunted by memories of what the relationship used to be. Still taking over all his senses. In their presence, it's all still so sweet to him that he can taste the experience, or maybe still taste their lips on his. And, lyrically, all of what has preceded this point has been what sounds like something I used to feel — past tense, a memory lost to time. A loss of life and spark.

But I can't touch what I see: Intangible things made tangible, in a sense. The soul of the relationship is no longer there, what's left is merely a metaphorical hollow skeleton of the relationship. He can't touch the love, can't graze his fingers against the spark, the chemistry, the life of the relationship — it's no longer in existence, and there's nothing that remains to grasp onto. Even if he feels like he can see it, in the tricks of his mind or tricks of the light, it's no longer viable or revivable.

[CHORUS] We're not who we used to be We're not who we used to be We're just Two Ghosts standin' in the place of you and me Trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat

We're not who used to be: The repeated truism throughout the song rings so significant because this is what the speaker's thinking in the back of his mind. They keep trying to make it work, but within his soul and subconscious, he knows that they're both not who they used to be. The dynamic has shifted in a way that hinders the flourishment of romance in contrast to when they were in a good place. Both have changed as people. The repetition is used again, I feel, to emphasize that time has passed and change has happened. Whatever has happened or transpired between them, either a lot of time elapsed or enough events in their respective lives to come out completely changed. There's no common ground for them to stand on — the relationship has run its course. Its lifeline has gone slack.

We're just Two Ghosts standin' in the place of you and me: The symbolism and metaphor within the namesake's Two Ghosts, and just the use of a ghost as a representation brings such eloquence to the song. And it pains me to see it overlooked, or just not appreciated. Ghosts are less substantial, dead inside, and are creatures of the literal past. In the vision of them turning into the quote-en-quote "Two Ghosts", they're each merely a shell of a person that the other once knew. A pale imitation of what they were. This haunts them, living in the other's mind. And, running with the vision of the personification of the relationship itself, I see them going through the motions. But, the spark, the life source of the relationship was no longer present. They're both at the wake, haunted by the ghosts of what they used to be. Maybe also with a tendency to live in the past.

Trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat: Oh, this line. This beautiful line just makes me ache. Since we were just talking about the personification, we'll continue on that front — the heartbeat of the relationship, trying to remember what it felt like before the relationship flatlined. And, pulling away and looking at the two, indicating them having a heartbeat — in which they felt alive when they felt the spark. A complimenting line to the ghost metaphor truly drives home that the relationship is dead.

Together, they had a steady heartbeat, a constant, something to rely on as if felt natural to them... back then. Now, reiterating, there's been time elapsed with distance and separation, as the constant gets lost to the past. There's the cliche romantic trope about the heart fluttering when infatuated. Usually, one doesn't feel their own heartbeat in normal circumstances, but when you see the person whose capture your love, the heart starts beating like it will beat its way right out of the chest. As the speaker realizes the death of this relationship, he misses the feeling — the adrenaline rush to cause this beautiful but haunting sensation. He struggles to recall how it felt because his heart isn't fluttering anymore, and that can be heartbreaking. But now, he's trying to move on and live again, but still struggles from what I can conclude.

[VERSE 2] The fridge light washes this room white Moon dances over your good side And this was all we used to need

The fridge light washes this room white / Moon dances over your good side: I find these lines so vivid, painting beautiful imagery. It's a scene so romantic and intimate, especially with the diction of the second line, how the moonlight dances over them — it feels a little flirtatious. And it's a memory that remains stuck in his head, back when there was still soul and life radiating. All this domestic imagery and bliss and infatuation — but that was then. Again, a memory.

Moonlight is something fun to interpret, and I'm aware I might be putting on my poet-went-in-too-deep shoes, but I'm throwing it in just in case someone finds their fancy with my ramblings. This is such a beautiful and almost ethereal image of someone, especially one that's revered in the mind, cascaded in the moonlight. But, moonlight doesn't come from the moon, but, rather, light is emitted from the sun and reflected onto the moon which then reflects into the moonlight people are fascinated by. This can lend itself to symbolism of melancholia and somberness sometimes, as the moon can't create its own light, but must rely on the sun. Maybe the speaker felt as if this person was the sun, him the moon, and the moonlight reflected back on the person in this imagery. A light he's giving that he can only credit to the lover, leading to this struggle to find ground to stand on when the sun has left. Just an abstract theorization and a bundle of thoughts, really.

And this was all we used to need: Naturally, this is a companion line to the previous two. Back when the soul was alive and well in the relationship, everything was simplistic and low effort. And that's how you want chemistry to be — a naturally occurring spark, and there's no need to force it in the relationship. Simple things, like intimate domestic moments spent in the moonlight, used to be all they needed to get the heartbeat going. Maybe even racing. But something has shifted, a common thing that's returned to. There has to be more effort now, and the two can no longer expect everything to work itself out. Trapped in the past — haunted by what once was.

[VERSE 2] Tongue-tied like we've never known Tellin' those stories we already told 'Cause we don't say what we really mean

Tongue-tied like we've never known / Tellin' those stories we already told: It wouldn't be a Harry Styles song without a difficulty of communication motif. This breakdown of communication within the relationship plagues the speaker significantly. They stumble over their words now as they try to speak — they don't know how to communicate with one another anymore, something that we can infer came easy to them once. It goes along with the refrain, speaking to we're not who we used to be and the ghost metaphor. There's something about being able to naturally understand the other person, and when that ability is lost, it's a clue that you're no longer in sync with one another. Something is dulling the life.

This all provides such a stark contrast with the beautiful imagery at the top of this second verse — but that was then, and this is where they stand now. A shift, the magic is gone, and the soul of the relationship is no longer viable. they have nothing to talk about anymore, nothing new, and they both revert back to what they've already told each other thousands of times — maybe a reach to try to feel reinvigorated, but it falls flat. The soul is gone, and the relationship has been lost, only a relic of lost time in their minds.

'Cause we don't say what we really mean: Both parties have an awareness, I believe, that the relationship has run its course, but neither of them wants to say it out loud. Maybe, deep down, they both still have love for each other. But there's nothing that can be done when the spark is gone and the body is not revivable. They let themselves succumb to this cycle of repetitious stories that have an association back to their times of flourishment, avoiding talking of the reality — avoiding grieving what they once were, and pushing their emotions down. No true feelings are being said, and nothing real with genuine intentions is being given either.

[CHORUS ADD ON VARIATION 1] We're not who we used to be We're not who we used to be We're just Two Ghosts standin' in the place of you and me We're not who we used to be We're not who we used to be We're just Two Ghosts swimmin' in a glass half empty Trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat

A repetition of the chorus, but with each additional iteration offers a little variation. One lyric change per repetition could be missed if one isn't listening deeply enough, which could bring in the miscommunication the speaker feels into the lyrical structure, too. I personally believe and will argue that those two lines snuck into the reiterated choruses hold as much significance as the full verses.

We're just Two Ghosts swimmin' in a glass half empty: Pretty metaphorical here, yeah? And a call to Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here. Again, we come to the core visualization of the two ghosts, how the two are shells of who they used to be within the context of a relationship lost to time, and has become a relic infused with nothing but memories. A nostalgic mind's trick, even. A glass half empty is an image negative and is one of the classic ways to determine if someone is more idealistic or more fatalistic. If someone views the glass half full, they're optimistic — if someone views the glass half empty, they're pessimistic. The utilization of this creates a foreshadowing of the inevitable fate of the relationship. Even if we want to go in a bit deeper, it shows how they've shifted from the optimistic to the pessimistic — where bright memories once illustrated through an idealistic screen are snapping back to the now, one by one, and reality has a fatalistic film roll.

A glass, even a metaphorical one, doesn't have much room. And it's cylindrical, so swimming in it would result in going in circles again and again. When one swims a lot, it tires the body — but, here, it's such an inefficient activity, getting nowhere. And, with the pessimistic cloud being cost over this imagery, it's swimming to no destination. Of course, there's also the water imagery brought in, something significant here but also to the debut album as a whole art piece. Water, through HS1, has been tied to renewal and rebirth — but, within this song's context, a more somber undertext is adopted. If they make their way out of this glass, could they ever be truly cleansed of constantly trying to revive a dead relationship? Will this always haunt them?

[CHORUS ADD ON VARIATION 2] We're not who we used to be We're not who we used to be We're just Two Ghosts standin' in the place of you and me We're not who we used to be We don't see what we used to see We're just Two Ghosts swimmin' in a glass half empty Trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat

Another repetition of the chorus, but as discussed before, each iteration offers a new variation, and this is no different.

We don't see what we used to see: It feels almost synonymous with the repeated truism that we're not who we used to be, as it lies along the same theme. Each person's mindset has shifted and changed, in a way that they fail to see eye-to-eye in the way they used to do. They've lost this foundation of understanding with one another, which is a component of the soul of the relationship. A soul is no longer full of life. They could also not see the spark in one another anymore, in which attraction has faded more into neutrality.

[OUTRO] Trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat I'm just trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat

More repetition here, but the phrasing of the last line has changed in the slightest bit, and that tiny detail offers up so much.

I'm just trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat: Now, we switch to first person, which always makes the tone more intimate, bringing everything back to the speaker to conclude. Being the final line we hear him sing, it enhances the emotion at the end. But there's also this almost sense of exhaustion. The speaker is really trying to still care for this person, respect this person, and excavate the spark again — but, sometimes, relationships just run their course. With the switch to the first-person point of view, the listener can sense that the separation is already beginning. We to I. The speaker's looking into himself, trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat. A heartbeat alone.

In HS1, grief is a concept explored in all its different forms. Two Ghosts casts the end of the relationship between the two as some kind of death, as the life has been snuffed out in the relationship itself, but also death to the individuals. The two people changed so much within the grieving of loss to what meant so much to both, metaphorically becoming ghosts of their former selves, and there's no recognizing the other in the present as the speaker lives in the past. It's a bittersweet pang to grieve what has been, and what's irrevocably changed. And I find it continuously beautiful how these different aspects are explored.

Thank you for reading, you’re absolutely incredible! If there are any songs you’d like me to make an analysis of, please send your request to my inbox! along with any questions or insights you might have yourself!

[zot3-flopped]

That vocals video is so hard to follow (for example in a segment about one vocalist they use sound clips from all five: super confusing especially when you are reading about Liam but it's Louis singing!) but you know what, I agree quite a bit with their analysis of Harry in One Direction. This analysis goes up to Sign of the Times/Two Ghosts era (pre Live on Tour, I think?) and the difference between him singing HS1 songs on tv back then, to where he is now, is astonishing.

I'm a fan from Fine Line so when I went back to see 1D videos I could see he was hit and miss, but they all were at times. I honestly think the vocal coaching they had in 1D was quite poor and there was pressure on them all to over-perform in the short term because hey, boybands don't last and I assume nobody really cared if they ruined their voices.

Hearing Harry singing live now is a very different experience. He is so agile and in control, and sure, he pushes it a bit at times, but often for fun, doing silly runs with the audience. This sounds silly but every day I am glad for him that he is no longer in that band.

Contrast that with Louis and he is hammering what little voice he had. Just no respect for his craft whatsoever, which you know doesn't go unnoticed. Why would a really good producer or songwriter want to put their name to anything he does? Nothing in it for them at all.

Harry did some fantastic work with Ron Anderson. I wonder if we'll ever find out who his vocal coach is these days?

[justmeinatree]

i LOVE your list because, while my current list isn't super indicative of this, punk rock is one of my favorite genres. i was super into punk music/culture as a teenager who was a little too angry at the world so that genre played a big role in shaping who i am today and it holds a very special place in my heart. and Green Day was one of my introductions to punk music so i absolutely adore their music and am very happy to see them on your list!!!!

i'll be the first to admit that me citing 1D/their solo music as favorites is less because their music is actually better than other artists and more so because i just have so much love for that band and its members. i got into One Direction as a young teenager and i struggled a lot with my mental health during the time that they were at their peak so, as cheesy as it is, they mean a lot to me because they got me through some tough times. i feel like i'm obligated to include them on any list of my favorite artists because i've been a fan of them for 10+ years 😂 but i also do unironically love their music...even songs from Up All Night are still in my regular rotation and it's been like 12 years since that album came out.

so...if i had to rank them, i'm not sure exactly where they'd go relative to the five artists i already mentioned, but Niall would definitely be first, Louis would be second, and Harry would be third. them as a band would go fourth because, as much as i love all 5 albums they did together, i definitely prefer listening to their solo stuff. it feels weird not putting Louis first because i've been a Louis girl since day 1 but i think Niall writes better lyrics for the most part and Heartbreak Weather is just such a good album. and no disrespect to Harry but i have to be in the right mood to listen to a lot of his music, whereas i can just throw something by Niall or Louis on at any time and know i'm gonna vibe to it. and i don't ever listen to Zayn or Liam's solo music because for whatever reason, i don't really vibe with it...so they don't even get to be in the ranking.

sorry for writing a whole essay 😂

-🤘

your list was fantastic as well ! some smiths, LOVE and three days grace, some canadian love 🫶

so funnily enough, i hated the up all night album. still just cannot get into it, and the second album, can’t remember the name at the moment 😬 was just not my vibe at all. i really started liking them more when midnight memories came out, and then the next 2 albums were great. as for solo work, flicker and hs1 have yet to be topped in my opinion 😅 heartbreak weather does not have a single song that i actually enjoy 🫣 and i have no idea how fine line propelled harry’s career, because that one too i just really didn’t like at all 😬 the show and harry’s house were a step up but they still have not come close to topping their first albums in my opinion 😅 ESPECIALLY hs1, it’s honestly front to back such a fantastic album ! louis wise, i really liked walls, and i like faith in the future even more. louis to me is just steadily inclining in quality (i have high hopes for his third album 😂) and zayn and liam have some good songs, love pillow talk a lot and his new stuff is really good too. not a big fan of liam’s newer stuff, but some of his old songs are pretty good bops 🤷‍♀️

please don’t crucify me for this personal analysis 😂