I know one of my very good friends adores this song, but it’s just pretty ok for me. I understand the potency of it – since it is addressed to a younger self. But the last few tracks of Anthology I feel somewhat run together for me. But, in Taylor fashion, it doesn’t mean I don’t know every word, and it doesn’t mean I don’t remember them or like them, I just don’t run to them when I turn on the vinyl.
Taylor has many songs addressing a child or her younger self. Never grow up, Ronan, and The Best Day [more so for her mother but it does have memories tied to her youth] are just a handful of examples. You’re on your own, Kid, definitely has some of these intertwined narratives, too. The ups and downs of fame, riding the waves of a dream that shows its face in all forms of joys and monstrosities, which lead us to this song which actually directly addresses young Taylor.
I feel like this song she finally felt like she could write after the success of the Eras Tour. After the first leg of the tour was over, or at least mid way through and everything was selling out – she saw the numbers, she saw the fame, she saw the success. She could see that she really could stop making music and still could profit off her of name, and merch for some time to come. I don’t think she ever expected this to happen… and now that she is also in a stable relationship – I think this moment is very freeing to her.
Lyrical Breakdown
Long may you reign
You’re an animal
You are bloodthirsty
Out window panes talking utter nonsense
You have no idea
This song has a lot of visuals, which I honestly believe come from some of her own home-videos. I so badly would like a music video to this with all of the conglomerations of these scenes mixed with her now.. but not ‘preformative’ Taylor – real Taylor.
Picture it, a child, on all fours, roaring up at the sky, walking around, pretending to reign and hunt their grounds – they are talking to their parents out of window panes, roaring at them, but their parents can’t understand a damn word –
They have no idea what their life has in store for them. They are a lion, afterall.
Strings tied to levers,
slowed down clocks tethered,
all this showmanship
This makes me think of the guitar? I stared at these words for awhile. Guitar strings are ‘tied’ to levers at the bottom to hold them in place, slowed down clocks are also known as metronomes. These slow down the time and break them into ‘four/four’ or any time signature you need to keep on beat or in sync while playing music. That would include a type of showmanship with performing.
I found another perspective on Reddit that was interesting about this line, too, that was more about Taylor during the Eras tour with a broken heart, reflecting on little Taylor’s dreams.
To me this was about Taylor keeping up the act on the Eras Tour when she was dealing with a lot and probably had thoughts of not wanting to do it anymore. But little Taylor always dreamed of being where big Taylor is now. Taylor seems to have conflicts with herself about how she feels with her fame. But little Tay dreamed of it. Wished for it. Planned for it. Strummed her guitar til her fingers bled. Sang songs for her family all the time, excited to show them something new she wrote. And big Taylor was thinking of her. Her younger self. Her inner child. Because big Tay was exactly where she had always dreamed of being and Taylor kept the act up and hit all her marks and did everything perfect and right to keep that idea going for her younger self.
To keep it, for you,
In sweetness
So with that second interpretation in mind – she kept going – for you. – for little Taylor.
Way to go tiger
Higher and higher
Wilder and lighter
For you
Way to go, Tiger. Is such a parental, encouragement thing to say when something is achieved. You did it, Champ, you made it through the hardest point in your life. I HAVE to think this was a nickname for her from a grandparent, parent, or some sort of guardian figure.
Long may you roar
At your dinosaurs
You’re a just ruler
Covered in mud, you look ridiculous
And you have no idea
Again a visual of a child, now a dinosaur [maybe a dino before too]. A ruler of the plains, covered in mug, just playing – not worried about the stares of others, and unaware of the mud covering them. I think about this idea all of the time. The freeing feeling of being a child. The learned behavior we have as an adult that boxes us and makes us feel we have to be presentable all of the time. The ideal societal body and representation we constantly feel we must uphold to fit in society that causes us insecurity. The only times we let ourselves be free is in our youth and when we are elderly and cannot dare to care.
Buried down deep and out of your reach, the secret we all vowed to keep it, from you,
In sweetness
Way to go tiger
Higher and higher
Wilder and lighter
For you
In thinking about how many songs Taylor has written about her back and forth feelings with fame, Nothing New, Lucky One, I can do it with a broken heart, But Daddy I love him, Out of the Woods, I know Places, and SO many more, these sets of lines make me think about hiding information from new artists or younger people who dream of this fame, occupation or artistry. We are keeping the information of how painful some of this can be, because we know you want this dream, and in the end it is worth it – but there are some very challenging times. If people knew about all of these times, they may not pursuit the dream But way to go, Tiger, you made it, and you made it through. This second one, to me, feels like she’s talking to her adult self, too. Like a little pat on the back of sympathy – ‘you did this, kid.’
You got the dragonflies above your bed
You have a favorite spot on the swing set
You have no room in your dreams for regrets
You have no idea
Innocence is really what we are playing out here. We have a scene painted for us. Dragonflies are the obsession of the year [parents know what I am talking about] – there is a spot on the swingset that for some reason is designated hers, she has her dreams she has to reach. Absolutely no exceptions and she won’t hear the downfalls.
The time will arrive for the cruel and the mean
You’ll learn to bounce back just like your trampoline
But now we’ll curtail your curiosity
Exactly as the previous verse – The hard times will come, the things ‘we’ kept from you, and similarly to the bouncing in your youth that you learned to do, you will do that emotionally – but if you learned about them in your youth – you wouldn’t pursuit this journey – so those around you protected you.
In this sense it does sound parental. So part of me wonders if her parents had talked to her a bit about this and how they knew some of this stuff would happen – not in the perfect future telling way- but more so how the industry can be scummy and messy – and how sexist rules play out. So they just wanted to be a strong support system.
And all of the time the In Sweetness line comes up – it’s referencing – in kindness, out of love, not out of malice. Out of kindness and for your protection, we didn’t mention these things because we know what you were capable of and wanted you to pursuit your dreams because we believed in you.
In sweetness
Way to go, Tiger
Higher and higher
Wilder and lighter
For you
I am not famous [surprise! lol] but for some reason the songs that get me the most by Taylor, are these ones that reference the back and forth with fame – I think because they are so real. Similarly to MGK or Witt Lowry, I love songs when artists confront their audience about how hard this shit can be. People forget that living in fame is not easy. During COVID people reduced their empathy for those with money simply because they had money and felt like they couldn’t say they had depression or anxiety about the situation which is not true at all. Money doesn’t do much – sure it helps… definitely in America with anxiety and healthcare – however it doesn’t rid mental illness. Those in the performance sector thrive off of connections, and without those connections there is a bit of a spiral and lack of understanding what they are supposed to do.
So although I am not in the limelight – I like when artists address that fans can be too much [Eminem was the first really in my generation to call this out very bluntly], and that they don’t always love it when people are ‘obsessed with them’ even if it’s out of love. I like when they admit they don’t love every song they have ever written and hate playing it live over and over – because that is the truth.
I remember seeing Halsey during a small concert in Gary, Indiana [of all places], and she said, ‘you will never fucking hear me play closer again in my fucking life because I hate that song with all that I have in my fucking body.’ God, was that freeing. Some fans of Taylor’s think she loves everything, everyone, every part of the fanbase, every ounce of her life, and we know that’s just not true. She is human, she would love to just walk out her door to an empty street – but she knows it’s either all or nothing unfortunately.
SO ALTHOUGH I don’t run to this song, I appreciate the narrative immensely and I do love the lyrics written. I can appreciate them, and I understand them from my own perspective on life, too. The memories of us as a child, not knowing a damn thing – not knowing where we would end up – to looking back at those clueless moments in sweetness.
Visual Representation
as I age and begin to lose those around me, self reflection has been loud and present in my life right now. This week I am prepping for a gallery exhibition I am in where I am showcasing my grief work. It’s been a long time coming since I started that project and I am so happy I get to share a snippet of it with the world. Since beginning that project I have began my own grief series essentially that discusses actively grieving as well as passing and dealing with the joy and pain of loss. With all of this comes reflection of the past. Our past dreams, goals, insecurities, pain, growth, and childhood. There are lots of memories we have as children that are skewed into what those protecting us wanted us to see, and as we age we find out the truth of characters of people that were hidden from us. As some of those people pass, for me, it’s a hard thing to grapple with. So as that’s a bit unrelated to the idea of this song, that part of reflection comes with this reflection. This song is looking back and really telling your younger self – you have no idea the great things you’ll accomplish, but you also have no idea the things you’ll go through and the pain you’ll endure to get there. Which is also true – my business’ success took hard hard work. It took not having a social life, it took taking 18 credits in undergrad at a time while working 3 jobs. I marketed and networked so hard, I went to graduate school while photographing 35-45 weddings and traveling to other countries to photograph those weddings. So much of my own life wasn’t documented to gain this success I have today. And although success always feels good – we do always have this ever lasting question…
was it worth it?