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inner-reflections · 2 years ago

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Deep analysis of Fine line by Harry styles

Music is subjective thats the beauty of it.

Before we get into the lyrics i think it’s important to consider what “fine line” means in general

Fine line: a subtle distinction between two concepts or situations

I think the most generalised analysis on the song is that there is a fine line between the times you are happy and the times you are sad. There is a balance that is needed. Now that sounds boring but it's not. The song contains contrasting emotions because frankly he is confused. These different emotions he experiences though, he realises that in the end that's it's okay to accept it and everything is going to work out.

The song starts off with a guitar with a simple strumming pattern. It's soft, it's open and honestly I find it seems vulnerable. As the song progresses into the second verse the guitar pulls back, becomes less prominent as the piano takes over but it finds it footing again in the song. His voicals are also very soft, airy and light at the star but as the song goes on he becomes more stronger with his voice.

“Put a price on emotion

I’m looking for something to buy”

The first line quickly establishes where his head is at. He seems to be struggling to feel anything, he's so numb that he's desperate to feel again so he is searching to "buy" something that's isn't tangible.

I feel like this reflects the simple saying "money can't buy happiness"

The idea is that he is willing to do ANYTHING to fill this empty void he feels. If we apply this to a relationship/ breakup he can also be saying that the relationship is hollow and strained but he wants to fix it.

“You’ve got my devotion

But man, I can hate you

sometimes”

devotion is a strong word to use as it means that “Love, loyalty or enthusiasm for a person or activity" The whole album we see how he was devoted to this person how much love they had through the tracks.

The hate could be interpreted like: I hate that after all of this I'm still feeling this way towards you, I can't forget this relationships, he is scared to love this person and accept this.

The main thing is that he is feeling pain from this love but because his emotions are contrasting it leaves him confused on what he actually feels.

“I don’t want to fight you

And I don’t want to sleep in

the dirt”

Continuing one with this idea, he is still talking about this fear he is feeling from this relationship. He is hesitant on what to do because he doesn't want to be hurt in the end. So he is stuck on how to move forward, by fighting with them, it will result in pain... but is the fighting needed?

“We’ll get the drinks in

So I’ll get to thinking of her”

I Feel like this lyric is saying that to pass the time he drinks but that results in his mind drifting to "her" he could be himself, or out with friends yet when this happens he starts wondering and thinking about this person. I also feel like he is infatuated with her,

the whole album seems that, yes they were both in love, but I feel like it comes across that he fell more deeply in love than her, but that can be a pointless observation as we only get HIS perspective in the album it's HIS experience.

There is a fine line between his love and hate in this relationship. He likes the idea of love but he recognises it brings him pain as well as joy but it's hard to distinguish the two.

“We'll be a fine line

We'll be a fine line

We'll be a fine line”

the first round of repetition of

"We'll be a fine line" is actually just Harry trying to convince himself to believe what he is saying, to believe this is how he should feel. As the song progresses he repeats and repeats this line as the music builds along with it.

Thus establishing that as time goes on, he in starts to embrace this idea, he convinces himself that it's going to be fine or "alright" as he puts.

we start to hear the introduction of different instruments. Especially at this bit you can hear how now the piano is much more prominent than the guitar (which is heard in the backround still) but the piano shifts the mood in the song now.

I find that the piano is meant to represent the opposite of the guitar. When the piano takes over in the second verse, Harry seems more confident, comfortable when he's telling the story. At first he was holding back because he was scared but now he's just seems more sure on what he is saying.

Further establishing that him repeating

"we'll be a fine line" over and over again is just him coming to terms with it.

Also, it is here where we hear that his voice becomes more established, stronger, meaningful as he becomes passionate about what he's saying.

“A test of my patience

There's things that we'll

never know”

I feel like this lyric is meant to convey that there's always going to be that unknown- why did this relationship end, why didn't it work? The test of his patience i think is him getting frustrated about this revelation. He was in love, that's all he he wanted but when he is reflecting he is seeing that it just won't work anymore. The pain blurred and seeped into love which further made him blind. The whole idea now is that he's looking back and now he can't change what's happened but he can learn from it. yes, it may be annoying him why they won't find out why certain things happened but he has to deal with it an

use this experience to persevere.

“You sunshine, you

temptress

My hand's at risk, I fold”

the whole album this person has been referred to as "golden" and "bright" all of which is positive things. A temptress means to be someone who is alluring, seductive and overall attractive which essentially contrast the the whole "sunshine". Not saying that's being a temptress is a bad thing but in this context, Harry is struggling to be properly open with this person. They have this affect on him though that does allow him to share but that's because they basically lure him in.

In poker, to "Fold" is to essentially give up your hand of cards in the game.

Usually, in poker it's all about keeping a straight face, to hide your emotions in attempts to keep people from knowing what cards you have.

so Harry is giving up on keeping his cards and decides to open up to this person as they tempt him to do so.

“Crisp trepidation

I’ll try to shake this soon”

This is an extension to the lyric before.

Trepidation is the feeling of anxiety, he has the inability to communicate properly with this person. So, what's basically happening is that he has this strong feeling of fear and anxiety that something may happen. What will happen? The end of this relationship? He states that he will try and shake this soon, conveying that he's deciding to ignore this gut feeling and continue on. Again this can be representing how he just isn't ready to move on yet.

“Spreading you open

Is the only way of knowing

you”

Here his voice is much more bold, which kind of contrasts how he was just saying he has an inability to communicate? I guess this is because we can see he has grown and learned, NOW he can speak about his feelings back THEN the only way he could express his feelings was through s*xual acts. This was their way of communicating with each other, this is how they bonded- it was more physically. This is such a vulnerable way of sharing, bonding and communicating. It could also be said that the relationship has not been working out but the only way to kind of dismiss it, is through these acts. It's like sweeping the feelings under the rug, ignoring everything else- this is how we continue.

Now the guitar is back but the strumming is more bold, stronger, it gives off the vibe that something is building up. The strums are starting to also become aggressive too, It's completely different to how it was before.

This can symbolise the change in relationship or even the person that Harry has now become.

The chorus now begins again. This time around he is now staring to accept that there will be good moments and there will be the bad moments, highs and lows, but in the end it will work out. He is reassuring himself and reminding himself on how far he has come, what he has learned and grown from.

*Piano reintroduced*

guitar strums added*

All these additions of instruments changes the mood you once felt before. They start to change your outlook as you too now recognise, like harry did, that these experiences can be hurtful and feel like the end but we can grow so much from them.

It will get better.

The drums now kick in the song which again just further builds up this anticipation.

“We'll be alright

We'll be a fine line

We'll be a fine line”

Harry now believe this himself.

This is the first time he states that "we will be alright".

“We'll be alright”

The climax. We.will.be.alright.

Now we witness this beautiful orchestral instrumental.

What's important here is that the horns symbolise HOPE. Despite everything we go through whether it's a relationship or something else, fine Line tells us that in the end…everything is okay

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