Lukas Graham - 7 Years (Music Video Analysis)

Lukas Graham's song "7 Years" is a song written about his life so far and what he hopes to achieve in the future. He said that the reason the lyrics go as far as the age of 60 is because his father died at 61 and he needed to "pass it to believe it." He continued: "It's a song about growing older. I'm also coming to a realisation that being a father is the most important thing. Lukas said hi biggest dream is not to be some negative old dude, but to have his own kids and his friends say, 'You're going to visit your dad? Say hi! He's awesome. Lukas believes he had a perfect father.
The music video is set and filmed in Lukas's home town Freetown Christiania. To give you a bit of background information about Christiania, it is a little area in Denmark's capital city. Christiania is what known as a free town in which drugs can legally be sold and the laws are made by the people and the police can't stop anything.

The first shot is of Lukas himself. He's sitting down in what looks to be an old church. You can see the spotlight shining on him, the spotlight could possibly represent that there is hope no matter where you grow up, no matter how rich or poor. Lukas however is shown to be isolated inside, his head down, writing his thoughts down, making them into song lyrics. Combed with the light, this could show that he is driven and that nothing can stop him. The falling paper could also be a metaphor of his thoughts and/or past lyrics.

The music video has a consistent theme of black and white which is quite stereotypical in lots of music videos to represent the past, sorrow etc. A low angle shot is the perfect in depicting perspective of the issues that our raised in this video. This particular shot shows the run down wooden balcony with Lukas and his friends staring down. The blurred camera may symbolise the blurred vision and reality that the kids have when growing up in the community.

The video shows us racial diversity within the community, this shot could represent the difference between when Lukas was younger and now. This makes the music video more relatable to younger kids as well as showing the variety within the community. The shallow depth of field could also be symbolic to the boys perspective and outlook. Maybe the boy is oblivious to how his decisions could affect his future. The fact that they are both singing shows that they have some common grounds. 

The symmetry in this shot could resemble how Lukas's determination and drive brought him happiness and a sense of accomplishment, which others from around his neighbourhood may not have had the privilege to be so content. The gloomy cold weather represents the harsh climate of Denmark but may also represent Lukas's past of being somewhat empty and dark without a lot of happiness. 



As the video ends it shows Lukas next to his dad. They both share an equal amount of the frame, their facial expression is similar as well. This suggests that they may share the same mindset and that Lukas has learnt to have the same outlook on life as his father. 
This final shot is so important to end on because it outlines the story Lukas shares with us throughout the song and via the music video, Lukas has left Christiania and is now living a more luxurious life, even now he still has time for his father which shows he is thankful and respectful.

The music video itself serves as a timeline of events for Lukas. Towards the end of the video, it starts to show the finer things in life - a busy city skyline, friends, nice furniture etc. In this particular mid shot the focus is on the skyline with Lukas being out of focus. This may symbolise the dream he has had in mind whilst growing up in Christiania and now it has finally become a reality. Something that really springs to mind when I see this shot is that he city lights connoting hope.