Hey, I just dicovered you about two weeks ago, ish, I was wondering; do you ever have a moment where you feel like maybe Lashton isn't together? I have had a lot of moments of doubt, with certain ships and fandoms, and was wondering if anyone else has.
At the beginning of when I became aware of them and I was doing research (because I definitely say people should think for themselves and not just accept things, ask questions of life!), but there was a point where I flipped to a complete 100% of believing they are real. The rings are undeniable, for instance. The standard closeting 101 patterns going on (Hello Modest!). How much the females around them being promoted in the bearding/PR way. The women being the opposite personalities and have attacked the very fandom that 5sos have top priority of and loves. The way they are towards each other, the way it’s not just looks. It’s got partners vibes, and aspects that straight bffs aren’t towards each other. The intensity of Ash supporting, promoting, posting about, love messages to, etc. The expensive gifts (custom leather jackets) of which there’s never been, as far as we know, for either Cal or Michael. The difference Ash is towards Luke compared to the other guys, as well as how Luke is towards Ash. They both hold each other at such a high regard and find each other the true bees knees. Luke finds Ash the funniest person on the planet, even in instances where he does/says are mildly funny. Refer to the post I just did of them during the Amazon Music and the Spilling the Quarrantea livestreams. Example. when Michael had no problem with just willynily searching Luke smut fanfic on Wattpad versus Ash trying to make Luke feel better by trying to make Luke laugh through making up a light hearted entertaining story of his own of Cal. Ash and Luke partnering up together against the other guys, or being in their own world. The moment where Ash agrees to Luke about the movement they did to a nonexistent Try Hard mv (it’s like the moment where Louis Tomlinson just agrees when Harry Styles says some weird line about the ocean waves). The amount of ig and twitter posts that really radiate a love that’s not just bffs. Ash made a post saying Luke is “his Elvis Presley” with a really sweet pic of Luke laying down cutely on a bed and Ash sitting next to him. The way they were when Luke moved in with him. Yes, they were working on themselves but they were acting like boyfriends. Watch the YouTube vids of Lashton moments. Watch interviews and focus on how they are towards each other. The writing of songs about being fake, only loving at night, direct references towards one another. During the soundcheck I attended this year, when a fan yelled out for Luke to marry Sierra during the time off from tour, it’s the way responded deflated was such a raw response, so loud to me. The way Luke gets when ppl bring up Sierra to him compared to how he consistently is with Ash, it’s intensely different. Again, when Luke needed someone supportive, he ran to live with Ash. He’s his home.
There’s just so much… I could go on for hours. I’ll stop for now though.
Hi, what year do you think Ash and Luke got together? Like, a rough timeline, specifically. I've seen different people say different things (some say 2014, some 2017/2018, some say it was an on/off thing, etc.) This is not to say that others are wrong in their assumptions; since no one but a few people really know the exact timeline, but just wondering how you see it.
The very very insanely abbreviated answer, imho, is that they were smitten with each other right away. Especially how their meeting was Ash rushing to Luke's rescue from bullies. I think Ash had been watching his YouTube videos then showed up at the gig at the cinema, when Luke and Michael were playing (as "Stuck In Reverse"). Then throughout the years they realized that they really did love each other in that way. But then since they were managed by Modest and subjected to closeting (which is why disagreement about when they got together exists). If you look back at how they were all throughout the years, Ash and Luke were very flirty and affectionate. Sure, they were all affectionate with each other, but something was different between the two of them.
It's difficult also to pinpoint it because they have been on tour so much which counts towards time they are literally sleeping in beds next to each other every night. Remember the keek Ash posted where Luke tells him to get into bed with him, then Ash said he was "going to sleep with... next to Luke" (like there's an actual difference) then gives a cute grin?
I think it definitely got the most intense at the beginning of the creation of Youngblood songwriting trip to Sweden (in 2016/2017) and when they lived together (2017-2018). A portion of the fandom thought they were going to come out when Luke moved in with Ash. Luke got Petunia when he was living with Ash. A few days after they went on social media to announce they were living together (ig live and twitter), the Australian Marriage Equality twitter tweeted at Ash for a follow so that they could send him a DM. Luke and Ash follow that account, along with Luke's mom. Neither Cal nor Michael follow them.
Since then its just been the continuation of Modest pushing through closeting 101 techniques. They made Luke move out and get his own place. Sierra came into the picture (narratively trying to say she calmed him down from his partying ways, which is a total lie since it was during the time he lived with Ash is when that happened. They both had worked on themselves alongside each other.Note: she was an XFactor contestant.) Ash was paired up with Kaykay. Crystal, Michael's other half, has a background in brand strategy/talent management, arranged Ash and Luke with women. Nights out on the town would consist of the girls partying with each other, while the guys were there to give them clout but still be able to be around each other.
All along the way Luke and Ash have tried to fight against things as much as they can. They've gotten more and more serious over time. Luke goes over to Ash's house when he's not having to stunt (take pics/vids with her). This is also why it's added benefit of being on tour. They get to be with each other every day/night. They get to go on shopping trips. (I've looked through so many paparazzi walks and I can't remember when the last time they've been seen publicly out for a walk together. It's usually either of them stunting or Ash with Cal.)
In the end though, love will ultimately win. 🏳️🌈 🫶 💕
Hi! I recently started following you, and really need to know which songs have Luke and Ashton written about each other, if you have a tag in which you have spoken about it I'd be happy to read it or if you know where I could find this info? I'm especially interested in the last few albums.
First, thanks for the follow and nice to meet you!
The most blatantly Ash and Luke is majority of the “Youngblood” album. They did songwriting trips to Sweden, without the other two guys who flew over later on, to work on learning about songwriting.
To help figure out what songs could be them, I would greatly suggest if you haven’t done so already, to start listening to the albums in order one by one, while paying attention to who are credited as songwriters and taking into account what was going on with the band around each time. (Producers are included in songwriting credits, so very often you can disregard them, as it’s usually a credit for effecting the overall music sound of the song)
Each album is typically written about a year before it’s released so keep that in mind.
Their story is weaved throughout each album. Keep in mind that pronouns used are pretty meaningless (Luke has actually called Ash his “girlfriend” while he’s sitting on his lap in an interview. Closeted gay songwriters accept that they have to use heterosexual pronouns for love interests, and the only time it actually means anything is when it’s to communicate a referring to a different person within the song (ie. sometimes switching from a “you” to a “she” could be two separate people). For instance, “She Looks So Perfect”, the “you” and “she” are the same person. The lyrics to the song are genderless but the title has “she”, the demo version was “You Look So Perfect”, but for the song “Thin White Lies” there’s a line where it switches from the “you” to a “she” and it actually means a difference (“But she says she loves me, she don’t show it”).
If you use my lyric analysis tag, I’ve gone through a few songs line by line or made observations. For example, in Luke’s solo song “Comedown”, the reference to Camellia Street that’s being narratively sold as a street in LA where he met Sierra, is actually a street in Western Sydney where the guys are from. And Sierra is not from Australia.
Pay attention to themes that are common in closeted relationships and one’s own personal journey. Loving only at night time, hiding, pretending, feeling like you are different with this person, rainbows and colors, loving someone but forces cause them to fight with each other, feeling like the odd one out or different or like you’re wrong for feeling/loving, references that connect with one another (example, Ash referencing Luke’s favorite band Bon Jovi in “End Up Here”), needing to forgive or asking for forgiveness from the other person for what’s going on (where they’ve been ie with fake gfs or having to deal with the crap that lgbt relationships esp as celebrities are subjected to), LYING and keeping secrets (closeted lgbt people do a lot of lying out of survival and self-preservation and if they are still on their journey of accepting themself).
I don’t have a list created yet of specific songs, but hopefully looking at my lyric analysis tag and listening to their songs it helps you get a good sense to piece together their story they’re trying to tell.
Something that stands out is the way there’s a story of meeting as kids, falling in love, processing and navigating being in love, the dynamics of a relationship, and then looking back and processing who they are as individuals as well as a couple.
I hope this has helped. Let me know if you have any more questions or if you perhaps pick up on something and you want to discuss it. I’m always interested in things I might not have picked up on!
Credits: Ashton, Michael, Alex Gaskarth, John Feldmann
LYRIC ANALYSIS
You walked in
Everyone was asking for your name -Luke had garnered a bit of early celebrity online as he was known for posting covers of songs from his bedroom to his own youtube channel. Michael had known about it from being at the same school. Ash, being a drummer who played local gigs, had known from being in the local musician network and was an early subscriber to Luke’s channel before he was in the band.
You just smiled
And told them "trouble"
My head spins -feels confused or dizzy by this person
I'm pressed against the wall -being “against the wall” is to have limited options of actions
Just watching your every move -in awe of this person so much he can’t approach this person, just study them.
You're way too cool -Ash had been in a few bands before meeting the 5sos guys and was frustrated by those not becoming more serious than they ended up. And again, Luke had already attracted a bunch of attention on his YouTube.
And you're coming this way, coming this way -I think there’s a double meaning to this line. It could literally be Ash and Luke finally meeting (of which they’ve told the story of Ash rescuing Luke from bullying many times). It could also be referencing, Ash seizing the opportunity when he was approached to join the band (was to become 5sos). It meant Luke and Ash were brought closer together aka into each other’s lives.
How did we end up talking in the first place -Reflecting back on how they made connection
You said you liked my Cobain shirt -Ash has worn multiple Nirvana shirts (Kurt Cobain was the frontman), and Ash has since even covered “Heart Shaped Box” for his Superbloom live show.
Now we're walking back to your place
You're telling me how you love that song
About living on a prayer - reference to Bon Jovi’s song “Livin’ on a Prayer”, one of Luke’s most favorite bands, “onion” shirt, Luke has said in an interview it's his karaoke song. Luke included Jon into the #TeethChallenge, Luke chose “You Give Love A Bad Name” by JBV as a song they would cover during an interview. The 1986 rock anthem is the story of Tommy and Gina, a working class couple who struggle to make ends meet and vow to "hold on to what we've got."
I'm pretty sure that we're halfway there -double meaning of physical distance to his house, and reference to the lyric of “Livin’ on a Prayer”.
And when I wake up next to you I wonder how
How did we end up here
How did we end up, how did we end up here
Next day out
Everybody thought you were so insane
'Cause you were so far out of my league -Luke’s bit of local youtube celebrity for his doing guitar covers of songs, and Ash being so enamored by him.
My friends say I should lock you down
Before you figure me out and you run away -feeling intimidated about how wonderful Luke is in his eyes that Ash feels a bit of a fraud. (This is interesting because Luke has this same theme show up on his own solo album).
But you don't and you won't as you kiss me - The connection they have is so strong.
And you tell me that you're here to stay (here to stay) -Luke says he wants to be with him. The feelings are mutual.
How did we end up talking in the first place
You said you liked my Cobain shirt
Now we're walking back to your place
You're telling me how you love that song
About living on a prayer
I'm pretty sure that we're halfway there
And when I wake up next to you I wonder how
How did we end up here
Call me lucky 'cause in the end
I'm a six and she's a ten -first use of a gendered pronoun, “she-ing” is using the pronouns of a heterosexual partner when covering a closeted relationship, there’s proof that 5sos switch around pronouns (examples: Luke let it slip that “She Looks So Perfect” was originally “You Look So Perfect”, Luke has called Ash his girlfriend). He’s thinking much more highly of this partner (Ash thinks so highly of Luke that to this day he will go out of his way to say beautiful things about him in interviews. (Example: During Superbloom promo interview, he waxed poetic talking about how Luke is “one of the best singers in pop since fucking forever”, “one of my favorite singers”, when they met, blessed to be in a band with him, never wants to sing over him, etc etc etc.)
She's so fit, I'm insecure -“fit” is slang for “gorgeous” in the UK (5sos have spent a lot of time in the UK songwriting and touring, moved to London from Australia)
But she keeps coming back for more (more) -no matter what Ash thinks about himself “insecure”, Luke still stays by him “keeps coming back”.
Making a timeline is still and forever on my list of things to do. I promise.
It’s in a kind of format that I need to format into a narrative. My ADHD doesn’t like feeling overwhelmed so I keep getting sidetracked to other content.
For instance I was up late last night finishing up taking notes of all the 10 Year podcast on YouTube.
I’ve got a folder of Lashton/5sos stuff I’ve started. Welcome to my life lol
I suspect the song "Ghost of You" (on the album "Youngblood") that Ashton Irwin and Luke Hemmings wrote together, is about them reflecting back on their relationship. It's about them falling in love at such a young age, then growing so close when Luke and Ash lived together during 2017, then when Luke moved out to his own place there was a huge painful void that was felt by no longer living together. Let's take a look at the song lyrics and then what the guys have said and what their interactions around the song have been, in order to see if this might be correct.
Starting with song lyrics analysis of "Ghost of You"....
"Ghost Of You" Lyric Analysis
Song title analysis - A ghost is a presence of someone who is no longer with you, caused by the end of a relationship, the person is no longer near you but once was very close, or a literal passing away. The use of the word ‘you’ means the song is directed towards said person.
Here I am waking up, still can't sleep on your side
There's your coffee cup, the lipstick stain fades with time
If I could dream long enough, you'd tell me I'd be just fine
I'll be just fine
The first verse is this person giving an update on what their life is currently like without their partner (you) around. This person is only able to focus on finite things. There’s a loss felt by their romantic partner no longer being near them. When a couple shares a bed, they each tend to have a side they always sleep on. This person is struggling to cope with their partner not being there. The use of the word “still” means it’s been this way ever since this partner left. Lipstick stain is a more dense heavy duty step up from lipstick. It’s longer lasting. It's so strong that in order to remove a lipstick stain from clothing, you have to use a rubbing alcohol. This person's partner was a big part of their life. Daily routine things (having morning coffee) traces of this person still exist in this person's life. This person is not doing things to move on, the pain is long lasting.
“If I could dream long enough”. When dealing with loss, it can really mess with your quality of sleep. It expresses a yearning for their partner but unable to reach any closure.
This person knows their partner would want to tell this person that they'll get through this.
For the last line of this verse, this person switches to “I’ll be just fine” because they can’t hear it directly from their romantic partner so they try to tell it to themself. It could also be telling their partner that they'll be fine even though the ghost of them can't say it back.
So I drown it out like I always do
Dancing through our house with the ghost of you
And I chase it down, with this shot of truth
Dancing through our house with the ghost of you
Using “drowning” as in hyperbole. “Drowning” something out, not describing the act of actually drowning. On Luke’s solo album track “Slip Away”, he refers to drowning out the fires. Luke has said that song is about moments of happiness and not feeling like you deserve them. A feeling of unrest. I’m not sure if there’s a correlation or parallel between the two songs but that came to my mind when I was listening to his album. When you ‘drown’ something out, you use other things to cover something up (not deal with) in one's mind with other thoughts or activities. This person is still trying to dance through the loss of their partner. The activity of dancing is filling space in their mind to make the loss feel less strong. The presence of the partner is still felt by this person, though they aren’t there in the same way they once were.
“And I chase it down, with this shot of truth” - That strong feeling that this person misses their partner's presence so much that it’s become a bold truth. This person continues to keep parts of them alive by incorporating them into the things they do every day or the things/reminders of their partner are still in the environment/their psyche. Luke and Ash have each had issues with alcohol. Alcohol can be used as a coping mechanism of avoidance to realities. Repeating the “Dancing through our house…” line is acting as a way to focus on what’s helping this person to live their life, drowning it out by doing something that helps keep a sense of connection as comfort with their partner. Musically, this song keeps a very even 1-2-3 beat which can easily be slow danced to with a partner.
Cleaning up today, found that old Zeppelin shirt
You wore when you ran away, and no one could feel your hurt
We're too young, too dumb, to know things like love
But I know better now, better now
“Cleaning up today”. Goes back to talking about daily mundane things. This style makes this song sound like a letter to their partner. “Cleaning up” can be a reference to tidying up to restore order, but it could also be a broader meaning of getting one's life back to a healthy place. During 2017, Luke moved in with Ash when Luke was going through a chaotic broken time in his life. This is also the year this song was written. Luke and Ash both used this time to heal from hurts and to work on finding themselves into a better happier headspace. A reference to a Led Zeppelin band t-shirt stands out to me because Ashton has worn at least 3 different Zeppelin shirts and has mentioned his love for the band. The style of music he enjoys are rock bands of the past. He posts many Instagram stories of his currently listening to songs/albums and of vinyl records he collects. The songs and bands line up with this as his legitimate music preferences.
“You wore when you ran away, no one could feel your hurt” - Ash has spoken in interviews about how when the guys left Australia to come to the US to pursue their dreams with the band, one of the motivators for leaving Aus was to “escape” and “didn’t want to be where [we] were”. Feb 2018 Zach Sang interview
This line could also mean, running away from love. Feeling scared, lonely, and not believing in love because of what’s hurt you in your past.
“Too young, too dumb to know things like love” - Sounds like what people say when your young age doesn’t fit with how strongly you find yourself loving someone. Luke was about age 14/15 and Ashton was about age 15/16 when they met each other. It's really worth it to look into how Luke and Ash were towards each other from so very early on. Heck, the way they met was Ash defending Luke against some bullies. If that's not the type of meet cutes out of the movies, I don't know what is! The early YouTube videos show how much young love fonding google-y eyes they were doing towards each other. One of the very first examples, when Luke, Calum, and Ash did a cover of Chris Brown's song "Forever". Compilation video of a lot of couple-y type things they have done Part 1 Part 2 When love is happening to you, sometimes you don’t know how to appreciate it to the level it deserves, simply because perhaps you don't even realize that it is love that you are experiencing. Finding true love is so super special, if you can find it. This song is celebrating a true love this person has found.
“But I know better now, better now” - This person is reflecting back on falling in love and realizing that what you were experiencing was actually love and your life was/is better because of finding and experiencing it. This person is more capable now of knowing when love is happening and more capable of how to nurture it. This shows personal growth and maturity as one gets older to realize this.
So I drown it out like I always do
Dancing through our house with the ghost of you
And I chase it down, with this shot of truth
Dancing through our house with the ghost of you
Chorus repeats.
(Fine)
Too young, too dumb
(Fine)
To know things like love
(Fine)
Too young, too dumb
(Fine)
This section is a beautiful ‘call and response’ between this person and their ‘ghost’ romantic partner. The ghost/partner is repeating a chant of “fine” to try to comfort this person that they’ll get through this loss. This person is singing the lines about their love they experienced.
So I drown it out like I always do
Dancing through our house with the ghost of you
And I chase it down, with this shot of truth
That my feet don't dance like they did with you
The chorus starts to repeat but then does a switch for the last line. “My feet don’t dance like they did with you”. The love this person experienced with their partner was/is one of a kind and when you ‘dance’ with someone you are in sync. Knowing love makes you feel so alive and you both know each other so intimately that you both just get everything about each other. This romantic partner was/is someone who truly was/is ‘your person’. Feet not dancing like they did with this person could also be referring to queer love. A different kind of love than of the straight kind.
Dancing is an actual activity that the 5SOS guys all enjoy, but in particular that Luke and Ashton enjoy together. On a keek, Ashton was trying to get people around him to dance and then Luke is near him who dances, Ash then says while smiling and sweetly soft, "Luke will always dance with me".
When they lived together, they posted videos of them having fun dancing, just the two of them.
New Year's Eve they posted a dancing video, again while they were living together. During this one, Luke calls Ash "baby".
"Ghost of You" section of Cocktail Chats
Here's what happened and how the guys talk about the song "Ghost of You" during the “Youngblood” album Cocktail Chats.
There's so much Luke and Ash!!
The way Mikey talks about the song being his favorite since its so emotional, leads me to believe its a bit deeper than the "This Is Us" tv show inspiration story Luke gave.
Another hint that it has a different meaning to the song is because Ash asks him if he's talking about "The Office", not "This Is Us", so did Ash even know about that as one inspiration when they were writing it?
There's more to this song than Luke's first inspiration, something deeper about Love. Something that was even more inspirational, way more.
I'm including the video with my edited comments into the video to help show what stands out to me. Yes, the guys were drunk during this but they were still themselves. Sometimes our drunk selves reveal things that we wouldn't be comfortable sharing on a typical day, too.
Ash has tweeted about GoY a few times. One of them, he gets very sentimental about how this song reminds him about "not taking love for granted again". It's quite a meaningful song to him, I'd say.
Yes, Ash, we are listening. You deserve to be heard.
September 25, 2021 broadcast of Global Citizen Live event - 5SOS's first live performance back, their setlist was "She Looks So Perfect" (5SOS's first big hit single), three tracks from the Youngblood (2018) album. They played “Teeth”, “Ghost of You”, and “Youngblood”. Luke and Ash wrote most of the YB album. (No songs from the more recent album CALM (2020)?? but you go to the first album of the 5SOS discography that Lashton mostly wrote?? Inch resting...)
After the show, the band tweeted out a few pictures. Ashton tweeted a sweet selfie of him and Luke with bringing up "Ghost of You", specifically. Something I also noticed was that Ash necklace and Luke's suit coordinated as shades of blue. Also, Luke has blue eyes so Ash’s necklace also matches those too. If not intentional, it’s a very sweet coincidence. 😊
In conclusion.... Luke and Ash are so romantic about love and "Ghost of You" is LASHTON AF. The "ghost" is the absence they felt of no longer living together. They each missed each other, their 'person'. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
Can we please talk about how Michael’s had the same soft smiling reaction to when Ash and Luke were particularly brave or affectionate? I have these two big examples but I’m sure there’s tons more.
Its often misinterpreted that Michael gave this look to them when Ash sat on Luke’s lap out of jealousy, but if you pay attention Michael zeros in on Cal when he walks past the camera during this. I don’t think it was a jealousy because of them, I think he would have loved to be brave in that moment as well or was just purely happy for them. I want to also say that the interviewer says some comment about giving a lap dance which turned a sweet moment into something it wasn’t. I bet they would’ve sat together like that for longer had she just been cool and not made it into something else. It seemed so natural and sweet for Ash to sit on Luke’s lap and Luke put his hands around him. Lashton is so real!
Backstage at the ARIAs in 2018, the moment where Ash praises Luke’s vocals and shows a bunch of fonding affection including touching Luke, you can see how Michael has the same response, to look at them so softly.
"Best Years" from 5 Seconds of Summer album CALM (2020)
Written by: Luke Hemmings and Ryan Tedder
Let’s take a look to see who the song is written about by looking at what Ashton has said, what Luke has said, looking at the lyrics, and observing the official visualizer video.
Ashton Irwin 1 year anniversary of CALM ig livestream from March 2021
Ash is all smiles and happy talking about it.
The Edge played the guitar part.
Hoped it would be a big hit so people would play it at their weddings, if you believe in marriage.
“Beautiful thing to say, that ‘i'll give you the best years of your life. And that i love you and I commit to you and I'll nurture you, no matter what’.
Ash said he left the writing session because he tends to write sadder minor (scale) songs, and this was a happier major scale song.
Ashton’s word choice of nurturing and loving one another no matter what, I’m immediately reminded of the ig story/twitter post he made to Luke, about their time spent together during the Youngblood album era. Youngblood was released in June 2018. Post was made August 2018. CALM is the album released after Youngblood. So, CALM was quickly started after YB release.
Also, Ash says he's not really into the idea of marriage but his tweet says he's into the commitment part. 🤷♂️ Though Ash says this should be used as a wedding song, the lyrics never says anything about marriage, only a long time commitment to someone.
What Luke told Apple Music about "Best Years"::
“The first demo was just one guitar and my vocal. Me and Ryan [Tedder] wrote a bulk with the vocals on our own, and then we had The Edge from U2 play the guitar on the bridge. That was awesome. The song is a beautiful love note—something I felt I needed to get off my chest. That’s the best way songwriting can be: cathartic.”
The narrative currently being sold to the general public is that this love song is Luke writing about his current girlfriend/fiancée, Sierra. Let’s take a look at the lyrics and see if that actually makes sense.
"Best Years" - “Best” by definition means “of the most excellent, effective, or desirable type or quality”. “Years” is pluralized so this is about a multitude of years.
You've got a million reasons to hesitate
Knowing this is a love note, I’ll use that for figuring out the meaning behind each lyric. So, this leads me to believe Luke’s saying, ‘Look, I know there’s so many reasons why you could be unsure about being with me. Possibly reasons pertaining to things that I’ve done, choices I’ve made, how we’ve been towards each other, what you’ve been through, if you trust this could work, your own history with love and what you’ve seen of it, etc etc etc…’
Or it could simply be this person is a bit scared to commit to just one person for their future so they might use reasons to hide from love.
But darling, the future is better than yesterday
He starts with the use of the affectionate pet name “darling”. Luke wants this person to look forward to what they can build of a relationship together, learning from the past to improve and strengthen the love shared between them. Optimism, with an air of certainty.
I wasted so much time on people that reminded me of you
A bit of self reflection. Luke was with other people, but all that kept happening was there were traces of what this person he really loves is like, as well as they were missing what this person has so he missed those things about this person. In order to be reminded of someone when you are seeing others, you need to have been around the person you’re being reminded of before around other people. Possibilities: the realization of who he’s meant to be with didn’t fully register with him yet, or he knew who he’s meant to be with and was actively trying to suppress it, or this other person could’ve been with other people so Luke was being with other people because he wasn’t able to be with this person. Luke has only known Sierra since 2018, and that's when they were supposedly publicly dating pretty quickly. So, this isn’t about her since there was no time for him to be with other people or know her well enough before seeing anyone else, for this to even be possible.
Gave you a million reasons to walk away
Referring back to the first line. This person has seen Luke at his worst. Not only are there reasons this person could hesitate being with him, but there's also reasons this person could give up on him, if they so choose. This could be Luke being humbled about perhaps owning up to mistakes he’s made or things he’s done that could have driven this person away.
But I'll build a house out of the mess and all of the broken pieces
Luke’s “Build[ing] a house” could be interpreted as turning the brokenness, into a place of stability, so he and this person can then turn the “house” into a “home” that he and this person can share.
I'll give you the best years
I'll give you the best years
Repeating lines gives emphasis. Luke is really trying to reiterate to this person that the love they have is worthy of a long future and it’s what he’s offering this person.
Past love burned out like a cigarette
A cigarette is mind altering while smoking but ultimately is bad for you and only lasts a short term. It’s interesting that Luke chose to use a cigarette as a metaphor. Luke doesn’t smoke, but you know who does? Ashton does! And he doesn’t condone it. He’s tweeted against it and has said that he only does it when he’s stressed. Which further supports this lyric is about something that ls not good for you.
I promise, darling, you won't regret
The best years
Unhealthy, short term love is the opposite of what Luke is offering this person. He’s offering real, true, healthy, long term loving commitment. He’s making a promise to this person that it’ll be worth it and not something they’ll look back on and think they never should’ve made the choice to be with him.
I wanna hold your hair when you drink too much
Carry you home when you cannot stand up
Luke wants to take care of this person and to make sure they are safe and be their support whenever they can’t manage it for themselves.
You did all these things for me
This person has a long history with him, including partying together. Luke was through with his hard partying days when he lived with Ash in 2017, so, there’s no way Sierra had the opportunity to do “all these things” for him. On the other hand, Luke and Ash were known to party (which included lots of drinking) quite hard along with their other bandmates, for years. London was party time, LA was party time, and while touring the world was filled with plenty of partying. Also, Ash is a few years older than the other 5SOS guys. So he took on a dad role sometimes, but he’s especially looked after Luke. There’s lots of instances Ash has looked out for and had Luke’s back, throughout the years they’ve known each other. The way they met started with Ash coming to Luke’s defense. He was there for him from day 1, before they even properly knew each other.
When I was half a man for you
For whatever the reason was, Luke is saying he wasn’t at the level of maturity to be there for this person that he should have been with how this person was towards him.
Luke has spoken about being slightly more unsure of himself than the other 5SOS guys were when the band first started. Perhaps that inhibited him from knowing himself well enough to step up to the level of maturity his partner would need him to?
Also, if you are inhibited by out of control partying, that’s going to make it difficult to be there to your greatest abilities for a partner.
I wanna hold your hand while we're growing up
This again, hints at someone he has known for a long time and continues to learn new things and grow as a person with. But, he wants to do this alongside this person as equals. They would be on that journey together. Luke and Ash have already been growing up, in age, as bandmates, but also while they’ve grown through personal shit together. The way Ash wrote his reflection about 2017/2018 with Luke, it was life changing the amount they each grew, going through it together. This would take a strong kindred soul spirit type of bond to go through and still get stronger because of it, instead of giving up.
But I'll build a house out of the mess and all of the broken pieces
I'll make up for all of your tears
I'll give you the best years
I'll give you the best years
Past love burned out like a cigarette
I promise, darling, you won't regret
The best years
The best years
I'll give you the best years
I'll give you the best years
Past love burned out like a cigarette
I promise, darling, you won't regret
The best years
I'll give you the best years
“Best years” is repeated so many times in this song. It’s like a rally cry for love. This time he’s practically shouting over large drums. It’s like he’s yelling his love declaration from a rooftop.
The visualizer for “Best Years” (Audio) on the official 5SOS youtube channel makes use of only the colors pink, purple, blue for the whole song. The bisexual pride flag colors. The “Not In The Same Way” visualizer uses the same colors, which is a song that is also Lashton AF..
