Harry Styles: Woman Meaning

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Woman Lyrics

"Should we just search romantic comedies on Netflix and then see what we find?"
La la la la la la la la (whoa)
I'm selfish, I know
But I don't ever want to see you with him
I'm selfish, I know
I told you, but I know you never listen
I hope...

1.  

   anonymous

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   Jun 8th, 2019 6:06pm report

   
   

   So the way I see it there are two possible interpretations of this song and they are as follows:
   
   1) Harry is jealous of his ex's new partner. The woman he is referring to is his ex. They clearly had many issues in their relationship such as bad communication ("I told you, but I know you never listen") and distrust ("Promises are broken like the stitches") and he knows the damage is irreparable ("Apologies are never gonna fix this"). She seems to have come out of the relationship happier than him and has met a new partner which makes Harry envious and wish he were with her instead. This is shown in the line, "He's right where I should, where I should be/But you're making me bleed" showing Harry believes he should be in his (the new partner's) place. The overarching message of these lyrics is that Harry is jealousy of his ex's new partner as he wishes he was back with the 'woman'.
   
   2) Another interpretation of these lyrics is that the woman he is fixated with is actually his ex's new girlfriend. Harry is still jealous but he is jealous of the woman and the line, "He's right where I should, where I should be" means that Harry thinks he should be with the man, alongside him not in his place. The song is about how the woman is hurting Harry every time she touches the Harry's ex. His feelings towards the woman are jealousy and resentment, and the repetition of "woman" in the chorus shows his obsession with her as he can't stop thinking about what she may be doing to him. This resembles the song, 'Girl Crush' (originally by Little Big Town) which Harry covered and it contains the lines: "I want to taste her lips/ Yeah, 'cause they taste like you", "I want her long blonde hair...You'd want me just as much" and "Lord knows I've tried/I can't get her off my mind". Both of these songs suggest that the speaker is fixated with their ex's new partner as they wish to be in their place since neither mention their exes in detail but rather their exes' current girlfriends. The line from 'Woman', "But I don't ever want to see you with him" means that Harry doesn't ever want to see the woman with his ex, the vague use of pronouns allowing for multiple interpretations of the song. Since 'Girl Crush' wasn't written by Harry, I think he wanted to pay tribute to it and share a similar experience with more personal touches which was why he wrote 'Woman'.