Harry Styles - Matilda

Theme: Literature

In Harry’s most recent album, Harry’s House, he released a song titled “Matilda”. He has stated in the past when the song was first released that it is based off of Ronald Dahl’s children’s book, with the same title. Matilda was later adapted into a movie as well. He sings to about a person in his life who lived a similar life that of the fictional character Matilda Wormwood and how that treatment would result in their adult life. In an interview with Zane Low, Harry shares that he wrote the song because "I wanna support you in some way. But it's not necessarily my place to make it about me; cause it's not my experience. Sometimes it's just about listening. I hope that's what it did, I hope it just says 'I was listening to you".

As someone who has not read the book or seen the movie, my knowledge is limited. The relation to this song and literature is in the film, Matilda is seen on multiple occasions, having her hair pinned up with a red bow. Harry sings “So you tie up your hair and you smile like it's no big deal”. Later he sings “You can throw a party full of everyone you know. You can start a family who will always show you love. You don't have to be sorry for doin' it on your own.” In Ronald Dahl’s, Matilda she is ignored by her parents almost the entirety of her life. Matilda later gets adopted by her school teacher, Ms. Honey.

This is a story of a heartbreaking childhood of someone close to Harry, and how he showed his support and love towards their experiences.

Someone who doesn’t quite know how to feel about their past and how their family treated them. How to move forward, and if the people that caused them immense pain still be included in their [Matilda] life.

Dec 09 2024