okay okay let's go this - gimme your honest thoughts on headline
Nooooooooo I worked on an answer for like an hour and then tumblr said BLOOP BYE ok
This one suprised me because he fully prepped me with the preshow and tour bus playlists and recs that I thought it would be so heavy on the greatest and ooms and silver tongues kinda sounds? And unfortunately I do like my noise and I do believe he's loves his noise and I do think he wants to move towards noise? So my response was more of a what happened lol maybe I misjudged it maybe he's still kinda careful and easing us into it (tbh I think this) and it's for lt3 or maybe this is just what he's more comfortable with (and a lil this). Not that I think he doesn't love this sound. Or that I don't love this sound. Just didn't anticipate this many softieboppies that's all. Expectations were high and he fking met them don't get me wrong I just didn't expect this ALSO yeah it's crazy he just did it all lol.
Sonically she feels timeless like she belongs in the 60s 70s 80s 90s- projected into the future- projected into AUs- she belongs wherever she goes i don't know how to explain it I don't have the knowledge but she's just a lil bit of every era and never too much she's just out there being the sidecharacter in all of them sorry she's not the main but she's there she's definitely there
T H E TITLE is everything like going for a track called Headline being someone who has been the subject of many shit headlines over the years is just very hot no matter the context or how its used as a metaphor, but then so casually "you used to read me like a headline" that can be taken many ways both positive and negative is just oof chefs kiss.
For the rest of the song lyrically I don't have much to say, there's not many plays on words I can break down over or not that I've noticed yet apart from the links with the rest of the album in the first verse which I'll get to in the end, and the concept isn't relatable to me either so yeah eh shrug on them oop.
He's mentioned he didn't write it, just tweaked it:
I love this for him tho
[Verse 2] You spent your summer workin' for your education // While I was runnin' after dreams that kept us waitin' // You never told me "never" //I guess I never knew we'd have the shortest forever //I thought I could, but I can't forget ya
But then then I wanna talk about the 1st verse:
[Verse 1] Sometimes, I wake up and I hear you through the silence // You let your pride hide all your beauty and your kindness // So fast to judge in error, you thought you knew me better //So quick to kill forever
I like that this verse matches pieces of the rest of the album in terms of keywords: we got hearing you through the silence vs he can still hear the silence in Holding on to Heartache, then Beauty being another song, kindness just throw TPWK in there why not, then so fast to judge and quick, like quick to judge in Bigger Than Me, and then there are a bunch of forever and evers all over. It's like this first verse makes this song belong on this album. To me it actually feels like this is what he tweaked to make it fit on this album. And then that stops and just kinda bops on I guess 🙆🏻♀️
....I feel like this needs a conclusion but its really just
keep driving, the tenth song on harry's house, is a loving observation about a long-term relationship worth holding onto despite the presence of troubling truths and general chaos. its tender and delicate message portrayed beautifully by harry’s soft delivered lyrics in an almost humming manner, and the more concerning aspects represented by an increasingly chaotic chorus all ties into one question - should we continue this journey throughout life together?
CONTENTS:
- verse/chorus/bridge analysis
- comparisons
- final thoughts
VERSE/CHORUS/BRIDGE ANALYSIS:
First Verse:
Black and white film camera
Yellow sunglasses
Ashtray, swimming pool
Hot wax, jump off the roof
the scenery has been set instantly from the first verse through a basic stream of consciousness writing technique. it implies that harry will be using the verses of the song to reminisce about memories shared between him and his partner.
the first verse has things that do not exactly relate to one another, with the exception of black and white film & camera. otherwise, it's quite literally a random toss of words that only have meaning to harry and his partner, and are therefore quite uninterpretable by anybody else.
A small concern with how the engine sounds
We held darkness in withheld clouds
I would ask, "Should we just keep driving?"
harry now snaps back to the current day. the vehicle represents their relationship, and thus the engine represents the state of their relationship. at the very worst, there’s a chance that their relationship may fail in the future because the situation doesn’t look ideal at the moment.
thus harry recalls an earlier time in which they had major concerns.
the lyric "we held darkness in withheld clouds" could mean several things, all of which have a similar message. he is remembering a period of time, perhaps within the band, in which their relationship was repressed. this caused them to hold darkness, or rather, to suffer greatly.
the past tense tells us they are no longer in that situation.
harry then says he would ask 'should we just keep driving?'. he's remembering that at the time they held darkness in withheld clouds, he would ask his partner if they should continue the relationship.
that is whats so interesting about this chorus. harry is acknowledging that there are problems with their relationship, but specifically notes that its a small concern. those two words sound so mild in comparison to the "darkness" he speaks about in juxtaposition. its almost like he's trying to say that we're concerned for the future, but we've been through worse.
Second Verse:
Maple syrup, coffee
Pancakes for two
Hash brown, egg yolk
I will always love you
this verse is, arguably, my favorite out of all of them for four reasons:
his voice. this is the softest that he has sounds in the entire song, and it makes so much sense because its arguably the softest part of the whole song too.
the simplicity. the entire verse is just him describing their breakfast foods. it's sickeningly domestic, a simple and constant routine that he is highlighting because it means so much to him.
the last line. i will always love you is arguably the most blatant harry has ever been in a romantic song. he's not using flowery language and poetry and my eyes want you more than a melody. he's stating a simple fact. here are all our memories - i loved you during them. lets keep driving - i love you now. here is our breakfast foods - i will love you forever.
the fact that its the only verse in the entire song that follows a syllable meter rule (4/6), with four syllables making up the first and third lines and six syllables making up the second and fourth line. this is very often coincidental in songwriting, and more purposeful in poetry, but there's no hard and fast rule. assuming its not coincidental, the entire verse becomes even sweeter because its like he's saying that two things will always remain stable, a constant truth. the breakfast that we like. and the fact that i will always love you.
Second Chorus:
A small concern with how the engine sounds
We held darkness in withheld clouds
I would ask, "Should we just keep driving?"
Should we just keep driving?
the second chorus has only one difference. he has thought about their memories in the first verse. he has reflected on what they did when they suffered previously in the first chorus. then, he remembers domesticity and love in the second verse. and now, upon having remembered that, he makes up his mind.
he'll ask what he asked before. the question is now being asked in the present. considering how they clearly kept driving before (as indicated by the past to present transition), there's an implication that he wants to keep going with his partner just like before.
Bridge:
Passports in footwells
Kiss her and don't tells
Wine glass, puff pass, tea with cyborgs
Riot America, science and edibles
Life hacks going viral in the bathroom
note: too many of you have been focused on the next line, and not on the fact that harry seems to have made an onlyjayus reference. tiktok harry please do not rise.
Cocaine, side boob
Choke her with a sea view
Toothache, bad move
Just act normal
Moka pot Monday, it's all good
Hey, you
Should we just keep driving?
this is one intense bridge.
what is interesting about this bridge is that it has become less intimate, less domestic. we're focusing on travel, fame, drugs, sexual innuendos, riots, america (in other words, not home), pain, etc.
its all a part of their relationship, but its not specific to them. and the second he starts talking about these things, aka when the bridge begins, the overall vibes of the song changes.
the music starts to become more and more intense, seemingly heading for a climax and there's a sense of anxiety and trepidation when one focuses on the music alone. it almost sounds like they're pushing the car's engine too far.
its like when the focus is on more chaotic matters in their life, their relationship suffers. fame, traveling, the state of the world. but whats also important to note is that the bridge is separated into two chunks and yet harry doesn't stop once between them to ask his partner the question. he doesn’t communicate.
but then, right when the climax is about to hit, he finally asks it. and the second he does, everything goes quiet. the music mellows and becomes the same sunshine-y rhythm as the beginning of the song.
and i think that's the whole point of the song. when you don't communicate (don't ask that question) in the more chaotic aspects of your life, there is a high chance that your relationship's engine will fail. its like harry has realized this because he doesn't try bringing up the small concern in how the engine sounds. he hears it, despite how obviously he's trying to keep his quickening voice calm and soft, and thus checks in with his partner.
and then does it again, and again.
COMPARISONS:
fine line, track 11:
this song can have a plethora of different interpretations, all valid. however, keep driving reminds me a little of fine line because i interpret both of them as inspections of his relationship (and life in general).
fine line is a slightly chaotic dissection between the extremes of his relationship like the really high & really low, while keep driving is about the in-betweens, like the memories, the inside jokes, the small and simple routines specific to him and his partner.
despite the difference in his approach to inspecting his relationship in both songs, the basic acknowledgements remain the same:
“we’ll be a fine line”/“small concern with how the engine sounds” - implying the imperfections of his relationship, that perhaps come with an instability and concern at times.
“we’ll be alright”/“we’ve held darkness and withheld clouds, should we just keep driving?” “it’s all good, hey you” - acknowledging that despite the issues, they’ve overcome bad things before and they’re gonna be okay.
“you’ve got my devotion”/“I will always love you” - assuring that above everything else, the good and the bad and in the in-between, there is an unwavering commitment.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
keep driving is a beautiful observation of a long-term relationship, layered in history and an endless stream of memories and absolutely drenched with commitment, love, and partnership.
the many different parts of life; the domestic, exciting and chaotic times are all shared within the comfort of one car on the same journey. there has been troubling experiences between them in the past, and there is small worries about longevity as anybody in a longtime relationship has experienced, worries that are perhaps not entirely in their control.
however, above all of that, there is something else. something that starts the song and ends it to. a willingness to make things work and continue being in this relationship together. there is communication that stops the chaos, the loudness, the potential failures. there is a softness to the narrators voice as all this happens, indicating the precious nature of the relationship itself. there is a reassuring admission of his endless love for his partner when he tells them he will always love them. there is a heart-fluttering playfulness in the way he greets his partner by saying hey, you.
all of these things, when combined together, make the reality of a long-term relationship. a reality that isn’t sugarcoated by poetry or prose or flowery metaphors, but is real and raw and existing and beautiful.
have you been asked about the line "something about the way the light catches the mirror in my brain, it gives me shade" yet? because i'd love to know what you think of it (in reality i'm just too oblivious to lyric meanings lol)
I absolutely love the feeling it gives me. And currently that's all it's doing and for this one it's enough for me? Just. I fucking love it. But on the other what I've found with doing and reading others' analyses and seeking lyrical parallels I've only found it amplifies the feeling. So.. I can try to ramble and see where it takes me. This is just gonna be scattered thoughts sorry bout that:
Here are the verses of Saturdays to place it in the context given, although I don't necessarily think we need to do that for lyrics, like lines can stand beautifully on their own but:
[Verse 1]: I'm not supposed to be feeling dirty cheap on silver street at quarter to three. Hidden across my face in the crowd I'm counting up the days in a haze. I'm gazing at the floor, somebody's got your trainers on, The ones that you wore when you walked out the door.
[Verse 2]: Through my cigarette, a shadow of you sticks me to the carpet, try to ignore it. Something about the way the light catches the mirror in my brain, it gives me shade. I'm staring at the door, somebody's got your trainers on, the ones that you wore but you're not here anymore.
There's a running theme here of things not directly being visible. Hidden - haze - someone who looks like someone else but isn't - through the cigarette aka a cloud of smoke - a shadow - mirror - shade - staring at a door like there can be something behind it. Something you can't quite catch (the light catches as well), a memory of someone is over every single little thing and isn't here (literally "you walked out the door and you're not here anymore").
Cigarette - shadow - shade - mirror - hidden: she's giving me smoke and mirrors.
It's also somehow simultaneously giving me vibes of him being in the club and everything all senses are suppressed because his head is somewhere else (mainly the 1st verse; obviously he's feeling dirty cheap on silver street - aka going out in Doncaster - where the gazing at the floor and seeing someone in familiar trainers implying dancefloor, like he's on the balcony looking at the people having fun yk) as well as home alone in silence (mainly second verse, now there's a carpet, I mean the club might as well have a carpet but it's not the imagery it's giving me at least, and he's still stuck on the person with the trainers on he saw), it's probably to do with the softness of the verses like it just feels so alone, it feels so I'm alone in my bed after a night out and you're not here.
I think mirror in my brain is also to amplify that feeling that he's in his head, rather that a mirror at some corner of the club that could've rhymed somehow, also a mirror in your brain is a trick right, things mirroring and reflecting and being flipped upside down (i mean light going into your eye and your brain processing it doin the flipflop) creating deception, illusion, seeing a shadow of someone not there, ignoring it.
There's also something about "a shadow of you" and "sticks me to the carpet" where before there was someone on the floor in your style, then the "mirror" that "gives me shade" like it gets flipped around it gets mirrored and they're both the shadows the ghosts that are both dancing in the dark.
The use of the word "shade" is intriguing. As a synonym for shadow, perhaps also obscuring (thoughts), but also darkness? Not just the opposite of the "light surrounding him", just.. thinking of the pile of parallels within FITF, with darkness and light all over the place, with both "fading into darkness" and "fade into light" amongst many.
It's reminiscent of Two Of Us where he sings "with memories playing through my head", "you're written in my DNA, looking back in every mirror", "you're living through everything I'll ever do".
It also reminds me of Miss You: he's off his face going out, but "I should be laughing but there's something wrong, ant it hits me when the lights go on, shit maybe I miss you". But rather than it hitting him, he's very much aware of it.
So I think you can interpret "something about the way the light catches the mirror in my brain, it gives me shade" as the party lights shielding him from the thoughts in a way, "trying to ignore it", ignore all the thoughts he's having reminiscing this person, but also the from the outside as these lights are hiding his face in the crowd and it's just in his brain, but also they're reminding him, they're giving him memories of this person, when they were going out together, "and I've been thinking about the things we used to do, we always used to say saturdays take the pain away", so he was already repressing other pains with that person, but now he's there again, but without that person, with the added pain of not having that person with him either.
Annoyingly I keep thinking about Elton John's Something About The Way You Look Tonight, "There was a time I was everything and nothin' all in one, when you found me, I was feelin' like a cloud across the sun, well, I need to tell ya how you light up every second of the day, but in the moonlight, you just shine like a beacon on the bay and I can't explain but it's somethin' about the way you look tonight" And also another song with "something in the way you move" that I just couldn't place but I just found it: The Beatles - Something. And then suddenly I was like oh shit that's in Cinema too lol ("something in the way you move I like it when you dance for me"). Or rather the cover by Phyllis Dillon with changed pronouns because I've been listening to that through of one of Harry's playlists: "Something in the way he moves attracts me like no other lover, something in the way he woos me, I don't want to leave him now, You know I believe and how, Somewhere in his smile he knows that I don't need no other lover, something in his style that shows me", I'm not saying these things are purposefully connected by him, I'm trying to say they are now in the mirror in my brain, as they are what make me think of how "something about the way" in all these 3 songs (Elton, Harry, Beatles) are about how a person moves and how a person dresses, which then going back to Saturdays, someone in the clothes that the person wore on the dancefloor, the light catching [the memory], something about the ways all of it reminding him of the person that was once in the club and once on the dancefloor with him, someone who he in the past saw dancing, admired dancing, admired their style, and perhaps it gives him some consolation "something about the way [its catching these memories of you dancing in these clothes in these lights] it gives me shade [from the harsh reality of you not being here]", somehow, there's something about it in a way.
I've also been ruminating on the line Something about the way the light catches the mirror in my brain, it gives me shade.
But I've been thinking of shade in the context of 'to shade' someone, i.e. show contempt, disapprove, diss etc. And mirrors are what we mostly see ourselves reflected in.
I think it's possible he's saying I see my role in this situation/whatever and in the deepest part of me I don't like what I see.
Just a thought.
He's such a great lyricist and yes he co-wrote but ultimately the songs must reflect what he wants to portray in his music. So, so many equally valid interpretations for us to play with!!
You're just making me think of "it's the way we see ourselves through walls of trees" and "square eyes and sunglasses, finding faces in the trees" now, like they're all together self reflective and linking back to shade one way or another? Brains exploding.
