Harry Styles‘ songs tend to have a huge meaning, more than in the music industry, in the hearts of many people. To some of us, they have accompanied us in every step and moment we face, being our life companions and the band-aid of our hearts.
It was in May 2017 when Harry Styles was surprised with the release of his first eponymous album as a solo artist. This one exceeded the expectations of all listeners and managed to win millions of hearts, apart from those who followed him since his career in One Direction.
The opener was “Sing of the Times” and not only opened the door to this stage of the singer, but it also marked a before and after in his life… and ours probably too.
The Story Behind “Sing of the Times” by Harry Styles
“Sing of the Times” was the advance of this eponymous album, and we couldn’t help but identify with the lyrics because, through his verses, he sends us a message of hope that is good to hear every time we need it. It doesn’t solve anything, but it does give us a hug to the heart.
“Sing of the Times” has a melody full of nostalgia and melancholy, complemented by heartbreaking lyrics that heal any lost hope. “Most of the things that hurt me about what’s going on right now are not political, they’re fundamental things… equal rights for everyone, all races, sexes, everything. Sing of the Times’ comes from: ‘this is not the first time we’ve been through a difficult time, and it won’t be the last,'” said the English musician in an interview with Rolling Stone.
It was the same musician the one that revealed that “Sing of the Times” was composed through the vision of a mother going through serious complications during childbirth. She knows she will never see her baby again. “The song is written from the point of view as if a mother giving birth to a child, and there is a complication. The mother is told, ‘The child is fine, but you’re not going to make it.’ The mother has five minutes to say to the child, ‘Go and make it,'” Harry explained.
It’s about the transcendence between life and death… and the weight of memories, the bad times, and the hope that after the storm, the calm comes.
“Sing of the Times” has embraced many of us, and not only that, it has helped us find hope where we thought there was none.
Story written in Spanish by Kate Nateras in Cultura Colectiva