♪ (hard rock music) ♪
- (FBE) Today, we're going to have you read the lyrics to a song,
and then by popular demand of the subscribers,
you will also get to listen to it after.
- Okay, I like this because last time I got to listen to the song
and it gave me a lot more insight about what the song was actually about.
- I'm excited because usually we don't get to hear the song afterward
so now it's like I get to know the lyrics
and then kind of match it up and see how it gets put together.
- When you actually get to break down the lyrics,
it's like, "Oh, okay, I learned something."
- "Just stop"-- (gasping) Oh my god!
Oh my god!
I am so excited!
(sighing in happiness) Yay!
It's Harry Styles, "Sign of the Times."
- "Just"-- oh, I know what this is.
"Just stop your crying.
It's a sign of the times.
Welcome to the final show.
Hope you're wearing your best clothes."
"Sign of the Times" by Harry Styles.
I'm guessing he's breaking up with someone or ending something.
- They're kind of sad that they're in this portion of their life
and it's the final show, so you hope you're ready.
- "Just stop your crying. It's the sign of the times."
I think it's Harry Styles.
I'm not 100% sure.
- It's like final times with somebody,
whether it's a significant other, or just friends or just a person.
I think it's that new Harry Styles song, but I'm not positive.
- I think something tragic's happened, and then your final show is death.
- "You can't bribe the door on your way to the sky.
You look pretty good down here, but you ain't really good."
Ooh.
- Almost sounds like he's alluding to talking about Heaven in a sense.
- "On the way to the sky" is like Heaven,
so I mean, you can't really bribe your way into Heaven.
- When you're at that point, and you're not allowed in,
it means you can't just sneak away,
and that point, you have to work for it.
- "You look pretty good down here" because they look good on earth,
but they aren't good, so maybe they aren't a good person.
- Maybe they have some serious issues and they may be keeping it together
on the outside, but on the inside, they're dying, almost.
- "We never learn. We've been here before.
Why are we always stuck and running from the bullets?
(falsetto voice) The bullets!"
- We clearly should end this and we always kind of go back
into the same pattern.
- We still don't learn from our mistakes
and we're always running away from our mistakes.
- The bullets would be the bad things that are happening to them,
like they're trying to dodge all the bad stuff.
- I'm just gonna assume that they're not actual bullets
and he's talking about some figurative--
like their relationship is taking a hit.
- "Just stop your crying. It's a sign of the times.
We gotta get away from here. We gotta get away from here."
- Don't be sad about it. This is just what happens.
This is what the time is right now.
This is what we're going through.
- He's like, all right, we gotta get away,
get away from-- you know, work on ourselves.
- It might be we gotta get away from here because time is always moving.
It's a sign of the times. We can't really escape that.
- "Just stop your crying. It'll be all right.
They told me that the end is near."
- I'm assuming he's talking about the relationship.
Like, okay, we know we're coming towards the end of it right now.
- I don't know if it's the end of a relationship,
or the end of a person's life.
It could be either.
- They said that the end is near, so you just need to persevere,
forget about everything else, just focus on yourself
and where you need to get.
- We're all going to die. Like, I'm going to die.
It'll be fine.
Don't cry. Don't be emotional about it.
- The end of this person's life is coming up and he's aware of it
and he's telling this person that everything's gonna be okay
because you're gonna be happy in another life.
- "Just stop your crying. Have the time of your life.
Breaking through the atmosphere, and things are pretty good from here."
- You can be sad that it's moving on and time is going forward,
but don't cry about it.
Just enjoy the moment that you're in and be present.
- You gotta go out and have fun.
Everyone is only here for a little bit of time,
so you gotta-- gotta have fun.
Enjoy yourself.
- "Breaking through the atmosphere" is another sign for Heaven.
- "Breaking through the atmosphere" really is the last task
that you need to do to get to the good part,
where it is says, "things are pretty good from here."
- "Remember everything will be all right.
We can meet again somewhere, somewhere far away from here."
- We'll be able to see each other again somewhere.
I'm assuming in the afterlife.
- Everything's gonna be okay in the end and, no matter what,
they can always meet again.
- Just because this moment in their life is coming to a close
does not mean that they can't meet again
somewhere else in a different time, in a different place...
"In another life, brotha!"
As Lost would say.
- It's something that everybody wants very badly.
You know, if you have a loved one who's passed away,
you always wish that you had that one extra moment,
like if only you could see them one more time.
- You might have loved each other on earth,
but if someone passes away, you're gonna see them in the afterlife.
- "We don't talk enough.
We should open up before it's all too much.
Will we ever learn?
We've been here before. It's just what we know."
- It sounded like they had a pretty close relationship before,
but they don't really open up maybe about themselves
and how they're truly feeling.
- Whatever it is, it's toxic and we've been here before,
but we still kind of keep going.
- They're not making their own path.
They're kind of just living it in the circle.
- "Stop your crying, baby. It's the sign of the times.
We gotta get away. We gotta get away.
We got to, we got to run."
- Don't cry because a moment is happening,
and don't cry because a moment ended.
Be happy and be present.
- I don't really know if a sign of the times
is like the end of a relationship or the end of someone's life.
It actually does kind of sound like someone's dying
and they're telling this person
to kind of just move forward with their life.
- I know Prince, after he broke away from his group,
his first single was "The Sign of the Times,"
so I feel like this is kind of like a nod to Prince in a way.
- There's just a lot of crying from this other person.
He's just trying to comfort them in this situation like...
(exasperated sigh)
Kleenex should be getting something from this.
- (FBE) So, overall, what do you think this song was about?
- Now I think it's about death. Kind of dark and depressing.
- A couple that were constantly not opening up to each other
and then running away from their problems
and then doing it all over again.
- One person just was there and appreciated what they have,
and wanted to bring the other person along with them.
- Hey, it's okay.
This is what happens over time.
People do die and stuff,
but don't let it consume you so much that you can't enjoy life itself.
- (FBE) Do you know this song's title and artist?
- I don't.
- "Sign of the Times" by Harry Styles.
- The artist is Harry Styles. Uh, "Sign of the Times."
- (FBE) This is "Sign of the Times" by Harry Styles.
- (giggling slightly)
Oh my god. I haven't listened to that song.
I'll probably cry.
- Is he still in One Direction? I'm not really sure.
But I guess that shows how much I know about him.
- I'm very, very familiar with Harry Styles,
having been a still going One Direction fan since I was nine.
- (FBE) So this is actually Harry's debut single
after One Direction.
He wrote this song from the perspective of a mother in childbirth,
who is told she has five minutes to live,
but her child will survive.
She's telling her baby to go forth and conquer.
- Damn!
That's a lot different than "You Don't Know You're Beautiful."
- I have no clue where he got that inspiration from,
but it's really very nice.
- It's cool and it's meaningful, obviously,
but it's so random.
- For my last breaths, before I pass away,
I'm telling you, like, "Hey, live on.
Don't cry about it. It's okay.
You're gonna get through all of this."
It's like, oh my gosh!
I'm gonna cry just thinking about that.
- (FBE) So now let's play you a piece of the song
and get your thoughts on listening to it.
- I've literally never heard it.
- I don't want to cry. (chuckling)
- ♪ Just stop your crying ♪
♪ It's a sign of the times ♪
- Like, it's not poppy at all.
- ♪ We gotta get away from here ♪
- It's a lot more like rock ballad sounding
than I thought it would've been.
- ♪ Just stop your crying ♪
♪ You'll be all right ♪
- (sighing emotionally) His voice is just...
Like... (heavy sigh).
- ♪ We gotta get away... ♪
- Dude, he sounds so different from the last time
I listened to One Direction.
- (in falsetto) ♪ We never learn, we've been here before ♪
- You can't do that to me with that falsetto.
You can't do that and expect me to not get super sad about that moment.
♪ (slow rock ballad) ♪
- (singing along) ♪ The bullets ♪
- It's pretty crazy how someone can just reinvent themselves like that.
That's so cool.
- (FBE) Does reading the lyrics and hearing the song
change anything for you?
- Yeah, I mean, it makes me appreciate it more.
- Now knowing the exact meaning of the lyrics,
it definitely brings new life to the song.
- Hearing what it's actually about, like the mother/child relationship,
it's more interesting.
- It's a good song, but I can't listen to that.
I'd cry myself to sleep listening to that.
- I definitely like the song because he sounds like an angel,
but... without that background, I would have known nothing about this.
- Play it again. Let's go!
Spin that track, DJ!
- Thanks for watching us break down "Sign of the Times"
on the React channel.
- New shows every week.
Make sure to subscribe.
- Bye, guys!
- Hey, guys, I'm Katie, a React channel producer.
Thank you so much for watching this episode.
If you want to see one of your favorite songs broken down,
let us know in the comments.
Thanks, guys!