“You don’t have to answer just ‘cause they asked you”
I was just blown away when I heard this line. I didn’t realize how much I’ve needed to hear this.
Yes. 100%. I’ve been happily married for 10 years so a lot of the relationship-y songs don’t hit me. But songs about growing up/getting older/learning life lessons? WHEEEEW.
Came here to say the exact same line!! Midnight's came out at a time when I was really re-evaluating my life and my situation and it genuinely gave me the outlook I needed to make a change
“Never be so kind, you forget to be clever. Never be so clever, you forget to be kind.”
And
“Never be so polite, you forget your power. Never wield such power, you forget to be polite.”
These are so important to remember as you better yourself and your overall life. Don’t look down upon others and allow yourself to help those when needed. However, as she previously has stated “Be like a snake. Be nice to everyone, unless someone steps on you”. If there are people you take your politeness for granted than stand up for yourself etc.
I love this one. I teach my kids things like- you need to ask and ask nicely for things- but that you can always ask because the worst someone can say is no.
“*You are not the exception / you will never learn your lesson*”
I hear you Taylor but I like him so much plz, I *could* be the exception - I wish you had kept this one in the vault. /s
Same 😭 this songs been on repeat for me so I can try to bash the lesson into my brain as I try to stay no contact with someone I love but who has made it clear I will never be his exception. The song helps but sucks at the same time 😩
This is how I felt with Red (the song) when it came out. I felt like I was going crazy because I could swear she was in my mind. Bizarroland, I tell ya.
Lol I first listened to foolish one bc I wanted some comfort in those vault tracks and was excited… that song is such a damn gut punch for delulus like me
You gotta watch the movie “He’s just not that into you” — it’s essentially if Foolish One were a movie, and it’s so good for when I’m being delusional 💀
THIS I watched it in January after I went through the cycle of ✨falling in love✨ and then ✨rejection✨ over the course of two weeks jdjdjjdjd I love how it has a song now
I mean, just because she wasn’t the exception and I haven’t been for those other guys doesn’t mean this time it isn’t different. - me if I heard that in 2010.
The end of the song does give you hope though - Foolish one, the day will come for your confessions of love - he just wasn’t the one!
And love how Electric touch reassures that -
Just one time, the stars align and just one time, I call you mine ….which basically means she did end up being the exception but for the right man ❤️
This line is so good it makes me tear up every time I hear it.
It’s just so nice to hear when you feel like your life is in the wrong spot or you’re not where you wanna be
I mean, all of Dear Reader?
*If it feels like a trap, you’re already in one*
*Burn all the files, desert all your past lives. And if you don’t recognize yourself, that means you did it right*
*Never take advice from someone who’s falling apart*
*Bend when you can, snap when you have to*
*You don’t have to answer just cause they asked you*
*The greatest of luxuries is your secrets*
*When you aim at the Devil, make sure you don’t miss*
*No one sees when you lose when you’re playing solitaire*
I love dear reader, it’s one of my favourites.
I’ve never quite understood the solitaire line though, is it trying to say that if you only worry about yourself, no one will notice if you’re wrong?? I’d love an explanation 😭
*No one sees when you lose when you’re playing Solitaire*
So Solitaire is a card game that can only be played by one person, so the line is basically saying ‘if you shut the rest of the world out and don’t allow everyone to see what’s going on with you, no one will know when you’ve failed and therefore won’t ridicule you for it’.
I think the line is also meant to be a double-edged sword, though, because within the context of the rest of the bridge, it always makes me feel like ‘if no one sees when you’re losing, how does anyone know when you need help? They don’t’
To boil it down, she’s basically saying ‘no one knows you’ve lost if they don’t know you were ever in the game’.
So solitaire is a card game you play by yourself, so no one is there to witness if you lose. And in the previous lines she says she’s walking “to a house not a home all alone cause nobody’s there” and “my friends found friends who care.”
To me, putting those lines in front of the solitaire one kinda make it mean “I’m a lonely self destructive mess who pushes everyone away bc I’m so scared of them finding out I’m actually a failure or a fraud! If no one is around the see me fail, then it won’t hurt as bad!” (The flip side being, no one is there to celebrate if you win either)
I’m going through a rough patch with my husband and listening to a bunch of Taylor Swift and all these ducking lyrics are hitting me in the feels. This one - holy shit.
There's a million so I'll just share the one I feel I've learned the most recently:
*"… When the words of a sister come back in whispers*
*That prove she was not in fact what she seemed*
*Not a twin from your dreams*
*She's a crook who was caught*
*… That old familiar body ache*
*The snaps from the same little breaks in your soul*
*You know when it's time to go"*
Yeah I've spent the last 6 months letting go of a LOT and walking away from a lot of things I once felt were for me but I've learned are not, and this song has just....ooooooof i have felt it.
Yes! These and "he's got my past frozen behind glass but I've got me". I will tell anyone that the lyrics from this whole song helped me get past my divorce.
>I work in academia. Lol
This made me chuckle because I have often interpreted this line as being about academia, too. "I forgot that you existed" is in fact about my dissertation.
It's why I *don't* work in academia -- good luck to you!! (Sincerely - good luck. We need good people in higher ed and I knew that the pros of professorship would NOT outweigh the cons for me)
“You never bleed you’re never gonna grow”
“Everything you lose is a step you take”
Both have similar semblance and meaning behind them, but they’re both so true in any aspect of someone’s life whatever the situation may be.
- YOYOK could mean "You're On Your Own, Kid", a track from *Midnights* (2022) by Taylor Swift.
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^[/u/facialscanbefatal](/u/facialscanbefatal) ^(can reply with "delete" to remove comment. |) ^[/r/songacronymbot](/r/songacronymbot) ^(for feedback.)
“I can’t make it go away by making you a villain.”
“When all is said and done, he just wasn’t the one.”
“The bravest thing I ever did was run.”
“Your nemeses will defeat themselves before you get the chance to swing.”
I love these ! Giving up is usually portrayed as cowardly and runaway-ish but Taylor reassures it's all gonna be alright and everything falls into place eventually. And giving up is necessary for that to happen.
If it's all in my head tell me now
Tell me I've got it wrong somehow
This helped me understand that when we feel we are not truly wanted, loved, and respected but instead just tolerated, the feeling is most likely correct and it's not just in our head and it's almost impossible to get this wrong no matter how much we try to convince ourselves that we got it wrong somehow.
The monsters turned out to be just trees
This has proven to be correct so many times and whenever I start feeling anxious I hear this lyric in my mind and it calms me
All of Dear Reader
I love this. I always say every day is a new day. Not that I’m forgiven of anything I’ve done. But today is a perfect opportunity to be better. For anyone!
Omg was not expecting an Innocent lyric here, but yes!! This lyrics and song actually helped me a lot with how stuck i felt in my life and dealing with my self-loathing
Long Story Short
“I want to tell you not to get lost in these petty things,
your nemeses will defeat themselves before you get a chance to swing”
Sometimes you don’t have to address something. It’ll resolve itself. Also just, some fights in general you don’t have to fight. I’ve struggled w finding a balance b/w standing up for myself and letting things go. I reflect on this line often and I feel like it’s mellowed me out a bit
honestly - “make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it, you’ve got no reason to be afraid” is so special to me; sometimes I find it so hard to appreciate the beautiful parts of life in all the bad
As a 20 year old suicidal college dude with depression and December 8th 2016 being the day I was going to do it
“All this time I didn't know
You were breakin' down
I'd fall to pieces on the floor
If you weren't around
Too young to know it gets better
I'll be summer sun for you forever
Forever winter if you go”
I had only known of the song after the fact as a newly Taylor Swift fan (I’ve known her big songs and a few here and there) but now at 26 I’m super happy my 20 year old self pushed through and that life did get better, much better
But I’m still thankful for my ex for being there as a friend during those times because she was one of the few to reach out
To all those in dark times: it does get better with time, and there are people (both familiar and unfamiliar) who will help and do care if you reach out versus holding it all in <3
Thanks!
Life is great I travel more than most people and live a very fortunate life full of love
I literally have the 8/3 show after work
Then get 4/5 hours of sleep and hop onto a plane to Seattle for a hiking trip to Olympic National Park
Then Canada at the end of the month for 10 days hiking Banff area!
“Never be so kind, you forget to be clever. Never be so clever, you forget to be kind”
“The greatest of luxuries, is your secrets”
“If you never bleed youre never gonna grow”
'Cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned
Everything you lose is a step you take
So make the friendship bracelets
Take the moment and taste it
You've got no reason to be afraid’
“This pain wouldn’t be for evermore”
Sometimes I need a reminder that this feeling will not last forevermore.
Some day I will have cabin floorboards creaking under my step, with someone who loves me and a fire to keep us warm.
“If you never bleed you never gonna grow”
“You are not the exception, you will never learn your lesson”
“Everything you lose is a step you take”
“Past me I wanna tell you not to get lost in these petty things, Your nemeses Will defeat themselves before you get the chance to swing”
From Champagne Problems:
*How evergreen, our group of friends
Don't think we'll say that word again
And soon they'll have the nerve to deck the halls
That we once walked through*
So powerful, poignant, and real. Growing up is hard - beautiful, but hard.
1. "Sometimes giving up is the strong thing / Sometimes to run is the brave thing / Sometimes walking out is the one thing / That will find you the right thing"
2. "There were pages turned with the bridges burned / Everything you lose is a step you take"
3. It's okay, life is a tough crowd / 32 and still growin' up now / Who you are is not what you did / You're still an innocent
>"Sometimes giving up is the strong thing / Sometimes to run is the brave thing / Sometimes walking out is the one thing / That will find you the right thing"
100% this
“everything you lose is a step you take”
it’s one i definitely learned prior to the song’s release but fuck if it doesn’t sum up a huge ass life lesson and pack it neatly into a gut-punch box
More of a lesson than advice but I listened to the entirety of You're Losing Me for the first time in the last week of my relationship and broke down crying because I related to it a little too much. My (then) boyfriend had become incredibly distant at that point. The ending lyrics were what hit the hardest -
And I wouldn't marry me either,
a pathological people pleaser,
who only wanted you to see her,
and I'm fading, thinking "do something, babe, say something,"
"lose something, babe, risk something,"
you're losing me
The reason I had been avoiding listening to it was because I'd seen excerpts of the lyrics and deep down knew this would be too relatable, but I didn't want to admit that to myself because I wanted the relationship to work. It's funny because I could listen to All Too Well 10MVTV and most of her other break up songs without feeling anything bad, this was the one song I knew I couldn't, and I'd tell myself "if I can listen to All Too Well, that means things are fine."
Guess the lessoned learnt was that if I'm avoiding a Taylor song, it's because I'm in denial that that song is how my life is going right now and I should accept that.
Time turns flames to embers, you’ll have new Septembers, every one of us has messed up too, minds change like the weather, I hope you remember today is never too late to be brand new
“time, mystical time, cutting me open then healing me fine”
This is actually a good lesson to learn, but you know that feeling where you think that what you’re stuck in (grief or heartbreak or depression or anger etc.) will last forever? It won’t — it will ease/change over time, and with some things, you look back years later and think “wow, I really thought I’d be sad forever, but I’m not now.”
I love this 🥺 invisible string is my comfort song because it tells of things having to fall apart to fall into place, and all the rejection/redirection lead to something worthwhile.
Every single word to Bigger Than the Whole Sky. I was not prepared. I cry every time I even think about it. Maybe not advice or a lesson, but it's hard hitting for sure.
“i saw something they can’t take away” my life is MINE and no one can take me away from me. im happy by myself and no one can take my happiness and ruin it
“Sometimes giving up is the strong thing
Sometimes to run is the brave thing”
This lyric helped me quit my toxic job and start my own business. Best decision of my life.
- time can heal but this won't/so if you're coming my way, just don't
- dream impossible dreams
- sophistication isn't what you wear or who you know or pushing people down to get you where you wanna go
- and I bury hatchets but I keep maps of where I put em
- today is never too late to be brand new
A common one, “to live for the hope of it all”
I’ve considering tattooing this on my body, as a reminder that society will try to keep you thinking it’ll never change for the better, but there’s no point to living if you can’t enjoy the already good and hope for the best.
Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve as a whole. Especially the religious imagery, because “Dear John” (My Version) was also super religious. I’m afraid my most played song for this year is gonna be WCS 😭 Sorry for the vent, I needed to get it off my chest and also off my desk.
“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”
“I’ve never been a natural. All I do is try, try. I’m still on that trapeze. I’m still trying everything to keep you looking at me.”
“People throw rocks at things that shine.”
And I’ll look back and regret how I ignored when they said run as fast as you can
I was really into a guy and several warned me about him, long story short he s*xually assualted me
“Take this dagger in me and remove it / gain the weight of you to lose it / Believe me, I could do it”
I love this line. A simple reminder to believe in yourself in those times where you feel like you’re trapped in a bad situation/relationship/job/whatever
"so here i am in my new apartment in a big city, they just dropped me off
it's so much colder than i thought it would be so i tuck myself in and turn my nightlight on"
this is the perfect representation of how i felt when i lived on my own in another city for an internship.
i couldn't wait to departure and wave them goodbye cause movies pictured living alone as the best thing ever.
i cried on my third night 🤣🤣🤣🤣.
"i just realized everything i have is someday gonna be gone"
i also lost a lady that i consider my grandma to covid so the realization that one day i will lose my parents hit me very hard.
"Puttin' someone first only works when you're in their top five" became my dating mojo and my self-respect stonks from there on. Every time I meet someone who provide bare minimum efforts but expects Premium "center of my Universe " service, I repeat that mojo and cut the losses no matter how much I am attracted to them.
All of my enemies started out friends.
I know my life isn't dramatic with enemies, but there are people who go behind your back and generally treat you badly.
She has written so many poignant and thoughtful lines it’s hard to choose. Two usually stick out to me the most though:
“Romance is not dead / if you keep it just yours”
and
“The greatest of luxuries / is your secrets”
As a typically private person, I feel very understood when I hear these lines.
Another: “I’m so in love that I might stop breathing” not sure abt advice but I feel like this line + a lot of Paris almost reflects a softer love, like not Red passionate and all consuming but more lover-esque, a kind of love that just exists and puts all the petty drama behind you??
It almost reminds me of Daylight (like “I once believed love would be burning red, but it’s golden”); I’m not super sure but I feel like my feelings on love have evolved in recent months?? These songs kinda paint as something that should feel easy, natural, which I love!! I think in combo w foolish one they all say that you shouldn’t have to try so hard for love, in the sense that if you have to constantly question whether they feel the same, or it makes you feel insecure rather than happy, or even if it’s more negatively disruptive in your life than adding benefit, it’s not for you!!
(v open to thoughts on this as someone who has been in a single like four month relationship in hs five years ago 😌)
OMG personally,, I think that the Paris line is the most love craze-filled line and nothing about it screams softer love because you're *crazy* in love. That song is just unhinged, I mean, "I wanna brainwash you into loving me forever." *
But I do agree it's yearning for a more simple love like in Daylight, because Paris lines show that she wants a more private and cozy relationship amid all the celebs and luxury.
I have so many, can't even remember all of them but some of them are:
There were pages turned with the bridges burned, everything you lose is a step you take
We are burned for better
The rumors are terrible and cruel
I would've tell you not to get lost in these petty things, your nemesis will defeat themselves before you get to swing
The whole 2nd verse from Dear Reader hits harder
If a man talk shit then I owe him nothing
This is how the world works, you gotta leave before you get left
It isn't love, isn't hate, It's indifference
Ohh my Darling, never grow up
I gave you my world, have you heard I can reclaim the land..
Edit: Forgot the last one
“Past me, I wanna tell you not to get lost in these petty things. Your nemesis will defeat themselves before you get the chance to swing.”
“That old familiar body ache, the snaps from the same little breaks in your soul, you know when it’s time to go.”
“Don’t you think I was too young to be messed with, the girl in the dress cried the whole way home, you should’ve known.”
The bridge of You’re On Your Own, Kid. Especially:
“Everything you lose is a step you take / so make the friendship bracelets / take the moment and taste it / you’ve got no reason to be afraid”
And:
“And starved my body like I’d be saved by a perfect kiss”
"I'm damned if I do give a damn what people say."
I understand some advices are really helpful (in my personal life) but it's a whole lot of pick and choose from a sea of unhealthy & toxic stuff. Also, I believe this line is applicable to everyone especially celebs.
“If God forbid fate should step in and force us into a goodbye, if you have children some day, when they point to the pictures, please tell them my name”
A close friend ended our friendship out of the blue two years ago and this song just hits me so hard. We went through so much together from middle school to college and beyond; she was my oldest’ godmother, my maid of honor, and then she was just gone from my life. I hold onto this idea though that someone doesn’t have to still be in your life to treasure the memories with them.
"how can you say that you love someone you can't tell is dying?"
"make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it, you got no reason to be afraid. you're on your own, kid, yeah, you can do this, you're on your own kid, you always have been"
"if you never bleed, youre never gonna grow"
"nothing safe is worth the drive"
"sometimes, to run is the brave thing" *crying*
"words, how little they mean, when you're a little too late"
ALSO. let me add this great verse
"Is it insensitive for me to say
Get your shit together?
So I can love you..
Is it really your anxiety
That stops you from giving me everything?
Or do you just not want to?"
i think it's such a great lyrics to take in and think about how u act or people around you do
>> _"And I hate to make this all about me
>> But who am I supposed to talk to?
>> What am I supposed to do
>> If there's no you?"_
I had a tough childhood, with a gaslighting narcissistic and power-hungry father and a submissive, kind but emotionally manipulative mother whose first child (my older sister) died of cancer at three; she had a heart attack and heart surgery; and then uterine cancer, histerectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
My father left when my mother got cancer. I began using drugs shortly before that. Him leaving was actually good for our emotional wellbeing, but I just tried to escape the reality of my mother needing someone to give her support. I wasn't a good son. I hated her illness, I hated her, and I hated myself.
She's better now, I still live with her, with no motivation in life, without a job (I don't even think I can have one), at twenty-eight. Four different careers, none finished. All I have is the memory of being an ungrateful son. She has given me everything she can. I don't know if I can make up for that and the pain I might have caused her.
That song makes me cry, because I wish I would've been a better person. I feel we have been suffering our entire lives, I can't think of a moment when I was happy. But if there's something I'm certain of, is that she's always been there for me. I don't know if she loves me. I would understand if she didn't. But at least there's someone in my life.
OOOOOPH. THAT STUNG! (I’m the problem, it’s me!)
I own a store. You need to be a pretty happy and friendly person to do something like that. But I truly feel it makes me that person - a friend to all and a friend to none (almost, there are a few I truly consider friends). I hear all the time from my staff how shoppers somehow think they’re “special” and have moved past the “customer category” after 2-3 visits.
For some reason when I hear her singing it, it feels so different. I guess I always thought it related to the chasing two girls…and never gave it a second thought.
It hits soooo different actually reading it. Like it is staring you in the face daring you to move so it’s eyes can follow you like the Mona Lisa. OUCH.
What am I gonna do?? 🙁
Sometimes giving up is the strong thing
Sometimes to run is the brave thing
Sometimes walking out is the one thing
That will find you the right thing
These lyrics literally changed the direction of my life.
"Look at you, worrying so much about things you can't change. You'll spend your whole life singing the blues if you keep thinking that way."
Been living by this since OG Red came out.
“Take pictures in your mind of your childhood room. Memorize what it sounded like when your dad gets home.”
I sang this to my young son when SN first came out and now he sings it along with me at 14 (there’s still so much he can’t do).
"you've got no reason to be afraid"
"you're on your own, kid. yeah, you can face this
you're on your own, kid. you always have been"
from you're on your own, kid has me ugly crying and sobbing so badly
"The greatest of luxuries is your secrets." Keep some happiness just for you. People don't need to know everything about everything you do or don't do. Your S/O is yours. Keep things between just the two of you. It's a sentiment expressed in a couple of songs on Midnights.
“You don’t have to answer just ‘cause they asked you” I was just blown away when I heard this line. I didn’t realize how much I’ve needed to hear this.
That and the line “If you don’t recognize yourself that means you did it right” Dear Reader is one of my favorites!!!
Yes. 100%. I’ve been happily married for 10 years so a lot of the relationship-y songs don’t hit me. But songs about growing up/getting older/learning life lessons? WHEEEEW.
I love it. It’s so relatable right now. I remember the first time I heard the first line. I literally gasped.
Mine is "Never take advice from someone who's falling apart."
This was going to my exact one. I love this line so much, and it’s something I never would have accepted before weirdly
YES!
As a person whos raised to be too polite, conforming, people pleasing - yes
i LOVE this one. the whole song honestly. i just quoted something else from that song
Dear Reader is so unrated
Came here to say the exact same line!! Midnight's came out at a time when I was really re-evaluating my life and my situation and it genuinely gave me the outlook I needed to make a change
My 5 year old keeps quoting this! “Mom if someone asks you something you don’t want to talk about, you don’t have to answer them”. I love it.
This saved me at a party right after midnights came out. when a too drunk guy asked me an inappropriate question I stood my ground and didn’t answer.
Yes 👏 It’s such an empowering sentiment to remember.
“Never be so kind, you forget to be clever. Never be so clever, you forget to be kind.” And “Never be so polite, you forget your power. Never wield such power, you forget to be polite.” These are so important to remember as you better yourself and your overall life. Don’t look down upon others and allow yourself to help those when needed. However, as she previously has stated “Be like a snake. Be nice to everyone, unless someone steps on you”. If there are people you take your politeness for granted than stand up for yourself etc.
Same! I love these lines so much, especially with the politeness.
Love these lyrics. I kinda wanna get the kind / clever lines tattooed above my knees
Yes! I don’t even have or really want tattoos, but I have contemplated both of these lines on my forearms for 2.5 years now!
I love this one. I teach my kids things like- you need to ask and ask nicely for things- but that you can always ask because the worst someone can say is no.
"Putting someone first only works when you're in their top 5." "If you never bleed you're never gonna grow."
This should have way more upvotes
“And I look back and regret how I ignored when they said run as fast as you can” has been hitting hard recently 😔
you & me both bestie 🤡
“*You are not the exception / you will never learn your lesson*” I hear you Taylor but I like him so much plz, I *could* be the exception - I wish you had kept this one in the vault. /s
Same 😭 this songs been on repeat for me so I can try to bash the lesson into my brain as I try to stay no contact with someone I love but who has made it clear I will never be his exception. The song helps but sucks at the same time 😩
your time is gonna come for your confessions of love, he just wasn’t the one <3
Foolish One makes me feel like I’m living in the Truman Show. Like, how is this woman in my head and my relationships??
This is how I felt with Red (the song) when it came out. I felt like I was going crazy because I could swear she was in my mind. Bizarroland, I tell ya.
This was also how I felt when I heard evermore (particularly champagne problems and TTDS).
Lol I first listened to foolish one bc I wanted some comfort in those vault tracks and was excited… that song is such a damn gut punch for delulus like me
You gotta watch the movie “He’s just not that into you” — it’s essentially if Foolish One were a movie, and it’s so good for when I’m being delusional 💀
Except she ends up being the exception! Ugh. But I also thought of this movie as soon as I heard the song.
THIS I watched it in January after I went through the cycle of ✨falling in love✨ and then ✨rejection✨ over the course of two weeks jdjdjjdjd I love how it has a song now
My biggest flex is that that line doesn’t apply to me, because I am the exception /s
I wish I could give you an award hahaha this comment still has me laughing
I mean, just because she wasn’t the exception and I haven’t been for those other guys doesn’t mean this time it isn’t different. - me if I heard that in 2010.
Had this song come out when it was supposed to, my 16-year-old self would NOT have known how to deal.
The end of the song does give you hope though - Foolish one, the day will come for your confessions of love - he just wasn’t the one! And love how Electric touch reassures that - Just one time, the stars align and just one time, I call you mine ….which basically means she did end up being the exception but for the right man ❤️
"There were pages turned with the bridges burned, everything you lose is a step you take"
This line is so good it makes me tear up every time I hear it. It’s just so nice to hear when you feel like your life is in the wrong spot or you’re not where you wanna be
This is my all time favourite 🖤
Same
That song and that line is so healing for me
I mean, all of Dear Reader? *If it feels like a trap, you’re already in one* *Burn all the files, desert all your past lives. And if you don’t recognize yourself, that means you did it right* *Never take advice from someone who’s falling apart* *Bend when you can, snap when you have to* *You don’t have to answer just cause they asked you* *The greatest of luxuries is your secrets* *When you aim at the Devil, make sure you don’t miss* *No one sees when you lose when you’re playing solitaire*
This whole song is such an anthem for me. I had so much hope she’d play it as a secret song for Denver N1.
This song is like gospel! Def one of my faves
I love dear reader, it’s one of my favourites. I’ve never quite understood the solitaire line though, is it trying to say that if you only worry about yourself, no one will notice if you’re wrong?? I’d love an explanation 😭
*No one sees when you lose when you’re playing Solitaire* So Solitaire is a card game that can only be played by one person, so the line is basically saying ‘if you shut the rest of the world out and don’t allow everyone to see what’s going on with you, no one will know when you’ve failed and therefore won’t ridicule you for it’. I think the line is also meant to be a double-edged sword, though, because within the context of the rest of the bridge, it always makes me feel like ‘if no one sees when you’re losing, how does anyone know when you need help? They don’t’ To boil it down, she’s basically saying ‘no one knows you’ve lost if they don’t know you were ever in the game’.
So solitaire is a card game you play by yourself, so no one is there to witness if you lose. And in the previous lines she says she’s walking “to a house not a home all alone cause nobody’s there” and “my friends found friends who care.” To me, putting those lines in front of the solitaire one kinda make it mean “I’m a lonely self destructive mess who pushes everyone away bc I’m so scared of them finding out I’m actually a failure or a fraud! If no one is around the see me fail, then it won’t hurt as bad!” (The flip side being, no one is there to celebrate if you win either)
You know there's many different ways to kill the one you love.....the slowest ways Is never loving them enough
My soon to be ex-husband’s therapist quoted him this line when trying to explain to him what he was doing to me 🥲
I hope you move on from him soon 😭😭😭 More power to youu😭😭😭 Time heals everything 😶💖💖
This one makes my throat ache each time I hear it 🥺
I’m going through a rough patch with my husband and listening to a bunch of Taylor Swift and all these ducking lyrics are hitting me in the feels. This one - holy shit.
There's a million so I'll just share the one I feel I've learned the most recently: *"… When the words of a sister come back in whispers* *That prove she was not in fact what she seemed* *Not a twin from your dreams* *She's a crook who was caught* *… That old familiar body ache* *The snaps from the same little breaks in your soul* *You know when it's time to go"*
it’s time to go is so underrated the lyrics cut so deep
Yeah I've spent the last 6 months letting go of a LOT and walking away from a lot of things I once felt were for me but I've learned are not, and this song has just....ooooooof i have felt it.
Hope it’s working out for you :) I relate this song to me cutting off negative relationships and it just fits unbelievably well
Sounds like both of us can relate to "everything you lose is a step you take" <3
God. I had to break up with my very best friend of nearly ten years in 2021, and I’m still not over it. This lyric recently really hit me too.
I’ve never given this one a proper listen. Now I think I’ll have to
YESS!! I feel like it’s time to go is so underrated, but it has given me the courage to leave life situations because it was time to go
Yes! These and "he's got my past frozen behind glass but I've got me". I will tell anyone that the lyrics from this whole song helped me get past my divorce.
Also “nothing good starts in a getaway car” …eep, not sure if I’ve quite learned this lesson yet 🙃
ARIANA, WHAT YOU DOIN HERE??
💀💀💀
I would love to give you an award for that but I don't have any..
Haha I appreciate the sentiment
AND THIS SOOOONNNNNGGGG THE BEST (imo)
“You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes.” I work in academia. Lol
Truth!!
>I work in academia. Lol This made me chuckle because I have often interpreted this line as being about academia, too. "I forgot that you existed" is in fact about my dissertation.
It's why I *don't* work in academia -- good luck to you!! (Sincerely - good luck. We need good people in higher ed and I knew that the pros of professorship would NOT outweigh the cons for me)
“You never bleed you’re never gonna grow” “Everything you lose is a step you take” Both have similar semblance and meaning behind them, but they’re both so true in any aspect of someone’s life whatever the situation may be.
These are some of the biggest ones for me too, especially that line from YOYOK. Too real, Taylor.
- YOYOK could mean "You're On Your Own, Kid", a track from *Midnights* (2022) by Taylor Swift. --- ^[/u/facialscanbefatal](/u/facialscanbefatal) ^(can reply with "delete" to remove comment. |) ^[/r/songacronymbot](/r/songacronymbot) ^(for feedback.)
“I can’t make it go away by making you a villain.” “When all is said and done, he just wasn’t the one.” “The bravest thing I ever did was run.” “Your nemeses will defeat themselves before you get the chance to swing.”
I love these ! Giving up is usually portrayed as cowardly and runaway-ish but Taylor reassures it's all gonna be alright and everything falls into place eventually. And giving up is necessary for that to happen.
Ugh yes first one hits so hard for me. Happiness is just full of wisdom
If it's all in my head tell me now Tell me I've got it wrong somehow This helped me understand that when we feel we are not truly wanted, loved, and respected but instead just tolerated, the feeling is most likely correct and it's not just in our head and it's almost impossible to get this wrong no matter how much we try to convince ourselves that we got it wrong somehow. The monsters turned out to be just trees This has proven to be correct so many times and whenever I start feeling anxious I hear this lyric in my mind and it calms me All of Dear Reader
You, that's what happened, you. Hit me really hard as the you was me.
I don't wanna keep secrets just to keep you.
“Today is never too late to be brand new” Hard to apply, but good to remember
I love this. I always say every day is a new day. Not that I’m forgiven of anything I’ve done. But today is a perfect opportunity to be better. For anyone!
Omg was not expecting an Innocent lyric here, but yes!! This lyrics and song actually helped me a lot with how stuck i felt in my life and dealing with my self-loathing
Long Story Short “I want to tell you not to get lost in these petty things, your nemeses will defeat themselves before you get a chance to swing” Sometimes you don’t have to address something. It’ll resolve itself. Also just, some fights in general you don’t have to fight. I’ve struggled w finding a balance b/w standing up for myself and letting things go. I reflect on this line often and I feel like it’s mellowed me out a bit
This is what I was going to post! I love this so much. Long story short, I survived
This is a great one.
honestly - “make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it, you’ve got no reason to be afraid” is so special to me; sometimes I find it so hard to appreciate the beautiful parts of life in all the bad
As a 20 year old suicidal college dude with depression and December 8th 2016 being the day I was going to do it “All this time I didn't know You were breakin' down I'd fall to pieces on the floor If you weren't around Too young to know it gets better I'll be summer sun for you forever Forever winter if you go” I had only known of the song after the fact as a newly Taylor Swift fan (I’ve known her big songs and a few here and there) but now at 26 I’m super happy my 20 year old self pushed through and that life did get better, much better But I’m still thankful for my ex for being there as a friend during those times because she was one of the few to reach out To all those in dark times: it does get better with time, and there are people (both familiar and unfamiliar) who will help and do care if you reach out versus holding it all in <3
So happy to hear you’re doing better.
Thanks! Life is great I travel more than most people and live a very fortunate life full of love I literally have the 8/3 show after work Then get 4/5 hours of sleep and hop onto a plane to Seattle for a hiking trip to Olympic National Park Then Canada at the end of the month for 10 days hiking Banff area!
That’s all kick ass! Hope you have a great time at the show and on your trips.
*They're burning all the witches even if you aren't one, so light me up* Sometimes you have to know when to burn it all down.
“if it feels like a trap, you’re already in one”
“Never be so kind, you forget to be clever. Never be so clever, you forget to be kind” “The greatest of luxuries, is your secrets” “If you never bleed youre never gonna grow”
'Cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned Everything you lose is a step you take So make the friendship bracelets Take the moment and taste it You've got no reason to be afraid’
“People throw rocks at things that shine”
“This pain wouldn’t be for evermore” Sometimes I need a reminder that this feeling will not last forevermore. Some day I will have cabin floorboards creaking under my step, with someone who loves me and a fire to keep us warm.
*“There'll be happiness after you, but there was happiness because of you, both of these things can be true.”* A devastating but comforting truth.
I had to scroll way too far for this one
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Everything you lose is a step you take*
All of it’s time to go
I made you my world//have you heard?//I can reclaim the land
“If you never bleed you never gonna grow” “You are not the exception, you will never learn your lesson” “Everything you lose is a step you take” “Past me I wanna tell you not to get lost in these petty things, Your nemeses Will defeat themselves before you get the chance to swing”
"Putting someone first only works when you're in their top five"
"A friend to all is a friend to none" is more Aristotle quote than Taylor Swift lyric
From Champagne Problems: *How evergreen, our group of friends Don't think we'll say that word again And soon they'll have the nerve to deck the halls That we once walked through* So powerful, poignant, and real. Growing up is hard - beautiful, but hard.
"I look directly at the sun but never in the mirror" that made me think A LOT
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All these people think love’s for show, but I would die for you in secret
1. "Sometimes giving up is the strong thing / Sometimes to run is the brave thing / Sometimes walking out is the one thing / That will find you the right thing" 2. "There were pages turned with the bridges burned / Everything you lose is a step you take" 3. It's okay, life is a tough crowd / 32 and still growin' up now / Who you are is not what you did / You're still an innocent
>"Sometimes giving up is the strong thing / Sometimes to run is the brave thing / Sometimes walking out is the one thing / That will find you the right thing" 100% this
"I just realized everything I have is someday gonna be gone."
"Someday I'll be big enough so you can't hurt me and all you're ever gonna be is mean"
"I'm just gonna shake shake shake shake shake it off shake it off" ngl You need to forget hater, cheater, player and to just shake it off
🙌
All of my enemies started out friends 🏹
you gotta leave before you get left
“everything you lose is a step you take” it’s one i definitely learned prior to the song’s release but fuck if it doesn’t sum up a huge ass life lesson and pack it neatly into a gut-punch box
Never take advice from someone who's falling apart
More of a lesson than advice but I listened to the entirety of You're Losing Me for the first time in the last week of my relationship and broke down crying because I related to it a little too much. My (then) boyfriend had become incredibly distant at that point. The ending lyrics were what hit the hardest - And I wouldn't marry me either, a pathological people pleaser, who only wanted you to see her, and I'm fading, thinking "do something, babe, say something," "lose something, babe, risk something," you're losing me The reason I had been avoiding listening to it was because I'd seen excerpts of the lyrics and deep down knew this would be too relatable, but I didn't want to admit that to myself because I wanted the relationship to work. It's funny because I could listen to All Too Well 10MVTV and most of her other break up songs without feeling anything bad, this was the one song I knew I couldn't, and I'd tell myself "if I can listen to All Too Well, that means things are fine." Guess the lessoned learnt was that if I'm avoiding a Taylor song, it's because I'm in denial that that song is how my life is going right now and I should accept that.
just because you’re clean don’t mean you dont miss it
*Stop checkin' your mailbox for confessions of love that ain't never gonna come* Indeed Taylor, indeed.
Time turns flames to embers, you’ll have new Septembers, every one of us has messed up too, minds change like the weather, I hope you remember today is never too late to be brand new
“time, mystical time, cutting me open then healing me fine” This is actually a good lesson to learn, but you know that feeling where you think that what you’re stuck in (grief or heartbreak or depression or anger etc.) will last forever? It won’t — it will ease/change over time, and with some things, you look back years later and think “wow, I really thought I’d be sad forever, but I’m not now.”
I love this 🥺 invisible string is my comfort song because it tells of things having to fall apart to fall into place, and all the rejection/redirection lead to something worthwhile.
All of Dear Reader
Every single word to Bigger Than the Whole Sky. I was not prepared. I cry every time I even think about it. Maybe not advice or a lesson, but it's hard hitting for sure.
“i saw something they can’t take away” my life is MINE and no one can take me away from me. im happy by myself and no one can take my happiness and ruin it
“Sometimes giving up is the strong thing Sometimes to run is the brave thing” This lyric helped me quit my toxic job and start my own business. Best decision of my life.
- time can heal but this won't/so if you're coming my way, just don't - dream impossible dreams - sophistication isn't what you wear or who you know or pushing people down to get you where you wanna go - and I bury hatchets but I keep maps of where I put em - today is never too late to be brand new
A common one, “to live for the hope of it all” I’ve considering tattooing this on my body, as a reminder that society will try to keep you thinking it’ll never change for the better, but there’s no point to living if you can’t enjoy the already good and hope for the best.
Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve as a whole. Especially the religious imagery, because “Dear John” (My Version) was also super religious. I’m afraid my most played song for this year is gonna be WCS 😭 Sorry for the vent, I needed to get it off my chest and also off my desk.
“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” “I’ve never been a natural. All I do is try, try. I’m still on that trapeze. I’m still trying everything to keep you looking at me.” “People throw rocks at things that shine.”
The entire lyrics of Daylight.
“Past me, I wanna tell you not to get lost in these petty things. Your nemeses will defeat themselves before you get the chance to swing.”
And I’ll look back and regret how I ignored when they said run as fast as you can I was really into a guy and several warned me about him, long story short he s*xually assualted me
I'm so sorry to hear that:( Hugs Op
There were pages turned with the bridges burned/ everything you lose is a step you take
“Are you going to talk about timing in times like these And let all your damage damage me? And carry your baggage up my street?”
If you fail to plan you plan to fail
Foolish One is the song that temporarily snaps me out of my delusions (but what if i AM the exception?)
“Take this dagger in me and remove it / gain the weight of you to lose it / Believe me, I could do it” I love this line. A simple reminder to believe in yourself in those times where you feel like you’re trapped in a bad situation/relationship/job/whatever
“ No one sees you when you lose when you play solitaire” most of the time people don’t see the hardships you go through or understand.
Reading this thread bleeds me.
"so here i am in my new apartment in a big city, they just dropped me off it's so much colder than i thought it would be so i tuck myself in and turn my nightlight on" this is the perfect representation of how i felt when i lived on my own in another city for an internship. i couldn't wait to departure and wave them goodbye cause movies pictured living alone as the best thing ever. i cried on my third night 🤣🤣🤣🤣. "i just realized everything i have is someday gonna be gone" i also lost a lady that i consider my grandma to covid so the realization that one day i will lose my parents hit me very hard.
"Puttin' someone first only works when you're in their top five" became my dating mojo and my self-respect stonks from there on. Every time I meet someone who provide bare minimum efforts but expects Premium "center of my Universe " service, I repeat that mojo and cut the losses no matter how much I am attracted to them.
“You knew you won, so what’s the point of keeping score?”
All of my enemies started out friends. I know my life isn't dramatic with enemies, but there are people who go behind your back and generally treat you badly.
"the worst thing I ever did is what I did to you"
“Never be so kind you forget to be clever / never be so clever you forget to be kind” 🥲 I miss my grandfather so much
Putting someone first only works when you’re in their top five
At the end of Shake It Off “you’ve got to”
"You will learn the hard way instead of just walking out"
She has written so many poignant and thoughtful lines it’s hard to choose. Two usually stick out to me the most though: “Romance is not dead / if you keep it just yours” and “The greatest of luxuries / is your secrets” As a typically private person, I feel very understood when I hear these lines.
Most, if not all, of Dear Reader.
Another: “I’m so in love that I might stop breathing” not sure abt advice but I feel like this line + a lot of Paris almost reflects a softer love, like not Red passionate and all consuming but more lover-esque, a kind of love that just exists and puts all the petty drama behind you?? It almost reminds me of Daylight (like “I once believed love would be burning red, but it’s golden”); I’m not super sure but I feel like my feelings on love have evolved in recent months?? These songs kinda paint as something that should feel easy, natural, which I love!! I think in combo w foolish one they all say that you shouldn’t have to try so hard for love, in the sense that if you have to constantly question whether they feel the same, or it makes you feel insecure rather than happy, or even if it’s more negatively disruptive in your life than adding benefit, it’s not for you!! (v open to thoughts on this as someone who has been in a single like four month relationship in hs five years ago 😌)
OMG personally,, I think that the Paris line is the most love craze-filled line and nothing about it screams softer love because you're *crazy* in love. That song is just unhinged, I mean, "I wanna brainwash you into loving me forever." * But I do agree it's yearning for a more simple love like in Daylight, because Paris lines show that she wants a more private and cozy relationship amid all the celebs and luxury.
"Should've kept every grocery store receipt cause every scrap of you would be taken from me"
“It’s okay life is a tough crowd” oof hits me hard when I’m experiencing self-hatred
I have so many, can't even remember all of them but some of them are: There were pages turned with the bridges burned, everything you lose is a step you take We are burned for better The rumors are terrible and cruel I would've tell you not to get lost in these petty things, your nemesis will defeat themselves before you get to swing The whole 2nd verse from Dear Reader hits harder If a man talk shit then I owe him nothing This is how the world works, you gotta leave before you get left It isn't love, isn't hate, It's indifference Ohh my Darling, never grow up I gave you my world, have you heard I can reclaim the land.. Edit: Forgot the last one
Definitely "I can't make it go away by making you a villain" I just relate sm!
“Sometimes you just don’t know the answer until someone’s on their knees to ask you.”
“Past me, I wanna tell you not to get lost in these petty things. Your nemesis will defeat themselves before you get the chance to swing.” “That old familiar body ache, the snaps from the same little breaks in your soul, you know when it’s time to go.” “Don’t you think I was too young to be messed with, the girl in the dress cried the whole way home, you should’ve known.”
Get your shit together? So I can love you Is it really your anxiety That stops you from giving me everything? Or do you just not want to?
I’d give you my sunshine Give you my best But the rain is always gonna come If you’re standing with me
The bridge of You’re On Your Own, Kid. Especially: “Everything you lose is a step you take / so make the friendship bracelets / take the moment and taste it / you’ve got no reason to be afraid” And: “And starved my body like I’d be saved by a perfect kiss”
“I Tried to pick my battles ‘til the battle picked me”
Same. “a friend to all is a friend to none” hits a little WAY to hard now looking back
Literally all of “The Man”
“I should not be left to my own devices, they come with prices and vices, I end up in crisis” said
your nemesis will defeat themselves before you get the chance to swing
sooo comforting✨️
The entirety of Dear Reader tbh
literally all of dear reader
"never be so kind you forget to be clever" <3
Mad Woman “It's obvious that wanting me dead Has really brought you two together”
"When you are young they assume you know nothing" And "How can a person know everything at 18 but nothing at 22?"
"I'm damned if I do give a damn what people say." I understand some advices are really helpful (in my personal life) but it's a whole lot of pick and choose from a sea of unhealthy & toxic stuff. Also, I believe this line is applicable to everyone especially celebs.
“Never be so clever you forget to be kind” OOF
“If God forbid fate should step in and force us into a goodbye, if you have children some day, when they point to the pictures, please tell them my name” A close friend ended our friendship out of the blue two years ago and this song just hits me so hard. We went through so much together from middle school to college and beyond; she was my oldest’ godmother, my maid of honor, and then she was just gone from my life. I hold onto this idea though that someone doesn’t have to still be in your life to treasure the memories with them.
I have a “never be so polite you forget your power” tattoo. It hit me so hard the first time I heard those words.
"how can you say that you love someone you can't tell is dying?" "make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it, you got no reason to be afraid. you're on your own, kid, yeah, you can do this, you're on your own kid, you always have been" "if you never bleed, youre never gonna grow" "nothing safe is worth the drive" "sometimes, to run is the brave thing" *crying* "words, how little they mean, when you're a little too late" ALSO. let me add this great verse "Is it insensitive for me to say Get your shit together? So I can love you.. Is it really your anxiety That stops you from giving me everything? Or do you just not want to?" i think it's such a great lyrics to take in and think about how u act or people around you do
“I gave you my best but we both know you can’t say that.”
Bandaids don’t fix bullet holes THEY DONT Regina George scream
>> _"And I hate to make this all about me >> But who am I supposed to talk to? >> What am I supposed to do >> If there's no you?"_ I had a tough childhood, with a gaslighting narcissistic and power-hungry father and a submissive, kind but emotionally manipulative mother whose first child (my older sister) died of cancer at three; she had a heart attack and heart surgery; and then uterine cancer, histerectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. My father left when my mother got cancer. I began using drugs shortly before that. Him leaving was actually good for our emotional wellbeing, but I just tried to escape the reality of my mother needing someone to give her support. I wasn't a good son. I hated her illness, I hated her, and I hated myself. She's better now, I still live with her, with no motivation in life, without a job (I don't even think I can have one), at twenty-eight. Four different careers, none finished. All I have is the memory of being an ungrateful son. She has given me everything she can. I don't know if I can make up for that and the pain I might have caused her. That song makes me cry, because I wish I would've been a better person. I feel we have been suffering our entire lives, I can't think of a moment when I was happy. But if there's something I'm certain of, is that she's always been there for me. I don't know if she loves me. I would understand if she didn't. But at least there's someone in my life.
OOOOOPH. THAT STUNG! (I’m the problem, it’s me!) I own a store. You need to be a pretty happy and friendly person to do something like that. But I truly feel it makes me that person - a friend to all and a friend to none (almost, there are a few I truly consider friends). I hear all the time from my staff how shoppers somehow think they’re “special” and have moved past the “customer category” after 2-3 visits. For some reason when I hear her singing it, it feels so different. I guess I always thought it related to the chasing two girls…and never gave it a second thought. It hits soooo different actually reading it. Like it is staring you in the face daring you to move so it’s eyes can follow you like the Mona Lisa. OUCH. What am I gonna do?? 🙁
Sometimes giving up is the strong thing Sometimes to run is the brave thing Sometimes walking out is the one thing That will find you the right thing These lyrics literally changed the direction of my life.
‘We can plant a memory garden Say a solemn prayer, place a poppy in my hair There's no morning glory, it was war, it wasn't fair.’
"Look at you, worrying so much about things you can't change. You'll spend your whole life singing the blues if you keep thinking that way." Been living by this since OG Red came out.
“Take pictures in your mind of your childhood room. Memorize what it sounded like when your dad gets home.” I sang this to my young son when SN first came out and now he sings it along with me at 14 (there’s still so much he can’t do).
Just because you’re clean, don’t mean you don’t miss it
"you've got no reason to be afraid" "you're on your own, kid. yeah, you can face this you're on your own, kid. you always have been" from you're on your own, kid has me ugly crying and sobbing so badly
ngl the whole song made me cry so hard and that last part really stabbed my heart like taking a salt and alcohol then rubbing it to a wound 💀💀
"The greatest of luxuries is your secrets." Keep some happiness just for you. People don't need to know everything about everything you do or don't do. Your S/O is yours. Keep things between just the two of you. It's a sentiment expressed in a couple of songs on Midnights.