#aaaaanygays

[ialwaysknewyouwerepunk]

too little gay content about the olympics so far. i wanna know about the homoerotic tension guys cmon

[ialwaysknewyouwerepunk]

the greatest - a close reading

AAAAFRGHGGHGH!!!!!! FAITH IN THE FUTURE!!!!!!!!! i just spent three days soaking up these lyrics, and i am just so fucking excited to finally get these analyses on paper and out into the world, black on white hehe. i’m so fucking blown away by the body of work louis’s put out, and the world he’s created, once again, with his lyrics. the unit these songs form is honestly incredible - with every song sounding so different, and telling its own story, while being so connected to each other? it’s a mosaic of a mind. and if you know me, you know i completely lose it over parallels, so you can imagine how this album has hit me ksjhfkjsrhf

if you’re reading this, thank you so much. it really means a lot <3 and keep an eye out for the others, bc they’re on their way!!

ALRIGHT LET’S GO

faith in the future, track 1

LYRIC ANALYSIS

Tell you I’m on my way Nothing could make me late Said I had a plan for us Time it came and changed it all

immediately: central themes on the album are introduced

louis is there for the ones he loves

time - change

"tell you": promise made - he's reliable, takes on the responsibilities that come with relationships

"plan" // "master plan", silver tongues // "25 and it's all planned", jly

We had to disappear Cos nothing gets through here Through that circle round my heart Where the best of me should start

we had to hide our true selves, we had to go in the closet

<> we had to disappear bc my heart hardened, bc of everything that happened i blocked us/love out

i know i'm at my best when i follow my heart - i know that now (lots of the content on walls) - hard on himself for being so guarded

I said you know me Alone we’re only Just as good as the rest

Together we’re the greatest We’ll never be that cold again No falling all to pieces We’re the greatest It’s you and me until the end Life for us is never over

when we come together, our love creates something that surpasses what anyone else is doing, and is better than what any of us might try alone. why should i close off my heart, when that destroys everything that’s great?

cold = alone // "when it gets cold", all this time = darkness = pain

"until the end" // silver tongues // end of the day

The way you know something Your face reminded me Of a love you cannot hide But don’t need to tell me why

when you know, you know

// “it was there i saw it in your eyes”, home

you can't hide your love, but you have to anyway > don't need to tell him why, he knows that story like none other

Back dancing in the dark Back to the very start Finding pieces that can fit Making up for what we missed

// "shadow dances", only the brave

no more falling to pieces, now we're focusing on rebuilding, finding a life that actually works - working to make the relationship as great as it is

"making up for what we missed" - lost time // "it’s not how you spend the time, it’s if you waste it", all this time // too young

I said you know me Alone we’re only Just as good as the rest

Together we’re the greatest We’ll never be that cold again No falling all to pieces We’re the greatest It’s you and me until the end Time for us is never over

letting go of that focus on lost time: looking forward, to all the time we still have left

SYNTHESIS

With The Greatest, Louis has made his statement of intent (as he liked to say of Kill My Mind): we’re the fucking best, but only if we stick together. If we let down our walls and keep them down. He told us on his last album how he’s worked to let his walls crumble down, and on Faith in the Future it’s obvious he still actively has to keep it that way, and that it isn’t always easy. He’s also not always easy on himself - as he discusses in Holding on to Heartache - but with this opening track he wants to shout through those doubts and insecurities and make a stand. This is a fact, because I’ve spoken it into reality. I’ll keep reminding you just as I’ll keep reminding myself. (Which is a sentiment that forms a very thick, secure line through the album.)

Doubts and fears of Louis’s include time, lost time, and the changes that are a result of that. He definitely discusses the pain and loss that can come with change on the album, but here he shakes it off and focuses on what’s to come. We have faith in the future, and to really make that true, we need to believe we have time, a life ahead of us. No matter what happened in the past, including deep grief, like having to hide your love.

I think it’s incredibly powerful he has those lines in his opening track. A loud, clear mention of hidden love, of an unspoken secret kept between those who just know what this is about. Queer signalling at its finest.

The Greatest encompasses so many of the key themes on the album, making it the perfect introduction. Life and love is yours for the taking, but you need to put in the work. You can’t give up. We need to keep going. No matter how much pain there is, how much darkness. No matter how everything keeps changing, and you sometimes lose your way. We’ll use that change in our advantage, we’ll see time as time we still have, instead of something we’ve lost. It’s all about perspective. Oh, yeah, and perhaps the most important part: you can’t do it by yourself. It’s you and me until the end. We can fucking do this.