Harry Styles’ “Sign of the Times” Lyrics Meaning

by Amanda London· Published June 27, 2020· Updated June 28, 2020

As the title of this song (“Sign of the Times”) suggests, it is indeed based on the general state of the world during the time it was written, as perceived by Harry Styles. More specifically, even though the lyrics are a bit ambiguous, he is speaking of certain universal realities which trouble him, such as lack of regard for equal rights.

');var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; })();

Narrative

But more the point of the narrative, the singer is actually taking on the role of a mother who has just given birth. As such, the addressee would be her child. Moreover, even though she has successfully brought this baby into the world, the mother herself is not going to survive. Therefore we can conclude that these are her parting – and only – words to the child. And accordingly what she is doing is advising and educating him, if you will.

So the baby comes out crying. And in this particular case, such is meant to be symbolic of the fact that he or she is able to detect that it was born into a troubled world. And that’s basically what the mother, i.e. the singer, is affirming to the child. Or stated differently, the troubling events happening in the world are the “sign of the times”. And as we all know, the general connation of the titular phrase is that it alludes to notions such as the prophesied End of the World.

“Just stop your crying, it’s a sign of the times”

Indeed this song has even been labeled apocalyptic by some critics. But Harry Styles doesn’t go there per se. However either way, you can tell that the singer is not flattered with the overall state of the world and considers it to be a sinister place.

Music Video

The music video to this tune had Yoann Lemoine as its director. And it was filmed at a location in Scotland called the Isle of Skye. The flying effect Harry Styles achieved in the clip was actually accomplished via him being harnessed to a helicopter and flown around a good 1,500 feet in the air. And apparently it was worth effort, as upon appearing online, the video achieved 500,000 views within the time span of 30 minutes. Moreover, it actually won a BRIT Award in 2018 in the category of Best British Video.

Is this song really about a dying mother and her newborn baby?

Yes. And the reason we know that is because Harry Styles himself said that. In an interview he granted to Rolling Stone, he said the following:

Release Date of “Sign of the Times”

This is actually the first song Harry Styles released as a soloist. It came out on 7 April 2017 via Columbia Records, Erskine Records and Sony Music Entertainment. And it is featured on his debut solo album which is entitled “Harry Styles”.

Did Harry Styles write “Sign of the Times”?

Yes. Styles contributed to the penning of “Sign of the Times”. It was subsequently produced by the trio of Jeff Bhasker, Tyler Johnson and Alex Salibian. They also co-wrote the song along with Mitch Rowland, Ryan Nasci and Styles himself.

The conception of the track is actually credited to Styles while he was in Jamaica. And according to the history of the tune, it was recorded in just three hours.

Global Success

And “Sign of the Times” went on to be a resounding success and proper launch to Harry Styles’ solo career. For example, it reached number one on his homeland UK Singles Chart. And it also topped music charts in Scotland, Australia, Croatia, Finland, Poland and Latvia.

Directly across the Atlantic, it peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 6 on Canada’s Hot 100. And overall, it outstandingly charted in nearly 40 nations not only in Europe and North America but also Oceania, South America and Asia.

And in terms of its certifications, it has gone multi-Platinum in seven countries, most notably achieving quadruple-Platinum status in Australia and triple-Platinum status in the United States.

Special Live Performance of “Sign of the Times”

The first time Harry Styles is on record of having performed “Sign of the Times” live was on “Saturday Night Live” dated 15 April 2017. This was also the first time he is noted to have performed alone without his former One Direction bandmates.