While the world didn’t find out about the One Direction song Home until October 21st of 2015 – Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, and Jamie Scott knew they’d been sitting on a masterpiece since April 14th when they sat down to write the tune.
While the song didn’t make One Direction’s album Made In The AM – it did something bigger and more unique than the album itself, starting with the way the tune was released.
I'll make this feel like homeeeee
— Louis Tomlinson (@Louis_Tomlinson) October 21, 2015
Louis was the one to introduce the song to their fans with just two tweets, and it was done in a way that showed how special the song was to him.
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— Louis Tomlinson (@Louis_Tomlinson) October 21, 2015
Once fans heard Home, social media erupted in praise for the song for a few reasons. One – the lads’ voices are absolutely showcased in this song, the emphasis is on them instead of a catchy back beat and they sound INCREDIBLE. Two – it was an exclusive song, a look into what fans could (possibly) expect from Made In The AM since this song and the EP it was released on came before the album – fans loved the sound!
Perhaps most important however, was the message that came with the song, that’s what fans immediately connected to and it’s the same reason this song has so much staying power – it’s a ballad, a confession, a breath of truth.
So many nights I thought it over
Told myself I kind of liked her
But there was something missing in her eyes
Followed up with a plea, a question.
I was stumbling, looking in the dark
With an empty heart
But you say you feel the same
Could we ever be enough?
Answered with a beautiful, simple, reply.
Baby, we could be enough
The song took a different turn in the second verse when pronouns were dropped and it the honest broke through.
Still high with a little feeling
I see the smile as it starts to creep in
It was there, I saw it in your eyes
Whatever was missing in her eyes was found in the eyes of the person the confession was meant for. This is what made fans believe in the depth of the song and the firm grasp it has on basic human emotion and overcoming fear. Be it that the fear was grounded in the question of if you could ever be enough – or that the love in your heart belongs to someone you didn’t see coming, someone unexpected, someone who makes your love the “same love” and what that means at the end of the day.
The recurring message as the song peaks and then prepares to end empowers listeners, it says that it’s okay, that love can feel like home.
I’ll make this feel like home.
Baby, we could be enough.
The song addresses confusion, fear, acceptance, and a sense of home all in under four minutes. This is more than just a song, it’s a statement – one that made fans of Louis, Harry, Liam, and Niall fall even more in love with the lads.
A year later, those emotions are still strong in the hearts of everyone who has found themselves in the lyrics of Home.
This song said then, and it continues to say now that it’s okay to be who you are. It says it’s okay to try to find love where you’re expected to – and it’s also okay if you don’t find it there. This song says it’s okay to be afraid, scared of not being enough, scared of what your heart desires at the end of the day. This song says that through that fear and confusion there comes hope. This song says that every single one of us deserves a person to call ‘Home’ and it doesn’t matter what the outside looks like, as long as the feeling you get from it is wrapped in safety and love.
Fans tweeted lyrics to the boys, specifically to Louis and Liam and thanked them for this ode to self acceptance and love. They tweeted photos of themselves with captions about being brave and they tweeted their stories to the public, but also to their friends and families – people they may have been scared to talk to before.
The lads of One Direction have long been credited for giving their fans more than just a band to love and concerts to attend – they’ve given their fans safety, love, and a home in a world where they never had one before.
This song was just another show of how much passion, compassion, and strength the boys have in their own hearts too. Through years of being molded into specific versions of themselves to sell songs and fans wondering if the lads knew how much they were looked up to for who they truly were – this song also said something to that.
It said that Harry, Louis, Niall, and Liam saw the support, they saw the emotion, they saw the kindness and maybe they felt their own sense of home with the fans too – maybe in a world that was overwhelming, they found safety in the hearts of each other and the people who’d been on this road with them.
Home will go down in history as a song about “coming out” – about self love – and hopefully in the future when the world stops caring so much about labels this song will stand as a testament that where there is love, there is always a place to belong.
There is always home.
Louis, Harry, Liam, and Niall – thank you for bravery and thank you for love.
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