The Poser This Human Have! In So Fookin Excited For The Festival But Im Not Even Attending Wahaha And

Less than 24 hours and we have this analysis 🤯

Change by Louis Tomlinson 

Analysis 

My first thought when I heard Change is timeless. That’s an amazing, rare achievement. Between Change and Copy, LT2 is shaping up to be a really incredible album that I’ll listen to for the rest of my life because I love it. 

On Change, Louis does a very good job of changing up his delivery and the instrumental to keep it fresh. My only complaint about Walls (album) was that there were times where it felt a bit repetitive and stagnant to me. Change suggests that Louis has totally grown out of that. 

The song starts intimately, then grows into the kind of arena rock I love so much and Louis is so good at. He keeps you interested. Toward the end, we get the psychadelic-via-brit-pop influenced drone which is also a part of KMM’s magic. Between the lyric, delivery, and instrumental, it’s an astonishingly direct moment in the best way.

You might consider that the first part of the song is dripping in nostalgia. It might recall Louis’ romanticized days as a teenager going for cheap beer at an indie club. And it has the sound to match. Then, Louis knocks us into the present. He says ‘stop getting lost in nostalgia and regrets, you have a present to live and a future to look forward to’ and punctuates the message with a psychedelic vibe - almost as though we are being awakened with realization, gaining higher insight. 

There’s also a touch of jazz influence, or perhaps more specifically, Amy Winehouse. I think this influence is the key to the magic Louis has achieved with Copy, Change, and his Beautiful War cover.  Louis describes himself as a subdued and moody performer and the intensity of that attitude gels perfectly with the influence. It shows off his musicality. It’s sexy. It’s genius.

Now, on to the lyrcis! I’ll be using my own version of the lyrics. I will post relevant revisions and link them [here] if necessary when we have an official copy.

‘Oh, oh, ah-oh-oh

Turn on the lights

It’s easy to see

We were just getting by

We weren’t complete

Louis starts by setting up the story telling us that he’s shedding light on a problem, specifically an interpersonal problem. It isn’t yet clear to whom exactly ‘we’ refers.  It may be one other person or a group. It could allude to a romantic partner, fans, friends, etc. 

It parallels “Lights Up” which has the lyric ‘Lights up and they know who you are/do you know who you are’. In both songs the light exposes a troubled sense of identity. Harry feels unsure, Louis feels incomplete. Both songs are retrospective. I think it is fair to say that like Lights Up, Change is a reflection on growing up in the limelight. Harry felt public observation exposed a conflicted sense of self and here, Louis feels that exposure reveals an emptiness. 

It hasn’t been long

That I’ve been away

I don’t know why

Everything’s changed

Louis says it hasn’t been long that he has been away. Maybe a brief time away revealed changes he hadn’t noticed. Maybe he’s an unreliable narrator, and he has been away for a long time, but he feels like he hasn’t. 

‘Cause inside

We’re still the kids on the Friday nights 

These two lines cement this as a song about growing up. Louis has commented several times on feeling his age. This is probably in part due to pop music’s unhealthy obsession with youth, but he also has very legitimate reasons to feel his life has passed him by - first with the incredible, demanding pace of touring with One Direction that removed him from ordinary life and then with the series of personal tragedies as well as the professional setbacks that brought us to today. In Fearless Louis asks someone if they ‘remember being young and strong enough to get it wrong in front of all these people’ and in Change, Louis still does feel young. It’s the dissonance between how he feels and the passage of time that stings.

Silver streets and the neon signs

My suspicion is that “silver streets” doubles as a way of describing how pavement looks at night and as a way of communicating that this memory is romanticized - coated in silver. There is also a song called Silver Streets and a radio show called Silver Street that could, in theory, have nostalgic value for Louis. Silver Streets by BOY seems to have some thematic resonance with Change.

Neon signs may harken back to his Miss You music video in which pink triangle neon signs featured prominently. 

Everything’s changed outside

Sometimes I wonder why

A clever inversion of “I don’t know why / Everything’s changed / ‘Cause inside”

If you need you can call on me

I’ll be the friend you need

Everything’s changed outside

But I feel the same inside

This seems to be Louis telling the other part of his ‘we’ that they can still rely on him just the same as they could in the past. It’s important to him that he is still there for the people.

The kids are alright

That used to be me

Always losing our minds

Out on the street

The Kids Are Alright is a phrase which originated with the The Who song and it is also the title of the band’s rockumentary which might remind Louis of his 1D days. (Also, the film The Kids Are Alright was the first mainstream comedy to depict lesbians raising children together.)

The phrase means that the current generation, for all of their problems and the hand-wringing of their parents, is capable and determined and will be able to grow into responsible adults. “That used to be me” adds the dark implication that, now no longer a kid, he’s may be not alright.  

“Always losing our minds/ Out on the street” evokes the Wellington incident where the boys were literally drunk and running through the streets. Make note of the word “Out” which may be a double entendre meaning both Out as in outside and Out in the queer sense.

A trip down memory lane 

Houses all look the same

There’s different names on the gates

And all the people have changed

Oh it’s such a shame, 

nothing stays the same

This line could be very literal because it’s what you experience when you grow up and people move and the place you lived changes. It may also be a  metaphor for people changing. They look like themselves, but they get married and change their names, and who they are inside changes as they grow up. 

Fame is said to put people into a state of arrested development at the age they got famous. For Louis, he may be feeling 18 inside while he sees his friends maturing through the ordinary rites of passage that sudden fame denied him. And now he can’t revisit the things he left behind when he left home.

‘Cause inside

We’re still the kids on the Friday nights 

Silver streets and the neon signs

Everything’s changed outside

Sometimes I wonder why

If you need you can call on me

I’ll be the friend you need

Everything’s changed outside

But I feel the same inside

When you gonna realize

You don’t get another life

Always overanalyse this, what’s the point?

I know it’ll be alright,

you’ve still got the rest of your life

I am completely obsessed with the brutality of this lyric. I love it. It resonates with my own experience of growing into an adult. I actually had a conversation with a professor that was very important to me which could be poetically depicted this way - I was really distraught over how certain things in my life had played out. He made the point that life is as beautiful and exciting as it is because we only experience them once. (And lemme tell you that man knew a thing or two about an exciting life)

Louis separates “you” from “I” here. You is another person he’s talking to. Maybe “you” is another version of himself or (more likely) “you” is a specific person this is directed at. He’s waiting for this person to realize they are lost in lamenting the past. He asks what the point is of analyzing the past  and wondering what could’ve been when you have a life ahead of you to live.

If the “you” here is Harry, then the obvious parallel is Fine Line with the repeating line “We’ll be alright” but the parallels go deeper. The first two verses of Fine Line might detail the conflict at the heart of this back-and-forth but the last two are more thematically relevant. “There’s things that we’ll never know” implies that he has been thinking about what could’ve been in another life and is coming to terms with the fact that they were not meant to be. “My hand’s at risk, I fold” followed by “Crisp trepidation / I’ll try to shake this soon ”  might relate to the idea of overanalysing, prioritizing ‘what if’ over the future he wants to live. I also think the idea of not getting another life is relevant to Harry because to me it seems apparent that Harry has a very real fear of dying (and his loved ones dying) which comes through on Fine Line and he explicitly stated while on Ellen’s Burning questions at 1:48.

Although I believe firmly in Larry and tonight only reinforced that belief, Larry or not, it’s important to remember that Harry and Louis were close friends in the same band for 5 years and experienced a lot of the same things. Harry’s the younger of the two so it makes some sense that he’s in a position that Louis has already worked through and made peace with. Their respective songs about this concept of making peace with the past reflect their individual struggles to move forward and create a sense of self beyond the band. 

Now it’s time to realise you don’t get another life

Always overanalyse this, what’s the point?

I know it’ll be alright

“Now” points to time as the factor that moves this person from one of the kids who are alright to the adult who has to make peace with the things that happened in their past and the fact there are no do-overs.

We’re still the kids on the Friday nights

Silver streets and the neon signs

Everything’s changed outside

Sometimes I wonder why

“I know it’ll be alright” into “We’re still the kids on the Friday nights”  softens the message up quite a bit. The revelation of ‘you don’t get another life’ reveals the answer to ‘why’. It says we are the same people who did those things, even though they are now in the past. 

If you need you can call on me

I’ll be the friend you need

Everything’s changed outside

But I feel the same inside

And even though time has passed, you can still rely on Louis

When you gonna realise

You don’t get another life

Always overanalyse this, what’s the point?

I know it’ll be alright,

You’ve still got the rest of your life

Now infused with the spirit of taking on the future together, there’s something very hopeful about concluding the song on this lyric.

Moving the story along in the verses and bending the meaning of the chorus is probably my favorite approach to songwriting and holy shit does Change deliver. 

Louis, you beautiful genius, I can’t wait to hear this in all it’s HQ glory, in it’s studio form, and to hear all of its companion songs. And I really can’t wait to sing these lines back to you through my tears. 

man, what a song

OH MY GODD! I was watching a vid on youtube by (HS Love Live) of the “We’re all a little bit gay” moment. And i jusst realized that at the barricade you can see a photographer taking pics of H, and when H said that comment he snapped his neck in Harry’s direction and the to someone bts. THAT PHOTOGRAPHER WAS CAMERON AZOFF, JEFF’S BROTHER 😭😭😭😭 i can die now, lord take me ✌🏼

Anon. This is nothing short of exquisite. I cannot thank you enough. The fear in that tiny rich white man's eyes...it nourishes me.

Louder for old people at the back

I’m not even being funny lol. We are not conditioned to thrive in the world we’re currently being made to live in

Louis didn’t write NO CONTROL for nothing

Full video of Harry talking to a fan with a „should I give him a second chance“ sign in Portland - 08/11

I AM TIRED OF THE COINCIDENCES PLEASEEEEEE 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

look omg

👀👀👀👀

Im gonna go nuts i swear to god!! Louis!!!

I hadn't seen this video yet. But here's Louis in DC pointing to the larry is real sign. You can see the sign, him pointing and how everyone in the venue could clearly see that this is exactly, and I mean EXACTLY, what happened. - Feb 10 2022 (x)

Harry is so lucky

i think the way louis markets himself is SO interesting, because its so different from every other popular artist out there. in hollywood its basically a given that if you want to become a big star you will have to be sexualized out the wazoo (besides some exceptions) but for louis thats almost nonexistent. none of his songs are about sex, nothing is racy or revealing or raunchy, i think the farthest he goes is talking about kissing. in all of his photoshoots its very much almost proving a point to show no skin at all, with high collars, long pants, long sleeves, etc and lots of big powerful stances and searing eye contact. you dont even see the media sexualizing him either, there are no articles talking about how sexy he is or talking about how his latest music video was about certain sexual acts. i know thats probably due to a lot of factors but i just think its so wild to think about how anti-sexualized louis is in every aspect of his life. his songs, his fashion, even his fans dont interact with him the way we see het harries do. have you ever heard of a het louie that goes as far as harries do? no way man. i just think about this a lot.

He goes 😙😙😙😙😙

Kissy.

Louis Tomlinson World Tour: Manchester, Night 1. (19 April 2022)

x

on today's episode of do i want him or do i want to be him i present you

Hi! Your fic recs are amazing and I was wondering if you could think of any fics that have this like hazy quality to them, kinda like Etched in Salt? I hope that makes sense haha

Oooh. That fic is wonderful! Ok…I think I know what you mean. There’s something kind of gritty and dreamy about that one. Let me see if I can suggest anything that works for you:

Let’s start with the fic that prompted this request:

Etched in Salt (is a cathedral of the world) by @helloamhere (E, 24K) You all know I love this author’s writing –– this time they give us a dark, American, thriller with a bit of psychic goodness. Bonus points for Harry taking care of Louis in a very deep way. 

our little corner of the world by brownheadedstranger (E, 30K) This one is just slow and wistful and filled with beautifully written passages. This is one I read very early on when I entered the fandom and I still think about it from time to time. I’m actually annoyed at myself for not reading the rest of this author’s fics (I plan to remedy that). 

These Roads We Stumble Down by onewasturning (E, 18K) I adore this author’s writing and I’ve read this particular one multiple times. It’s just a little melancholy and very sexy and one of those fics that reminds me why I can read about the same two people falling in love 46372 times and never tire of it. 

another hazy may by deLILah (M, 41K) Another author who writes great fic after great fic. This one has that dreamy quality I love and there’s also something about it that, at times, reminds me of a little bit of a Raymond Chandler novel. I know that’s weird…but, yeah, it does. Anyway, I love this one. Such a good read. 

Whether Clouds or Clear Skies by onewasturning (E, 26K) I love everything I’ve read by this author – their fics are always full of beautifully crafted sentences and dreamy melancholy. This one is just slow and sweet and achingly pretty. 

Dream Awake by protagonist_m (M, 31K) This fic…I just….the writing is so lovely. It’s just one of those fics where I had to slow down and really savor the writing. And “hazy” is really the perfect descriptor as it drifts between memories and current moments. 

six feet beneath the moon by starseas (NR, 25K) Ugh I wish I could remember more of this besides that I loved it. My notes simply say “Beautiful. Dreamy” (thanks old me, super helpful). But I do think my dim memory is that it will fit in with these others and, at the very least, that it’s a very well written fic!

A Red-Dusted Planet by onewasturning (E, 38K) Hey look! Another fic by this author. Can you tell I love their writing? It’s all SO GOOD! This one is so dreamy and sexy and this is one of those fics where the the smut (especially in the final scenes) is so emotional and revealing and I just really love this fic. 

Three Days Underwater by theteapirate (E, 10K) This is really a beautiful fic but I’m warning you, it’s got an open ending so if you can’t deal with that, don’t read it. But if you can….wow, it’s lovely. 

Coup de Foudre by angelwarm (M, 15K) The characters (particularly Louis) are pretty OOC, but god this fic is gorgeous. After I read it I just sat there not knowing what to do with myself. It’s sad and hopeful and just gorgeously written.

Little Technicolor Things by scary_crow (M, 72K) This is truly one of the most beautiful pieces of writing I have ever read and it is an absolutely travesty that it’s not being talked about every day. This fic is gorgeous and poetic and romantic and heartbreaking and an explosion of metaphoric images and everything I never knew I needed but now that I have it I want to read it over and over and over. 

reeling through the midnight streets by vashtaneradas (NR, 8K) This author writes melancholy in the most perfect way. It’s poetic and dreamy and tinged with pain, but there’s also a thread of hopefulness. It’s just beautiful. 

Into the Deep Below by writeivywrite (E, 19K) This one is gorgeous and makes me feel like I’m underwater when I read it – I don’t know how to explain that clearly. It’s just very dreamy. The fic is about the early stages of figuring out you love more than one person…and it’s gorgeous. (Harry/Louis/Zayn)

rivers ‘til i reach you by embodied / @crossnecklace (E, 29K) I’m going to copy what @thenewlarryclassics said about this fic because they really summed up exactly my thoughts: The writing is poetic and a sparse in a way that makes it feel moody, heavy, significant somehow. The characters are fascinating and the author really captures that uncertainty that comes with falling for someone and not knowing how they feel too. The scenery and atmosphere feels like a third character, but what I really love is how the most is said through the dialogue–and it’s not a lot–it shows so much with so few words. 

kiwi by fondleeds (M, 24K) honestly I have trouble putting down anything this author writes…they just build a setting and detail characters in a way that I find really compelling. This one maybe feels slightly OOC, but it’s such a good read I didn’t care at all.

caught by the sun by metal-eye / @metal-eye (M, 19K) Sometimes you just stumble on a fic that moves you deeply and makes you feel a lot and sits with you after you’ve finished it. This was one of those fics for me. It’s beautifully written in a quiet, poetic way. It’s thoughtful, and intimate, and full of memories that are both melancholy and beautiful in all the right ways and at all the right times. And it’s a fic that’s not been read nearly enough.

Take Care Down By The Water by shyserious (M, 37K) Oh my goodness I loved this fic. Magical realism, mythical creatures, dreamy/moody atmosphere, beautiful writing. Sadly, it’s been deleted, but the link is to a download.

i was at an all night diner by @yoursongonmyheart  (6K, NR). This is more of a prose poem, and i really enjoyed the way the author built such an intimate portrait of the 5 boys in so few words. It’s beautiful and dreamy and I think about it still. 

a prayer for which no words exist by eliane (M, 34K) A dystopian fic with gorgeous, deep, layered writing that really made me slow down and think. At times the story felt like a metaphor for the “war” these boys have been through irl.

Close to Nowhere by @angelichl (E, 35K) I don’t know if I’d say this fic has exactly the same storytelling quality as the one you mention, but it’s similar in many ways and it’s such a good fic, I decided to include it. I really enjoyed the unique story and the way Harry and Louis relate to each other in this one (again, similar to Etched in Salt with Louis being a bit of a renegade and Harry wanting to care for him). It’s fun and quirky and sexy and keeps you on the edge until the end. Definitely worth checking out.