A Breakdown of "Sign of the Times" by Harry Styles

Born on February 4, 1994, Harry Styles has managed to become one of the most influential celebrities of this generation. He has one sister, Gemma, and they were both raised by their mom in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, England. When he was in high school, he and three of his friends started a band called White Eskimo, which he led, and the band was an instant success. When he wasn’t working with the band, he worked at a bakery on the weekends. At the age of 16, he auditioned on the X Factor and the judges paired him with four of his competitors. The group the judges put together, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik, and Harry Styles all formed the band One Direction which would end up being one of the most popular music groups of our generation They got third place on the show, but that didn’t stop them from continuing to make music with each other. They went on together making new albums and going on tour for 5 years before Zayn Malik sadly left the band in 2015. Shortly after, the rest of the band also decided to go their separate ways, and that’s when Harry Styles released his debut album, self-titled Harry Styles This album contains 10 tracks, and its most popular song is the hit “Sign of the Times.”

A lot of people don’t know that this song is actually written from the perspective of a mother dying after childbirth due to complications. Styles opens the song with “Welcome to the final show,” and the phrase “final show” is referring to the mother’s last moments with her child. Lines 5 and 6 mean that getting into heaven is a matter of who you were on earth, so “wearing your best clothes” might mean being on your best behavior. The last two lines of this verse are saying that looks can be deceiving, so while someone could appear pretty, they might be completely different on the inside.

The pre-chorus means that they have gotten through hard times before, so it makes no sense to keep trying to run away from their problems.

In the second verse, the mom has left earth so she is telling her child to stop crying and enjoy life. She says that she is looking down on earth and it looks like everything is fine. Then she reassures her child by saying that they will see each other again one day.

The bridge is about a common lack of communication between people. We know that holding everything in will backfire because eventually, you won’t be able to handle it, yet we do anyway because it’s easier to stick with what makes you comfortable than it is to learn from your mistakes.

In an interview about this song, Harry Styles said

“‘Sign of the Times’ came from this isn’t the first time we’ve been in a hard time, and it’s not going to be the last time. The song is written from a point of view as if a mother was giving birth to a child and there’s a complication. The mother is told, ‘The child is fine, but you’re not going to make it.’ The mother has five minutes to tell the child, ‘Go forth and conquer.’”

But the music video seems to have a slightly different purpose. In the video, he makes a lot of eye contact with the camera, which makes it seem like he is talking to you. While this song can be interpreted in many different ways based on the situation you are in. The music video is his way of saying that. Overall, the message of the song is that you should make the most of what you’ve been given, and stop worrying about what is out of your control.

By Violet Kottke

Lyrics

Just stop your crying
It's a sign of the times
Welcome to the final show
Hope you're wearing your best clothes Verse 1
You can't bribe the door on your way to the sky
You look pretty good down here
But you ain't really good

If we never learn, we been here before
Why are we always stuck and running from
The bullets?
The bullets Pre-chorus
We never learn, we been here before
Why are we always stuck and running from
The bullets?
The bullets

Just stop your crying
It's a sign of the times
We gotta get away from here
We gotta get away from here Chorus
Just stop your crying
It'll be alright
They told me that the end is near
We gotta get away from here

Just stop your crying
Have the time of your life
Breaking through the atmosphere
And things are pretty good from here Verse 2
Remember everything will be alright
We can meet again somewhere
Somewhere far away from here

We never learn, we been here before
Why are we always stuck and running from
The bullets?
The bullets Pre-chorus
We never learn, we been here before
Why are we always stuck and running from
The bullets?
The bullets

Just stop your crying
It's a sign of the times
We gotta get away from here
We gotta get away from here Chorus
Stop your crying
Baby, it'll be alright
They told me that the end is near
We gotta get away from here

We don't talk enough
We should open up
Before it's all too much
Will we ever learn? Bridge
We've been here before
It's just what we know

Stop your crying, baby

It's a sign of the times

We gotta get away

We got to get away

We got to get away Outro

We got to get away

We got to, we got to, away

Reviews, MusicViolet KottkeApril 15, 2021Comment