With over 74 million monthly listeners, Harry Styles is the fifth most-streamed Spotify artist worldwide, with more than 15 million equivalent album sales. Statistics like this beg one simple question – how has Harry Styles made such an impact on the music industry?
Taking a page out of my colleague Megan’s book (she recently analyzed the storytelling lessons found in Taylor Swift’s songs), I decided to dive deep into Harry Styles’ discography to understand what makes his music so influential and his writing so compelling.
Across all three of his solo albums – his self-titled debut, Fine Line and Harry’s House – I noticed four lessons writers can take away from Harry Styles’ lyrics: how to captivate your audience from the opening line, create clear messaging, connect with readers using relatable anecdotes, and craft strong metaphors.
Lesson 1: First impressions can make or break your writing
The opening line to any body of work – a song, email, press release, article, etc. – can truly make or break its message. As readers, we’re inundated with all kinds of writing. As writers, if we want to grab the audience’s attention and get our point across, a compelling opening is critical. The first sentence should encompass what the entire body of work will be about while resonating with readers and captivating them to read on.
Harry Styles uses opening lines to give a quick overview of the song’s meaning and purpose, usually in just a few words. Case in point: his love-filled anthem “Treat People With Kindness” begins with the lyrics, “Maybe we can find a place to feel good, and we can treat people with kindness.” With this line, Harry establishes the song’s theme in just a few words.
“Two Ghosts” gives us a not-so-obvious yet effective opening while leveraging rhythm and cadence to make it more compelling. The song begins, “Same lips red, same eyes blue, same white shirt, couple more tattoos.” It was written in direct response to Taylor Swift’s 1989 hit “Style,” which has the mirroring lyrics, “And I got that red lip classic thing that you like… You’ve got that long hair, slicked back, white t-shirt.”
Of course, those unfamiliar with Swift and Styles’ past relationship will likely miss the song’s opening message. However, for those that are familiar, Styles’ strategic songwriting instantly resonates with them and establishes that the song is about his previous relationship with Swift.
A few other examples of strong opening lyrics in Harry Styles’ music include:
- “Just stop your crying, it’s the sign of the times. Welcome to the final show, hope you’re wearing your best clothes.” – “Sign Of The Times”
- “Walk in your rainbow paradise, strawberry lipstick state of mind. I get so lost inside your eyes.” – “Adore You”
Both of these opening lines utilize descriptive words and imagery to exhibit the songs’ main messages. With “Sign Of The Times,” “just stop your crying” establishes that times are hard, but “welcome to the final show” warns the audience that these feelings won’t last forever, all of which encompass the central message of the track. Meanwhile, “walk in your rainbow paradise” paints a positive and happy picture in “Adore You,” setting listeners up for the rosy, upbeat love song in just a few words.
Lesson 2: Create clear and consistent messaging
Consistent messaging can make a brand more recognizable to its target audience. Repeating the main themes and messages often builds understanding amongst that audience, allowing them to quickly identify the work’s messaging and goals. As a result, this creates a more reliable and trusting relationship.
If messaging is misaligned in emails, press releases, articles or other bodies of work, it can be challenging for the audience to understand the main point of what they’re reading. If they spend too much time trying to identify the message, they may simply ignore the body of work altogether.
Harry’s House is an excellent example of communicating a single, consistent message. The album focuses on one fluid theme – finding yourself while simultaneously falling in love. That theme is present in every song on the album. This level of consistency creates a trusting relationship with his audience, allowing the listeners to interpret each song’s meaning with the theme in mind.
A few examples of consistent messaging in Harry’s House that encompass the main theme of finding yourself while falling in love include:
- “Now you’re in my life, I can’t get you off my mind.” – “Late Night Talking”
- “Baby, you were the love of my life. Maybe you don’t know what’s lost till you find it.” – “Love of My Life”
- “Hash brown, egg yolk. I will always love you.” – “Keep Driving”
Lesson 3: Connect with your audience using relatable anecdotes
No matter the form, all compelling writing does one thing — it relates its message to the audience. Persuasive and relatable anecdotes grab the audience’s attention, as these small stories create personal connections and marry the reader to the messaging. As a result, the audience is more likely to remember what they’ve read, heard or seen because of this interconnection.
Of course, there’s no shortage of anecdotes in Harry Styles’ writing. He often uses anecdotes to bridge his personal experiences with relatable messages that resonate with listeners. This not only deepens the dimension of persuasive writing but also allows listeners to connect each song to their own lives and experiences.
A few examples of descriptive anecdotes found in Harry Styles’ songwriting include:
- “I hope you can see the shape that I’m in while he’s touching your skin. He’s right where I should, where I should be.” – “Woman”
- “You can throw a party full of everyone you know. You can start a family who will always show you love. You don’t have to be sorry for doing it on your own.” – “Matilda”
- “Yesterday, it finally came, a sunny afternoon. I was on my way to buy some flowers for you… There’s never been someone who’s so perfect for me.” – “Grapejuice”
These lyrics include personal stories that convey universal emotions of love, sadness, and acceptance that listeners can relate to their own lives and relationships. The descriptive words allow the audience to visualize the scenarios in their minds while associating their own emotions with the storylines, all of which establish strong and relatable connections.
Lesson 4: Craft evocative metaphors to strengthen a message
Metaphors can elevate a body of work and capture the audience’s attention. A good metaphor has the power of Harry Styles on the red carpet — you can’t look away. Metaphorical language activates viewers’ imaginations, allowing them to illustrate their own stories and interpret phrases for themselves. They can consider many different meanings without being spoonfed information that involves no thought or creative interpretation. This allows writing to evoke emotion, which leads to a personal attachment with the audience.
Among the writing strategies Harry Styles incorporates into his music, metaphors are perhaps the most common. Typically, he uses them when making NSFW references about his relationships and past experiences. However, they also can convey deep emotions that may be too painful to express literally.
A few examples of metaphors found in Harry Styles’ songwriting include:
- “If I was a bluebird, I would fly to you.” – “Daylight”
- “I can’t unpack the baggage you left.” – “Falling”
- “We’re just two ghosts swimming in a glass half empty, trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat.” – “Two Ghosts”
Harry Styles may be one of the biggest pop stars in history, but he is also one of the greatest songwriters music has seen in decades. Filled with captivating opening lyrics, clear messaging, relatable anecdotes and powerful metaphors, his songwriting offers numerous lessons about how to create captivating, persuasive and compelling writing.