much ado about larry.

Additionally there is another possible interpretation. If you listen to the lyrics you can also see them as being about any kind of addiction. An addiction isn’t  necessarily to any substances but can also be to a person.  

Bare this in mind when listening to the song for the next time. You will find parallels! 

There is also a fourth interpretation but I won’t follow that one 😉 „you“ is the woman of narrative of choice (I guess it was supposed to fit K*endall) 

Before we start: the alternative intro of the demo version reminds me of the beginning of Roy Orbison‘s „Pretty Woman“. Funny coincidence that Only Angel can be interpreted that it’s about Hs inner SHE.

The lyrics were changed from open to closed eyes. 

The demo version is stating to „close your eyes“, meaning to have a look inside yourself. While the studio version says to „open your eyes“, watch closely and be observing to what is shown to you. 

Also when you close your eyes, you can't see but you can feel, especially when you shut your mouth aka when it is silent. 

So H tells YOU to be silent and to really feel / become aware, that he himself is the only one who's been in love with him. 

At first that sounds narcissistic. But since we are talking about H who is the opposite of a narcissist, I think it means that he is in a situation surrounded by fake friends. By people that don't really love him- so he himself is the only one loving him- and that this situation has been going on for a while and will be going on for a while longer. 

Additionally he may have been told too many times that he needs to be a narcissist who only loves himself, that he might have started to believe it to an extend (His womanizer image didn’t allow deep feelings, too much commitment). 

Both last lines are similar- he is not in control. Either of the shouting (he hopes YOU doesn’t shout about it) or the feeling „I“ can’t do anything about.  

In the studio version he sings "And there's nothing I can do about it" which would imply a negative secret or that he is hopelessly devoted to YOU. 

💅🏻 Inner SHE 

SHE is living inside him. When they close their eyes and are silent, they feel that he loves himself, so he loves HER, too. He‘s happy with HER „stuck in between the teeth“, meaning HER being something that others might not feel comfortable with, but he does. He’s pleading HER not to shout it out- he would get into trouble for this (as he’s marketed as a womanizer), also maybe he didn’t want ppl to know just yet.  

👨🏻‍❤️‍👨🏻 Gay relationship 

His partner should shut his eyes and mouth and just enjoy and feel. He knows he is good at what he’s doing, loving himself.  

When you have something stuck in between your teeth, quite literally, it sits there- it's stuck. 

Which could mean, YOU is stuck with H and H is happy about it although he hopes that YOU doesn't shout about it - doesn't tell their secret (closeted relationship). 

🚨🔞 In a more unhinged way of interpretation, he is giving head and loves it, hoping his partner won’t be loud/tell anything, bc they would get into trouble for it. 🌶️

New verse, this hasn’t been part of the studio version.  

When listening to the song you may hear „lies“ or „lines“, depending on what you want it to be. 

💅🏻👨🏻‍❤️‍👨🏻 inner SHE / gay relationship  

A „bunch of people wasting time“ (remember H on wasted time in My Policeman interview)- industry people stringing you along if you don't do what they want you to. They closet you and waste your time because you have to hide your 💅🏻 real self and your 👨🏻‍❤️‍👨🏻 relationship, you can't live like you want to. 

H wouldn't want this to happen to his YOU so he would prevent it.  

They either live their life without lies bc THEY don’t need them- lies are forced onto them.  

Or they can create their own story without following the script/narrative- doing lines meaning they act out what is written down for them. They can perfectly live without the script/narrative that was made for them, bc for them it’s not real.  

She's an angel 

Only angel 

She's an angel 

My only angel 

An angel is a saviour, sent from God. She is an angel, his only angel - she is the only saviour he has/knows. 

„She“ with layered meanings, see the 4 options stated in the introduction.  

Here we have a HUGE difference between both versions. „MY“ bedroom door vs „YOUR“ bedroom door. 

While „YOUR“ makes sense in a sexual way, „MY“ only makes sense in one way: the closet door. The door that keeps him, his true self hidden. 

Breaking a finger is not done easily, which might tell us he was really persistent and maybe even desperately knocking at his bedroom door. 

Another difference comes with the crawling: on the floor (demo) vs across the floor (studio) 

Crawling ON the floor is something you do when you're really desperate, have no energy anymore, are too tired to stand upright, whereas crawling ACROSS a floor is a short action. You crawl across the floor in one direction and stand up again. 

The skirt that's too short most likely isn't about a girl with a mini skirt but references a „forbidden“, controversy thing (💅🏻👨🏻‍❤️‍👨🏻). 

The studio version states, that he can’t take her home to mother in a short skirt. He is aware it's not the best idea to take „the too short skirt“ home/talk about it at home but he kinda likes the secretive thing, it’s exciting.  

Implying the womanizer narrative: nothing is too serious, he’s only there for the fun and excitement, but wouldn’t introduce those girl(s) to his mum or deems it important enough to talk about it.  

The demo version changes the story. Here he’s afraid he could NEVER take someone home bc „the skirt is too short“ (= a controversy thing 💅🏻👨🏻‍❤️‍👨🏻) and „mother“ would be mad about it.  

„Mother“ can also be seen as any authority figure, not as his real mother.  

💅🏻👨🏻‍❤️‍👨🏻 Inner SHE / gay relationship  

He is banging the closet door, wanting to come out as his true self, including HER and including being open with his gay relationship. „Splinters in my knuckles“- it hurts! The closeting hurts, he is exhausted. Too tired and hurt to keep on walking. He can’t show SHE or his partner to anyone. „Mother“ (= management) wouldn’t approve it.  

👨🏻‍❤️‍👨🏻 Gay relationship  

🚨🔞 For a more explicit interpretation I don‘t need to explain splinters from crawling on the floor in a gay relationship, I guess… 

This verse has been changed completely  regarding studio and demo version. 

The studio version states that he thought about making the other person his (no talk of marriage). But he has doubts because there are „warning signs while he is going on about his business“ so all they do is having fun while it lasts and whenever they meet.  

With stating „marry you a thousand times“, the demo version shows absolute commitment to the relationship. 

„HAD TO change my tune when I found out what it’d be like“ implies that the change of his opinion wasn’t what he himself wanted but what was needed to be done to have an advantage of the situation. So „marrying a thousand times“ is what he wanted to do but he had to do sacrifices to have advantages out of it.  

But he keeps going, bc the „marriage“ is what he really wants. Also it is mutual, they don’t need to talk about it. 

With the mention of hallway we get another reference to MMITH. 

While looking up the lyrics for it again on Genius I found an interpretation that describes what I am feeling about this song: 

💅🏻 Inner SHE 

He learned to embrace and love HER and learned how to live with HER- he married HER a thousand times, he is fully committed to HER being part of him. But he realized in order to comply with contracts he needed to keep HER out of the spotlight.  

Whenever he leaves his room to step into the hallway SHE is with him. It is no option to leave HER behind. They don’t need to talk about it. They are closeted but committed to each other.  

👨🏻‍❤️‍👨🏻 Gay relationship  

They either ARE married or he just states, that he is committed to this relationship for a lifetime and would always choose to do it again. 

„Had to change my tune when I found out what it’d be like“. When he committed to this relationship there were things that changed. The closeting got heavier, the sacrifices to keep the relationship alive got worse. But everything is worth it, there hasn’t been the option to leave his partner behind. 

They lived together (deal with it 😉), they lived in hotels. When they met in hallways (or elsewhere) they didn’t need to talk about what they want they just did it. Their feelings and commitment are mutual.  

The studio version says „she“ told it to „I“ and „I“ told it to her brother, that „she“ is going to be an angel. There is nothing „she“ can do about it.  

The demo version again has „mother“ involved and „I“ is in charge- „I“ told „her“ brother, „her“ mother and himself, that „she“ wants to be an angel. And „I“ is happy with that.  

Telling something you want to do to more people helps to keep you responsible for your actions. You want to lose weight, so you tell everybody, and it keeps you from stuffing your face in public for example. In the official version he only tells "her" brother, which indicates a secretive approach. 

There is a difference between going to be an angel and wanting to be an angel. 

She WANTS to be an angel - this differs from the studio version where he sings "she's 

GONNA BE an angel" - going to be is more determined than wanting to be. 

Also the last line gives a different meaning. While in the studio version it’s about „her“ with a negative imply (can’t do anything about it), it is about „I“ in the demo with a positive association (I‘m all about it). 

💅🏻 Inner SHE 

He told ppl around him about HER. About his angel. Even „mother“ which could be management (as above). 

SHE wants to be an angel but SHE's not - behind closed doors SHE is a devil and he‘s all about it. 

So this might mean, that SHE is showing her true colours in private, behind closed doors. SHE is who SHE wants to be, even if it's a little wild (even though it sounds obviously sexual it doesn't have to be meant that way) and not necessarily accepted from other people. That's why SHE wants to be an angel upfront. H however likes her being how SHE is when they are "in between the sheets"- when they are alone. „Believe me I‘m all about it“ tells us, how much he appreciates HER.  

Remember: 

"Feel free to be whoever you want to be tonight" is what H always said at his concerts. 

👨🏻‍❤️‍👨🏻 Gay relationship  

He told closest relatives about the hidden relationship and that he has committed to it. Even „mother“ (= management). 

Feeling his boyfriend is an angel but behind closed doors turns wild in bed. And he loves it 😇😉 „she“ in this context is the boyfriend that needs to stay hidden, thus the change of pronouns. 

New verse, this hasn’t been part of the studio version.  

💅🏻👨🏻‍❤️‍👨🏻 Inner SHE / gay relationship  

„Painted on your back, I knew we'd get along“- although this is a blatantly obvious sexual reference, fitting the gay relationship perfectly, I tried to think about what other meaning could be in here. I think it also can mean H and YOU have been in agreement about how to handle certain things, maybe intimate things, things that are not everybody's cup of tea- YOU is someone that likes the same things he likes. 

You stare into a mirror when you ponder. You stare into a mirror too long when you are vain or the opposite - insecure about your appearance. With HER inside, SHE will always be staring back at him in every mirror. 

„I’d love her if I didn’t think I‘d do it wrong“- here we suddenly have a change of pronouns. Since he obviously doesn’t mean SHE bc he loves HER, this particular part may actually refer to a woman. He would love a woman, if he didn’t feel that it was wrong. So he does what is right: taking YOU (💅🏻👨🏻‍❤️‍👨🏻) home.  

„I'm gonna have to take you home“- where I or we can be ourselves. It can also mean I have to take care of you. Further on home in Hs lyrics is a synonym for their love. Home is a home but also a person.  

She's an angel 

Only angel 

She's an angel 

My only angel 

She's an angel 

Only angel 

She's an angel 

My only angel 

She's an angel 

Only angel 

She's an angel 

My only angel 

Having listened to it so often already, this line hit me different this morning “Give me something old and red”. While this had been used for the wedding interpretation, I never really felt it. Because originally it´s something old and blue and borrowed and new. So the only “right” thing is “old” in this context. “Red” is the wrong colour, the other two are missing completely. 

But with songs on Harry´s House we repeatedly get reminded of the Matrix. Of red and blue pills. 

Red = truth, wake up 

Blue = lie, forgetting everything, going back to sleep 

(On a side note… waking up and sleeping are also terms that Louis uses in his lyrics and also in tweets/IG post etc. and his whole FITF vibe was red-themed… Finally living the truth with faith in the future. 👍😁 you´re welcome.) 

But that´s only part of the story behind the Matrix and those colours. A friend of mine wrote an awesome thread over at twitter about Lights up music video, but it´not availlable anymore since she left the platform. I might talk her into uploading it here again! 

In short: The Matrix was written by the Wachowski siblings and the story is a transgender allegory. 

The red pill resembles an estrogen pill, commonly prescribed in the 90s while the blue pill resembles an antidepressant. So easily said: transgender persons either took the red pill for truth and being themselves, or they took antidepressants to live with the lie, not being able to be their true selves. 

With that in my mind I re-listened to Grapejuice and took a closer look into the lyrics and found other hints that it might be about himself only. (And yes, it may still be about his relationship with L as well! As I said, both interpretations can co-exist) 

So now here´s my interpretation of Grapejuice from a genderfluid perspective. “I” in my context is H, “you” is his female side – “SHE” if you want. 

Yesterday, it finally came, a sunny afternoon 

“Sunny afternoon”: Songs written by H & L (also 1D songs) have a lot of dark/night and light/daylight metaphors. Dark is usually being their true selves at night, when no one can see them. They need to hide in the dark. Daylight is how they are perceived by the public. It´s closeting, hiding away their true selves, having to stunt. 

There are two songs on HSH that pick up the theme as well – “Daylight” and “Daydreaming”. All three songs have been recorded around the same time (with LNT, too) thanks @skepticalarrie for providing us the timeline! 

However in the context of these lyrics, a “sunny afternoon” more likely would be meaning a day where you feel good in your skin. No self doubts, no negative and depressive thoughts. 

I was on my way to buy some flowers for you (ooh) 

“Flowers for you”: Seen from a heteronormative view a man buys flowers for a woman. So this might be him buying flowers for SHE, also possibly metaphorically. Meaning he treated himself well. 

Thought that we could hide away in a corner of the heath 

“Hide away in the Heath”: Could be literally, bc he knows his way around unseen. But “Heath” could also be meant as home (he has a public house near Hampsted Heath. I don´t know though if he really lives in that area, too). So these lyrics would imply he wants to be hiding at home, not wanting to go outside. 

There's never been someone who's so perfect for me 

“perfect for me”: He embraces SHE, like he does in his other songs. 

But I got over it and I said  

“But I got over it”: He didn’t hide at home, he asked for living his truth instead. 

"Give me somethin' old and red"  

“Give me something old and red”: red = truth. In genderfuid context it could be the acceptance of SHE and especially the desire to not hiding it. 

Also interesting is that red in a pride flag represents “life”. 

I pay for it more than I did back then 

He now is more famous than when he first realized his genderfluidness and queerness. He pays for it more now because he publicly can´t be who he wants to be and also can´t be with the person he loves (💙). 

There's just no gettin' through 

Without you  A bottle of rouge  Just me and you 

He can´t live without SHE. SHE´s a part of him, they belong together and only both of them form a whole person. And again the reference to “red”. The rouge probably is a red wine (Fine line vibes: “We'll get the drinks in, so I'll get to thinking of her” <-> “A bottle of rouge just me and you”) but – in context of genderfluidity – possibly also a make up blush? 

Sittin' in the garden, I'm a couple glasses in 

More Fine Line vibes, less make up vibes 😉 

  I was tryna count up all the places we've been 

They have seen the world together. 

  You're always there, so don't overthink 

I'm so over whites and pinks  

“I´m prone to overthinking” (Hunger) 

It´s what he does, but it´s not what he wants. During Fine Line era the lyrics about SHE were more desperate and confused (She, Fine Line, Falling). He was overthinking himself, but he found a way to see that SHE and HE belong together as one person. On HsH he found his inner peace. Which can also be interpreted from “Little Freak” lyrics. 

He´s over white and pinks, over the genders being “pure” (white) and he knows it´s not only “pink” (female) it´s fluid. Or from a “wine-point-of-view”: He´s over a crisp white or rose one, it needs to be a full-bodied warm dark red one. He is over doing things by halves. 

She 

Fine Line 

Falling 

Little Freak 

I pay for it more than I did back then 

There's just no gettin' through  Without you  A bottle of rouge  Just me and you  1982 

This actually makes more sense regarding the Larry interpretation. 

19 = 91 = Ls year of birth and  

82 = 28 = well… 28. Whatever happened on a 28th. There are brilliant twitter treads and tumblrs on the possible meanings of 28. Also look into Hs obsession with 28 on HSH.  

Hidden 28s in Harry´s House

As a bonus if you count all the numbers he´s counting in Grapejuice, they add up to 28. Obviously. 

There are too many options what could be meant by 1982 exactly. Besides the above stated it could also be some event that happened in 1982 regarding LGBTQ+ rights, could be the writing of Billy Jean by Michael Jackson, could be my birthday 😁. 

It´s a thing – as so often – we´ll never know. Maybe it´s only randomly chosen to make it rhyme (but… I tend to it´s not) 

  Just me and you  There's just no gettin' through  The grape juice blues 

Again a possible link to Fine line “we´ll get the drinks in, so I get to think about her” – he´s being sentimental and melancholic when drinking. Having a (wine / grapejuice) blues.  

Now that I am finished with the lyrics, I have some more details to share. 

It is said that HsH needs to be listened to backwards, so starting from the last song going to the first one. 

If you do so, the order of the songs would be “As it was” – “Grapejuice” – “Late Night Talking”. Which fits the genderfluid interpretation and the Larry interpretation on the same level. 

AIW´s music video is all about blue and red and Matrix themed and also the lyrics can be interpreted from gender perspective. 

LNT´s music video is an adaption of H´s (love) life. It obviously is about the person he loves. 

So Grapejuice nested in between these songs is the perfect link between both of them. 

If you search for meanings or symbolism of grapes there is one of interest (from a biased point of view, I have to admit 😉) 

During LOT 2023 he performed Grapejuice. The stagelights and also screens were mostly red (see Matrix reference above (also maybe a Larry reference as L was just touring FITFWT with its album colour theme red/black) 

Supporting the Larry interpretation was him singing (and giggling) “Just me and Lou” VERY clearly in Amsterdam. 💙💚 

I looked for interviews on Grapejuice and found nothing. Also nothing about the exact timing of writing, only when it has been recorded. 

To close this: Do you remember the amount of “choking” mentioned in Hs lyrics? And even L refered to it on stage with his cover of “505”. Well, imagine my surprise and giggles when I found this…. 

Oh, and btw if you still think Grapejuice is about red wine... this is the only way I accept this thought: 

He didn’t write it by himself, it rather sounds like it was a song written for him and he adjusted it a bit to make it feel right for him. The academic wrote on it who later have been supporting him on tour, so they might have known about his situation while writing the lyrics. Or they wrote them having something else in mind and L adjusted the lyrics to fit him. 

Twitter Post

Additionally he didn’t sing it live very often, even though it’s a banger and goes well with the audience.  

To me this all seems like he’s kind of avoiding the topic of the song. He wants to tell a story with it but he loves his fans and doesn’t want to hurt them with the words, doesn’t want to loose them.  

But on the other hand he wants them to start thinking about their stance. 

So before I go into the lyrics I want to clarify what „you read me like a headline“ means for me.  

Headlines are catchy. 

They lure the reader into clicking them or buying the newspaper - which means money for the newspaper company.  

But even if people don’t read the article, a headline states the content of the article in a way the article is meant to be perceived. 

So, when reading only headlines you get the gist of things but you don’t get the whole picture. You might miss important information. Your knowledge is superficial. 

Transferred to Louis and GP / part of his fans, it means that they have their view of him made out of headlines, maybe also content of the articles belonging to the headlines but they are not looking deeper into it. They see what the news make of him. They fall for the PR strategies. 

What they miss are things he can’t say publicly or things that don’t fit the PR strategy. Things one learns when reading between the lines, seeing his coding and patterns, connecting dots, etc. 

As I said in the beginning it’s not a breakup song between two lovers and Louis wouldn’t want to hurt his fans. However for me the lyrics describe a breakup with the fans that are not willing to see more than his headlines or leave after headlines have been proven wrong by him. Also I feel like it’s nothing that really happened yet but which could maybe describe an outcome in the future. 

Sometimes, I wake up and I hear you through the silence

He is sorry that he lost them, he still imagines to hear them but they are gone.  

You let your pride hide all your beauty and your kindness

Those fans are too proud to learn about other things than their superficial knowledge or to admit that they were wrong. Instead of being kind persons they fight others with other beliefs. 

So fast to judge in error, you thought you knew me better

So quick to kill forever

They think they knew L better and judged him based on the headlines and PR narratives. They made up their mind never letting any other opinion be valid. 

You used to read me like a headline

So many reasons, now you´re not mine

Maybe, if you´d taken more time

I´d still be the one you wanna talk to every night, oh

If you got in my head

You wouldn´t be scared of what you´d find

You used to read me like a headline

Oh, that´s the reason now you´re not mine

Anymore

Here‘s the headline lyric (see meaning above). 

If they‘d acted differently they might still be his fans, might still go to his shows, might still want to meet him after shows. 

His real story is none to be afraid of. If they could only see it! 

You spent your summer workin´ for your education

While I was runnin´ after dreams that kept us waitin´

You never told me never

This one might point to the stereotype of fan that is connected to his image: the young teens and twenty something’s. They have summers off school/uni and have a summer job.  

The lines fit more in the context of the general perception of this being a breakup song between 2 persons.  

I guess I never knew we´d have the shortest forever

I thought I could, but I can´t forget you

You used to read me like a headline

So many reasons, now you´re not mine

Maybe, if you´d taken more time

I´d still be the one you wanna talk to every night, oh

If you got in my head

You wouldn´t be scared of what you´d find

You used to read me like a headline

Oh, that´s the reason now you´re not mine

Anymore

You used to read me like a headline

You used to read me like a headline

Sometimes, I wake up and I wish you were beside me

He thought he could turn their beliefs around, could make them see behind the headlines. He didn’t expect it wouldn’t work out.  

He ends the song as he started it:

"Sometimes, I wake up and

beginning: I hear you through the silence"

end: I wish you were beside me."

He misses the fans he lost.  Sometimes he wishes they were still with him on his side. 

Twitter Post

I see the whole song divided in different facets of Hs life. In general it is about his longterm and domestic relationship (with Louis💙 (hi, I´m a Larrie 👋))(So close this if you’re not in my lane), but each part is about a different factor that affects this relationship throughout time.  

Verse 1  Black and white film camera  Yellow sunglasses  Ashtray, swimming pool  Hot wax, jump off the roof 

See the attached links below for all the references to the lines 🩷 

For me the first verse mirrors the beginning of their relationship, the falling in love stage. They enjoy their love and life in the band, they do fun stuff. The verse is about them only. 

I know that H used to publish a lot of bw pics on IG and liked photography so I guess it was an artistic choice. Nevertheless the black and white film camera could also already refer to the start of closeting, thus to a love he needed to hide. This would be fitting here bc it’s the very first line, setting the background info for the whole song. His public life needs to be black and white, the colors in between are not allowed 🌈. 

Chorus  A small concern with how the engine sounds  We held darkness in withheld clouds  I would ask, "Should we just keep driving?" 

The chorus shows that there are obstacles they need to overcome, starting already in early stages of their relationship. The engine being a metaphor for their relationship affected by music industry or the music industry itself (closeting, stunting). 

The darkness sounds like a reference to closeting. The withheld clouds in this sentence might refer to them not being granted to be „on cloud 9“, to feel happy about their love. 

So, H would ask „is it all worth it? Should we keep on going? Should we keep on fighting?“ (YES! Obviously!) 

Also note the times used: 

Present for the fact of the engine malfunction. 

Past for darkness in withheld clouds. This implies by the time of writing the darkness and withheld clouds were gone. 

Simple Conditional for I would ask. So it’s more like a theoretical or rhetorical question, a question never been asked really. 

To be honest the darkness and withheld clouds line gives me a headache interpretational wise 😅 but here is an interpretation I found on genius that I relate to. 

There is also the 1D song „clouds“ with a similar meaning. I‘ll just attach two screenshots bc they contain what I would have written myself. 

See link to tumblr at the end of this post! 

Verse 2  Maple syrup, coffee  Pancakes for two  Hash brown, egg yolk  I will always love you 

Again, see the attached links below for all the references to the lines 🩷 

The second verse for me is about their relationship in private a bit further on in 1D and up to now. They live together (deal with it 💁🏼‍♀️), they have a loving domestic relationship. This verse is still only about them. 

https://x.com/brightannegold/status/1700616852001726678

This tumblr (also attached as a link below) describes my feelings about this verse perfectly. 🩷 

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 obstacles are still in place. But it’s still a theoretical question. 

Bridge pt.1  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 

Again, see the attached threads below for all the references to the lines 🩷  

From the bridge on the song speeds up and the singing gets more urgent. 

For me this is the part showing how work influences their relationship.  

THIS is the "small concern with how the engine sounds“. 

Constant traveling (passport in footwells), 

Work dinners or nights stayed in (wine glass; reference to grapejuice and walls „smoke something, drink something“), 

Sharing joints (puff pass; reference to High in California, 1D chicken in chile), 

working on music videos (tea with cyborgs and science; drag me down, NASA) and 

how their life is being analyzed in social media (lifehacks going viral in bathrooms; oops hi in bathroom and every single move they do).  

It also contains their closeting via the lines „kiss her and don’t tells“ and „riot America“ (bc their closeting began in full force when they were to enter the American market, and they surely were fighting against it. Also their worst stunts happen(ed) in America and through their other song lyrics one can see that it’s a place they don’t feel comfortable in). 

Kiss HER and don’t tells could literally mean kissing a stunt woman and not telling the truth about his real partner. But it could also be seen as this user on genius wrote, the „her“ actually being a „him“ 

Another interpretation of the riot America line.  

„Science and edibles“ for me also refers to MFASR lyrics which are about toxic music industry. It compares to science to see through all the PR and intertwined relations regarding the business. But it also refers to fan behavior „if the stars were edible, and our hearts were never full, could we live with just a taste?“. If you see „stars“ as celebrities in this, it gets a deeper meaning. There are fans, that always want more. One meet and greet is not enough, they want to be part of their private life. In worst case they become stalkers.  

See also MFASR mv- the „can I touch your tail“ line is right before „if the stars were edible“. 

Bridge pt.2  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 the peak of the song and shows the „worst engine sounds“. 

The vibe is more negative in the first part and further describes the happenings in work and private life.  

Industry events (cocaine, side boobs; women/stunts wearing revealing dresses, also Hs own physique which is always a topic in media) 

(Mentally) Painful experiences (Toothache; metaphor for serious pain; note: I saw posts relating this to L. But L only got his wisdom teeth removed in 2021 after the song has been recorded, See HSH timeline above) 

The „bad move“ could be anything really 🤷🏼‍♀️  

The „choke her“ is a repetitive metaphor within HSH songs. There are at least 2 more (unreleased) songs using it, too (too much sauce and make my day). 

It could also be a „choker“.  

For me this line means the industry makes him feel like he’s wearing a choker (heavy restrictions, closeting) while offering him a sea view (career and its perks). 

Other thoughts on the seaview: 

The second part of the bridge goes back to only them again. They need to just act normal. Not showing how they are affected by those negative vibes.  

The „mocha pot Monday“ for me means, after all, they are off to a new start of their everyday life with all it‘s obstacles. Not appreciating them but accepting them for now. Like everyone else beginning the new work week with a cup of strong coffee to face what the week may bring. 

The urgency in the music calms down again. H reassuring his partner by saying „It’s all good“ and asking yet again- this time addressing it directly and not only theoretically: „hey you! Should we just keep driving?“ - Are we in this together? Are we a team? Do we keep on fighting? Is it worth it? 

Outro  Should we just keep driving?  Ooh-ooh, ooh  Should we just keep driving? 

Considered the Larry-coding 💚💙 that continued after HSH until now I guess the answer was „yes“ 😉 

This is where my interpretation ends.  

Thank you, if you’ve read it all the way through ☺️🩷 

I’ll now attach all threads and tumblrs I mentioned.  

Amazing thread with pictures to all the lines.  I guess it took ages to search for every single one 😅 Thank you for your service! 

https://x.com/everybdysgay/status/1658712895096512512 (😭 This thread has been deleted I guess)

Nice one! ☺️ keep driving lyrics in a picture video 👍🏻

https://x.com/rove_28/status/1527368441107300352

This one is similar to my interpretation.  Thanks to @hlsongs

https://hlsongs.tumblr.com/post/688304177992105984/keep-driving-long-analysis

Tumblr from which the 1D „clouds“ screenshots are added. Thank you @smellslikeonedirection

https://www.tumblr.com/smellslikeonedirection/685982873791168512/harrys-house-analysis-keep-driving

Another tumblr who shares their thoughts about how the handling of problems within Hs relationship matures throughout the songs. Thank you @larrylyrics

https://www.tumblr.com/larrylyrics/688145336198463488/oh-you-think-thats-painful-let-me-one-up-you

They also share an interpretation of „we held darkness in withheld clouds“. 

H named 2 different years for when he wrote that song. 2013 and 2015. 

While 2013 seems more like a „we need it to be written shortly after H*aylor because then we could make the song about TS“-promo-thing, the 2015 mention sounds way more like the real thing.  

(Its behind a paywall… but you can still read it 😉) 

H said the song was too personal for him to have it sung by 1D back then. (On a side note: He also co-wrote „Perfect“ for MITAM. Another song „seemingly about H*aylor“ (eh. No. 🤨). Yes, it’s more positive than Two Ghosts, but he had no problem singing this with the band. It’s not confirming anything but still wanted to point this out). 

So back to his interview. While I don’t think in this context a „usual breakup“ which the world watched from front row and which has been addressed in PR moves on and on would be something he would call „too personal“, I do think lyrics about him and his partner suffering from closeting were in fact too personal back then. And too personal to have it sung by the band.  

Read also this tumblr post on this topic.  

https://www.tumblr.com/skepticalarrie/677255085571571712/hi-why-do-people-say-that-two-ghosts-was-written

Now, let’s get into how I interpret the lyrics. 

I’m a Larrie 👋, so the first line for me makes it pretty clear who the other „ghost“ in this song is: Louis.  

The first two lines show that it has been the two of them for a longer time: still the same red lips, blue eyes, white shirt but by now a couple more tattoos. 

While the first line is about L, the second line fits both H&L. 

„But it’s not you, it’s not me“ can be seen as „they are not their authentic selves“, not how they used to be back in the beginning. They needed to change and now they are like actors playing themselves. 

Their feelings haven´t changed - it´s their environment that made them change their "public reality". What they experience in private is real, when they are in public they can’t touch. 

„Sounds like something that I used to feel“ seems to be about the days when closeting wasn’t as heavy as it was in 2015 - or even barely existing in their first days. 

Ghosts are lifeless, pale, shadow like. That’s how they feel while being in public, in the closet. Their hearts are broken and they feel lifeless. But they won’t give up. They try to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat.  

These lines for me are so blatantly obvious about closeting.  

When visualizing closeting, it’s a dark place, no light. Closeted people can only be themselves when it’s night, when they are at home, when they are in private. 

All this we find in these lines.  

A fridge light will only wash a room in white light when the room is dark.  

The moon only shines brightly at night. It dances over „your good side“- the one H sees at night. The real one, not the public ghost one.  

This was enough for them back then. Now they wish for more, for being out in daylight maybe, but they got pushed deeper into the closet.  

They got more restricted in what they are allowed to say publicly through the years. They were even forbidden public interactions while being in the same band (enemy narrative anyone?). 

They keep telling the same stories, the same lies about their fake relationships, because they can’t tell the truth, can’t tell their story. 

This is like above but their desperation and hopeless is underlined by „the glass half empty“ which is a metaphor for pessimism.  

To end this, I would like to share a few things about Two Ghosts. Again, they might not be new for everyone but they fit to this post.

I saw posts and videos saying H introduced the song as it being about „the first time HE broke up with me“ and making this about Larry. It’s (most probably) out of context - the first part of that intro is often cut off. Also, as mentioned above I don´t think the song refers to a breakup.

See this link for the whole intro.

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGewnVQm3/

There are also rumors about an unreleased music video for Two Ghosts of which snippets have been leaked. I don’t know about a mv in general. It’s a single without an official one after all. But what people say are leaked snippets would be the visuals shown at Hs tour 2018.

So it´s either they recorded a mv and never released it but used parts of it for tour visuals, or they recorded the visuals for the reason of using them as visuals...

This is an interpretation of the visuals.

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGewWu5Fh/

This is a link between the visuals and 369. 

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGewWcR7e/

This is a link between Two Ghosts and Louis´ merch.