Song Analysis Week 3: Only the Brave
Louis Tomlinson’s debut album, Walls, celebrated it’s one year anniversary this weekend. The former One Direction member was the last to release a solo album. He took almost five years to release it. Louis wanted it to be perfect and help him find himself. He didn’t know what would come next after the band mostly because he was the least prepared for it to end. So far Tomlinson has managed to have a #1 debut album and hundreds of sold out shows. I can’t to see what he accomplishes next.
The last track of Walls is “Only the Brave”. Tomlinson described this song as a tribute to those who have the courage to love, “Love is only for the brave.”
The track starts out with the lyrics, ”Pour mercy, mercy on me, set fire to history, I’m breakin’ my own rules, I’m cryin’ like a fool”. Meaning, Tomlinson wishes to forget a painful part of his past and receive forgiveness. He most likely never cries and is always presumed as a tough and cold man. However, the situation has caused him to breakdown. The next lyrics are, ”Tall stories on the page, short glories on the fade, I been close enough to touch, but I never cared for love” Meaning, Louis had probably been told lies about love so he never believed in the importance of it.
Moving on to the chorus. It begins with the lyrics, “It’s a church of burnt romances, And I’m too far gone to pray, It’s a solo song and it’s only for the brave”. This line has been interpreted as a reference to same sex relationships. “Burnt romances”, refers to a time when the LGBTQIA+ community were literally burned at the stake for loving who they want to. The line, “I’m too far gone to pray,” nods towards people thinking the bible is against same sex relationships. People can’t pray away the gay. The second half of the chorus is, “If the truth tell, darling, you fell, Like there ain’t enough dying stars in your sky, It’s a tall tale, and it’s only hello, hello, no goodbye”. Louis compares the feeling of falling in love to the abundance of dying stars. Dying stars could also represent relationships that crash and burn. The subject of the song fell deep in love despite the lack of permanence in their relationship. It was a tall tale and didn’t ever materialize.
The last verse starts with the lyrics, “Pour mercy, mercy on me, I’ll fall upon my knees, And they’ll say, “I told you so, Come on, when you know, you know”. This lyric is someone figuring out their sexuality and finding strength in the pain of it. The song ends with the lyrics, “All the lonely shadow dances from the cradle to the grave, It’s a solo song and it’s only for the brave”. This last line highlights how difficult it can be to love who you want to. It can take some people a life time to accept who they are, “cradle to the grave”. The ride to self acceptance can be long and lonely but will end up beautiful, and this song highlights that perfectly.