1D's "End Of The Day" Is All About The Longing

If you're not ready for One Direction's final pre-hiatus album, Made in the A.M., then TOO BAD. The band has been releasing single after single from the album, slated for release on Friday, and Monday was no different. While we were all casually going about our business, One Direction released "End of the Day," and it's my favorite song off the album so far. The song is part anthem, part ballad, all set to an upbeat, skipping sort of rhythm with a backdrop of clapping. One minute you're bobbing your head along happily, and the next minute you're stomping your feet and throwing your arm around someone's shoulders to rock back and forth to the chorus. But when you examine One Direction's "End of the Day" lyrics, what does it reveal about the song?

The song is straightforward enough to make it truly hard to figure out who, if anyone, the boys are actually talking about here. I mean, lyrically speaking, of course, because, musically speaking, it's like listening to two different songs. But in a good way. The song opens with the verse:

I told her that I loved herWas not sure if she heardThe roof was pretty windyAnd she didn't say a wordParty dying downstairsAnd nothing left to doJust me, her, and the moon

Who on earth were they confessing to on a roof at a party? And which one of them was doing the confessing? The song was cowritten by Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson, the latter of whom also tweeted that the song was one of his favorites on the album, so perhaps it's one of their paramours that we're hearing about here? I would guess Briana Jungwirth, if not for the fact that the rumors swirling about Tomlinson and Jungwirth claim they are just friends and nothing more. Either way, this is followed by the bridge:

I said you're on fire, babeThen down came the lightning on meLove can be frightening for sure

All I have to say is, aww. I mean, there's no way I could hear that first line from a boy without responding with a lyric from the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way," but that doesn't mean it's not cute. The bridge is followed by the chorus, which, as I noted, sounds like a completely different song:

All I know at the end of the day Is you want what you want And you say what you sayAnd you follow your heart Even though it'll break sometimes

All I know at the end of the day Is you love who you loveThere ain't no other wayIf there's something I've learned From a million mistakesYou're the one that I want At the end of the day

So clearly, this is a song about pining, longing even, for a girl that the boys can't have. However, they are quite determined to make it clear to that girl that they are in love with her and they have to follow their hearts, even if she breaks them.... Can I be that girl, please?

She said the night was overI said it's foreverTwenty minutes later Wound up in the hospitalThe priest thinks it's the devilMy mom thinks it's the fluBut girl it's only you

Get it, guys? Because they're lovesick. Cue rimshot here.

When the sun goes downI know that you and me and everything will be all rightAnd when the city's sleepingYou and I can stay awake and keep on dreaming

From this, I'm taking it to mean that, even though the girl doesn't return their feelings and they're not over it yet, they still want to be friends, hang out, and be together in the platonic sense. Which is a nice way for this story to end without veering into stalkerish territory. Check out the song below, while I continue to listen to it on repeat for more clues.