by @kingsofeverything with fantastic art by @hereforlou
Rather than spend the summer working at their desks, Louis and Harry are given the opportunity to crisscross the country together in a tiny camper, filming their adventures for a YouTube series.
It soon becomes obvious to their viewers that there’s something more than friendship between them. Eventually, they figure it out.
• Louis/Harry • Explicit •
• 97K Words • Read on AO3 •
inspired by “Adore You” and written for the @finelineficfest
oh, you think thats painful? let me one up you. the actual lyric is "we held darkness IN withheld clouds". suppressing or withholding clouds will only allow the rain (or the darkness/negativity) to build up in them over time. he's saying at that time, he asked his partner if they should just keep driving. now, with their small concerns in the engine/relationship, he once again asks his partner the same thing (hence why this question is not only in quotations). (1/4)
harry gave us everything that the album is about, condensed in one high speed song as an introduction. it’s his daily life, his career, the industry, his deepest emotions, drugs, thoughts he’s been stuck with, random associations, hiccups, mundane beauty, food, coffee, love. he’s become the beat poet he’s always wanted to be and i’m fucking here for it. LET THE TRUMPETS SOUND HERE WE FUCKING GO
harry’s house, track one
LYRIC ANALYSIS
MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE MINE
THIS ALBUM IS MIINE MINE MINE MINE
Green eyes, fried rice
I could cook an egg on you
hey, i have green eyes!
you’re so hot
Late night, game time
Coffee on the stove
a first taste of the album: impressions, random snapshots. lots of late nights, lots of coffee, a game here and there
“game time”: play a part/game on/competitiveness/hanging out at home
You’re sweet ice cream
But you could use a flake or two
Blue bubblegum twisted round your tongue
you’re sweet. you’re cream // steal my girl, “kisses like cream”
“flake”: a chocolate flake? a flake of salt? (take yourself less seriously. take myself less seriously. take life less seriously)
I don’t want you to get lost
I don’t want you to go broke
I want you
i want you to keep your job, i want to keep you around - if we see that as h singing about his own career: he wants to keep shit going
he wants to keep it going - the same way? or: we need to switch shit up, but yeah, i obvs don’t want to fuck it up so bad that we go broke
It’s ‘cause I love you, babe
In every kind of way
Just a little taste
You know I love you, baby
loves his career, loves music, loves performing, loves writing, recording, all of it
about lover: // kmm, “just a little taste”
“Excuse me, a green tea?”
Music for a sushi restaurant
From ice on rice
Music for a sushi restaurant
Music for a sushi restaurant
Music for whatever you want
nonsense…. right?
people placing their order while his music is playing, while he’s singing
using his voice as an instrument like a jazz singer - sounds like something that perhaps could be performed by the band in the background of a jazz club……. but it’s a bit too intense for that, isn’t it? i’m too loud too outrageous to be played in the background bitch
“music for whatever you want”: the music i write can be for whatever you want
i’m asked to write for different settings, or as many settings as possible, as broad an audience as possible. for the background of your tiktok, if you fuckin will apparently
if this album is put out in the world, it’s yours, and you can listen to it however you want
I’m not going to get lost
I’m not going to go broke
Staying cool
he’s very sure he’s not going to get lost
“cool”: keeping it cool/not getting fed up/fitting in (// ftdt, “i never felt less cool”)
You know I love you, babe
you know. we’ve discussed it.
about career: reminding himself he really does love it
If the stars were edible
And our hearts were never full
Could we live with just a taste?
Just a taste
IF: but the stars aren’t edible. our hearts are full. and we don’t have to live with just a taste. BECAUSE I LOVE YOU. IN EVERY KIND OF WAY.
“edible” - drugs mention
“stars” - high up in the sky, high on drugs, superstars
-> could we even live with just a taste of the stars - could we live with just a little taste of fame? if our hearts were never full, could we even control ourselves to stop after just a taste of fame? —– his heart is full, tho, which is why he knows how to pace himself in the wasteland of fame
It’s 'cause I love you, babe
In every kind of way
Just a little taste
You know I love you, baby
it’s the fact that grapejuice is a long distance relationship anthem for me. Bear with me.
First of all, the sound of his voice. To me, the verses sound like a literal voicemail and H is just telling this person about his days like “hey, sunny afternoon, I was just going to buy flowers for you, yup because I miss you. It would be such a good day to just lay down somewhere like the heath” and then it turns kinda dark and sad: “There’s never been someone who’s so perfect for me - But I got over it” and even his voice changes it gets deeper and he sounds tired and done until my favorite lyric of the whole album:
“I pay for it more than I did back then” ??? it’s literally one of his most layered lyrics of all times. It could mean nothing at all and it could mean everything at the same time. It could mean he gets a worse hangover now than years ago. It could also mean his freedom is way more compromised than years ago when he “couldn’t do anything” even when apparently today’s H is as free as he could get. It could mean being an artist and having to stay away from his partner during touring it’s way harder today than it was when they toured together. It could mean the closeting feels worse now and that for every moment of “freedom” he gets, he has to pay for it more, “make up” for it.
And then his voice goes back to normal for the chorus, it’s not a voicemail anymore and all he does is say “There’s just no getting through without you”, “I wouldn’t make it without you, I love you and I know I’m doing this because we are in this together and everything is going to be ok, just me and you.”
Next verse and we get the voicemail voice again while H literally says he is sitting alone having a couple of drinks and thinking of his SO. And again it sounds like he is telling them about his day: “hey, babe! I’m just drinking some wine sitting in the garden wby? Listen, I was wondering, how many places have we been to? Together? Well, ofc babe you’re always there.”
and then: I pay for it more than I did back then. (???) Have I already said how much I love that line??
And if it wasnt clear enough that this is not a happy love song but a bittersweet one, we get confirmation in the last line “ There’s just no getting through the grape juice blues.”
Ok and finally two things:
1. the 28 references because OF COURSE. (the 1982 in reverse + the numbers he sings through the song add up to 28)
2. the wine references. We know hl are drinkers. like WE KNOW.
“Smoke something, drink something, yeah, just like the first time”. Alcohol has just always being a part of their relationship so it just makes sense that the whole metaphor is going to revolve around something that is theirs. Like relaxing and drinking together and then just suffering through the longing of not being able to be together bc this is what they do this is their jobs. It is what it is.
So, grapejuice started as a voicemail and endless calls so it’s basically about their long distance relationship. Fight me.
Oh hello. Just me, back in your inbox to rant about H and L’s returning themes of change and growing up.
As previously mentioned - the Fleetwood Mac: Landslide -> blackbear: CHANGES (written by Louis) -> Cam: Changes (written by Harry) -> LT: Change(s) pipeline is very interesting.
Growing up and changing is such a common theme in their writing. They both have written songs speaking about how they’re afraid they’ve changed and grown up and people they used to know and love might say they don’t know them anymore. They speak of being scared of that growth and change and outgrowing their old lives/home/people.
Enter 2022: Change(s), Matilda, Late Night Talking
Louis first debuted his new song Change(s) at the Away From Home Festival and has recently brought it back into his tour set list. Harry also just released a new album with the aforementioned songs.
Change(s) talks about how it’s okay that everything has changed. Things change. People move on, but they’re still the same inside as they’ve always been. Matilda; where do I begin with her? The entire song is so beautiful. H brings back the idea of changing and growing but this time, he’s okay with it. “you don’t have to be sorry for leaving and growing up”. Late Night Talking might be overlooked in the change conversations. But the lyrics, “I’ve never been a fan of change, but I’d follow you to any place” coming from someone who has continually talked about their dislike/struggle with changing and growing up? But they’re okay with changing and moving on with a certain person? So LOUD.
This has been your latest update in sleep deprived rambles of these boys struggles with changing and growing up, but how they’ve become okay with it, learned to manage and grow in it, especially with the other by their side.
yes!!! everything, but we have to YELL that last part bc YES!!! change and not knowing what's to come is such a huge theme on harry's house. it really has been throughout their entire discography, bc hs1 and fine line's heaviest songs f.e. deal with change, essentially. but now it's like they've zoomed in on it, yk?? kinda as if they figured out that that is what the problem was all along: them having to deal with change and how hard that can be, and how they don't necessarily like it. that it takes some time to process change. the place they come from and really love changing without them bc they're hardly ever there anymore. the people around them changing and hurting them bc they were close and trusted. the music they like changing. the people who like their music changing. and then it's just the sweetest most heartwarming fucking thing that they're then just like. yeah let's just keep driving. we'll make it down this road. together.
and just bc i can't resist, here's just a small cluster i've made of relevant hs3 lyrics:
things haven't been quite the same, there's a haze on the horizon, babe - lnt
you know it's not the same as it was - as it was (duh)
i don't wanna talk about the way that it was - as it was
i've never been a fan of change, but i'd follow you to any place - lnt
i remember back at johnny's place, it's not the same anymore - love of my life
louis wearing a polo with red/yellow/blue aka harry's house color palette after the album release its also giving louis wearing a polo with Maison aka House/Home written on it the day Harry's House was announced it's also giving Louis wearing the same green-blue polo only twice in two cities which their intials are H and S its also giving Louis on valentine's day wearing red trouser with the brand's logo aka a butterfly inspired by the same movie that inspired Harry's butterfly tatto its also giving...
I've been thinking about Little Freak and its delicate point of view and it's unholy how strong and raw it is. For the purpose of this analysis, we're gonna picture this song as a two voices duet: Harry and She. First verse is Harry adressing She, 'you'. Second verse is She adressing Harry. Overall, the song reads to me as a beautiful apology letter from you to yourself, because in the end, Harry and She are the same person.
Little freak, Jezebel
Those are society's feelings towards ''she'', queerness. Freaks, evil (Jezebel is one of those reaaally evil biblical figures, and she's a woman). The hatred is so strong from all sides that Harry internalized it and saw She that way. He may have now claimed those words as terms of endearment. Little freak <3
it gets a lil bit long it's ok
Stay green a little while / You bring blue lights to dreams
Okay I'm just. Tripping a bit here about something I wrote some time ago regarding Pink Floyd's song Green Is the Colour, somewhere in there. Green is a colour symbolizing envy. Harry is containing her existence in this intangible feeling: envy and dreams. (blue being the colour of psyche and stuff)
Somehow you've become some paranoia
She has been confusing him for so long, she has been associated with fear (of being rejected, judged, hated). She is the paranoia of being found out.
Wet dreams just dangling
Okay, I'm just gonna link those posts about WMS by @laurelier and @ialwaysknewyouwerepunk who called it!! Maybe the female orgasm... was indeed his all along. Dangling, in the air, Out of reach, because he hasn't come to terms with her yet, because thinking of your gender in relation to your sexuality can be really scary.
But your gift is wasted on me
Harry regrets how he has come to hate her: she's not a curse, she's a gift, queerness can be beautiful, but for some people it can be very hard to accept that part of themselves and celebrate it after years of self loathing. Harry wishes he could love her unconditionally. Or this may be about gender dysphoria: feeling like the gift of ''femininity'' is wasted on his body.
I was thinking about who you are, your delicate point of view
I'm not worried about where you are, Who you go home to
Throwback to She ''I don't know who she is, where she is'': he feels like he has overcome this period of questioning who and where she is. Now, he sees the world differently through her eyes. ''who you go home to'' may imply he's found a way to conciliate his gender identity and his romantic relationship. She's going home to his beloved and it's not an issue to anyone.
Second verse! She POV !
Did you dress up for Halloween?
This feels like She is asking Little Harry about his Halloween. Costumes and special occasions being an excuse for exploring different styles, extravagance. Embodying someone you're not in your daily life. Halloween is her moment, ever since Harry was a kid.
I spilled beer on your friend im not sorry
Growing up, Harry has found other ways to let her out. She jumps out when Harry's drunk. In those moments She is unapologetically herself, she's loud, has fun, spills beer on people and makes an embarrassment of herself. And she's not sorry about it. In those rare moments, it's all about her and not social conventions, what others may think.
Golf swing and trampoline, (baby?)maybe we'll do this again
I'm trying to vizualize the lyrics here, and golf swings and trampoline just evoke to me amplified movements, the body completely letting go and taking all the room. More than a state of mind, when She is out the body feels free. It's liberating, not to worry about how ''too much'' you are, you get addicted to that.
Track(drag?) suit and a ponytail / You hide the body all that your God gave you
It's just. very gender. Tracksuit is that one unisex garment that can dissimulate body insecurities. She only peeks out a bit at the body ends: a ponytail, a simple act of self care (reminding me of Harry braiding his hair during 1D). And the body God gave you.... What you have to do with, no matter how much you hate it. (if the actual lyric is yoga fuck my drag right)
Red wine and a ginger ale / But you would make fun of me for sure
Various mentions of alcohol, because for some time that was the condition For She to fully exist. And She knows that once alcohol wears out, he will belittle her again, try to make a joke out of her. ''I was just drunk, I was being stupid''
I disrespected you, jumped feet first and I landed too hard
Broken ankle, comma rules / You never saw my birthmark
I'm... not really comfortable going there, but this is what I take from the lyrics strictly. Comma rules... As to separate ideas within a same sentence (separating himself from her though they're the same person) or comma rules as in semicolon, tattooed as a symbol for overcoming depression or suicide. Especially associated to the broken ankle. External and internal damage. The birthmark line seems like something extremely personal to Harry's own body map. Something you would write after taking a look down at your body: through your own delicate point of view.
ANYWAY. To go back to the chorus, and the entirety of the song: more even than FL, this feels like Harry has grown in regards to her. He's done trying to figure her out, where she starts, where she ends, who she is. He just thinks of her. All of her, all the joy and pain she brought him, and all that is waiting for them.
I've seen some people point out the (for now) infamous yoga line ''you hide the body, all that yoga gave you''. We could see it as the obligatory nod to a sPeCiFiC public relationship. But it's also making sense with the whole gender dimension of the song!
Yoga is a way for people to reconnect body and spirit. We know Harry is familiar with those (yoga, pilates, meditation as a whole)
So the lyric would be a really pretty dichotomy. You wear loose sportswear to hide the body you're uncomfortable with. The irony is that you wear that same outfit to practice yoga, as a tentative to be more at ease with yourself. The tracksuit is an allegory of that struggle, trying to accept a body you feel disconnected from.
Oh nony. Not only is it gay, it is the MOST gay. (Trigger warning for any delicate puritans who don’t believe the boys have ever done drugs)
LET US BEGIN. First, quick history of poppers:
NOW on to Cinema.
If you consider Harry’s history of disguising drug songs as explicit stunt songs, the inclusion of a song called Cinema whilst “dating” a director fits perfectly; he did the same with Carolina and Towns, a very obvious song about cocaine.
The entire end of Cinema references poppers. Constantly. It makes absolutely no sense in any other context. You might say “oh virgin vaginas and popping cherries” but uh, look that’s DEF not the stunt narrative. And the whole “you pop when we get intimate”??? Do I need to spell this out for you guys? Also note:
Doses at night? Dust off the high? Please refer to screenshots 1-4. Anywho. Let me conclude by saying that “getting yourself wet for me” is also pretty explicitly gay if you know anything about how gay sex workssssssss *coughs LUBE* check out ao3 we all have some lovely expiations on that platform okay BYE
(Also let me add my personal interpretation that the cinema that Harry loves is personal porn okay REALLY BYE)
Little Freak is so oddly similar to Little Twig, a poem written by Syd Barrett in 1965.
[Little Twig isn't big to you, but she is to me. But however I don't like it when she makes faces. And she seldom talks when we go to places and meet people and sit around. But she prances at dances, gets crushes, takes chances with boys, wears a hat, no shoes, and they flatter her madly. What's of that ? Neat, maroon, blue and white, lace and chord, velvet. Might even keep her coat on if it's right. Next week all change to purple or black perhaps.]
Adoring her as much as hating how she expresses herself. The importance of clothes, her extravagance, how she's at her full potential during parties, how despite being frustrated about her the speaker thinks about the next time she goes out, and how she will be then. The way she's most of the time silent, sitting there: so little and so much at the same time.
^ This is Little Freak illustrated back in the 60s are you kidding meee the lil disco ball the polka dots the sequins im crying
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