have we ever actually talked about how genius the different sides are of the fine line album?
like SIDE A: happiness and affection and summer exploding in front of you. Golden and Watermelon Sugar and Adore You - just one long love song to summer and young love, and then Lights Up: the reflection, the freedom, the beginning of a new era. the beginnings of adulthood and growing up.
and then we are thrown into SIDE B: where everything hurts. it’s Cherry, where he’s asking you not to call the other man baby, don’t call him what you used to call him, transitioning into Falling, which is the shadow side of Lights Up, the lowest point of it all, when you have not yet found yourself. Do you know who you are? Do you? And then going into To Be So Lonely, with the punch in the gut transition between Falling and this one with “don’t blame me for falling” as well as the continued begging not to be called baby. and then it concludes with She. The long psychedelic question of having found the most intimate part of yourself and hiding it, pretending and daydreaming (keeping it vague here. i’m seeing She as a song about gender and sexuality (more so gender), but i realise that She could be a lot of things for a lot of people so keeping it vague because no matter what it is, it still fits the theme. thats how strong that song is.)
And then we are thrown into SIDE C. Where we get to breathe again. we’ve survived and the guitar solo from She has given us the breathing time to end up here. We are now ready for love again. And this type of love is so different from Side A. Side A is infectious affection. Adoring someone, crushing on someone, being young. Sunflower vol 6? Canyon Moon? These are softer songs, less of a pop beat, more of an acoustic vibe, and it is a story of a long term relationship. It is coming HOME, and having someone at your side through it all: toothpaste filled kisses, and summer tinged memories of years passed. and how does Side C end? In Treat People With Kindness. A song about not only bringing kindness and love into the world, but also about accepting and loving yourself. Treat People With Kindness is about growing up surrounded by love. And if all our friends pass away —- oh we’ll be alright. Everything is always automatic. It’s LOVE.
And then we are left on our own with Fine Line. SIDE D. it reassures us that we’ll be alright. It does. But it is also reminiscent of the sadness and uncertainty of Side B, and, for me at least, drawing a strong connection between Falling and She. The latter particularly because of the gender reading both songs inspire. And Falling because it’s about finding that innermost part of yourself.
So we have cross references between A and C, as well as between B and D, and they are still all intertwined between eachother. It’s just…. Harry Styles knows how to make an album. not just an accumulation of songs, but an album. And I for one am in love. So so so in love.
share a single bed and tell each other what we dream about, things we never say to someone else out loud...💙💚
I think there’s a lyric in one of the verses, and it talks about your dreams and your aspirations and you’re sharing a single bed together. I think a lot of people can relate to that. That started off, your dreams at 17-18 talking about them and then at some point in your life you reflect with that person and say yeah we did alright.