“Alive” showcases the band’s movement away from their pop sound and into rock territory. It is the seventeenth track on the deluxe edition of Midnight Memories and is an uptempo pop-rock song. On the surface, the song is lyrically about hooking up with a girl at a party and has undertones of sex addiction. However, there is a subtext to the song about someone accepting their own sexuality. The first verse and chorus could show the protagonist’s mother not accepting his sexuality, and the doctor saying that his sexuality isn’t a problem. It could also show him struggling to bear the weight of his sexuality and struggling to contain his feelings.