#lights up analysis

[ialwaysknewyouwerepunk]

lights up - a close reading

fine line, track 4

this was a deep one. since the lyrics of lights up are so vague, an interpretation can go in any direction. you, reading this, may have a totally different reading than i do. we literally know nothing, and it’s not like harry will give us the answers (and i’ll be honest and say i wouldn’t want them bc this is what art is about)

it features the introduction of the other central theme of the album and brings out the more mysterious, vague sounds harry likes to visit. let’s go

What do you mean?

I'm sorry by the way

interpreted as harry asking the question: what do you mean, “i’m sorry by the way”? after someone makes some flimsy apology that comes much too late

could also be harry saying sorry, matter-of-factly, without really meaning it. someone talking to him, but he’s not listening (anymore) ⟶ next line

Never coming back down

never turning back, never forgiving

Can't you see?

I could, but wouldn't stay

who is saying this? some part of H? or is it a rehearsed line? ⟶ about leaving 1d?

or: harry admitting he could have stayed in a comfortable position, but didn’t want to anymore

Wouldn't put it like that

reply to previous two lines: “i wouldn’t put it like i wouldn’t stay”

or generally: he wouldn’t want to word things “like that”: others putting words in his mouth

What do you mean?

I'm sorry by the way

Never coming around

never going to be something others have tried to paint him as, or force him to be - “i can’t change”

It'd be so sweet if things just stayed the same

struggle with changing self, bc it changes the relationship with others (and self)

or sarcastic: the empire built on how things were depended on maintaining the status quo, which is what he’s turning upside down now

All the lights couldn't put out the dark

Runnin' through my heart

darkness of secrets, hiding who you are makes you fucking depressed. no fame or glory could’ve made that go away

Lights up and they know who you are

spectators in the crowd: looking at the scene, at the stage, at harry as a performer and celebrity. the general public, the media. everyone always thinks they know everything

Do you know who you are?

the one in the spotlight might not even know who they are

question directed at the listener as well as himself

Shine, step into the light

Shine, so bright sometimes

Shine, I'm not ever going back

harry is stepping into the light, but a different light: the light that’s coming from inside of him - outshining the dark running through his heart

self-acceptance. can be tough sometimes, you can lose sight at times (“so bright”), but it’s worth it. he’s not ever going back to the dark

Do you know who you are?

harry giving us the reply live: “i do now”

SYNTHESIS

Harry and his personal journey are front and centre in this song, as the second major theme of the album is hereby introduced. 

It could be interpreted as Harry being critical of how he’s been treated, people trying to push him in certain roles or thinking they know everything about him. In the beginning, I hear some sort of dialogue between Harry and (an) unknown person(s), with Harry shaking them off, annoyed but over it already. There are people who would love for things to stay the same, after years and years of running a successful operation based on Harry’s carefully crafted image. But, any attempts of theirs to convince Harry to stay the same is shrugged off. Especially the line “lights up and they know who you are” points me in the direction of Harry being critical of the general public/media’s opinion on him, as if he’s saying “you know nothing.”

The lights, at first, are something negative: the spotlights, a metaphor for fame and success. No matter how famous he got or how much records he sold, the sadness in him couldn’t be stilled. He was being (forced to be) untrue to himself, he was playing a part, and it was breaking him apart. All the eyes on him seemed to know exactly what he was made of, but he was lost.

Instead of running from these lights, however, he turned them into his own platform. The lights are now his own, shining brightly. He’s embraced who he is and letting it show. The light has come back to his heart and he’s never turning back.

The sound is a bit sinister, matching the residing bitterness in Harry. Some notes also carry insecurity, reflecting the emotions that go with self-discovery. The overpowering emotion, however, is elation. Optimism. The “la la la”s can be heard as “i’m carefree!” as well as “i can’t hear you!” There is darkness in this song, as well as playfulness, in Harry’s attempt to put his complicated emotions into word and sound. 

The music video (published on coming out day, oct 11th) represents all of these feelings perfectly. We see Harry looking at his reflection, submerged but still, hanging (almost) upside down, searching for something, on his knees, in the dark, in red light, alone in brightly-lit rooms. 

Interesting edit/addition: at 2:11 are hydrangeas, and not chrysanthemums as i first thought, which @got-my-devotion​ thankfully pointed out! And the cultural meanings of hydrangeas!!! 

“The hydrangea is no exception: legend has it that a Japanese emperor gifted blue hydrangeas to the family of a girl he loved to make up for neglecting her.” 

“In Japan, the flower is associated with heartfelt emotion, understanding and apology. (...) The hydrangea can further symbolize unity and togetherness.”

(does my mind immediately jump to harry saying sorry to she who lives in daydreams with him? yes)

also this interesting bit:

“Contrastingly, hydrangeas have a negative sentiment in Europe where they were used to declare arrogance and boastfulness.”

aka the classic European shaming of people who are proud of who they are as an individual. 

Also, the different colors of hydrangeas symbolize different meanings, as is explained in the article. In the mv, all colors are represented, so the entire array of emotions is represented. 

At the same time, we have Harry, half-naked, basking in green light, surrounded by people of all genders, touching him, smiling, dancing, singing. Riding on the back of a motorcycle, facing backwards, arms wide, free, trusting. Singing, performing under a spotlight. 

That this was the first single of Fine Line, with this music video, Harry made a clear statement: this is a central theme on the album, this is what it’s about. The SELF. I will also always be furious about the director’s cut that we never got to see, which promised visuals like this:

Yes that’s Harry in a dress, looking in the mirror. Harry in old-fashioned, childlike underwear. Harry on the floor. Boxer Harry. Different aspects of him, different Harrys, spread out for everyone to see. If this had ever been released, the general opinion of Lights Up would be much more gender-oriented, or at least more about self-exploration. Because the self-exploration and self-acceptance done on Fine Line is gender-related, as She and Fine Line will show further down the line. Now ppl like to dismiss it as an orgy and just girlie no i’ll help you understand. Perhaps the director’s cut was too personal, in the end. Too revealing. And that’s entirely valid, Harry is allowed to keep as many secrets as he wants to (which he does, mind you). But I will keep mourning it.

The lyrics of Lights Up are vague leave and a lot of room for interpretation. It makes sense that a song about self-discovery, following my reading, isn’t clear in the lyrics. Harry was/is still searching, doesn’t know how to pin down everything that he’s feeling. The vaguer the lyrics, the wider the array of personal interpretations, which is also an extra special aspect of this song. Millions of fans attach meaning and importance to this 2min52 piece of music, all in their own way. Wow, I can keep gushing about this song, praising it till the end of time, but I’ll round up here. But, please, if you always experienced this song differently, don’t let this reading influence you too much. Keep that personal attachment. If this post does anything, let it be a footnote to your experience.

Read my other lyric analyses here

[faithinthefuture28]

Harry’s MVs are all connected, hear me out

https://twitter.com/fivescrews/status/1260649331637407745?s=20

aaaand, as many people have said, when he sails away from Eroda he ends up on this sunshiney and seemingly v het island. We also see him washed up on shore in the Lights Up mv. What's the story though?

Might be a reach but that’s what we do on this hellsite. 

I fink it’s the story of an exploration of his sexuality. Starts in Eroda, lost, alone, finds one soul that feels the same (you say you feel the same, could we ever be enough?) and is happy with them but then grows into himself. As he sails away from his island and goes to the new one, where it’s all bright and exciting and there are all these girls following around him. Then somehow (we’ll have to see if/how once the mv comes out) ends up washed up on shore in Lights Up, this time with guys and girls...but who does he end up choosing at the end of the mv? The still mysterious, still unidentified person driving the motorbike

[rachthepoet]

Lights Up Analysis

The Lights Up Labyrinth. A song of self-identity, self-reflection, and self-acceptance — coincidentally, all themes explored throughout the album cohesively... by the way. It's a piece that simultaneously chronicles and illustrates the journey to self-actualization and self-acceptance, the beautiful labyrinth of the human experience. And, within this labyrinth, there's a lot of twists and turns, for it never comes easy, it comes with our own unique hurdles, accompanied by experiences one must lie in before moving forward toward the light.

The lyrics really lend themselves to his visual, the Lights Up labyrinth, with a compilation of questions and statements side-by-side — and the music backing aids to create this teasing of resolution, but we never quite get there. Harry, as the writer, and us, as the listeners, are suspended in this limbo, because the journey to all self-resolutions is never truly complete. Rather, it's something we're always seeking our way through — through the labyrinth.

Here's a deep dive into Harry Styles' Lights Up, from a poet.

Symbolism of Light

A quick bit this is, I promise. But it's important to talk about the symbolism of light before jumping into the details, for it plays a big part in unraveling the true poetic weight of the song, even as it veers on the shorter side. In Lights Up, Harry utilizes the most common juxtaposition of light and dark but refuses to present either as the ultimate answer. Once more, we are in limbo in a labyrinth. Usually, light is perceived as the ultimate good while dark is perceived as the ultimate evil. Stark black and white contrast. But I don't believe what's going on in this song is that simple.

To me, in Lights Up, as well as in the song "Fine Line" but I digress, he doesn't go to these commonplace extremes you'd expect, sending a reminder that things aren't always so black and white, and aren't always as easily separated into light and dark. The light heralded in the song isn't some all-healing force like so often depicted in literature and art. Rather, even stepping into the light as he describes, not all is healed or solved — yet, he continues to embrace that in-between (fine line).

All in all, it's the strive to live in the light, really, even though one knows that it might not magically fix everything, and it might not magically wash away the pain one's been carrying. But, it invites reflection, and in reflection comes acceptance and evolution, and ain't that just a beautiful thing?

Lyric Pull Apart

[VERSE 1] What do you mean I'm sorry by the way Never coming back down Can't you see? I could, but wouldn't stay Wouldn't put it like that What do you mean I'm sorry by the way Never coming around It'd be so sweet if things just stayed the same

What do you mean / I'm sorry by the way: I see this interpreted two different ways and it depends on this: Do you see these two lyrics as one statement or two separate entities? First, I'll speak about them linked together, which can be interpreted as the speaker asking the question, and I quote, "What do you mean 'I'm sorry by the way'?" — like someone's making a flimsy apology too late after the fact. This gives insight into what instigated the song, and as the first line we hear, could be as if the writer was writing his way to the realizations he'll make. Did that make sense?

Second, let's split them apart now, and let them stand as their own separate stand-alones. Now, it's the speaker delivering the flimsy apology. No matter the configuration, the half-ass apology holds its place in the narrative. Saying sorry without really saying sorry. A matter-of-factly type of statement, without any real apologetics behind it. "What do you mean?", he says, as if someone is talking and he's not listening. (Maybe now, maybe not anymore?)

Never coming back down / Can't you see? / I could, but wouldn't stay: There's an admittance of knowledge that he could've remained in this comfortable position, but he chose not to. He could, but wouldn't, in a bigger pursuit within the labyrinth of self. Throughout the song, I believe the speaker communicates directly to us — his bystanders, his observers, his audience — who've been watching him work his way up to this point. The prologue is to be found in 2017's eponymous debut album.

Wouldn't put it like that / What do you mean?: In companionship with the other lines preceding, this feels like a bit of clarification, maybe even an underlying worry his words are coming out wrong or getting misconstrued — which highlights that the speaker is dealing with a sensitive thing regarding himself. The labyrinth of the self, for your specifics. There's no other subject, really. Then, the What do you mean? takes on a meaning more akin to miscommunication, which, as we have seen throughout his work, is a recurring theme.

It'd be so sweet if things just stayed the same: When one treks on the trail of self-identity, moments of struggle and comfort will follow. This falls in love with I could, but wouldn't stay, its sister line, acknowledging the comfort of remaining in the status quo, but he's accepted that he needs to move forward. But, wouldn't it be sweet if he didn't have to trek through this labyrinth of seeking himself? Seeking identity he might've thought he had established, but it was only an illusion. This option to return to comfort is still there in the back of his mind as he navigates, but we take steps forward toward the metaphorical "light".

[CHORUS] All the lights couldn't put out the dark Runnin' through my heart Lights Up and they know who you are Know who you are Do you know who you are?

All the lights couldn't put out the dark / Runnin' through my heart: Remember how we talked about the song moving away from the typical black and white symbolism of light and dark? Here's where we see it painted out. There's more of a focus on the dark here, and the darkness being secrecy — more detailed, one's own personal secrecy. The parts of oneself that are hidden due to your own apprehensions, or apprehensions that have been taught. There's an inner turmoil that's a constant battle to work with, and sometimes, even the opposite of dark can't magically remove that.

Again, within this common juxtaposition of light and dark, it's clear that there's not one definitive right answer and no definitive solution to everything. Acknowledging this, it moves him even more forward into a journey of self-actualization.

Lights Up and they know who you are: This line brings an outside presence into this labyrinth of self-discovery. The judgment from others. Light lends an association to visibility, and visibility leads to vulnerability. In a moment, we as listeners wonder: could we be the quote-en-quote "they" he's referring to?

With the FINE LINE album, and I think with every album he releases, it's like he's constantly reintroducing himself to us by letting his art do the speaking maybe he hasn't found yet. And, with this being the comeback single chosen to kick off a new era, this is him saying the following: "You think you know everything about me, but I still have more to show you" — because he still has more to discover, in this labyrinth.

Do you know who you are?: This is question that he is asking himself, but also, in turn, asking the bystanders (us) — the outside presence mentioned before. THIS IS THE CENTRAL QUESTION and the one that was teased the most! So we have to give it our proper attention, don't we? If you look at it in companionship with line before it, it reminds me of that question of who you are when nobody else is around. He has acknowledged the people perceiving him, and maybe even who he is when he is in their sight, but who is he to himself? Who's the person he has to live with? And, he's turning around and inviting the listeners to take this journey with him, making us question things as well. Tackling the Lights Up labyrinth together, hand-in-hand.

[BRIDGE] Shine, step into the light Shine, so bright sometimes Shine, I'm not ever going back Shine, step into the light Shine, so bright sometimes Shine, I'm not ever going back Shine, step into the light Shine, so bright sometimes Shine, I'm not ever (Oh)

You've gotta love a good bridge in a song. This creates a visual of him stepping into the light, and it's a beautiful metaphor and scene. I see this movement into the light as both an outside force and an inner one. There's the light that's been chased in this labyrinth of a song, the light of self-actualization. But, there's also the light of self-acceptance, shining out from inside his chest. A light that outshines the darkness (the secrecy, the hardships) held in his heart for so long, often longer than we could ever know. In this self-acceptance and self-discovery, there will be tough moments sometimes, one can lose sight sometimes — So bright sometimes. But, it will be worth it in the grand scheme of it all. He won't be going backward. He'll keep moving forward with all this knowledge he's pocketed through all this experience.

[VERSE 2] What do you mean I'm sorry by the way Never going back down It'd be sweet if things just stayed the same

This is a repetition of the first verse, but much more condensed. Another round of the "apology", but it does feel like it has more weight to it now. As if he has reached a moment without second-guessing regarding where he's going after the bridge's journey. Then, Never going back now comes out confident and strong. Leaning back in the visual of him navigating a maze, here's where he's standing at the last few twists and turns. He's closer, he can see himself on the other side. But, with another reiteration of It'd be sweet if things just stayed the same, it's a reminder that with these journeys of change, there will always be a bit of what if in the back of the band. Wondering what if one had stayed stagnant, even when growing more sure of where one needs to be heading.

[CHORUS] All the lights couldn't put out the dark Runnin' through my heart Lights Up and they know who you are Know who you are Do you know who you are?

The chorus repeats, and the song ends poignantly on that central question: Do you know who you are? A central question to not only this song, but also functions as an introductory question regarding the FINE LINE album as a complete piece of art. A theme of discovery carries throughout the whole sophomore album in all the different stages that are laced with grieving, too. The lights are now his own, and we are stepping into the light. Lead by Harry himself.

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!