What does Sign of the Times mean?

Harry Styles: Sign of the Times Meaning

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Album cover for Sign of the Times album cover

Song Released: 2017


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Sign of the Times Lyrics

Just stop your crying
It's a sign of the times
Welcome to the final show
Hope you're wearing your best clothes

You can't bribe the door on your way to the sky
You look pretty good down here
But you ain't really good

We never learn,...

  1. 1TOP RATED

    #1 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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    May 13th 2018 !⃝

    Harry said in a interview that the song is about a mother giving birth and passing away directly afterwards. Obviously the birth was quite traumatic for both mother and child, however there are a few moments of bliss before she passes away. She sings to her child to thrive, that although it will be hard and lonely, it needs to move on, to be happy to grow, and one day they will meet again- in heaven. Personally I think this may be a reference to Harry and his band mates. He’s saying, yeah that was a hard decision to make, and yeah it hurts and it’s lonely but we need to do good now, live our lives and thrive. We will meet again one day—. Also could be a reference to his album in all. Like he possible had all these stories and emotions stored up and it was hard to write and sing and share but it feels damn good now that he has. Some artists say releasing an album is like giving birth to their emotions, it is his creation after all, and I’m sure it wasn’t the easiest to write such a personal and honest album.

  2. 2TOP RATED

    #2 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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    Aug 14th 2017 !⃝

    This song is about a person who knew they were dying, and for friends and love ones not to cry because their time was near and they all will meet again in heaven!

  3. 3TOP RATED

    #3 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
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    Jan 15th 2018 !⃝

    I think it's about a mom who passed away leaving her beloved son, and it's like a message from her telling him that things will get better even if she is not there, and that they'll meet in a better place

  4. anonymous
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    Apr 7th 2023 !⃝

    I believe this song is a song for the Directioners. He's telling them that they shouldn't cry about One Direction being on hiatus. They knew it would happen eventually just not as soon as it did.

  5. anonymous
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    Dec 27th 2022 !⃝

    This song looks to me from the point of view of a boyfriend dying in his girlfriend's arms in a school shooting.

  6. anonymous
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    Jun 24th 2022 !⃝

    This very deep song is about a mother speaking to her newborn as she lays dying. She is letting him know, this is life, a sign of the times. Stop your crying. Move on. We will see each other again in due time. I believe the birth and death is a metaphor for the cycle of life, creation and transformation.

  7. anonymous
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    Mar 10th 2022 !⃝

    i don't think this song is about a mother dying during childbirth as that is what the widely accepted interpretation of it is. when i first listened to it the thing that came to mind was the struggles of being apart of the lgbtq+ community. "you can't bribe the door on your way to the sky" the religious ideology of if you're queer, you will not be accepted into heaven. "why are we always stuck and running from the bullets", trying to escape the violence on the queer community not just violence from unaccepting family per say but the overall violence whether it be verbal or physical or on a large scale. "we never learn we been here before" history repeating itself and the attacks on the community. "We don't talk enough We should open up Before it's all too much" the struggle of being in the closet.

    i dont know, just spewing thoughts here. tpwk

  8. anonymous
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    Feb 13th 2022 !⃝

    Many people saying why mention bullets in a song speaking about childbirth.you need to understand that bullets here are metaphoric to the life in which you can't stop the things which are meant to be happen.noone can stop a released bullet,can they?

  9. anonymous
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    Feb 8th 2022 !⃝

    I don't want to call Harry an outright liar in terms of him saying the song is about a mother and child.

    It's just we have songs like Let it Be or that James Taylor song Fire and Rain where they unmistakably talk about grief and the lyrics are gorgeous.

    This song is gorgeous as well. I just feel like this song is existential. Why pick the chorus hook to be sign of the times? Why mention bullets? Images here make me think of society and riots and raging against an unjust system. I would have never thought it was about a mother and child facing death.

    Sign of the times and the whole we gotta get away from here also have existential/enlightenment connotations and it's possibly a call to action by the audience. That we have failed to protect the Earth and we need to restart anew or fresh.

  10. anonymous
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    Jan 14th 2022 !⃝

    I think that Harry is making a reference about him and Louis. Harry was heart-broken without Louis and "Stop your crying it will be alright" is saying it it OK. "We can meet again someday" he will meet or try to meet Louis again someday.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  11. anonymous
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    Jul 25th 2021 !⃝

    Harry is lying.
    The song is not about a Mom dying after childbirth.
    Most likely, Harry cannot say in public what the song is about considering that the entire Music Industry is Illuminati infested...
    It is obvious that the song is about what is going on with the planet as it pertains to Christianity and the second coming of Christ Jesus. The Illuminati / Freemasons / Satanist’s time here on Earth is coming to an end, but this group seems to have had a good run. They had it pretty good being in charge. Now they are being exposed and also freely exposing themselves. These people had it good but are not good.

  12. anonymous
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    Jul 15th 2021 !⃝

    Since White Hats have been defeating the Illuminati and Satanists on the planet behind the scenes recently, this song is about the entire Music Industry crying about losing. The Music Industry is full of Satanists, people who end up worshipping and writing a whole bunch about Rain Man. The time of the Illuminati / Satanic rule is coming to an end and that panics those involved, they are crying. They lived large on Earth aka down here, but will not be able to bribe their way into Heaven. These are the End Times, the signs of the End Times when it is written that evil will fall. Evil is so arrogant. Evil people are scattering trying to get away. Satan recruits followers, but will abandon them. Satan has no loyalty and those evil people that took the quick path to riches and fame are going to get stuck with the bullets. They will die like the rest of us, no protection.

  13. anonymous
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    Dec 9th 2020 !⃝

    I feel this song has a few meanings, - one of them could be about dying, how you need to move on with your life, carry on and not get stuck in grief, because one day, you’ll meet the person that passed again in heaven. The lyric ‘you can’t bribe the door on your way to the sky’ I think it means that you can’t stop death, people are afraid of it, but one day it’ll happen to all of us.

  14. anonymous
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    Nov 24th 2020 !⃝

    Sign Of The Times, I believe is a look back on the final show of One Direction as a band and a group. Harry most likely wrote this out of the sense, that One Direction was the biggest part of his life, leading up to his now solo career. “ Hope you’re weary your best clothes. ” means that when the guys performed together one last time, and they sang History, is a reference to their outfits that night. “ We got to get away. ” means that the boys needed to escape the strings being attached to them like puppets, or the micromanaging their lives, and poor treatment, while in the band.

  15. anonymous
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    Oct 26th 2020 !⃝

    I think this song is very sad. It’s about equality, it’s about the society we live in. But, also, it’s about a mother being told by a doctor she has only five minutes to live after having given birth to a baby. She was told the baby would be fine, though.

    So, she talks to the baby. She tells it to ‘Stop your crying, baby, it’ll be alright’ and ‘We can meet again somewhere, somewhere far away from here’ (in heaven or the afterlife, wherever we go after we die)
    She tells the baby that ‘They told me that the end is near’ (the doctors telling her she only has five minutes to live)

    I always think about life when I listen to this song. You didn’t need to know about that, sorry. XD

    Have a good day/night/evening!

  16. anonymous
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    Sep 30th 2020 !⃝

    A sad song that is also moving. The lyrics are very thoughtful and deep. I think this song will be used at funerals because it advises listeners to stop crying.

    We all suffer sadness and at one time or another feel like we need to stop our tears from falling.
    The lyrics also say that everything is going to be okay, so Harry is offering some comfort.


    The video is amazing as he is flying across the sky whilst singing.

  17. anonymous
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    Aug 11th 2020 !⃝

    This is a song from a mothers perspective. She is about to die giving a child his life. The whole song is a message given by the mother to the child about what life is about and how cruel it can be. She tells him that she will meet him again, in the heaven where they can be live a life without missery but to reach there he will have to go through this phase.

  18. fjodor2
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    Apr 20th 2020 !⃝

    While Harry Style's inspiration was apparently of a dying mother addressing her newly-born child (as other commenters have noted), I think it is possible to abstract from that specific situation. I feel the lyrics relate quite directly to my own perspective on life: to let go of old patterns, and break through to an entirely new state of being. To me, a spiritually inspiring song. Possibly the call-to-action can be felt even more strongly during pandemic times than when the song was released ...

    https://spirit-rockmusic.eu/2020/04/harry-styles-sign-of-the-times/

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