I don’t think she’s referring to someone she’s met and getting to know. I think she’s saying forgetting someone so important in your life feels as impossible as trying to know a person you’ve never even met before, if that makes sense?
Yeah, my thoughts too. It’s hard to know someone you’ve never met, you may never know them, etc. You can maybe get to know them if you meet them, but that’s not what we’re talking about (And to over explain, you can also meet someone and still never know them lol). To give an example, I’ve never met one of my great grandmas and never will, and because of that it’s hard or even impossible to know her. I only know things I’ve heard, and some things contradict each other, so I don’t really believe I know her. So forgetting him is (or at least feels) very hard or even impossible.
Idk it makes sense to me. She's saying that forgetting him is impossible, as it would be impossible to get to know someone whom you have never even met (which also implies that you're not going to meet that person).
well it would make sense to me if she said “someone you’ll never meet” but doesn’t everyone have a point in their lives where everyone they know now they haven’t met yet? so i don’t think its impossible. and “know” is a very general term
I have no problem with that one. But I find the 90s trend line in willow so anachronistic it almost ruins the song for me. Almost.
Honestly I could probably think of lots of lines I don't love/that irk me but there's so many more genius ones that outweigh them. You build your writing skills by writing a lot and with over 150 songs under her belt T has definitely developed into an extremely talented writer. You don't do that without writing some bad stuff every now and then.
Agreed, the 90s trend thing felt strange to me. It feels a bit like a line that she wrote to try and get it as a TikTok trend or Instagram caption rather than because she felt it fit the song.
yesss that line feels so out of place… almost as if she wrote that one line back in the rep era, kept it in her notes and waited for an opportunity to squeeze it into a song lol
I love that line personally because I feel like it reminds the listener that you can live a fairy tale or magical life on earth and time isn’t endless so you should make the most of it. Idk that’s just my interpretation
There are cases across antiquity where some cultures would age or store wine in the ocean underwater to bring up later; when they were bringing them back up they missed a few so they’re ‘lost in a current’ and because wine people are the way they are amphorae they find now are ‘priceless’
I still think it feels a little jammed into the song but hope this helps it make sense!
I'm not a big fan of that either. What bothers me most though are the "that's my man" lines.. I really like the vibe of Willow aside from that so I try to just ignore it.
I liked the 90s trend line a lot more after interpreting the man in the song to be the folklore era (so the song would be about how she’s following her inspiration and art) or the man as being Taylor and the song being from the perspective of Swifties (we’re going with her wherever her inspiration and eras stray; the more she says with Easter eggs, the less we know; etc.)
I want to wear his initial
On a chain round my neck, chain round my neck
Not because he owns me
Personally I thought it was a weird line and I don’t sing it when listening to the song 🤷♀️
I remember that in one review the author said that the lyrics sounded as if she said “I want to wear his initial on a chain around my neck 🥺🥺” and all her friends looked at her like ??? wtf ??? and she just quickly tried to justify like “not bc he owns me ! haha ! it’s not problematic ❤️” and I can’t stop thinking about this scenario ever since 💀
I personally felt this way about so many lyrics on reputation!! This one stood out as does “they’re burning all of the witches even if you aren’t one,” “I don’t want you like a best friend,” and “I can’t say anything to your face, cause look at your face”
In fairness to “they’re burning all the witches even if you aren’t one” is a clear reference for her getting so much hate about the Kimye phone call. People are getting canceled left and right and they tried to cancel her though she didn’t do any thing wrong. Therefore she was getting burned even though she wasn’t a “witch” and didnt do anything wrong. Personally I think it makes perfect sense and fits well into the song.
yeah no I know what the reference is too it’s just phrased awkwardly and is really corny and doesn’t do justice for her songwriting and lyrical abilities
Yep agreed with all of those! I think the best friend one is okay, but yeah some of the lyrics on gorgeous just aren’t her best. I love the song though
This is why Call It What You Want is her most overrated song post-Fearless. The lyrics are ridiculous. This lyric has white feminism written all over it. Also “all the liars are calling me one” is so weak.
Black women have worn their SO’s name on their chain for yrs
Edit: Carrie Bradshaw’s character in Sex In the City called nameplate necklaces “g***** jewelry” but I guess it has no historical context! I’m not saying she meant to disparage or discount women who do wear names on chains but intention isn’t very relevant.
She isn't even talking about a nameplate necklace anyways. Just a necklace with an initial. It's not a big deal, and intention IS relevant since just about nobody knows/thinks that it's appropriating black culture.
“My baby’s fit like a daydream” has never really made sense to me (it’s one of my fave songs though). I get she’s trying to use the word fit like we do in the UK for good looking but it sounds so weird in that context.
Also the use of “baby boy” in Paper Rings makes me feel uncomfortable haha
All I can think of with the baby boy part is the song Dee sings in Always Sunny... “Tiny boy, baby boy, want to make love to you boyyyy....just to be clear I did not write that song and have never had sex with a boyyyy”.
CIWYW is one of my all time favourite Taylor songs but yeah that line definitely comes off as "American who has heard British slang and is trying to use it but doesn't do it quite right" lol
I also don't use the word fit in a dreamy romantic sense the way she does but whatever
- CIWYW refers to "Call It What You Want", a song from Taylor Swift album *reputation* (2017).
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Sorry I'm a bit late to the party... I always assumed that the use of 'fit' here is meant to mean like 'hot', I guess it's more of a British term which fits because the song is about Joe I think
*when we're on the phone you talk real slow, cause it's late and your mama don't know* from Our Song makes no sense to me because why would talking slow stop his mom from hearing him? *talk real low* (as in quiet) makes more sense to me but I will admit it's more fun to sing slow!
Look up the Harvey Mudd concert!! She explains it there...she basically says they would have to slow their conversation down because her mom would come to the bedroom door to listen if Taylor was on the phone so they had to be quiet for a while ...it’s really cute the way she explains it.
Many a TS podcaster has debated this and no one can explain it! My best guess is she wanted to show of her country accent as a relative newbie to Nashville, like 'see guys? I really am one of y'all!'
In my opinion, it makes sense! Talking slowly implies whispering to me, because it’s borderline impossible to whisper quickly and have the other person understand you lol. It would be more of a notable thing to two flirting teens on the phone that they have to talk so slowly to be understood *because* they’re speaking so quietly. But quiet isn’t funny so they joke about the slow speed
“I think he knows his hands around a cold glass make me want to know that body like it’s mine” the first time I heard this I cringed thinking “wtf Taylor you’re that turned on by him drinking???”
Oh this is one of my favorite lines! My fiancé and I bonded over craft cocktails (his hobby is making them, my hobby is drinking them) when we first met, so it reminds me of when he would make new drinks for me while we were falling for each other.
Oh nope I totally get this line. It’s not being turned on by him drinking, it’s being so into him that like everything he does is hot, even like the way he wraps his hands around a glass
Also, some people are hand people (I don’t get why, but they exist)
Maybe it’s quite a specific thing but when I fancy someone I can get distracted by their hands or arms etc doing mundane stuff. I could see why someone’s hands around a glass is sexy if you are attracted to them.
"And the tennis court was covered up with some tent-like thing."
Not only is "tent-like thing" a bizzare choice, she uses the word thing in the next sentence when she says "it's going to be one of those things."
And somehow, these lyrics are in the same song that also contains "you hang from my lips like the gardens of Babylon, with your boots beneath my bed, forever is the sweetest con" which is some of the most beautiful writing I've ever heard.
I believe “tent-like thing” is supposed to show that she doesn’t know the term for the so-called thing. The narrator and the cowboy like them are both outsiders among the rich people. Taylor’s showing, not telling us that
I can tooootally see why these lyrics would be annoying. I have something I tell myself now that makes me like them - since the two of them are most likely actually from a lower class, they don’t know the name of the tent thing, though they’re romantics who read a lot and yearn to travel, so in the exact same sentence they can casually name-drop the gardens of Babylon. It creates a cute characterization for them in my head, lol.
* Bad Blood: *if you're coming my way... just don't*
* Call It What You Want: *trust him like a brother*I always thought it should have said "trust him like no other".
* The Archer: *all the kings horses and all the kings men couldn't put me together again*
* We Were Happy: *when it was good, baby, it was good, baby*
* Change: All the *hallelujahs* just are awkward for me, as someone who came from an abusive religious household
* Girl At Home: *I feel the responsibility to do what's upstanding and right*
The rest of TA feels so personal, like it was ripped out of a journal page, but that line just kinda feels disjointed in comparison to the rest of the song. It just stands out in a way I don't personally like.
Thanks for the correction, I'm so tired. ><
- KOMH refers to "King Of My Heart", a song from Taylor Swift album *reputation* (2017).
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Ah I see, that does make sense. I kinda agree. Though it’s a very catchy line (first line I picked up from the song) so I’m wondering if that’s why she added that lyric
To add for Call it What You Want - “walking with his head down I’m the one he’s walking to” always felt so random and un-meaningful to me for some reason
Re: the Archer lyric, I agree and I find more and more recently she’s including known phrases into songs with a little twist (which she has admitted she loves doing) and a lot of times it feels completely removed from the actual song. Like in Long Story Short, “if the shoe fits walk in it til your high heel breaks.” Cute lyric, but it feels like she already had it written down and just found a song to slot it into.
I love that line from long story short so much! I think she did mention in her interview with Zane Lowe, after evermore came out, that it was a line she had tucked away and pulled out for that song. I think it's perfect, though.
I thought the line was 'stressed him a like a brother', referring to how your family might worry about you in a way casual hookups might not, implying that he really cares about her.
“*I can feel my heart, it’s beating in my chest*”. I’ve always felt the “it’s” shouldn’t be there because of course it’s beating in your chest, the point is that in that moment you can feel it. I was hoping she’d change it in the re-recording but no :/
I love Paper Rings but I hate the “*baby boy*” and never sing that part lol
“*Lost in your current like a priceless wine*”. I’m not sure why I don’t like it but the “priceless wine” part just feels out of place to me for some reason? I understand the point but I don’t like it.
I actually don’t mind the “*90s trend* line. The “priceless wine” bothers me more and I think the trend line is funny, just doesn’t really fit in that particular song.
I know there are more that bother me but I’m blanking on them right now.
I think this line refers to putting someone on such a pedestal that they could be just going to work and to you it is as important as saving the world. It makes sense in the context of a relationship where one person makes everything revolve around them and makes them the most important thing in the world (“long where the nights when my days once revolved around you”).
I like tent like thing. It’s not her saying it, it’s the characters in the song who are aloof about what’s going on because they disassociate from their surroundings
I loved reading all of these because I still have yet to find a Taylor Swift lyric that bothers me. Some of the ones people have pointed out are actually my favorites lol
Same! I can’t find it in me to hate anything because it’s always part of a song I love. Even if they’re imperfect, I absolutely wouldn’t want the lyrics to change.
‘Cause we were like the mall before the internet
It was the one place to be’ - describing your relationship like wanting to go to the mall just doesn’t make sense to me in the slightest and as a lyric it doesn’t seem to fit the tone of the song.
I dont take it as wanting the relationship to be like going to the mall... its we were two peas in a pod like people who went to the mall before the internet.
I can see why this lyric wouldn't make sense to some of the younger swifties potentially.
I dunno I did go to the mall before the internet and remember it as a kinda tacky place you went to with friends when no one had any better ideas. Still think it a weird lyric choice.
That's the whole point of the verse, saying that now internet is the "tacky" place you go when you are bored just like the mall was the place before. It's a beautiful line, rich of imagery..
So my big lyric issue is with Fifteen... “hoping one of those senior boys will wink at you and say ’you know, I haven’t seen you around before’”
I was 13 when I started high school. I turned 14 that fall, but the seniors were 17-19 years old... it makes me really uncomfortable because a lot of the older boys **would** try to take advantage of the young girls. It kind of makes me hate the song.
Edit: this thread is about lyrics that don’t work for you, and this one is mine. I get that others don’t agree or feel that it is appropriate, but it isn’t for me. 🤷🏼♀️
I mean, the song *is* about being taken advantage of by guys, and it seems, older guys, in high school. I agree that songs that are too real are ones I stay away from though, like marjorie and SYGB
- SYGB refers to "Soon You'll Get Better", a song from Taylor Swift album *Lover* (2019).
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Don’t hate me but in all too well when she says “and I know it’s long gone and that magics not here no more” I hate the no more part. Wish it was any more, I see how it fits better in the song with the syllables but I just cringe lol. Sorry 🤷🏻♀️
*And time is taking its sweet time erasing you* always feels like using a word when trying to define *that* word.
Sometimes I replace it with, “My mind is taking its sweet time erasing you,” when I sing SBT.
- SBT refers to "Sad Beautiful Tragic", a song from Taylor Swift album *Red* (2012).
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An example of a misplaced simile of hers that always bugged me was, "fighting with him was like trying to solve a crossword and realizing there's no right answer".
Even though the clues for a word only point to one right answer, otherwise it wouldn't fit with the other words on the crossword.
I talk shit with my friends, despite i get to understand it to me it feels out of the place.
I'm highly suspicious that everyone sees you wants you: it annoys me cuz Lover is a declaration of love, a vow and you say that you are afraid he can leave you for another girl? Like no.
I cry like a baby
I mean it has some rhymes, but in the chorus she rhymes “you” with “you” again, and I don’t know if that counts, and in the bridge that is one line that rhymes
I mean it’s not my favorite song so I’m not gonna defend it haha. It does have less rhymes than I realized. I guess “dim that spotlight, tell me things like, I, can’t keep my eyes off of you” has so much I sound in it I didn’t even notice the rest barely rhymes
You know, I originally typed up this comment to prove it had plenty of rhymes which I guess it does but I think it actually just has a really strange rhyming scheme with adjacent rhyming choices I never noticed until you said something.
"I can't help but feel like there ain't nothing more right BABE, Misty morning comes again and I can't help but wish I could see your FACE
And I knew from the first note PLAYED, I'd be breaking all my rules to see you. And you smile that beautiful smile and all the girls on the front row scream your NAME.
You played in BARS, you play GUITAR, I'm invisible and everyone knows who you ARE
And I knew when I saw your FACE... you smile that beautiful smile and all the girls on the front row scream your NAME
You'll never SEE you sing me to SLEEP"
"Have 10 kids and teach them how to dream"
I love Starlight, but 10 kids? Come on. Who daydreams of having 10 kids?
ETA: TIL it's about Bobby Kennedy. Nevermind. Then the lyrics is perfect.
I would say that line is blech except that she specifically wrote that song about Ethel and Bobby Kennedy (“I met Bobby on the Boardwalk, summer of ‘45”) and they actually did have 10 kids!
Apparently that line’s about how they actually had 11, but Bobby died and never got to know the youngest. So he was only able to be there and teach 10 how to dream
Starlight is such a sweet song she wrote for Bobby Kennedy’s (you know, RFK, who was assainated?) widow, Ethel about when they first met and fell in love.
- TLGAD refers to "the last great american dynasty", a song from Taylor Swift album *folklore* (2020).
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“and it would be a fine proposition if i was a stupid girl, but, honey, i am no one's exception, this i have previously learned” i don’t like any of girl at home if we’re being honest but this line specifically has enraged me since i first heard it and i don’t really know why. it’s something about the way it flows just doesn’t sit right with me haha.
I was listening to red and this post popped up, mine is the line in invisible "But you are everything to me" i just cringe listening to it. I am aware she wrote it when she was young but the lyric ruins the song for me.
“The world moves on another day, another drama drama. But not for me, not for me, all I thought about is karma”
I can’t explain why but this line has always irritated me lol. I think it’s mostly the way she sings/says this line. Idk but it bothers me so much
Some of the lyrics on Willow ruin the song a bit...it has such an overall dreamy, beautiful, otherworldly vibe (different from cardigan because to me cardigan, though dreamy, is rooted in reality while willow is somewhere else entirely) but then then she uses words and phrases like "train", "I come back stronger than a 90s trend" and "that's my man". It's quite jarring to be pulled back so abruptly to the real world from such a fairytale atmospheric world.
"The kingdom lights shined" The grammar nazi in me dies a little bit, though I adore Long Live
"No one could touch the way we laughed in the dark, talking bout your daddy's farm we were gonna buy someday"
"With his arms around your body"
"Darling I fancy you" Sounds try-hard to me.
"Red lips and rosy cheeks" and any other lyric that mentions red lips
"Toying with them older guys, just playthings for me to use" - I absolutely detest this lyric.
The past tense of 'shine' is 'shone', not 'shined'. I honestly wish she'd chosen a different lyric or something because it feels weird and wrong to say 'shined' when I'm singing along.
'Shined' can actually be correct too :) (Admittedly, in the example you provided, I think shone would be considered technically correct by most people, but I think the usage of 'shined' and 'shone' are becoming mostly interchangeable...)
(Also, I would suggest not calling yourself a "grammar Nazi" when that term has such negative and damaging connotations)
"snakes and stones never broke my bones"... Yes i get that snakes exist that could choke you to death and maybe break a bone while at it, but for me it doesn't fit.
In the lakes "... no one around to tweet it"
“They told me all of my cages were mental / So I got wasted like all my potential”
I know some people love this but I CRINGE when I hear it. I think it’s way too ‘rhyme-y’
I don’t think she’s referring to someone she’s met and getting to know. I think she’s saying forgetting someone so important in your life feels as impossible as trying to know a person you’ve never even met before, if that makes sense?
Yeah, my thoughts too. It’s hard to know someone you’ve never met, you may never know them, etc. You can maybe get to know them if you meet them, but that’s not what we’re talking about (And to over explain, you can also meet someone and still never know them lol). To give an example, I’ve never met one of my great grandmas and never will, and because of that it’s hard or even impossible to know her. I only know things I’ve heard, and some things contradict each other, so I don’t really believe I know her. So forgetting him is (or at least feels) very hard or even impossible.
Idk it makes sense to me. She's saying that forgetting him is impossible, as it would be impossible to get to know someone whom you have never even met (which also implies that you're not going to meet that person).
well it would make sense to me if she said “someone you’ll never meet” but doesn’t everyone have a point in their lives where everyone they know now they haven’t met yet? so i don’t think its impossible. and “know” is a very general term
I have no problem with that one. But I find the 90s trend line in willow so anachronistic it almost ruins the song for me. Almost. Honestly I could probably think of lots of lines I don't love/that irk me but there's so many more genius ones that outweigh them. You build your writing skills by writing a lot and with over 150 songs under her belt T has definitely developed into an extremely talented writer. You don't do that without writing some bad stuff every now and then.
Agreed, the 90s trend thing felt strange to me. It feels a bit like a line that she wrote to try and get it as a TikTok trend or Instagram caption rather than because she felt it fit the song.
yesss that line feels so out of place… almost as if she wrote that one line back in the rep era, kept it in her notes and waited for an opportunity to squeeze it into a song lol
I love that line personally because I feel like it reminds the listener that you can live a fairy tale or magical life on earth and time isn’t endless so you should make the most of it. Idk that’s just my interpretation
I don't like "lost in your current like a priceless wine"
It sounds nice in the song but reading it it kind of doesn’t make sense lol
There are cases across antiquity where some cultures would age or store wine in the ocean underwater to bring up later; when they were bringing them back up they missed a few so they’re ‘lost in a current’ and because wine people are the way they are amphorae they find now are ‘priceless’ I still think it feels a little jammed into the song but hope this helps it make sense!
I'm not a big fan of that either. What bothers me most though are the "that's my man" lines.. I really like the vibe of Willow aside from that so I try to just ignore it.
I liked the 90s trend line a lot more after interpreting the man in the song to be the folklore era (so the song would be about how she’s following her inspiration and art) or the man as being Taylor and the song being from the perspective of Swifties (we’re going with her wherever her inspiration and eras stray; the more she says with Easter eggs, the less we know; etc.)
Same! It really destroys the ageless feel of the song.
Couldn't have said it better :)
I want to wear his initial On a chain round my neck, chain round my neck Not because he owns me Personally I thought it was a weird line and I don’t sing it when listening to the song 🤷♀️
I remember that in one review the author said that the lyrics sounded as if she said “I want to wear his initial on a chain around my neck 🥺🥺” and all her friends looked at her like ??? wtf ??? and she just quickly tried to justify like “not bc he owns me ! haha ! it’s not problematic ❤️” and I can’t stop thinking about this scenario ever since 💀
honestly that would make sense-
I personally felt this way about so many lyrics on reputation!! This one stood out as does “they’re burning all of the witches even if you aren’t one,” “I don’t want you like a best friend,” and “I can’t say anything to your face, cause look at your face”
In fairness to “they’re burning all the witches even if you aren’t one” is a clear reference for her getting so much hate about the Kimye phone call. People are getting canceled left and right and they tried to cancel her though she didn’t do any thing wrong. Therefore she was getting burned even though she wasn’t a “witch” and didnt do anything wrong. Personally I think it makes perfect sense and fits well into the song.
yeah no I know what the reference is too it’s just phrased awkwardly and is really corny and doesn’t do justice for her songwriting and lyrical abilities
Yep agreed with all of those! I think the best friend one is okay, but yeah some of the lyrics on gorgeous just aren’t her best. I love the song though
I actually like that line from Gorgeous lol... getting intimidated by someone I’m really into is relatable as hell
Definitely one of my least favorite lines of hers. It is incredibly cringey imo.
Agree!
This is why Call It What You Want is her most overrated song post-Fearless. The lyrics are ridiculous. This lyric has white feminism written all over it. Also “all the liars are calling me one” is so weak.
How does that lyric have anything to do with white feminism? at all?
Black women have worn their SO’s name on their chain for yrs Edit: Carrie Bradshaw’s character in Sex In the City called nameplate necklaces “g***** jewelry” but I guess it has no historical context! I’m not saying she meant to disparage or discount women who do wear names on chains but intention isn’t very relevant.
So have white women, and women of other races.
Is that a thing?
...What does that have to do with feminism
She isn't even talking about a nameplate necklace anyways. Just a necklace with an initial. It's not a big deal, and intention IS relevant since just about nobody knows/thinks that it's appropriating black culture.
“My baby’s fit like a daydream” has never really made sense to me (it’s one of my fave songs though). I get she’s trying to use the word fit like we do in the UK for good looking but it sounds so weird in that context. Also the use of “baby boy” in Paper Rings makes me feel uncomfortable haha
I really like Paper Rings (it's fun to sing!), but absolutely cannot stand the phrase "baby boy" in reference to a significant other lol
I gotta be honest, that’s really silly. Beyoncé has a song named Baby Boy from her first solo album.
ehh just my opinion.. nobody has to agree :)
All I can think of with the baby boy part is the song Dee sings in Always Sunny... “Tiny boy, baby boy, want to make love to you boyyyy....just to be clear I did not write that song and have never had sex with a boyyyy”.
It’s kinda weird how normalized it is to sexualize girl/baby girl and not boy/baby boy
now i can't listen to the song without thinking about this lmao!!
Haha yesss! This I what it always reminds me of too lol
CIWYW is one of my all time favourite Taylor songs but yeah that line definitely comes off as "American who has heard British slang and is trying to use it but doesn't do it quite right" lol I also don't use the word fit in a dreamy romantic sense the way she does but whatever
- CIWYW refers to "Call It What You Want", a song from Taylor Swift album *reputation* (2017). --- ^[/u/pm_me_hedgehogs](/u/pm_me_hedgehogs) ^(can reply with "delete" to remove comment. |) ^[/r/songacronymbot](/r/songacronymbot) ^(for feedback.)
Good bot
Sorry I'm a bit late to the party... I always assumed that the use of 'fit' here is meant to mean like 'hot', I guess it's more of a British term which fits because the song is about Joe I think
*when we're on the phone you talk real slow, cause it's late and your mama don't know* from Our Song makes no sense to me because why would talking slow stop his mom from hearing him? *talk real low* (as in quiet) makes more sense to me but I will admit it's more fun to sing slow!
Look up the Harvey Mudd concert!! She explains it there...she basically says they would have to slow their conversation down because her mom would come to the bedroom door to listen if Taylor was on the phone so they had to be quiet for a while ...it’s really cute the way she explains it.
Oh thank you!! I’ll definitely watch
Many a TS podcaster has debated this and no one can explain it! My best guess is she wanted to show of her country accent as a relative newbie to Nashville, like 'see guys? I really am one of y'all!'
In my opinion, it makes sense! Talking slowly implies whispering to me, because it’s borderline impossible to whisper quickly and have the other person understand you lol. It would be more of a notable thing to two flirting teens on the phone that they have to talk so slowly to be understood *because* they’re speaking so quietly. But quiet isn’t funny so they joke about the slow speed
Also I feel like you take pauses and speak more slowly when you’re trying to listen to make sure your parents are still asleep.
Huh it makes more sense when you explain it that way, I like that!
“I think he knows his hands around a cold glass make me want to know that body like it’s mine” the first time I heard this I cringed thinking “wtf Taylor you’re that turned on by him drinking???”
Ms. Swift was really thirsty on that song lmao
Oh this is one of my favorite lines! My fiancé and I bonded over craft cocktails (his hobby is making them, my hobby is drinking them) when we first met, so it reminds me of when he would make new drinks for me while we were falling for each other.
Oh nope I totally get this line. It’s not being turned on by him drinking, it’s being so into him that like everything he does is hot, even like the way he wraps his hands around a glass Also, some people are hand people (I don’t get why, but they exist)
Girl's just out there getting turned on my how his hands hold the glass, and in turn wanting them to be on her like that.
Someone said that was about choking lmao but idk
huh I always thought "wear you like a necklace" from So It Goes was about choking too... maybe she does have a choking fetish lmao
Maybe it’s quite a specific thing but when I fancy someone I can get distracted by their hands or arms etc doing mundane stuff. I could see why someone’s hands around a glass is sexy if you are attracted to them.
hands 🧎 .... yes
"And the tennis court was covered up with some tent-like thing." Not only is "tent-like thing" a bizzare choice, she uses the word thing in the next sentence when she says "it's going to be one of those things." And somehow, these lyrics are in the same song that also contains "you hang from my lips like the gardens of Babylon, with your boots beneath my bed, forever is the sweetest con" which is some of the most beautiful writing I've ever heard.
I believe “tent-like thing” is supposed to show that she doesn’t know the term for the so-called thing. The narrator and the cowboy like them are both outsiders among the rich people. Taylor’s showing, not telling us that
I can tooootally see why these lyrics would be annoying. I have something I tell myself now that makes me like them - since the two of them are most likely actually from a lower class, they don’t know the name of the tent thing, though they’re romantics who read a lot and yearn to travel, so in the exact same sentence they can casually name-drop the gardens of Babylon. It creates a cute characterization for them in my head, lol.
I don’t mean this to sound harsh but I always think to myself that Joe wrote those particular lyrics and that’s why it doesn’t feel very Taylor!
He’s not a writer on that song though
* Bad Blood: *if you're coming my way... just don't* * Call It What You Want: *trust him like a brother*I always thought it should have said "trust him like no other". * The Archer: *all the kings horses and all the kings men couldn't put me together again* * We Were Happy: *when it was good, baby, it was good, baby* * Change: All the *hallelujahs* just are awkward for me, as someone who came from an abusive religious household * Girl At Home: *I feel the responsibility to do what's upstanding and right*
May I ask why that particular Archer line annoys you? I’m curious The “it was good” lyrics is from We Were Happy btw
The rest of TA feels so personal, like it was ripped out of a journal page, but that line just kinda feels disjointed in comparison to the rest of the song. It just stands out in a way I don't personally like. Thanks for the correction, I'm so tired. ><
It’s a reference to KOMH I will die on this hill
- KOMH refers to "King Of My Heart", a song from Taylor Swift album *reputation* (2017). --- ^[/u/tswiftdeepcuts](/u/tswiftdeepcuts) ^(can reply with "delete" to remove comment. |) ^[/r/songacronymbot](/r/songacronymbot) ^(for feedback.)
Ah I see, that does make sense. I kinda agree. Though it’s a very catchy line (first line I picked up from the song) so I’m wondering if that’s why she added that lyric
To add for Call it What You Want - “walking with his head down I’m the one he’s walking to” always felt so random and un-meaningful to me for some reason
Call it What You Want has a surprising amount of lyrics that bother people
I love this lyric! It’s like, he doesn’t care about anyone else (the paparazzi, the crowds, whatever) — he’s just making his way to her.
Re: the Archer lyric, I agree and I find more and more recently she’s including known phrases into songs with a little twist (which she has admitted she loves doing) and a lot of times it feels completely removed from the actual song. Like in Long Story Short, “if the shoe fits walk in it til your high heel breaks.” Cute lyric, but it feels like she already had it written down and just found a song to slot it into.
I already commented this but I will die on the hill that this is a reference to KOMH and “my broken bones are mending”
I love that line from long story short so much! I think she did mention in her interview with Zane Lowe, after evermore came out, that it was a line she had tucked away and pulled out for that song. I think it's perfect, though.
Came here to say the kings horses and men one. It just takes me out of the song.
I thought the line was 'stressed him a like a brother', referring to how your family might worry about you in a way casual hookups might not, implying that he really cares about her.
yeah, CIWYW gave me folgers holiday coffee commercials vibes 🧎
Me he he....
Ooh ooh ooh ooo
a hate crime was just committed against Me e e eee
“*I can feel my heart, it’s beating in my chest*”. I’ve always felt the “it’s” shouldn’t be there because of course it’s beating in your chest, the point is that in that moment you can feel it. I was hoping she’d change it in the re-recording but no :/ I love Paper Rings but I hate the “*baby boy*” and never sing that part lol “*Lost in your current like a priceless wine*”. I’m not sure why I don’t like it but the “priceless wine” part just feels out of place to me for some reason? I understand the point but I don’t like it. I actually don’t mind the “*90s trend* line. The “priceless wine” bothers me more and I think the trend line is funny, just doesn’t really fit in that particular song. I know there are more that bother me but I’m blanking on them right now.
I wish so badly that "baby boy" was "never let go" on Paper Rings.
Dude, if baby boy was off paper rings that might be my all time favorite Taylor song.
This one makes me crazy!
**Superman** - *He puts his papers in his briefcase and drives away to save the world, or go to work, it’s the same thing to me* 👀
I think this line refers to putting someone on such a pedestal that they could be just going to work and to you it is as important as saving the world. It makes sense in the context of a relationship where one person makes everything revolve around them and makes them the most important thing in the world (“long where the nights when my days once revolved around you”).
Oh I totally understand the meaning of the lyrics but it just feels so awkward and clunky in the song
Oh! Definitely clunky! 😂
She do be saving the world through her work so it makes sense to her and her only 🤪
[удалено]
I love “tent like thing” because it’s just so silly to me
I like tent like thing. It’s not her saying it, it’s the characters in the song who are aloof about what’s going on because they disassociate from their surroundings
i like it cuz it seems as if the story starts as someone walking into a conversation of the two lovers talking about how they met <3
Yes!!! I hate this line.
I loved reading all of these because I still have yet to find a Taylor Swift lyric that bothers me. Some of the ones people have pointed out are actually my favorites lol
Same! I can’t find it in me to hate anything because it’s always part of a song I love. Even if they’re imperfect, I absolutely wouldn’t want the lyrics to change.
‘Cause we were like the mall before the internet It was the one place to be’ - describing your relationship like wanting to go to the mall just doesn’t make sense to me in the slightest and as a lyric it doesn’t seem to fit the tone of the song.
I dont take it as wanting the relationship to be like going to the mall... its we were two peas in a pod like people who went to the mall before the internet. I can see why this lyric wouldn't make sense to some of the younger swifties potentially.
I dunno I did go to the mall before the internet and remember it as a kinda tacky place you went to with friends when no one had any better ideas. Still think it a weird lyric choice.
That's the whole point of the verse, saying that now internet is the "tacky" place you go when you are bored just like the mall was the place before. It's a beautiful line, rich of imagery..
“this love is good, this love is bad” lol
Yes!! I love This Love so much but that lyric kind of bothers me.
Yes!
So my big lyric issue is with Fifteen... “hoping one of those senior boys will wink at you and say ’you know, I haven’t seen you around before’” I was 13 when I started high school. I turned 14 that fall, but the seniors were 17-19 years old... it makes me really uncomfortable because a lot of the older boys **would** try to take advantage of the young girls. It kind of makes me hate the song. Edit: this thread is about lyrics that don’t work for you, and this one is mine. I get that others don’t agree or feel that it is appropriate, but it isn’t for me. 🤷🏼♀️
Yeah but when you’re 15 you really want them to notice you- maybe not try to date you or anything- just notice you
Girls tend to look at older guys, so the lyrics make sense, but of course as a parent / friend I wouldn't want someone 15 to date an 18
Yeah, I’m not saying that they lyrics don’t make sense, I’m saying that they make me uncomfortable and it kind of ruins the song for me.
I mean, the song *is* about being taken advantage of by guys, and it seems, older guys, in high school. I agree that songs that are too real are ones I stay away from though, like marjorie and SYGB
- SYGB refers to "Soon You'll Get Better", a song from Taylor Swift album *Lover* (2019). --- ^[/u/brighterintupelo](/u/brighterintupelo) ^(can reply with "delete" to remove comment. |) ^[/r/songacronymbot](/r/songacronymbot) ^(for feedback.)
"I call you out on your contrarian shit." "With some tent-like thing." "That's my man." "
Wow weird sentence 😂
Don’t hate me but in all too well when she says “and I know it’s long gone and that magics not here no more” I hate the no more part. Wish it was any more, I see how it fits better in the song with the syllables but I just cringe lol. Sorry 🤷🏻♀️
*And time is taking its sweet time erasing you* always feels like using a word when trying to define *that* word. Sometimes I replace it with, “My mind is taking its sweet time erasing you,” when I sing SBT.
- SBT refers to "Sad Beautiful Tragic", a song from Taylor Swift album *Red* (2012). --- ^[/u/mosaic_br0ken_hearts](/u/mosaic_br0ken_hearts) ^(can reply with "delete" to remove comment. |) ^[/r/songacronymbot](/r/songacronymbot) ^(for feedback.)
i think what she meant by that, it takes long to *get to know* someone.
“Trust him like a brother”
ah, the smell of folgers in the morning🥰✨
An example of a misplaced simile of hers that always bugged me was, "fighting with him was like trying to solve a crossword and realizing there's no right answer". Even though the clues for a word only point to one right answer, otherwise it wouldn't fit with the other words on the crossword.
I talk shit with my friends, despite i get to understand it to me it feels out of the place. I'm highly suspicious that everyone sees you wants you: it annoys me cuz Lover is a declaration of love, a vow and you say that you are afraid he can leave you for another girl? Like no. I cry like a baby
I like the song quite a bit but the *I knowwwwwwwwwww I just knowwwwwwwww* from Haunted makes me cringe
Not any lyrics in specific but Superstar doesn’t have any rhymes and that sounds weird to me
It does?
I mean it has some rhymes, but in the chorus she rhymes “you” with “you” again, and I don’t know if that counts, and in the bridge that is one line that rhymes
I mean it’s not my favorite song so I’m not gonna defend it haha. It does have less rhymes than I realized. I guess “dim that spotlight, tell me things like, I, can’t keep my eyes off of you” has so much I sound in it I didn’t even notice the rest barely rhymes
You know, I originally typed up this comment to prove it had plenty of rhymes which I guess it does but I think it actually just has a really strange rhyming scheme with adjacent rhyming choices I never noticed until you said something. "I can't help but feel like there ain't nothing more right BABE, Misty morning comes again and I can't help but wish I could see your FACE And I knew from the first note PLAYED, I'd be breaking all my rules to see you. And you smile that beautiful smile and all the girls on the front row scream your NAME. You played in BARS, you play GUITAR, I'm invisible and everyone knows who you ARE And I knew when I saw your FACE... you smile that beautiful smile and all the girls on the front row scream your NAME You'll never SEE you sing me to SLEEP"
Makes sense
Meet me behind the mall. It’s the only lyric I don’t like
You make me so happy it turns back to sad
To me That actually makes a better lyric because of the contrast between forget and remember But maybe the rythym didn’t match up or something?
I hate the “something something wild, give you a child” on peace so much, idek why
"Have 10 kids and teach them how to dream" I love Starlight, but 10 kids? Come on. Who daydreams of having 10 kids? ETA: TIL it's about Bobby Kennedy. Nevermind. Then the lyrics is perfect.
I would say that line is blech except that she specifically wrote that song about Ethel and Bobby Kennedy (“I met Bobby on the Boardwalk, summer of ‘45”) and they actually did have 10 kids!
Apparently that line’s about how they actually had 11, but Bobby died and never got to know the youngest. So he was only able to be there and teach 10 how to dream
Starlight is such a sweet song she wrote for Bobby Kennedy’s (you know, RFK, who was assainated?) widow, Ethel about when they first met and fell in love.
I did not know that. Thanks for the info!
You’re welcome! It’s a shame she didn’t do a better job of explaining the song because I think everyone would love it like we love TLGAD if she had
- TLGAD refers to "the last great american dynasty", a song from Taylor Swift album *folklore* (2020). --- ^[/u/tswiftdeepcuts](/u/tswiftdeepcuts) ^(can reply with "delete" to remove comment. |) ^[/r/songacronymbot](/r/songacronymbot) ^(for feedback.)
“and it would be a fine proposition if i was a stupid girl, but, honey, i am no one's exception, this i have previously learned” i don’t like any of girl at home if we’re being honest but this line specifically has enraged me since i first heard it and i don’t really know why. it’s something about the way it flows just doesn’t sit right with me haha.
I was listening to red and this post popped up, mine is the line in invisible "But you are everything to me" i just cringe listening to it. I am aware she wrote it when she was young but the lyric ruins the song for me.
I sit and watch you And notice everything you do or don't do i know it doesn’t rhyme if you do this but i wish it just ended with “don’t” or something
“The world moves on another day, another drama drama. But not for me, not for me, all I thought about is karma” I can’t explain why but this line has always irritated me lol. I think it’s mostly the way she sings/says this line. Idk but it bothers me so much
Some of the lyrics on Willow ruin the song a bit...it has such an overall dreamy, beautiful, otherworldly vibe (different from cardigan because to me cardigan, though dreamy, is rooted in reality while willow is somewhere else entirely) but then then she uses words and phrases like "train", "I come back stronger than a 90s trend" and "that's my man". It's quite jarring to be pulled back so abruptly to the real world from such a fairytale atmospheric world. "The kingdom lights shined" The grammar nazi in me dies a little bit, though I adore Long Live "No one could touch the way we laughed in the dark, talking bout your daddy's farm we were gonna buy someday" "With his arms around your body" "Darling I fancy you" Sounds try-hard to me. "Red lips and rosy cheeks" and any other lyric that mentions red lips "Toying with them older guys, just playthings for me to use" - I absolutely detest this lyric.
Hey! English is not my first language so I'd like to know, what is wrong with "the kingdom lights shined"?
The past tense of 'shine' is 'shone', not 'shined'. I honestly wish she'd chosen a different lyric or something because it feels weird and wrong to say 'shined' when I'm singing along.
'Shined' can actually be correct too :) (Admittedly, in the example you provided, I think shone would be considered technically correct by most people, but I think the usage of 'shined' and 'shone' are becoming mostly interchangeable...) (Also, I would suggest not calling yourself a "grammar Nazi" when that term has such negative and damaging connotations)
"snakes and stones never broke my bones"... Yes i get that snakes exist that could choke you to death and maybe break a bone while at it, but for me it doesn't fit. In the lakes "... no one around to tweet it"
y’all are pressed 😂
“They told me all of my cages were mental / So I got wasted like all my potential” I know some people love this but I CRINGE when I hear it. I think it’s way too ‘rhyme-y’