No one can deny Harry Styles is living life in the fast lane. The life of any popstar has a measure of chaos. In his Harry’s House cut, “Keep Driving,” Styles sings about moving forward and trying to avoid all the roadblocks along the way. Check out the meaning behind this track, below.
Videos by American Songwriter
[RELATED: The 5 Most Poetic Lyrics From Harry Styles’ Debut Album]
Behind the Meaning
Black and white film camera
Yellow sunglasses
Ashtray, swimming pool
Hot wax, jump off the roof
The lyrics to this song feel like Styles’ stream of consciousness–little glimmers of memories. The seemingly random assortment of words isn’t gibberish, they help to set the scene. One can almost see the environment Styles is singing about.
Despite the sunny picture Styles paints in the opening verse, he nods to the fact that they are little more than distractions against negative forces in the chorus: A small concern with how the engine sounds
We held darkness in withheld clouds / I would ask, “Should we just keep driving?”
Passports in foot wells
Kiss her and don’t tells
Wine glass, puff pass
Tea with cyborgs
Riot America
In the bridge, Styles kicks the tempo up a notch. He packs in an onslaught of lyrics into a relatively short time. Each staccato line is deeply referential to pop culture, Styles’ own career, and romances.
At the beginning of the bridge, Styles describes going on vacation with a significant other and engaging in illicit activities. Later, he expands his scope quite a bit, referencing the protests against police brutality that flooded the American streets in 2020–which Styles himself was a part of.
Science and edibles
Life hacks going viral in the bathroom
Cocaine, side boob
Choke her with a sea view
We can only assume that whoever Styles wrote this song about would have no trouble deciphering the lyrics above. Songwriting can often be a pseudo-journaling experience. Styles leaves any worry of relatability behind in this song. Nevertheless, his introspective turn on “Keep Driving” has proven to be successful.
(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
