Concept
The concept behind the song has been touched on slightly above in terms of how its sound gives to its meaning, but the actual meaning of the song, like a lot of good songs, is intentionally mysterious and not always stated outright. That said, the overall message is pretty clear. The song begins with a quote from, according to an article by Peter Burditt, titled, “The Meaning Behind ‘As It Was’ by Harry Styles” on the website, American Songwriter, Styles’ goddaughter saying, “Come on, Harry! We wanna say goodnight to you!” which certainly adds to the lighthearted feeling of nostalgia for childhood. The article speculates multiple possible reasons for what the song could mean, but the overarching theme is undeniably about mourning for a previous time. This is evident in the simple but effective lyrics of the chorus, “You know it’s not the same/As it was.” Rather literal, it holds that essence of nostalgia and perhaps the feeling of letting go of a memory, and the bittersweet feeling of being glad, perhaps, that something happened, but for whatever reason, won’t be the same again.
It is always interesting to understand where artists' creative influences come from. Olayinka spoke about his inspirations as well, declaring he is most inspired by, “faith, nature, family,” and “love.” Thus, it is clear to see that personal values and perspectives on life and the world can influence sound as well. Shelby Young’s album is also full of metaphor and mysterious song titles, which could be considered surprising since, according to Young, her album had a pretty clear meaning. “The main influences I think, were, like, mental illness…a lot of it was, like…working through anxiety, depression, and childhood stuff.” It meant a lot to her to express her emotions about her mental health struggles and upbringing through music. She goes on to explain, “I didn’t go into it knowing what the album was going to turn into…but it feels a little, like, life-story-ish to me.” Overall, the concepts for music can both be declared in the works themselves, and also sometimes require more context to gain even further meaning from the sounds and lyrics they contain.
It is always interesting to understand where artists' creative influences come from. Olayinka spoke about his inspirations as well, declaring he is most inspired by, “faith, nature, family,” and “love.” Thus, it is clear to see that personal values and perspectives on life and the world can influence sound as well. Shelby Young’s album is also full of metaphor and mysterious song titles, which could be considered surprising since, according to Young, her album had a pretty clear meaning. “The main influences I think, were, like, mental illness…a lot of it was, like…working through anxiety, depression, and childhood stuff.” It meant a lot to her to express her emotions about her mental health struggles and upbringing through music. She goes on to explain, “I didn’t go into it knowing what the album was going to turn into…but it feels a little, like, life-story-ish to me.” Overall, the concepts for music can both be declared in the works themselves, and also sometimes require more context to gain even further meaning from the sounds and lyrics they contain.
