Hello Hello...so wonderful to see you active a little more again 😊
You were my first blog I came to lurk upon after entering the fandom 2 years ago!! Thankyou for your tags and info and just the love for the boys!!
Anyhoo lol..I noticed Louis has Dark to light and now Nial mentioning "End of an Era" being and ode to Liam on the albums quite possibly. I was wondering if you felt any of the the songs on KISSCO were for Liam? I thought although PBN is clearly a song about Harry's experience in the band and growing up in the limelight.. I've wondered if it was actually for Liam also? He mentioned in the Zane Lowe interview that one of the hardest things about losing Liam and I'm paraphrasing here.. is that they were so much alike in so many ways which was interesting. I suppose the song could relate to the all the boys in some ways? Anyway just wondered your thoughts or if you didn't feel any of the songs were for Liam?
Hi, anon!! Aww, that’s super sweet, I love that 💙 Thank you!
This is going to be LONG, so I’m sorry in advance, I really can’t shut up once I start talking about lyrics, apparently.
I think Harry’s songwriting tends to be less about songs being for someone or tied to very specific situations, and more about his overall feelings, things that are deeper, and expressed through broader ideas and metaphors. So while Louis goes for something like “this happened to you and this is how I feel about it” I think Harry usually takes a step back and looks at the bigger picture, like why things happened in the first place, especially in relation to fame and everything they went through together. So I definitely agree with you on that!
I actually think the entire album could be shaped by what happened with Liam. Harry was already taking some time off, which probably made him reflect on fame as a whole, and then losing Liam could have deepened that even more and became part of the emotional core of the album. I think it's such a turning point... something happening to someone who lived such a similar life.
There are two songs in particular where I see that deeper reflection, and I personally connect a lot of it to what happened to Liam, but also to Harry processing it himself:
I definitely agree with you on this one, anon! I think Paint By Numbers is one of the songs that leans the most into this core reflection about fame. It has this very melancholic tone, so it naturally gets connected to Liam.
Essentially it feels like a reflection on celebrity vs. real self. Being put into a box, having to fit the “right colors” in the “right places” but eventually those colors run out, things get messy, and you can’t keep up with that structure forever.
I think it also touches the pressure of fame, the constant feeling of disappointing people, and trying to meet expectations that are impossible to sustain. And when you think about everything that led up to Liam’s passing, it’s hard not to connect it—especially the way he seemed to be struggling to be seen, to be loved, while facing so much criticism in the months prior. That quote from Harry “I saw someone with the kindest heart who just wanted to be great”, sums it up so well. That’s the tragedy of it. Wanting to be good, to be loved, and still being torn apart by people.
The “not even 33” line feels very loaded to me. If you connect it to the age Jesus died (if you believe that), it carries this idea of sacrifice, pressure, and being judged by the public. There’s that sense of being “crucified” by expectations. There's a saying “You can’t please everyone, Jesus couldn’t”.
I also love the “kids with water guns” line. I’ve seen people connect it to One Direction and their stage moments, which is a really sweet interpretation. But it also works as a metaphor, something that looks harmless on the surface, but still causes damage. Like judgment. Comments, jokes, opinions—things people think are harmless, but when they’re constant, they hurt. Being surrounded by that kind of “playful” targeting still leaves a mark over time.
I also think this song carries a strong meaning. It feels very much about expectations, and what people want from him, what he’s supposed to be, and the pressure to just keep going.
It's being turned into a product. Doing the same thing over and over, following what people expect, and losing yourself in that cycle. The questioning "if I don’t meet your expectations, will you still love me?" is so fucking deep and heartbreaking.
Everything they do gets judged, overanalyzed (yes the irony!!) picked apart. It really connected into parasocial relationships, how people feel entitled to an artist, but don’t accept their flaws or humanity.
And that connects deeply to what happened with Liam. The pressure, the expectations, the need to be liked… and how damaging that can become.
So for me, it’s less about “this song is about Liam” and more about how his presence, what they went through together, and what happened shaped the emotional core of the whole album. If that makes sense at all!!
