The wait is finally over for Harry Styles fans, as his self-titled debut solo album finally arrived Friday (May 12). The 23-year-old gave fans a taste of what he had coming by releasing “Sign of the Times” and “Sweet Creature” as well as performing “Ever Since New York” and “Carolina” on his two TV performances, all of which indicated that Styles was definitely taking his solo music in a different direction than that of One Direction‘s sugary, poppy goodness. What fans may not have noticed, though, is that Styles has taken his lyrics one step further in his solo endeavor.
Once you listen to the lyrics of the songs Styles had previewed, it’s pretty hard to deny that he is one hell of a songwriter. But now that all 10 tracks are available to the world, there’s six more songs that further showcase how he’s evolved.
There’s lines that are suggestive (morphine! sex!), heartbreaking (“I’m empty, I know”) and downright deep (“You can’t bribe the door on your way to the sky”) across the entire album, displaying Styles’ versatility and his boldness as a solo artist. Above all, what these lyrics prove is that Styles has already moved from boy-band member to mature singer-songwriter — or perhaps rock star — in his post-1D career.
Take a look at verses from all 10 Harry Styles tracks that best indicate that maturity below:
“Meet Me in the Hallway”
“Give me some morphine/ Is there any more to do?”
“Sign of the Times”
“You can’t bribe the door on your way to the sky”
“We don’t talk enough, we should open up/ Before it’s all too much/ Will we ever learn?/ We’ve been here before”
“Carolina”
“There’s not a drink that I think could sink her”
“Two Ghosts”
“We’re just two ghosts swimming in a glass half-empty/ Trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat”
“Tongue-tied like we’ve never known/ Telling those stories we already told/ ‘Cause we don’t say what we really mean”
“Sweet Creature”
“We don’t know where we’re going but we know where we belong”
“I always think about you and how we don’t speak enough”
“Only Angel”
“Open up your eyes, shut your mouth and see/ That I’m still the only one who’s been in love with me”
“Couldn’t take you home to mother in a skirt that short/ But I think that’s what I like about it”
“That she’s gonna be an angel, just you wait and see/ When it turns out she’s a devil in between the sheets”
“Kiwi”
“She worked her way through a cheap pack of cigarettes/ Hard liquor mixed with a bit of intellect”
“It’s getting crazy, I think I’m losing it, I think I’m losing it/ I think she said, ‘I’m having your baby, it’s none of your business’”
“She sits beside me like a silhouette/ Hard candy dripping on me till my feet are wet”
Ever Since New York
“Choose your words ’cause there’s no antidote/ For this curse or what’s it waiting for”
“I’ve been praying, I never did before/ Understand I’m talking to the walls”
Woman
“Apologies are never gonna fix this/ I’m empty, I know/ Promises are broken like the stitches”
“While he’s touching your skin/ This thing upon me howls like a beast/ You flower, you feast”
From the Dining Table
“Woke up alone in this hotel room/ Played with myself, where were you?/ Fell back to sleep, I got drunk by noon/ I’ve never felt less cool”
“I see your grin, it’s all over his face/ Comfortable silence is so overrated/ Why won’t you ever be the first one to break?”
“Woke up the girl who looked just like you/ I almost said your name”