Human Too

"Human Too"
Song by the 1975
from the album Being Funny in a Foreign Language
Released14 October 2022 (2022-10-14)
Recorded2022
Studio
Genre
Length3:44
LabelDirty Hit
Songwriters
Producers

"Human Too" is a song by English rock band the 1975. It was released on 14 October 2022 through Dirty Hit as the ninth track on their fifth studio album, Being Funny in a Foreign Language. Written by Matty Healy and George Daniel with Jamie Squire, Benjamin Francis Leftwich and Jimmy Hogarth, the stripped-back piano song deals with fallibility and public failure, and directly addresses the controversy surrounding the band's 2019 music video for "People".

The song was never released as a single. On 4 November 2025, it was removed from all streaming platforms at Healy's request, reducing the digital edition of the album to ten tracks. The song has also been left off new vinyl pressings of the album, though earlier physical copies still include it.[citation needed]

Background and recording

Being Funny in a Foreign Language followed the band's experimental fourth album Notes on a Conditional Form (2020) and marked a return to a more concise sound. The album was recorded at Real World Studios in Wiltshire and Electric Lady Studios in New York, with Jack Antonoff as co-producer. According to the album's tracklist, revealed in July 2022, "Human Too" was placed ninth of eleven songs, between "Wintering" and "About You".

Singer-songwriter Benjamin Francis Leftwich and producer Jimmy Hogarth share writing credits on the song alongside Squire. Leftwich had previously written "New York", a song Healy performed in 2021 and which developed into the album's lead single "Part of the Band".

Composition

"Human Too" is a stripped-back piano song with a worn, lo-fi texture and gritty electronic production layered over it. NME's El Hunt described it as jazz-influenced. Its chorus relies on lyrical repetition, a device the Hillsdale Collegian noted it shares with "I'm in Love with You", though the two songs address very different struggles. Alyssa Crutcher of Hill Magazine found that its focus on fragility and weakness recalled the band's 2018 song "Be My Mistake".

Lyrically, the song has been interpreted as a meditation on being judged for one's mistakes, arguing that poor choices do not make a person bad, only human. According to Hunt, the song directly references the controversy over the "People" video, in which Healy detonated a fake suicide vest; in it, Healy apologises for the stunt while admitting that he enjoyed seeing himself in the news. The Hillsdale Collegian read the song as a plea to a friend, a partner or the narrator himself to accept imperfection.

Release

"Human Too" was released as part of Being Funny in a Foreign Language on 14 October 2022.

Removal from streaming

On 4 November 2025, fans noticed that "Human Too" had been removed from streaming services, leaving the digital album at ten tracks. Responding to a fan on Reddit that afternoon, Healy said the song was removed "so the album is more how I want it to be", and confirmed that previous physical releases would remain the same. The song remained available on the band's YouTube channel. New pressings of the album on vinyl have since been issued without the song.[citation needed]

In the same reply, Healy said he doubted he would alter other records, with the possible exception of "What Should I Say" from Notes on a Conditional Form. When a fan asked him to leave that song alone, he agreed.

Coverage of the decision compared it to other cases of artists revising albums after release, such as Kanye West's changes to The Life of Pablo and Charli XCX's restyled Brat-era album covers. Billboard Brasil wrote that the change reopened debate over whether a released work can continue to be modified after reaching the public.

Critical reception

James Mellen of Clash named "Human Too" a highlight of the album. Writing for The Lantern, critics called it one of the most vulnerable songs on the record, highlighting its piano and its treatment of cancel culture. Crutcher of Hill Magazine found that its chorus "pulls at the heartstrings of listeners".

Original track listing of Being Funny in a Foreign Language
No. Title Length
1
 "The 1975"
4:10
2
 "Happiness"
5:03
3
 "Looking for Somebody (To Love)"
2:58
4
 "Part of the Band"
4:20
5
 "Oh Caroline"
3:32
6
 "I'm in Love with You"
4:22
7
 "All I Need to Hear"
3:30
8
 "Wintering"
2:45
9
 "Human Too"
3:44
10
 "About You"
5:26
11
 "When We Are Together"
3:36

Personnel

Credits adapted from Dork.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "The 1975 release new single 'Part Of The Band' + announce new album 'Being Funny In A Foreign Language'". Coup de Main. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Mier, Tomás (5 November 2025). "The 1975 Remove 'Human Too' From Streaming Because Matty Healy Didn't Like It". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 "The 1975 – Human Too". Dork. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Hunt, El (10 October 2022). "The 1975 – 'Being Funny In A Foreign Language' review: back to their very best". NME. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 Mellen, James (10 October 2022). "The 1975 – Being Funny In A Foreign Language". Clash. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  6. 1 2 "The 1975 Remove Song From Streaming After Matty Healy Decides He Prefers The Album Without It". The Music. 6 November 2025. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  7. 1 2 "Matty Healy, do The 1975, explica por que removeu faixa de álbum no streaming". Billboard Brasil (in Portuguese). November 2025. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  8. ↑ Richards, Will (4 July 2022). "The 1975's Matty Healy rejoins Reddit and shares new album details". NME. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  9. 1 2 "The 1975 harps on nostalgia". Hillsdale Collegian. November 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  10. 1 2 Crutcher, Alyssa. "Being Funny in a Foreign Language review". Hill Magazine. University of Arkansas. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  11. 1 2 "Album review: Being Funny in a Foreign Language". The Lantern. October 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  12. ↑ "The 1975 remove album track from 'Being Funny In a Foreign Language'". Far Out. November 2025. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
  13. 1 2 3 Bess, Leah (November 2025). ""Human Too" removed from The 1975's 'Being Funny in a Foreign Language'". The Needle Drop. Retrieved 27 October 2026.