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Track-by-Track Review: Fine Line- Harry Styles

Writer's picture: liv & briliv & bri

Track 4- Lights Up

 

Bri’s take-

Who are you and who do you want to be? How do you want the world to see you? The fear of being your whole authentic self with no filter tainting your self’s reality is one that lives inside us all. It leads us to debate the question of “do you know who you are?” and further wonder what our purpose is. We all go through life with anxieties living and brewing deep inside us of being judged, this song challenges us to let ourselves go and free ourselves of the judgemental eyes that we place on the world. Lights Up is a song that is driven by the pure need to be open and vulnerable and have everything on display, as is shown in the music video.

When listening to this track, the lyrics flow in a way that almost sounds as if it is a conversation with oneself. They sound almost as if Harry is having an internal debate about how much he should be open. As if it's two sides of him challenging one another for control over his outward appearance to everyone. There's the side that desires to break through the mold and be seen, “shine, step into the light,” and the side that's scared of being seen in full light with everything on display, “so bright sometimes.” There’s a constant back and forth in the song between the confidence to be seen in the light and to stay the same. The lyrics of the song show how difficult it can be to let go of past versions of yourself and to know who you are. Harry ends the song with, “all the lights couldn’t put out the dark” and by asking, “do you know who you are,” which goes to show how your past never truly leaves you, but as long as you know who you are then no one else’s opinion of you matters.

There will always be some inkling of doubt which continues to fester, but it cannot be allowed to break you and keep you from trying to find out who you are. Lights up provides you with the space to figure it out and challenges you to strip yourself free from anything that may be holding you back, in favor of trying to find out who you are.

Lights up shows the duality of self-doubt and confidence that one faces when they are trying to be more authentic and wholly them. It shows the real fear that exists when trying to let go and embrace the light but encourages any listener to go for it because it's worth it to be vulnerable and as you as possible in the end. So, do you know who you are?


Liv's take-

“Do you know who you are?” Harry started the Fine Line era with a simple question. But one that causes immense amounts of fear. Stepping into the light and showing those around you who you are is a scary concept. Most of us spend so long trying to be who we’ve been told to be, that we have no real concept of who we are. The quest to find who you are never is truly over, but the minute you stop trying to please the world is when you know you’re on the right track. And once you discover how freeing being your authentic self is, you’ll never want to come back down. And that is what this track is all about. The internal struggle between wanting to be open, yet fearing it.

Lights Up challenges you to look inside yourself and asks you what you see. Do you know who it is looking back at you? Or are there multiple pairs of eyes you find yourself looking into? Are the different lives you live within your own mind keeping you from stepping into the light? The constant back and forth between all the versions of ourselves is something we all struggle with. But what Lights Up is trying to tell us is that you can’t let the fearful portion of your heart make your decisions for you. You cannot allow it to cover the light that shines brightly within you, dying to come through and brighten not only your life but the lives of those around you. Once you know who you are, and those around you do too, life becomes much sweeter than if things were to stay the same. That openness and vulnerability that Harry is trying to emphasize in this song is so important as we grow and mature. You can become a million different versions of yourself to make the world happy, but what good is that if you don’t know who you are?

Lights Up is a journey of timidity when showing the world who you are and fear of the light. But in the end, it emphasizes the importance of finding that authenticity, letting the lights go up, and letting yourself and others know who you are. So that leads me to ask a most important question in a world that thinks they can tell you who to be, do you know who you are?

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