A thread about the Walls MV and the song lyrics!

Please let me know what you think and retweet!!!

Oh also, #StreamWalls x

This song is about shaking off the past, and making amends with a lover. A victory song and a love song in one. It combines the two major themes of the album: overcoming obstacles and reconciling with a loved one.

The MV: The beginning of the song is set in a barren desert, which reflects the themes of loneliness. The mirrors show him reflecting on his journey and the single wall is a call back to the title of his song and the album. His metaphors and imagery are quite on the nose.

The shot where he's on a chair on the wall is a reference to the Live Forever MV by Oasis, whom L is heavily influenced by. Live Forever is an iconic song with similar themes of breaking free and overcoming adversity with someone. "You and I are gonna live forever."

The various shots of him alternate and one of them is his walk towards this door. It almost drags on, building suspense of what the door is, and what lies behind. *AT 1:32*, he opens the door. If the Wall is a metaphor for hiding, him opening the Door is him showing us the truth.

Beyond the door is a room with high red curtains and black and white alternating floors, which is a reference to the Red room from Twin Peaks, also called THE WAITING ROOM. It's supposed to be "the Black Lodge, an evil place all souls pass through on the way to perfection."

This reference tells us that he's waiting in an evil place, a sort of purgatory that he has to sit through before his walls can come down and he can be who he truly is.

The dancing couples with their outfits and the air of a formal dance remind me of debutante balls, which are about making a debut in the world and showing off young adults in high society - it's not really a loving/fun dance. He's just waiting in a world of pretenses.

Of course, we have L laying on a literal target as the hetero couples dance around him, looking lost and alone, constantly waiting. Feeling targeted by this world of pretense and heterosexuality, feeling like he's living a lie. This is a coming out song in a lot of ways.

Contrasting the red room scene, is the one where he is surrounded by masked people, look happy, comfortable and euphoric. This parallels Lights Up except, L doesn't reveal the gender of those around him and H does. As the director's cut told us, masks keep you hidden.

That's the band ofc, standing in front of spotlights, Liam even has a mic in his left hand. Harry in a sharp suit and long hair. Niall's blonde. A space left for Louis. The scene "rotates" during the bridge as if he's speaking to different people during each line...

"Why is it that thank yous are so often bittersweet." to H

"I just hope I see you one day and you say to me-oh oh oh oh" to Z

And here we have Z fading away into the smoke as the bridge ends.

Towards the end, he stands in front of a literal wall of fire - a dramatic and fiery representation of these walls that are coming down.

The MV ends with his Oasis shot on that chair, up on that high wall, waiting, fighting for his freedom.

L's song writing is straightforward and honest. The first verse speaks of someone who left/broke up with him "Nothing wakes you up like waking up alone." "The day you walked away and took the higher ground." - clearly, about a break up which is then backed up by the second verse.

"Nothing makes you hurt like hurtin' who you love." "I looked you in the eyes, saw that I was lost" - these lines show that he blames himself for hurting someone he loves (present tense). "Saw that I was lost." This reflects his guilt, his realization that he needs to fix things.

Now for the chorus:
"But these high walls, they came up short
Now I stand taller than them all
These high walls never broke my soul, and I
I watched them all come falling down
I watched them all come falling down for you."

Walls is a personal victory anthem, much like We Made It and the storyline of the Director's cut. This song is about reflecting on his mistakes and prioritizing love. His battle with those trying to hold him back is over and they never managed to break him.

He ends the song with a soft and heart-wrenching "Nothing wakes you up like waking up alone." This goes back to him putting this love above everything else. He ends this victory song with the worst parts of his lowest moments - the loneliness and separation from this person.

A recurring theme in L's album is having pretended to be someone he is not for a long time. "Of playing someone I heard I'm supposed to be." "Been up all night running all my lines." "Tall stories on the page." When I think of "high walls", the idea I get is that the walls+

keep things private, hidden. "... watch [the walls] come falling down for you" tells us that the he is no longer hiding, no longer hiding specifically for this person. Especially combined with the theme of him hiding who is, the song reads like it's one about a hidden love.

Thanks for making it this far. Loads of love <3