the song is about having an affair! you're right about that. the widow is a comparison to her, because a widow mourns a dead person, but she grieves a living one (her lover) because she is married. the Dreamland is like a fantasy of hers where they can be together. the fans have this theory that the affair is actually between two women
yess! also "dreamland" could be a way to reference the mind, which is where the fantasies and dreams take place. "I can't stop you putting roots in my dreamland" and "your ivy grows and now I'm covered in you" could be a really poetic/complicated way of saying "you're starting to take up space in my mind and now I cant stop thinking about you" haha
@@sam_sa09actually Taylor is related to the famous American poet Emily Dickinson. If you research Emily she was rumored to have been in love with her female best friend who happened to be married to Emily’s brother. They lived close by and spent all their time together. Emily was a recluse and died unmarried I believe. Her work became famous after she passed. She suffered from melancholy, same as her mother and I think kidney failure. ie The Tortured Poets Department. I don’t think this song relates to Taylor’s personal life but Emily’s.
Ivy writing style is so like a poetry. Also Taylor gave this song to put in a show called Dickinson regarding the affair between Emily(a famous poet) and Susan(which is married to a man) in the 19th century
It sounded like a lesbian affair to me first listen. Reminded me of the song Lemonade by Nicole Dollanganger. Then I read it was inspired by that and was like “makes sense”. Lol.
the widow part is refering that: the widow goes to the grave of her husband and grieves because of it and the speaker grieves beacuse she is married to a guy she dosent´t want to be with anymore , The Widow is grieving for the death and the speaker is grieving for the living
This! Also, "my house of stone" refers to how the protagonist's house (home/family/relationship) with her living husband is dead (like the grieving widow and the stone grave). That's why her secret lover can infiltrate the home through the affair cause the relationship with her husband is already dead. Ivy is also a living, evolving being and stone is dead and cold; so that's a comparison between the relationship with the lover and the husband. It's also generally understood that it's two women who are having the affair as it's hinted that they both have husbands.
I'd say it's more like the Bronte sisters books. A bit darker with the husbands/ lovers too. Austen would be more like the Folklore triangle because it's lighter and gentle poking fun- like "Betty", with James on the porch "so I showed up to your party"!
His hand is freezing cause they meet in the night during winter, and her hand is promised to another, like in marriage. And the dreamland is the idea of their relationship being a fantasy and him making it a reality wich will make everything burn down
@@marco2597 I think the widow reference is because a widow can publicly grieve her love by going to the graveyard, but the singer has to grieve privately for the living because they can't acknowledge their love.
Its been long suspected to be a song about Emily Dickinson & her brothers wife Sue & their suspected affair. (Sues hand in marriage had been promised to the brother). This was seemingly confirmed when the song appeared on Dickinson in a love scene between Sue & Emily. Evermore was also released on Emily Dickinsons birthday. Its only a theory but fits!
To me her dreamland is just her mind, or maybe her literal dreams. Like in the same way ivy spreads over the stone house (stone house being a metaphor for her heart of stone) and she can’t get rid of it, the new person has planted roots in her mind, so she can’t stop thinking about them. Ivy was my most listened to song on Spotify last year 😂
I cant wait to scream “so yeah, it’s a fire. it’s a goddamn blaze in the dark and you started it. So yeah, it’s a war. It’s a goddamn fight of my life and you started it” once Taylor goes on tour.
“Taking mine but it’s promised to another” means her hand was taken but her hand is promised to another. The “putting roots in her dreamland” is her lover keeps being a major player in her dreamland, the narrator’s thoughts are always on her lover and she keeps dreaming about her lover.
I love how you take her songwriting seriously and really think about it, thank you. Ivy is just such a beautiful song, one of my favs. The non-explicit version strikes differently as shes replaces goddamn with better words lol.
I agree. To me, “violent blaze in the dark” and “fiercest fight of my life” are much better adjectives that have a stronger meaning and imagery. I love the way they sound too, especially “fiercest fight” with the alliteration.
So, the basic simple way of looking at the story: The speaker is married but isn't happy in her marriage. She's in love with someone else (the "you" she sings to). He's like an ivy taking over her house - her and her husband's life. She is grieving for the living (the husband she married, and doesn't want to stay married to) like a widow grieves the death of her husband. "Taking mine", meaning his hand is taking her hand, but her hand was promised to another (the husband). The dreamland is probably what she hoped would be her perfect life. Maybe it was good until she met the new person, or maybe she hoped it would be good in the future. It can also be the fantasy she and her lover live in. There is also the explanation that other people already gave in the comments. There is also a theory running that I'm conflicted about that the speaker is singing to an ex love who died. She's in a new relationship now, married, but the memories of him haunt her too much. That's why the hand is cold. That's why she's grieving for the living - sad that she's still alive. She's considering taking her own life to reunite with her love - the fight of her life. Not 100% sold on the last theory, but it is definitely an interesting perspective!
The freezing hands are referring to where the two in the affair are meeting. Because it is likely a relationship between two women, and also an affair, they meet up in the graveyard at night so hands are freezing because it’s cold. At least that is my take
ok that makes much more sense, cause if not the freezing hands would infer that this woman is very cold with her, very cruel and that wants to see her suffer. something like that. and that doesn't fit with the rest of the story
I think what she means by "stop you putting roots in my dreamland" is that he is making her daydream, or making her feel the way she always wanted to in a relationship or how she dreamt it would be. And yes, the House of Stone is her, the growing Ivy is the guy.
The stone house is her heart. She has built a fortress around it and the other man is permeating it. The roots in her dreamland means he is making her fantasy about this other man a reality.
My favorite song from Evermore. I think the story is about a married/engaged woman falling in love with another man. The house of stone/her dreamland could be her mind/heart and the ivy/his roots is him or her love for him, at least that's how I see it. Your confusion was funny but understandable. :)
The narrator is engaged/married to a man, but doesn’t want to be (“taking mine, but it’s been promised to another”). They are in love with someone else. In my mind the narrator is a woman, singing to another woman in the past when that was not acceptable. Like someone else mentioned, one theory is that it’s about Emily Dickinson and Sue Gilbert. “Oh, I can’t stop you putting roots in my dreamland my house of stone, your Ivy grows and now I’m covered in you” I fantasize about being with you but I shouldn’t because we can’t be together so don’t fall into this fantasy with me. Oh, it’s too late I’m already in love with you.
"As such ivy was often presented to the bride and groom as symbol of everlasting life, devotion, fidelity and loyalty. The Greeks also used it to make a crown for Liber, the God of Fertility, as well as poets and other muses."
The first time I listened to this song I really thought it was about a toxic relationship and the codependency that comes with it, then finally getting the courage to break free at the bridge only to be sucked back in at the end.
My opinion, you’re not overthinking. I think, in terms of lyrics, this is Taylor at her most abstract - where many of the words and phrases she uses are symbolic/metaphorical. For example, when she says, “Your freezing hand…”, I’m fairly certain she doesn’t mean his hand is literally cold. It’s more like what associations come to mind when you hear “freezing hand”? How does that image make you feel? One interpretation could be that “freezing hand” represents some sort of distance, or “coldness” in the narrator’s partner. :) I think, with this type of Taylor song, it helps to o approach the lyrics the way you would approach a poem. Yes, Taylor is a musician but, in terms of her lyrics, she often is a poet at heart- the way they often refer to Bob Dylan as a “poet”. Based on clips I’ve seen of her talking about her work and the song from 1989, “New Romantics”, Sorry- posted that comment before I was done…:). Taylor is strongly influenced by the Romantic poets of the 17th/18th century where “Romantic” doesn’t mean “love”, it was a literary/musical/etc. movements where artists work focused on emotion and the “feeling” of things. Sure, it could definitely be the feelings associated with being in love/in a relationship- and, yes, the majority of her work thus far is based on those particular types of feelings. But, as Taylor (offended when people said her work was only “about boys”), said her work is about feelings- and the feelings could be about anything you experience- love, friendship, anger… anything. Hope that helps- went on a little longer than I intended. I enjoyed your video!
MY interpretation? If I had to make a visual through it, I would use the same landscape as in Cardigan or Willow. Like a 19th century or older rural community/ village in war time. Old style like the American civil war. She's engaged at the least, or a newlywed at the other extreme, and her "betrothed", (they lyric, about the hand belonging to another), is away fighting. The widow going to the stone has heard news that her husband has been killed, but the protagonist hasn't. So the widow at least has an answer and can go somewhere to grieve, whereas with the protagonist- there's been no news either way. Stuck in that uncertainty, (hence, "Grieving for the living?) There's another way of interpreting that line, which is, historical and cultural, in that she's grieving fir herself and her own heart. Marriages were all arranged in that historic time, so she doesn't really love her fiancee or husband, so she's kinda put the walls up with a stone cold heart. Evermore is meant to be an autumn winter vibe throughout the album. And then this guy comes in, looking for shelter and food, and the protagonist and this person, ("fresh from the snow", bought her heart some light "your touch bought forth an incandescent glow", which is "tarnished", because she's been given away in marriage. Second verse sounds like he's now back from war, so now the three are in the room together but she wants to be with new guy, but old guy is back. "He's in the room// Your opal eyes are all I wish to see/He wants what's only yours". Bridge- now times moved on again and people are busier, so less chance of secret meetings and if her husband finds out, he might just kill them-or her at least for adultery- or metaphorically it will kill her heart, ( "her stone house". So it's teetering on that decision of the "love triangle", or the sanctioned path, (duty over love), or risk running off with her heart, and who knows what the consequences will be. "It's the Goda*n fight of my life//You started it".
I think the narrator doesn’t actually act on her desire to be with this other person (man or woman)… society or time/place or whatever is keeping her from actually leaving the husband she doesn’t love for the person who has sparked a desire in her. So she’s experiencing angst and pain and she’s fighting with herself to resist this other person because it would ruin her to be with them. But even if she can’t physically act on her desire for this other person, she can still fantasize about being with them and what it would be like.
So here is my synopsis of what I think Ivy is about so this woman is engaged to marry someone possibly in a arranged marriage. So in the first verse Taylor says in from the snow which is why his hand is freezing. Taking mine (hand) but it’s been promised to another. As in her hand in marriage so this guy is taking her hand in a literal sense but her hand in marriage has been promised to her fiancé. “ Oh I can’t stop ypu putting roots in my dreamland” I take that to mean she can’t stop dreaming of him and wishing she was with him instead of her fiancé. The woman is the house not her relationship with her fiancé it says “MY HOUSE of stone YOUR IVY grows and now I’M COVERED IN YOU “ For “ Your opal eyes are all I wish to see, he wants what’s only yours” so the Man that the girl is cheating on her fiancé with has the opal eyes and that’s all she wishes to see and he wants but it’s only yours is the fiancé wants her love but her love is only for the other man. The line “ He’s gonna burn this house to the ground” refers to her fiancé burning down the house as in the woman and the man she loves relationship. For “ How’s one to know? I live in die for moments that we stole and begged and borrowed time. Beg me to run, Or dare to sit and watch what we’ll become” What I think she saying is how could I ever know that I was gonna find this person who I love so much and all of the moments that we had together we’re so meaningful that I want him to tell me to run because I don’t wanna sit and watch but will become it would be to sad. For the line “so yeah, it’s a war it’s the goddamn fight of my life” I believe refers to her fighting for them to be together in the end and maybe running away. The song is with Another Corus although slightly different but the last word say “now I’m covered in you” which I think means they ended up happily ever after
The freezing hands part is quite confusing Theory 1: she was imagining rekindling with someone who's already dead. Hence she mentions about the stones. Theory 2: she has a fling with a woman (cause women usually have colder hands than men)
Here's my theory: the narrator of this song is dead and recounting the events that led up to her death. (The husband found out about her affair and burnt the house to the ground with her inside it.) I feel like this isn't a leap given the song starts out in a graveyard with "the old widow goes to the stone" and she goes on to say "my house of stone". It brings to mind ivy growing over a grave.
3:00 she means this person's hand is taking heer hand, but this person's hand has been promised to another. which means this person is gonna marry someone else. at least thats what i take from it. But yeah, this is the song that confuses me the most. I still don't get why their hand is freezzing. does she refer to her husband's hand? or the new lover's hand? and why are they freezing? i would think because that person is cold and doesn't love her, but that doesn't seem to go well with the story. maybe is not a metaphor at all, but i found it weird not being a metaphor. ] Then, the part of her dreamland, i imagine she wanted her marriage to work, or even that she was happy with it, UNTIL this other person (i imagine it being a woman, and these being those times where it was frown upon) this person shows up on her life and she just can't fight this new feeling. she falls in love and desires this new person and she is also conflicted and annoyed by it cause this new love has come to demolish what had been a fulfilled and happy life until that moment.
@@dani010203stor i dont knooow lmao that’s the funny thing… i think it’s literally a ghost, just like the story “Encarnação” by José de Alencar. That would explain the “i meet you where the spirit meets the bones” too!!
She's betrothed to a man she doesn't love but she knows how risky the situation is. It's like she's trying to run away from who she really loves but she cannot stop it cause it's her "dream".
The stone house is the woman, the ivy is the man she's having the affair with. He's so alluring (opal eyes) and she just cannot stop falling in love with him. He's invading and conquering her dreamland AKA her dreams of running away from her husband and having a new life somewhere. He's giving her hope. But she's also afraid that the husband would find out or come after them (the fire, the war). I also imagine this song set to be in 15th century or something, when women were "promised" to men, but they usually are with love with an other guy. In this case, the marriage happened but she still loves her old lover. The gender of the person she's cheating with is never mentioned, so it might also be two lesbian women idk. The "old widow" bit has nothing to do with the storyline. it's just a premise about how our narrator sees this old widow going to the grave to see her dead husband, and how the narrator wishes her husband were dead as well but he's not, so she's grieving someone who is alive. "Ivy" is literally poetry. It's bit hard to understand at first listen, but once u understand it, it's just a masterpiece.
Post traumatic narcissist disorder is horrifying and I healed myself forget Robert Archer and forget Trump for trying to control all God destined divine unions.
I think that she is in a bad marriage and the man who comes into her life is kind of cold (freezing hand) and manipulative and doesn’t really care that she will ruin her whole life for him. It seems that she blames the new man at the end of the song…yes he consumes her thoughts and dreams but she’s also not saying wonderful things about him
Robert was sent to be a false twin flame, to make me look bad to God but he sees all so that was dumb. Make me look bad for being divorced. They tried to alter spiritual laws with natural laws and its my destiny to realign the spiritual and natural laws. Thine kingdom come, thine will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The devil tries to mislead us and consume us, but our Father forgives our sins the law of confession
🤦♂️ I don’t even know what to say. It’s for the first time I see someone is soooooo confused about the lyrics. I thought the plot was so obvious. My favourite song and I was waiting for your reaction so much and now we got this… 😑
This song is not that easy especially when you hear it for the first time ! And his reaction was actually good. He was trying to understand what's going on because at this point he knows everything she writes has a meaning behind it ! His reaction was like all of our reactions when we first listened to this song except that we were figuring these 2 albums out with millions of swifties and that was a bit easier for us!
this song about having affair! if you know about emily dickinson and susan gilbert they love eachother but susan married to emily brother because you know they from 1800s 🧍🏻
this was the easiest for me to get tbh. she's engaged to someone who she doesnt love but can give her financial security. but she fell in love with someone else and is trying to figure out whether to run away with him or go on with the wedding and continue having an affair.
i know this song is about an affair but is the widow cheating on her dead husband with someone else. like did she move on too quick to the point that it would seem like she’s cheating. “and the old widow goes to the stone everyday, but i don’t i just sit here and wait, grieving for the living” is the guy that she moved on to waiting at her house while she visits her dead husband. and in the chorus is she talking to this man that the baggage of her dead husband fits in this new man’s hands and since it’s winter that’s why his hand is cold and she’s deciding whether she moved on to quick (“taking mine but it’s been promised to another”). and in the second verse when she sings “he’s in the room, your opal eyes are all i wish to see” is she talking about a picture of her late husband is like on the dresser while she’s looking into this new man’s eyes
My opinion, you’re not overthinking. I think, in terms of lyrics, this is Taylor at her most abstract - where many of the words and phrases she uses are symbolic/metaphorical. For example, when she says, “Your freezing hand…”, I’m fairly certain she doesn’t mean his hand is literally cold. It’s more like what associations come to mind when you hear “freezing hand”? How does that image make you feel? One interpretation could be that “freezing hand” represents some sort of distance, or “coldness” in the narrator’s partner. :) I think, with this type of Taylor song, it helps to o approach the lyrics the way you would approach a poem. Yes, Taylor is a musician but, in terms of her lyrics, she often is a poet at heart- the way they often refer to Bob Dylan as a “poet”. Based on clips I’ve seen of her talking about her work and the song from 1989, “New Romantics”, Taylor is strongly influenced by the Romantic poets of the 17
the song is about having an affair! you're right about that. the widow is a comparison to her, because a widow mourns a dead person, but she grieves a living one (her lover) because she is married. the Dreamland is like a fantasy of hers where they can be together. the fans have this theory that the affair is actually between two women
yess! also "dreamland" could be a way to reference the mind, which is where the fantasies and dreams take place.
"I can't stop you putting roots in my dreamland" and "your ivy grows and now I'm covered in you" could be a really poetic/complicated way of saying "you're starting to take up space in my mind and now I cant stop thinking about you" haha
Fan theories are stupid
@@sam_sa09actually Taylor is related to the famous American poet Emily Dickinson. If you research Emily she was rumored to have been in love with her female best friend who happened to be married to Emily’s brother. They lived close by and spent all their time together. Emily was a recluse and died unmarried I believe. Her work became famous after she passed. She suffered from melancholy, same as her mother and I think kidney failure. ie The Tortured Poets Department. I don’t think this song relates to Taylor’s personal life but Emily’s.
Ivy writing style is so like a poetry. Also Taylor gave this song to put in a show called Dickinson regarding the affair between Emily(a famous poet) and Susan(which is married to a man) in the 19th century
That married man was Dickinson's brother💀
i was just thinking about how extra angsty this song would be if it was two girls💀
It sounded like a lesbian affair to me first listen. Reminded me of the song Lemonade by Nicole Dollanganger. Then I read it was inspired by that and was like “makes sense”. Lol.
She didn't
the widow part is refering that: the widow goes to the grave of her husband and grieves because of it and the speaker grieves beacuse she is married to a guy she dosent´t want to be with anymore , The Widow is grieving for the death and the speaker is grieving for the living
This! Also, "my house of stone" refers to how the protagonist's house (home/family/relationship) with her living husband is dead (like the grieving widow and the stone grave). That's why her secret lover can infiltrate the home through the affair cause the relationship with her husband is already dead. Ivy is also a living, evolving being and stone is dead and cold; so that's a comparison between the relationship with the lover and the husband. It's also generally understood that it's two women who are having the affair as it's hinted that they both have husbands.
@@lepeets oh the death-Stone metaphor it's so good. i'd never thought of it
I feel like the narrator is grieving for the person she lives and can’t be with because she’s stuck in a marriage with someone she doesn’t love.
wow thank you!! that is a part of the song that i had never been able to understand before
I thought the widow could be the wife of the person the narrator is having the affair with, since they both died in the fire together.
Ivy is a top tier ☝️
This song feels like reading a Jane Austen novel in front of the fire, and I love that. I don't think I'll ever get sick of it.
I'd say it's more like the Bronte sisters books. A bit darker with the husbands/ lovers too. Austen would be more like the Folklore triangle because it's lighter and gentle poking fun- like "Betty", with James on the porch "so I showed up to your party"!
His hand is freezing cause they meet in the night during winter, and her hand is promised to another, like in marriage. And the dreamland is the idea of their relationship being a fantasy and him making it a reality wich will make everything burn down
I think maybe the freezing hand is because this “other affair” is a ghost… that would explain “the old widow goes to the stone everyday” part lol
@@marco2597 I think the widow reference is because a widow can publicly grieve her love by going to the graveyard, but the singer has to grieve privately for the living because they can't acknowledge their love.
Its been long suspected to be a song about Emily Dickinson & her brothers wife Sue & their suspected affair. (Sues hand in marriage had been promised to the brother). This was seemingly confirmed when the song appeared on Dickinson in a love scene between Sue & Emily. Evermore was also released on Emily Dickinsons birthday. Its only a theory but fits!
So was Dickinson and Taylor's birthday the same? 13th December?
@npats550 Sorry I misworded it. I'm a plonker, it was announced on the 10th which was dickinsons birthday, then released on the 11th I think?
To me her dreamland is just her mind, or maybe her literal dreams. Like in the same way ivy spreads over the stone house (stone house being a metaphor for her heart of stone) and she can’t get rid of it, the new person has planted roots in her mind, so she can’t stop thinking about them.
Ivy was my most listened to song on Spotify last year 😂
To me the dreamland is the "project" of the marriage, like it was supposed to be the dream, but now it's ruined cause she loves someone else 🤔
Or her fantasy
I could be entirely wrong here but I always took it as her heart is the house of stone and her lover is the ivy.
Nope you're right on the money! But that's the beauty, it COULD be the relationship too. She says so much in so little. A masterpiece, honestly.
I cant wait to scream “so yeah, it’s a fire. it’s a goddamn blaze in the dark and you started it.
So yeah, it’s a war. It’s a goddamn fight of my life and you started it” once Taylor goes on tour.
“Taking mine but it’s promised to another” means her hand was taken but her hand is promised to another. The “putting roots in her dreamland” is her lover keeps being a major player in her dreamland, the narrator’s thoughts are always on her lover and she keeps dreaming about her lover.
I love how you take her songwriting seriously and really think about it, thank you. Ivy is just such a beautiful song, one of my favs. The non-explicit version strikes differently as shes replaces goddamn with better words lol.
I agree. To me, “violent blaze in the dark” and “fiercest fight of my life” are much better adjectives that have a stronger meaning and imagery. I love the way they sound too, especially “fiercest fight” with the alliteration.
His hand is cold because one of the lyrics is “in from the snow, your touch brought forth an incandescent glow.”
Taylor is clever enough to use poetry to write a song about poets
This is one of my all time favorites. So beautiful.
I have to say this…. Your background blocks are a Qbert throwback 🤣 I can’t unsee it
the lyrics took me clueless when i first heard it 😭😭😭
Frozen / blue / ice is often a lyrical motif Taylor uses to describe being “closeted” or secret relationships.
So, the basic simple way of looking at the story:
The speaker is married but isn't happy in her marriage. She's in love with someone else (the "you" she sings to). He's like an ivy taking over her house - her and her husband's life. She is grieving for the living (the husband she married, and doesn't want to stay married to) like a widow grieves the death of her husband.
"Taking mine", meaning his hand is taking her hand, but her hand was promised to another (the husband).
The dreamland is probably what she hoped would be her perfect life. Maybe it was good until she met the new person, or maybe she hoped it would be good in the future. It can also be the fantasy she and her lover live in.
There is also the explanation that other people already gave in the comments.
There is also a theory running that I'm conflicted about that the speaker is singing to an ex love who died. She's in a new relationship now, married, but the memories of him haunt her too much. That's why the hand is cold. That's why she's grieving for the living - sad that she's still alive. She's considering taking her own life to reunite with her love - the fight of her life.
Not 100% sold on the last theory, but it is definitely an interesting perspective!
I think this is the perfect explanation for the song. (Not the ex lover theory)
The freezing hand is just a woman's hand. It is about Emily and Susan as another commenter stated.
Ivy is my fav of Evermore...
Putting roots in my dreamland basically means you are always thinking and imagining yourself with that person.
The freezing hands are referring to where the two in the affair are meeting. Because it is likely a relationship between two women, and also an affair, they meet up in the graveyard at night so hands are freezing because it’s cold. At least that is my take
ok that makes much more sense, cause if not the freezing hands would infer that this woman is very cold with her, very cruel and that wants to see her suffer. something like that. and that doesn't fit with the rest of the story
What does that have to do with them being women?
lol! Your reaction is quite legitimate. To this day I have many theories about ivy but none of them quite fit, It's a taylor thing, and we love it
I love watching your thinking process!!! bc honestly i was even more confused the first time I heard this song so don’t worry about it
I want to explain everything based on my understanding but i know there's a lot of better swifties on the way who can do the job!
I think what she means by "stop you putting roots in my dreamland" is that he is making her daydream, or making her feel the way she always wanted to in a relationship or how she dreamt it would be. And yes, the House of Stone is her, the growing Ivy is the guy.
The stone house is her heart. She has built a fortress around it and the other man is permeating it. The roots in her dreamland means he is making her fantasy about this other man a reality.
My favorite song from Evermore. I think the story is about a married/engaged woman falling in love with another man. The house of stone/her dreamland could be her mind/heart and the ivy/his roots is him or her love for him, at least that's how I see it. Your confusion was funny but understandable. :)
The narrator is engaged/married to a man, but doesn’t want to be (“taking mine, but it’s been promised to another”). They are in love with someone else. In my mind the narrator is a woman, singing to another woman in the past when that was not acceptable. Like someone else mentioned, one theory is that it’s about Emily Dickinson and Sue Gilbert.
“Oh, I can’t
stop you putting roots in my dreamland
my house of stone, your Ivy grows
and now I’m covered in you”
I fantasize about being with you but I shouldn’t because we can’t be together so don’t fall into this fantasy with me. Oh, it’s too late I’m already in love with you.
"As such ivy was often presented to the bride and groom as symbol of everlasting life, devotion, fidelity and loyalty. The Greeks also used it to make a crown for Liber, the God of Fertility, as well as poets and other muses."
Suffi is such a beautiful name. I really enjoy your videos. Hope to see more in the future
I love this song so much it is literally like a poem put to music
The first time I listened to this song I really thought it was about a toxic relationship and the codependency that comes with it, then finally getting the courage to break free at the bridge only to be sucked back in at the end.
That ivy reference trapping me is shown in the put of the woods video
Dreamland is like fantasties
Taking my hand which is bound by marriage vows....The “yours” is her heart..and who she gives it too, rather than belonging to her husband.
Dreamland = mind. House = heart.
My opinion, you’re not overthinking. I think, in terms of lyrics, this is Taylor at her most abstract - where many of the words and phrases she uses are symbolic/metaphorical. For example, when she says, “Your freezing hand…”, I’m fairly certain she doesn’t mean his hand is literally cold. It’s more like what associations come to mind when you hear “freezing hand”? How does that image make you feel? One interpretation could be that “freezing hand” represents some sort of distance, or “coldness” in the narrator’s partner. :)
I think, with this type of Taylor song, it helps to o approach the lyrics the way you would approach a poem.
Yes, Taylor is a musician but, in terms of her lyrics, she often is a poet at heart- the way they often refer to Bob Dylan as a “poet”.
Based on clips I’ve seen of her talking about her work and the song from 1989, “New Romantics”, Sorry- posted that comment before I was done…:). Taylor is strongly influenced by the Romantic poets of the 17th/18th century where “Romantic” doesn’t mean “love”, it was a literary/musical/etc. movements where artists work focused on emotion and the “feeling” of things. Sure, it could definitely be the feelings associated with being in love/in a relationship- and, yes, the majority of her work thus far is based on those particular types of feelings. But, as Taylor (offended when people said her work was only “about boys”), said her work is about feelings- and the feelings could be about anything you experience- love, friendship, anger… anything.
Hope that helps- went on a little longer than I intended.
I enjoyed your video!
My dreamland is the world
When I first heard this I thought the speaker was in love with a “Spirit “
MY interpretation?
If I had to make a visual through it, I would use the same landscape as in Cardigan or Willow. Like a 19th century or older rural community/ village in war time. Old style like the American civil war. She's engaged at the least, or a newlywed at the other extreme, and her "betrothed", (they lyric, about the hand belonging to another), is away fighting. The widow going to the stone has heard news that her husband has been killed, but the protagonist hasn't. So the widow at least has an answer and can go somewhere to grieve, whereas with the protagonist- there's been no news either way. Stuck in that uncertainty, (hence, "Grieving for the living?) There's another way of interpreting that line, which is, historical and cultural, in that she's grieving fir herself and her own heart. Marriages were all arranged in that historic time, so she doesn't really love her fiancee or husband, so she's kinda put the walls up with a stone cold heart. Evermore is meant to be an autumn winter vibe throughout the album.
And then this guy comes in, looking for shelter and food, and the protagonist and this person,
("fresh from the snow", bought her heart some light "your touch bought forth an incandescent glow", which is "tarnished", because she's been given away in marriage. Second verse sounds like he's now back from war, so now the three are in the room together but she wants to be with new guy, but old guy is back.
"He's in the room// Your opal eyes are all I wish to see/He wants what's only yours".
Bridge- now times moved on again and people are busier, so less chance of secret meetings and if her husband finds out, he might just kill them-or her at least for adultery- or metaphorically it will kill her heart, ( "her stone house".
So it's teetering on that decision of the "love triangle", or the sanctioned path, (duty over love), or risk running off with her heart, and who knows what the consequences will be.
"It's the Goda*n fight of my life//You started it".
I think the narrator doesn’t actually act on her desire to be with this other person (man or woman)… society or time/place or whatever is keeping her from actually leaving the husband she doesn’t love for the person who has sparked a desire in her. So she’s experiencing angst and pain and she’s fighting with herself to resist this other person because it would ruin her to be with them. But even if she can’t physically act on her desire for this other person, she can still fantasize about being with them and what it would be like.
So here is my synopsis of what I think Ivy is about so this woman is engaged to marry someone possibly in a arranged marriage. So in the first verse Taylor says in from the snow which is why his hand is freezing. Taking mine (hand) but it’s been promised to another. As in her hand in marriage so this guy is taking her hand in a literal sense but her hand in marriage has been promised to her fiancé. “ Oh I can’t stop ypu putting roots in my dreamland” I take that to mean she can’t stop dreaming of him and wishing she was with him instead of her fiancé. The woman is the house not her relationship with her fiancé it says “MY HOUSE of stone YOUR IVY grows and now I’M COVERED IN YOU “ For “ Your opal eyes are all I wish to see, he wants what’s only yours” so the Man that the girl is cheating on her fiancé with has the opal eyes and that’s all she wishes to see and he wants but it’s only yours is the fiancé wants her love but her love is only for the other man. The line “ He’s gonna burn this house to the ground” refers to her fiancé burning down the house as in the woman and the man she loves relationship. For “ How’s one to know? I live in die for moments that we stole and begged and borrowed time. Beg me to run, Or dare to sit and watch what we’ll become” What I think she saying is how could I ever know that I was gonna find this person who I love so much and all of the moments that we had together we’re so meaningful that I want him to tell me to run because I don’t wanna sit and watch but will become it would be to sad. For the line “so yeah, it’s a war it’s the goddamn fight of my life” I believe refers to her fighting for them to be together in the end and maybe running away. The song is with Another Corus although slightly different but the last word say “now I’m covered in you” which I think means they ended up happily ever after
ivy was just so easy for me to understand I was kinda confused about why you were confused lol, one of my fav of the album
The freezing hands part is quite confusing
Theory 1: she was imagining rekindling with someone who's already dead. Hence she mentions about the stones.
Theory 2: she has a fling with a woman (cause women usually have colder hands than men)
It's the hand mate. His freezing hand is taking her hand that's been promised to another (marriage)
Its about an Affair with someone while you are engaged and about to marry unwillingly.
She’s the stone house. Or her heart..
Here's my theory: the narrator of this song is dead and recounting the events that led up to her death. (The husband found out about her affair and burnt the house to the ground with her inside it.) I feel like this isn't a leap given the song starts out in a graveyard with "the old widow goes to the stone" and she goes on to say "my house of stone". It brings to mind ivy growing over a grave.
Bro. Putting roots in my dreamland just means she’s dreaming about the guy she’s having an affair with.
Ivy can represent thebad guys controlling us
3:00 she means this person's hand is taking heer hand, but this person's hand has been promised to another. which means this person is gonna marry someone else. at least thats what i take from it.
But yeah, this is the song that confuses me the most. I still don't get why their hand is freezzing. does she refer to her husband's hand? or the new lover's hand? and why are they freezing? i would think because that person is cold and doesn't love her, but that doesn't seem to go well with the story. maybe is not a metaphor at all, but i found it weird not being a metaphor. ]
Then, the part of her dreamland, i imagine she wanted her marriage to work, or even that she was happy with it, UNTIL this other person (i imagine it being a woman, and these being those times where it was frown upon) this person shows up on her life and she just can't fight this new feeling. she falls in love and desires this new person and she is also conflicted and annoyed by it cause this new love has come to demolish what had been a fulfilled and happy life until that moment.
React to her performances especially from 2017 to 2021
This song, in my view, is about a woman who’s in love with a ghost… but she’s about to get married with another guy 🤷🏻♂️
you mean with a person who died and she can't forget? or with a literal ghost? 😂
@@dani010203stor i dont knooow lmao that’s the funny thing… i think it’s literally a ghost, just like the story “Encarnação” by José de Alencar. That would explain the “i meet you where the spirit meets the bones” too!!
She's betrothed to a man she doesn't love but she knows how risky the situation is. It's like she's trying to run away from who she really loves but she cannot stop it cause it's her "dream".
I married while young and unwise, I met Tony before my divorce
The stone house is the woman, the ivy is the man she's having the affair with. He's so alluring (opal eyes) and she just cannot stop falling in love with him. He's invading and conquering her dreamland AKA her dreams of running away from her husband and having a new life somewhere. He's giving her hope. But she's also afraid that the husband would find out or come after them (the fire, the war). I also imagine this song set to be in 15th century or something, when women were "promised" to men, but they usually are with love with an other guy. In this case, the marriage happened but she still loves her old lover. The gender of the person she's cheating with is never mentioned, so it might also be two lesbian women idk.
The "old widow" bit has nothing to do with the storyline. it's just a premise about how our narrator sees this old widow going to the grave to see her dead husband, and how the narrator wishes her husband were dead as well but he's not, so she's grieving someone who is alive.
"Ivy" is literally poetry. It's bit hard to understand at first listen, but once u understand it, it's just a masterpiece.
Ready player one is kinda like into the spider verse AKA metaverse
Reincarnation is real I am one half of Bonnie and Clyde, Cleopatra and Antony, and Adam and Eve
I so enjoy your reactions! Would love for you to react to Avi Kaplans new album Floating On A Dream all 11 tracks are beautiful!!
it's her hand bro. Her hand is promised to another in marriage
Not gonna lie your confusion, confused me!!! Lol
hope ur nose is recovering well
Do you know what happened to his nose ?
What happened to his nose?
I hope he's okay.
React to "2021 em uma música" by Lucas Inutilismo. Please man!
You look better
Want one direction reaction
Post traumatic narcissist disorder is horrifying and I healed myself forget Robert Archer and forget Trump for trying to control all God destined divine unions.
Day 18 of asking you to react to "nothing" by niall😁
I think that she is in a bad marriage and the man who comes into her life is kind of cold (freezing hand) and manipulative and doesn’t really care that she will ruin her whole life for him.
It seems that she blames the new man at the end of the song…yes he consumes her thoughts and dreams but she’s also not saying wonderful things about him
What happen your face,Bro?
takecare.
My ex was sent here to keep me from my God given destiny and my divine union with Anthony
I need to work on this ranking more, but I think this is like top to gayest Taylor’s songs, might only lose to run from the red vault
What happend your Norse bro🥲
Robert was sent to be a false twin flame, to make me look bad to God but he sees all so that was dumb. Make me look bad for being divorced. They tried to alter spiritual laws with natural laws and its my destiny to realign the spiritual and natural laws. Thine kingdom come, thine will be done on earth as it is in heaven. The devil tries to mislead us and consume us, but our Father forgives our sins the law of confession
This is even about trump destroying way too many things
it's a GAY song!! 😍
🤦♂️ I don’t even know what to say. It’s for the first time I see someone is soooooo confused about the lyrics. I thought the plot was so obvious. My favourite song and I was waiting for your reaction so much and now we got this… 😑
I don't know why you're so frustrated. This song is definitely NOT that easy to get.
Why do you have to be so rude, chill lol
This song is not that easy especially when you hear it for the first time ! And his reaction was actually good. He was trying to understand what's going on because at this point he knows everything she writes has a meaning behind it ! His reaction was like all of our reactions when we first listened to this song except that we were figuring these 2 albums out with millions of swifties and that was a bit easier for us!
the song is not easy at all. and if it is, could you explain it as he asked so we all can get it?
this song about having affair! if you know about emily dickinson and susan gilbert they love eachother but susan married to emily brother because you know they from 1800s 🧍🏻
this was the easiest for me to get tbh. she's engaged to someone who she doesnt love but can give her financial security. but she fell in love with someone else and is trying to figure out whether to run away with him or go on with the wedding and continue having an affair.
This is my fav song from evermore along with closure. 🥹🥹🥹
i know this song is about an affair but is the widow cheating on her dead husband with someone else. like did she move on too quick to the point that it would seem like she’s cheating. “and the old widow goes to the stone everyday, but i don’t i just sit here and wait, grieving for the living” is the guy that she moved on to waiting at her house while she visits her dead husband. and in the chorus is she talking to this man that the baggage of her dead husband fits in this new man’s hands and since it’s winter that’s why his hand is cold and she’s deciding whether she moved on to quick (“taking mine but it’s been promised to another”). and in the second verse when she sings “he’s in the room, your opal eyes are all i wish to see” is she talking about a picture of her late husband is like on the dresser while she’s looking into this new man’s eyes
My opinion, you’re not overthinking. I think, in terms of lyrics, this is Taylor at her most abstract - where many of the words and phrases she uses are symbolic/metaphorical. For example, when she says, “Your freezing hand…”, I’m fairly certain she doesn’t mean his hand is literally cold. It’s more like what associations come to mind when you hear “freezing hand”? How does that image make you feel? One interpretation could be that “freezing hand” represents some sort of distance, or “coldness” in the narrator’s partner. :)
I think, with this type of Taylor song, it helps to o approach the lyrics the way you would approach a poem.
Yes, Taylor is a musician but, in terms of her lyrics, she often is a poet at heart- the way they often refer to Bob Dylan as a “poet”.
Based on clips I’ve seen of her talking about her work and the song from 1989, “New Romantics”, Taylor is strongly influenced by the Romantic poets of the 17