“Late Night Talking” by Harry Styles
Harry Styles is the type of artist who drops the kinds of songs that are about the same traditional topics that the pop music industry is known for. But he does so in such a way that even though what he’s saying tends to be discernible, at the same time there’s varying degrees of indirectness involved.
So in the case of this track (“Late Night Talking”) for instance, it doesn’t take rocket science to come to the conclusion that it is a love song. But the chorus is a bit complex. And that’s because therein, what’s theoretically being inferred is that the “late night talking” which has served as the highlight of the featured relationship transpired while said union was still in its platonic stage.
Or at least that’s one way of interpreting it when the vocalist asserts that it is only “now” that the addressee “is in his life”, i.e. the two of them having recently become romantically involved. Thus, it was prior to that when they’ve “been doing all this late talking… till the morning”.
Well, inferring that they conversed throughout the night would also suggest that they’ve already been involved beforehand. But it’s also possible that the “late night talking” took place over the phone. Again, this isn’t the easiest song to decipher, especially as far as trying to connect the first verse to all of this. But note that the highlight of this relationship from the vocalist’s perspective is in fact on conversation – not sex, beauty or whatever is usually the case. It was a genuine rapport that has led to the development of this romance, despite the fact that it currently seems to be going through a troubled phase.
Takeaway
In all, this isn’t a simple case of a narrator being so smitten by an addressee that he’ll “follow (her) to any place”, despite personally “never [having] been a fan of change”. Or instead, let’s postulate that the reason Harry is so captivated with this lover is because the two of them had a strong bond beforehand, or in the very least one that transcends the realm of physical affection. So now, having indeed taken things to an intimate level, he finds himself in a situation where he is indeed fully in love.
Release of “Late Night Talking”
Prior to the official release date of this song, it was already making waves globally. This was because on 16 April, 2022, Harry opted to debut the song during his first ever performance at the Coachella Music Festival, an annual event held in California.
Anyone familiar with Coachella would likely be able to attest to the fact that it is the premiere music festival in the United States. It is only the likes of musical A listers like Harry Styles who are able to headline its lineup.
“Late Night Talking” is one of the songs from Harry’s third studio album (“Harry’s House”). In addition to this song, Harry also debuted two other songs from this album during his Coachella performance. The songs are:
Harry Styles
Styles of course got his start as a member of the British boy band One Direction, an outfit that proved so popular that upon disbanding in 2016, all five of its members embarked on notable solo careers. But thus far, Harry has proven to be the most potent of the lot as a soloist. For instance, his sophomore LP, 2019’s “Fine Line”, was actually named one of the “500 Greatest Albums of All Time” by Rolling Stone. And that outing as well as the one which preceded it, 2017’s Harry Styles, both topped the Billboard 200 and nearly replicated the feat on the UK Albums Chart (though “Fine Line” fell a spot short of doing so across the pond).
