Icarus falls by Zayn; a deeper look.

Background: To escape imprisonment, Icarus’s father, Daedalus, built them wings. He warned Icarus to not fly too close to the Sun but overwhelmed with the ecstasy of flying, Icarus did not heed to his father’s warning. The sun melted the wax and he fell to his death.

Icarus and his father were captive for so long that when he was finally free and able to fly, he grew mesmerised by the sun and kept flying closer.

“the cage I was in fell away”-bright.

Similarly, Z was deeply entranced by his lover, which is depicted with the rise of Icarus.

The first part of the album covers themes of love, devotion and fate.

⋆ “we got such a spiritual connection”
⋆ “a million chances of our glances, catching eyes across the room...this world’s filled, somehow I still see you”

Fate.

⋆ “girl we'd still make it if the planets all faded away.”

⋆ “if time stands still move I will to you.”

⋆ 〝think I'm from space, my soul fell down. I found the Earth, not leaving now. I know your face, think you fell too. And it's my place now, if I got you.”

⋆ “when i hold you in my arms there ain't nothing common about us”

⋆ “space and time, i wanna fall into your eyes”

⋆ 〝nothing compares to when I feel you on my skin.”

⋆ “need you when I'm broken, when I'm fixed. Need you when I'm well, when I'm sick.”

Zayn sings about a serious committed relationship he is willing to fight for despite all odds(parallels icarus flying dangerously close to the sun even after being warned).

⋆ “I go where you go, go through Armageddon...this could be the end of me...I still follow”.

The second track before the turning point of album is I Don’t Mind.

⋆ “i don't mind falling, if it means I get to fly again.”

In the myth, Icarus begins to realise that he has flown to close to the sun too late.

Zayn too realises but for whatever reason continues to love and pursue this person.

⋆ “this could be the end of me...I still follow”.

Similar to Icarus, the feeling of basking in the sun/his pure adoration and love for his partner keeps him coming for more.

“i guess I flew too close to the sun”

Icarus Interlude functions as the turning point of the album – the songs shift away from uncomplicated affection, to something darker and sadder.

Visually,the themes grow darker and depicts the fall and coping with heartbreak and betrayal

An interesting comment, “there’s ferocity in the second half that isn’t there in the first half because when you fall, you just plummet. There’s no softness in falling, it’s just wild and free and full of questions”.

⋆ “don’t wanna put my love in you//don’t wanna make a headline and lose”

In You Wish You Knew, he is hesitant and struggles with giving his full self and it seems to stem from lack of trust for the other person.

⋆ “cause girl I got a problem//unless we trust”

Satisfaction acknowledges his own insatiability and mourns how life’s circumstances hinder his happiness.

In the beginning of the song he attempts to analyse their fractured relationship but ultimately concludes that his “heart won’t be at peace” unless they have each other.

In Scripted, he refers to his lover as ‘you’ and the other person as ‘her’(same thing in iT’s YoU’).

He uses the ticking of a dissonant clock, a rush of violins and paranoid lyrics as he sings about not trusting the person sleeping on the other side of the bed.

In Fresh air, he uses backwards looping which mimics how we go back and forth on why relationships go wrong.

⋆ “you and me got differences // why you on some different shit?”

⋆ “you could make the doves cry if you want”.

This line is interesting because doves are incapable of crying so this could mean this person hurt him so deeply, enough to make a dove cry.

⋆ “say you want to to die but you don’t”

This could mean the person is extremely regretful for their actions(“want to die”) but it’s just another act and this time he chooses to not fall victim to those lies.

⋆ “think I need some fresh air//don’t want to talk about it”.

⋆ “is there somebody else you missed//is there somebody else?”

In Rainberry, Z seems to question his significant other and accuses them of being unfaithful.

In his earlier track, ‘I Don’t Mind’, he expresses “I don't mind//you can tell me your lies” but for whatever reason, he is no longer tolerant.

⋆ “don't you worry, I already know//dry your eyes 'cause it won't work this time”.

Insomnia transcends the bitterness in the earlier tracks and shifts into heartbreak and torment.
⋆ “I can't find no peace”.

⋆ “am I a fool waiting for you? what if you never come back?”

⋆ “burning my eyes red. not slept for weeks. testing your torment, my future is bleak”

Back to satisfaction and intermission flower, he writes that until the flower of their love has blossomed, his heart won’t find peace.

In insomnia, it’s clear the relationship is broken and failed as he struggles to find peace and is tormented by memories of what once was.

For context, the satisfaction MV is a tale of two lovers who meet a tragic fate as one is taken by w*r and the other gives into the pain of heartbreak and loss.

In Insomnia, he struggles to cope with the loss of his lover, “these memories //so vivid to see//I can’t find peace”.

In NCNL, the chorus is a play on the word ‘candlelight,’ a symbol commonly used for romance and love.

Z compares their love to a fire that is no longer blazing, but has rather gone out like the flame of a candle, representing their lack of affection and warmth.

In Too much he carries on from previous tracks like Fingers as he expresses some of his regrets “I wanted to call, but I didn't call//now it's keeping me up”.

It’s also clear he didn’t expect things to turn out they way they did.

⋆ “I wanted it all, didn't expect it to fall”.

End of thread. This is just my personal interpretation of the album, you are more than welcome to disagree or share your own thoughts. Regardless of how you interpret it, one fact remains: Zayn Malik is a great lyricist and he most definitely does NOT only write about sex.

There is so much more to unpack and there are some individual songs and MVs that deserve their own thread entirely. If any of this babble made sense, lmk so I can make more? Thanks for reading through and stream Icarus Falls!! https://open.spotify.com/album/1DF9B2hfwX4EdgEFwGcRwh?si=9Cga7Vv8ST2J1wXqH9W6aw

But in between make sure you’re streaming better https://open.spotify.com/album/7MkNlHw0O8KKr3yJ3RtgVW?si=6Wn-UMntTOOiwkVXlgGjlg

Disclaimer: There are some songs I didn’t cover on this thread and that are more related to fame, his career, negative media perception(icarus interlude, good years, good guy etc. )but maybe another thread. Point is give Zayn’s music a chance. He’s a lyrical genius truly

this. Zayn Malik big brain truly https://twitter.com/likesourkiwi/status/1316802651875618817