Harry Styles reveals who the inspiration behind 'Carla's Song' is
The track closes his fourth album!
Harry Styles fans have been thoroughly devouring his fourth album, after its release on 6th March 2026. Featuring huge smash hits 'Aperture' and 'American Girls', the highly-anticipated 'Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally' is chock-full of bangers.
However, the final album track has left a few listeners scratching their heads and frantically searching the Internet for who the inspiration could be behind 'Carla's Song' - and thankfully, we now have the answer.
Who is 'Carla's Song' named after?
The song is all about one of his friends, named Carla. Harry spoke about the album in an expansive interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music, and spoke about the record's closing song and its inspiration.
He explained: "Carla is a friend of mine. We were at a friend's house. We were waiting to go to this after party, and she'd kind of mentioned in the room that she'd just discovered Paul Simon.
"She was kind of asking everyone, like, 'Oh, have you heard Paul Simon?' We were like, 'Yeah, he's amazing. So I was kind of like, 'Oh, you've never heard Simon & Garfunkel.' I grew up listening to Simon & Garfunkel all the time.
"When I lived in a pub when I was younger, there was a four CD changer that I think 'Bridge Over Troubled Water' was in the whole time I lived there. So I think it's like, why I like harmonies, is listening to them so much.
"So I played her 'Bridge Over Troubled Water', and watching her listen to it, having never heard that song, felt like I was just watching someone discover magic."
He also said: "There was something in that moment that reminded me of, by making music, what you’re investing in. And it’s songs that go so beyond our lifetime. And I think it removes a lot of the pressure from me or from them.
"I think it’s like people will be listening to this song when those artists aren’t around anymore, you know? And I think acknowledging that making music is just adding something to this world of things that is waiting for people to discover is the point."
What do the lyrics mean?
Harry goes straight in with a Simon & Garfunkel reference in the very first line of the song: 'There is a bridge that leads to troubled waters' - a nod to the group's ubiquitous 1970 hit 'Bridge Over Troubled Water'.
Further in the first verse, he sings: 'Saw the light in the gold that you discovered / Through your eyes, in awe / Melodies like the tide,' reflecting his explanation of experiencing the song for the first time vicariously through his friend.
Read more:
'Aperture' by Harry Styles: Discover the song's meaning and lyrics analysis
Harry Styles' songs: The meanings behind some of his best lyrics 🎶