"Harry StyIes & the Mystery of 'Happy as Larrie' by Swim Deep"
~an informative & interpretive thread by me~

(thanks to @/whatagreatproblemtohave on tumblr for some of the images)

"Happy as Larrie" is a song by the British indie band Swim Deep from their debut album Emerald Classics. The lyrics have many thematic and literal connections to Harry, specifically the Adore You music video.

Let's start with a timeline of events:
SD's album Emerald Classics was released on Oct. 4, 2019. Two months later, on Dec. 9, we heard Adore You and saw the video for the first time. It wasn't until Jan. 29 that we discovered the song when H wore the merch https://twitter.com/Bigblues1DLWT/status/1222566747284426752?s=20

But here's the juiciest part:
It wasn't until after Emerald Classics, Adore You, and Fine Line came out and after we discovered Happy as Larrie, on Feb. 24, that H announced that Swim Deep would be opening for him on tour at the O2 Arena in London. https://twitter.com/SWIM_DEEP/status/1231948711217041408?s=20

Okay, let's get to the point: the lyric connection.

"Here you are, you've arrived
There's nothing here that you should fear now you're alive"

The fish arrives in Eroda, so scared and alone that it is close to death. Despite the boy's own loneliness and depression, he saves the fish.

"'Cause you're ADORED and not alone
And everything is gonna be okay"

We have two lyric connections: "adore" and a rephrasing of Fine Line's anthem, "We'll be alright." The boy and the fish cure each other's loneliness so much that they finally have hope (faith?) for the future.

"You don't have to swim forever
'Cause everything is gonna be okay"

The fish is home. It doesn't have to swim the ocean anymore looking for it. He's found it in Eroda with the boy.

"It's gonna make you happy
It's gonna spin you around
Everything is gonna be okay"

Ok. Verse 2. Brace yourself.
"When you've grown, come back where
You started from and wrap your arms around it"

The fish is so loved it starts growing until it's too big to live in Eroda with the boy. He loves the fish enough to let it go only asking that the fish will come back

And we repeat the chorus

"You don't have to swim forever
'Cause everything is gonna be okay"

But this time the boy is saying goodbye. As the fish swims away, he promises that they will see each other again.

Swim Deep explained HaL was inspired by the birth of their friend's daughter, which gives me Sign of the Times flashbacks tbh
They also played dumb when asked about being a larrie

The only argument to "debunk" whatever this is would be the coincidence argument. Here's my counter:

Harry's lasting friendship with Swim Deep bassist CavanMcCarthy since at least 2013. Someone who has known H for so long would know about Larry, and H would not sign them as an opening act *after releasing HaL* if they wrote it about him for clout or without his permission.

Additionally, there is no logical explanation for titling the song "Happy as Larrie" when there is no mention of Larrie in the lyrics. In what other context have you seen "Larrie" spelled with "-ie?" Google says another context does not exist besides a very rarely used first name

Still, a lot of mystery and questions remain about Happy as Larrie which I think is part of why it's one of my favorite topics. Did H ask them to write it? Did H show them Adore You and they were inspired? The only clear thing to me is that the song is not entirely a coincidence.

Finis

People can believe what they twant, but there is obviously something *fishy* about it ;)

TPWK & stream Happy as Larrie https://open.spotify.com/track/4I3IGKnmkMGNv4XoTJiQJT?si=zlg7ix4ASzq9GRlR43V0tg

P.S. They're gay kings