The first time I heard this song.. I physically cheered at the bridge. Before Tiktok and definitely before the uptick in fans in 2020, Media was responsible for the highest of speculation among artists and celebrities. Today, fans seem to drive the narrative. I have seen videos of very intrusive opinions on many celebrities, but especially Taylor, that all of a sudden some news source grabs onto the story for clickbait. There was even many viral videos about Taylor’s sexuality that a magazine grabbed on to and cited Tiktok… It’s just too far. The bridge definitely did surprise me but it was just.. so perfect.
Besides the scolding of fans, the other and biggest narrative of this song sounded like Love Story 2.0 – but from an older and more realistic perspective in modern day. When Taylor made Love Story she had stated how mad she got at her dad one day, and yelled “BUT DADDY I LOVE HIM” and ironically used those lines to create this song. This song has so many interesting narratives, call outs to the one that betrayed her, to those that praise her, and to the one she ended up with — I am simply amazed by it. The way she incorporates this song on tour is also incredibly important to how she wants us to read it as well.
Taylor did include audio messages about her work – I always find it fascinating to hear artists – visual and performing – talk about their work and inspiration. We know that dramatic music sells more than music without a big story – so to hear her discuss Down Bad, The Black Dog, and Cassandra really lets us hear a moment of her brain. She likes to talk about how she uses over-dramatic phrases [specifically in Fortnight] to really nail her point – but it’s still up in the air if she actually felt as deeply hurt as her lyrics say.
The first time I listened to this song, and album, I took a 5 mile walk around my town. I cannot listen to an album until I’m ready, in the right mood, and by myself – so I can listen to it from start to finish to actually gather the full story in the way it was meant to be told. Listening to this song blew me out of the water, and I screamed in happiness when she called out the fanbase and media for prying a bit too deeply into her private life.
In looking at these lyrics, capitalizations and punctuation really do matter in how we break down these lyrics. The punctuation is really what changes this song from this ‘facade’ and happy-go-lucky naive thought of Love Story, to a reality that could actually happen in an everyday life.
Lyrical Breakdown
I forget how the West was won
Immediately we have a West reference. I think some people would refer this to Kanye, but I’m 99% sure this is relating to the brutalities of the West exploration and culture. Later in this verse we have Sunday Best, and Clutching their pearls. Both of those are typically religious or conservative stereotypes – so this West phrase definitely feels like a reference to a brutal time the West ‘was won’ and although exciting for expansion, detrimental to those expanding and those who were native. [This could be a reach but I’m going all in]
I forget if this was ever fun
I just learned these people only raise you to cage you
These two lines definitely are about her upbringing in the limelight. Being told what is good, appropriate, tolerated, how to present yourself, and what can be posted even online.
Taylor has referenced cages so much in all of her music videos. they kept her there – told her what to do – and def i think she is talking about the fans and media too – since its referenced later.
So I see these first three lines as, I forgot the brutalities that went along with this, I don’t even remember if I had fun doing something I dreamed about – I’ve learned that I’ve been restricted this whole time while writing my music and being under contracts.
Sarahs and Hannahs in their Sunday best
Clutching their pearls, sighing “What a mess”
I just learned these people try and save you
… cause they hate you
Again, we are using metaphor of religion to serve a different purpose. Notoriously the church can be a very judgemental place. I lived this life growing up. People I would find out are massive hypocrites [who even ended up in prison due to abuse or affiliation with minors] later in my life, would always look down on me, comment on my clothing as a middle schooler, tell me I was sinful because I had an interest in dating. She is using religion here as an idea of saviorism. “We need you to do this to help yourself,” “You shouldn’t date that man because he isn’t good for you,” “You’ll lose your fanbase if you speak about politics so ignore it.”
We are in a bit of overexposure era of Taylor, once again like 2015, where she is being loved, yet hated on, by every direction. People pry too much into her personal love life, people say they want the best for her but in only their narrative [and without even knowing her], and probably the most annoying factor is the media. The POLITICAL media right now is so stupid. Conservatives calling her a bad role model because she has cats and not kids – because she is an independent woman who made herself a billionaire, who has just a boyfriend and not a husband, because she is a strong woman who little girls look up to… of all ages.Those weak men can’t handle it. What a mess that Taylor is, being her own foundation and not leaning on a man.
The line cause they hate you really stands out to me in our stan taylor base. I see so many posts about how they think she is gay, bisexual, how secretly she is still with Harry Styles, how she has a secret baby with Karlie, or how she is being abused by her significant other due to how she dances on stage??? Unhinged. These people will never believe her actual words she states and they look for big deep meanings in ways she doesn’t intend for them to. People are taking her easter eggs to a big and new level that she has never done. Her eggs are very simple – not deeply rooted in complexity. So we always ask these people questions… do you even like her? or just the narrative you have created for her, that if she doesn’t fit in to – you don’t like her?
Too high a horse
For a simple girl to rise above it
They slammed the door on my whole world
The one thing I wanted
With this verse in comparison to the last, we see this is about a relationship. As the song progresses, those in the know, understand this is about a specific relationship the media, and the fans, really made it known they disliked it. So the Hannah’s and Sarah’s complained online because they are better than this decision Taylor has made for herself, and decide to ‘unstan’ her because they cannot except her life decision for her OWN life [not theirs].
Too high a horse, is definitely a play off of ‘get off your high horse,’ what is most in question for me for this saying is if Taylor is saying she was on a high horse about this relationship that she thought no one could disrupt the outcome, or reading it straight on – were the fans and media on their high horse that Taylor couldn’t rise above this tall feat. I think it’s the second.
These people thought they were better than thou, and bullied her and this man out of the relationship because they were LOUD and causing the media to be even louder. Not from her decision but from his.
Now I’m running with my dress unbuttoned
Screaming “But Daddy I love him!”
I’m having his baby
No, I’m not, but you should see your faces
I’m telling him to floor it through the fences
No, I’m not coming to my senses
I know he’s crazy but he’s the one I want
A few things with this Chorus. When the title tracks were dropped everyone thought this was about Little Mermaid. Although there are some similar concepts; a forbidden love, a dad’s disapproval, a community shame, this is, in my opinion, more a recall to her song writing Love Story.
The beginning lines are what she is not doing. Now I’m running with my dress unbuttoned, screaming “Daddy I LOVE HIM! I’m Having His BABY” – these entire lines are rooted in this fantastical love story and what she would have done when she was younger. No I’m not, but you should see your faces.
So what is she really doing? She’s telling him to floor it through the fences – in this line it means kicking down walls, busting through obstacles, telling him they are going to make it, because she wont listen to them or come to her senses. She knows his reputation but he’s the one that she wants.
Dutiful daughter, all my plans were laid
Tendrils tucked into a woven braid
Growing up precocious sometimes means not growing up at all
This are direct lines from her life.
A daughter with expectations that were laid in front of her. Now, in these lines, and song, I think that dad could mean her father, but more so it’s the industry and the trajectory of her career. Growing up precocious – someone with talent in early age, sometimes means not growing up at all.
Taylor has said in interviews that she sometimes feels frozen at the age she was signed. A LOT of artists feel this way. Even in her songs [down bad being one] she loves to use these metaphors for throwing a teenage-like fit – even though she is a grown woman. It’s taken her a lot to overcome the shit the media has been through. Up until now, tendrils tucked into a woven braid, everything perfect, pristine, and ready to be over-analyzed by the media because there was nothing out of place.
He was chaos, he was revelry
Bedroom eyes like a remedy
His reputation was chaos, and revelry. I love the definition of revelry [hah]
Revelry: lively and noisy festivities, especially when these involve drinking a large amount of alcohol. “sounds of revelry issued into the night”
This is definitely a call to I can fix him [no really I can].
“The jokes that he told across the bar
Were revolting and far too loud
They shake their heads sayin’, “God, help her”
When I tell ’em he’s my man“
He was a mess – but it was, you could say, the mess that she wanted.
Bedroom eyes: A gaze that invites sexual intimacy. Some say that bedroom eyes can include relaxed facial muscles, dropped eyelids, dilated pupils, and an inviting smile. Other techniques that can enhance the allure of bedroom eyes include locking eyes, softening one’s stare, smiling subtly, moving slowly, and flirtatious touches.
Bedroom eyes like a remedy, to fix her problems, to fix his ‘indecent exposures’ [Down Bad] and make her ignore the wrongs, and the red flags.
Soon enough the elders had convened
Down at the city hall
“Stay away from her”
The saboteurs protested too much
Hello media and fans. The elders had convened may be her PR crew, her parents, her industry, but in this way I think she is referencing the fans and media. They did become too loud. As soon as the fans took it up on Twitter and Tiktok, the media did too. They sabotaged her own life decisions, because as we know from future songs – and from My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys, he left because ‘he loved her too much,’ to ruin her name. Which.. in this bridge she addresses it.
Lord knows the words we never heard
Just screeching tires and true love
Lord knows the words we never heard, another religious reference. She didn’t get the approval she desperately wanted – just those screeching tires of running through the fences [obstacles] and fighting for true love.
Onto the bridge: This was the longest bridge of pure scolding that I ever did hear and mannnnn am I HERE FOR IT.
I’ll tell you something right now
I’d rather burn my whole life down
Than listen to one more second of all this bitching and moaning
I’ll tell you something about my good name
It’s mine alone to disgrace
I don’t cater to all these vipers dressed in empath’s clothing
This entire verse just needs to be talked about as a whole .. and it’s one I’ve been DYING to talk about since the moment I heard it.
This is simply to the fans and partially about the media for rolling with it. Those people that ‘…cause they hate you’ – are very much in reference to this bridge. People saying they are scared for her because she’ll ruin her name being with him, who bitch and moan about EVERY decision she makes, as if she will ever be good enough for them. Her name is her’s alone to ruin – she will not do what you want her to just to fit your narrative and vision of her. These people pretend to care [just like the first paragraph] but are nothing than saboteurs in disguise.
Continuing on the longest bridge scolding we’ve ever seen:
God save the most judgmental creeps
Who say they want what’s best for me
Sanctimoniously performing soliloquies I’ll never see
There are a few specific small parts of this fanbase who I also find way too intrusive – as they speculate on her personal life far too much. These people are judgmental to everything she does, and try to decode every move she makes as if she isn’t just human. This time she is using religion as a way to save ‘them.’ Save them from being judgemental, as I know they are, saying they want what’s best for me while really hurting me, and coming up with reasons online that Taylor won’t even read or hear. This specific line I think she is talking about TikTok mostly. so many bad takes on there from younger people who have not even lived through these hard moments in life. I honestly do not scroll TikTok any more because of this. Exhausting.
Thinking it can change the beat
Of my heart when he touches me
And counteract the chemistry
And undo the destiny
You ain’t gotta pray for me
Me and my wild boy
And all this wild joy
If all you want is gray for me
Then it’s just white noise
And it’s just my choice
Thinking their words can change how she feels about someone that she knows, and they don’t. You don’t have to ask her to be saved, you don’t have to save her, this has been a long relationship in the making. He gives her joy she hasn’t felt, she knows he is wild, and if you want just mediocre love for her, then she isn’t going to listen. The white noise – just like a fan blowing in cool air – will be ignored and just apart of everyday life.
This is also an excellent call back to You’re Losing Me, as the color is coming back to her face. It was gray and lifeless, she was sick, but he restarted her heart – and the fans and media just will never know the truth beyond speculation.
There’s a lot of people in town that I
Bestow upon my fakest smiles
Scandal does funny things to pride
But brings lovers closer
The storms always bring the brightest rainbows. The constant speculation, the ‘forbidden love’ that was hers, makes couples come out stronger than ever. However, now we have a shift in the plot.
Even before tour came out, I was thinking about her life and these words. Her and M*tty didn’t work out, so where is this ending coming from? When the heat died down, they had broken up.. she was a mess. I physically saw her being upset on stage, though she was faking her smile.. and thinking about that, how our fans bullied her out of a relationship… I wonder if she actually wanted to be there at that time.
I thought about maybe the ending was about what she wished had happened – the perfect end to a love story 2.0 – but … then tour came.
In the new version of the Eras tour, she adds TTPD to the set list, and right before So High School, a song about Travis Kelce… we get the bridge and the Chorus of this part of the song. Leading us to believe there is a shift in this song, from one relationship of disapproval, to another of freedom. But at this time, she doesn’t care what the media and people have to say. This is her love and she is with someone strong enough to take the heat from all sides.
We came back when the heat died down
Went to my parents and they came around
All the wine moms are still holding out
But Fuck Em, it’s over.
This line is mostly made up – her past relationship wasn’t ever approved or appreciated. But She came back around. She went through the heat and made it out. The wine moms line is so funny to me, because it’s kinda like the people on their high horse, but probably the ones who were rooting for her and M*tty’s relationship to succeed – but fuck em, it’s over. The relationship did end. She has moved on.
BUT WHAT ARE YOU DOING NOW TAYLOR??
Now I’m dancing in my dress in the sun and
Even my daddy just loves him
I’m his lady, and oh my God
You should see your faces
Time, doesn’t it give some perspective
No, you can’t come to the wedding
I know he’s crazy but he’s the one I want
The most potent thing about these lines is she doesnt say ‘no I’m not,’ because she isnt kidding.. she is his lady. And most importantly, we are not invited to the wedding.
and in this longer episode Travy calls her… his lady – look at mark 1:15
I know you can’t come to the wedding. And it’s not because we are busy, it’s because we aren’t invited. Her love is her love. She wants to keep it private while also displaying it. He’s a crazy, funny football dude, but she is happy. Her parents are happy. and oh my god you should see our faces??! Because in London when this boy walked on stage I almost cried lol. I just LOVE seeing her this happy and flaunting someone like she never has before.
The repetition of the last lines and chorus is a good way to repeat over and over that she is here to save herself. Not us. Not the media. She is happy, so back the fuck off? Noted Tay. Though I never voiced my opinion on the previous relationship. Her life is her life, and she knows who she is and who she is dating more than I can ever speculate on.
I’ll tell you something right now you ain’t gotta pray for me
Me and my wild boy and all of this wild joy
You don’t have to ‘pray’ for her – she found her love – she has so much joy, and she has what she wants. She’s great – and for once she’s freeing herself from what others expect from her.
He was chaos, he was revelry
If all you want is gray for me
Then it’s just white noise, and it’s my choice
Screaming “But Daddy I love him!”
I’m having his baby
No, I’m not! But you –
Should see your faces
But oh my God you should see your faces
Visual Representation
At first I thought of the lines running with my dress unbuttoned – I thought about this fairytale like – old Romeo and Juliet styled era where they got caught together and her running after him. But Since that was basically Love Story, I thought about the modern day ‘Tell him to floor it thru the fences’ and this sunset – driving – being careless together.
This was my main image but I did have some others that I was contemplating on. Let me tell you about the heart attack I was having placing my camera out of the window lol
of course, i am wearing a repurrrrrtation shirt.