@@meganmaclaine Our field of dreams, engulfed in fire. Your arson's match, your somber eyes. The imagery and metaphor combos in these lines make me mad with sad, literary joy.
Something I didn't realize until editing - she never actually says "love of my life" in the song, so "loml" can really only refer to "loss of my life" UGH STOP IT
Hurts, doesn’t it? For your listening pleasure, might I suggest you listen to her singing loml as a surprise song on the eras tour? Especially when she mashed it up with her song Don’t You from her Fearless album. I can’t hear this song without singing Don’t You with it now lol. But yeah, it’s a great mash up.
Yes. If LOML means love of my life, then loml means loss of my life. Small, perfect details like this are how Taylor embroiders her song titles and lyrics with precise stitching.
One other thing I would like to point out about the lyric “ combing through the braids of lies”, if you have ever tried to comb through a braid, even a loose one, all the strands get tangled up. You make the hair go from an organize weave to tangled chaotic mess. It’s almost like she’s trying to say her trying to dissect what the lies were from the truth made the whole situation worse for her.
Hm I was thinking it was a comment on the fake paintings, that from one moment to another the paintings are falling apart... But then it would make more sense that the paint was bleeding, not ink. She has a tendency of creating metaphors with multiple potential meanings, though.
I love when she says: "Dancing phantoms on the terrace Are they second-hand embarrassed That I can't get out of bed? Cause something counterfe it's dead" It's so saaad but so clear the picture she paints and it kills me 😩💔 Could you analyze The Prophecy? to continue with the wave of torture 😓 I love your analysis of their songs, thank a lot!💕
TTPD+Anthology can be hard to listen to when really paying attention to the lyrics as you do but I also find it glorious, magnificent and surprisingly uplifting by the end. It's a magnificent piece of work and its good to hear you giving it a close reading. Thank you.
Not sure of it was mentioned in the comments but the "stand up guy" line has two meanings for me. Yes, it could be that he's a good guy, but because of the suit and tie lyric and "talking rings" later on it makes me think she meant more like he stood her up. Never really showed up for her and the promised marriage never happened
Late reply, just saw this comment I like your analysis. I also think it could be a little cynical and sarcastic, "you stand-up guy", as in, you pretend and claim to be a stand up guy, saying I need a brave guy and say you are him, but you are still just that low down boy that only cares for himself and hasn't the courage to stick around and face the music and the results of your past comments and behaviours.
@allanaaron2281 Absolutely. That's the beauty of Taylor's lyrics. There are so many layers and ways to interpret them. Love your analysis of her songs ❤
talking someone under the table is like drinking someone under the table. it was a game until it wasn’t. she even implicitly admits she herself is a s***-talker too (maybe used to winning these kinds of games, being so good with her words), since it’s meant to be a game to see who can outlast the other person, but he was so devastatingly good at it and dishonest that he destroyed her. The line reads a bit like “hats off to you, well played, you 100% got me and now I’m broken”
I was coming here to say something similar. She's saying he was better at shit-talking than her. Like when you drink someone under the table. Ugh. So sad.
Regarding "waltzing back." Peter is basically written as a waltz and that song always brought up the imagery to me of two young children learning a grownup dance. The line gives me the feeling of someone repeating patterns they're not conscious about.
Also, the lines "you cinephile.. All those plot twists and dynamite" makes me think that she's saying he loves to live his life like the movies. He wants plots twists, he wants dynamite. Essentially he loves the drama ("you said nomal girls were boring" from The Smallest Man) but gets bored once the initial stages of the relationship are over ("it wasn't sexy once it wasn't forbidden")
It might just be me, but I also see "Stand-up guy" and "Holy Ghost" as saying he stood her up and ghosted her at the end. So these are like good things that can also be interpreted as bad things.
As a long-time English teacher, lit major, and poet, i love your reactions to Taylor's music. She's truly a pop artist like no other with her lyricism and world building.
Loved this analysis! As for my favorite lines in this song, I especially love "you shit-talked me under the table, talking rings and talking cradles", because it combines two different idioms. On the one hand, like you said, "talking someone under the table" means that he was talking about all of these things but in the end it was a waste of her time because none of it ever came to fruition. I haven't heard anyone make this connection, and I might be way off, but I think she turned "sweet talk" into "shit talk". "Sweet talk" already implies that he was feeding her lies in order to persuade her of something, promising all of these things that she wanted out of a partner in order to "steal her", convince her to leave her partner and choose him instead. And while the "sweetness" when you "sweet talk" someone is not real, at least it *feels* sweet at the moment. However, by choosing to say "shit-talk" instead of "sweet-talk" she's emphasizing just how much BULLSHIT everything he said was, not only because he never meant any of it but also because of how monstrous and elaborate his con was . Does this make any sense?
Yes. That works. I always thought of drinking someone under the table: Drink someone under the table" is an informal phrase that means to drink more alcohol than someone else without becoming extremely drunk or unconscious. For example, "Lucy can drink me under the table". --------- The phrase "under the table" can also be used to describe a secret, hidden, or illegal action. For example, "They offered him money under the table to change his mind.
In the Smallest Man Who Ever Lived, she mentions that he was ghosted, so now he knows what it feels like. Obviously implying he ghosted her, which links with the bland goodbye line here. I also just realized this reference could be added to the Holy Ghost line here.
Yes! And "holy" is used in "Guilty As Sin?" at 2:50 min: "what if the way you hold me is actually what's holy?" So Holy might have described her idea of the relationship, but then it was really just a Ghost, maybe dancing on the terrace.
I've always interpreted "all at once the ink bleeds" as when she realized she was hurt, wounded, she started to bleed, not blood but ink, in the sense that she couldn't help but write songs. They bled out of her.
I always thought of “valiant roar” as him boasting, promising, and love bombing at the beginning of the situationship that ties to him being a “lion” that turned into coward.
From the prophecy lyrics : And I sound like an infant Feeling like the very last drops of an ink pen ~ lyrics from Loml And all at once, the ink bleeds A con man sells a fool a get-love-quick scheme But I felt a hole like this Never before, and ever since
Loved your break down Megan. I hadn't considered your interpretation of "Shit talked me under the table". That was interesting. I'm not surprised that something Taylor says can have double and even triple meanings. My interpretation : it's a play on the phrase "you drank me under the table". They were both talking shit (bluffing, lying, saving face, holding their cards close etc etc) but he beat her at the game, by going so far with exaggerated promises: "talking rings and talking cradles". These were things he knew she desperately wanted with him. When he went there, it was game over. He won the shit-talking contest by telling her the biggest, most hard-breaking thing, which she believed.
I love the cohesiveness of the lyrics in this song. Thank you for your analysis, Megan! This song is indeed very sad, it's in my top 5 in TTPD. My number is Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus. Something about that song wrecks me everytime I hear it.
100% love your channel. Your break downs of songs are always so spot on. I wish more on-the-fence Swifites would watch your channel, I think her poems go over a lot of peoples' heads.
Gosh, English isn't my first language and even though I understand it pretty well I'm miles away from picking up every nuance you talk about in these videos ! Thank you so much, you take my appreciation for these songs to a whole other level with your analyses :)
Loml lyric: You said I'm the love of your life About a million times Illicit affairs lyric: And you know damn well For you, I would ruin myself A million little times What if I told you none of it was accidental?
The "plot twists and dynamite" line reminds of the music video of "Mean" where old school bandits tie Taylor at the railway, then they drink and laugh at her while waiting for the train to run over her.
“embroidering” also means maybe playing a little fast and loose with the truth, like “embellishing”. “it didn’t work out because we were just kids babe” is just something they were telling each other while they were rekindling their relationship, suggesting the actual truth was that it didn’t work out the first time for much deeper reasons (which will eventually come back to end them again).
I've always taken the ink line as referring to the painting for some reason. Like it was not a painting but like a print of a painting, and somehow, the ink started to fade and drop, something a real painting wouldn't do, that's how she realized she was sold a fake.
when she says 'you shit talked me under the table, talking rings and talking cradles' I took that as a negotiation - you lied to get me into negotiations about our future. I've heard business dealings referred to as getting people to the table or around the table, wondered if that might be in reference to that
Megan been waiting for you to do more TTPD breakdowns since your Albatross video. This interpretation is so good and your lipstick and shirt look fantastic!
So happy you finally broke this one down! It was in instant favorite of mine when the album came out because the lyrics are so good ❤ I absolutely love when you make these videos, they make me feel so smart 😭
The Holy spirit is also something that descends upon people, while a ghost possesses people. I think it's that expectation vs reality again here: she thought he was a gift from God, but he was there only to possess her. That ties with the exorcise in The Black Dog and the abduction metaphor in Down Bad.
Also how about “in my defense I have none, for diggin up the grave another time, but it would’ve been fun, if you would’ve been the 1”…? And “& the old woman goes to the stone everyday but I don’t I just sit here and wait, grieving for the living” I see parallels.
The phrase "the ink bleeds" could also be referring to a phrase in her summary poem for this album "my veins of pitch black ink". As in she's now bleeding from this injury but her blood is ink that she uses to write all these poems about her heartbreak. You should really react to that summary poem, it puts the whole album in a new perspective
loml: Are they second-hand embarrassed that I can't get out of bed 'cause something counterfeit's dead? glitch: Nights are so starry, blood moonlit It must be counterfeit
One of the things I find really interesting about “holy ghost” is how it comes after she talks about killing time in the cemetery, never quite buried. Perhaps for HER it’s never quite buried, she can’t put the dirt in the grave so to speak. And he swoops in at the nick of time, every time, so that she never QUITE buries it/gets out and the flames keep getting rekindled, but he’s already a ghost, like you said intangible and not really there, one foot out the door almost. But to her something about him felt heaven sent…idk I feel like I’m rambling a little bit but I get a little bit of supernatural ghost imagery with the proximity to the cemetery references in addition to the religious reference.
Also! She keeps referencing films after she calls him a cinephile. Wizard of oz yes (I think calling him the cowardly lion is a bit of a dig there) but also field of dreams is a movie! I love when she says “your somber eyes”. It makes me feel like he sort of acted like it hurt him to do this. Like he was SORRY it ended this way, when he never had any intention of it ending another way.
Ive really missed your Taylor videos. You always find things that ive missed in the lyrics. Also, even tho you have no obligation to post, you are kinda like family or friend in that if you dont post for a while, one cant help but be a little concerned that all might not be well with you. Of course one has no right to worry but as a human, it just seems to happen!
Aww this is so sweet 🥺. I’m trying to get back into a rhythm! Work’s been crazy but I always miss making videos and chatting with you all. Thank you for being so kind and caring 🥺
This is also one of my favorite and i was worried cuz whenever she sings it i would be reminded how hurt she was and how much she loved him. But in Miami she sang it and mashed it up with white horse (also a favorite) and it shows she is good now! I think it was night 2 if you want to watch it. 🤗
"what a valiant roar, what a bland goodbye, the coward claimed he was a lion" cross references with the line in "The Black Dog" where she says "You said I needed a brave man, then proceeded to play him, until i believed it too" and later "cause tail between your legs your leaving"
This is one of my favorite songs as a Swiftie. Thank you so much for breaking it down. ❤ I’m taking AP Lit this year and breaking down a lot of poems and prose (and I write my own), and you give me such a Lit teacher vibe like my own teacher. Your voice is even similar 😂.
@@meganmaclaine I’m glad you liked my little compliment! Lit is so much fun. It’s a challenge sometimes, but I like literary challenges! My teacher is so understanding and she gives off such a warm vibe like you. Maybe in another life you were an AP Lit teacher! Haha, yeah the class is fun. For our weekly Poetry Fridays, this week we just rearranged the poem “Wild Geese” from Mary Oliver today, trying to guess if we could assemble it on our own before she revealed what it was. We all had different interpretations but it was cool figuring out speaker/audience/occasion/theme/shift and the order of the lines in the stanza.
That's an interesting take on the use of "Holy Ghost." I hear that and just recognize Holy Ghost as being the old english/archaic form of Holy Spirit, so I don't apply any deeper meaning to its usage. But you make a good point that she perhaps used the archaic form purposefully--it does add another potential dimension to the story. Gotta love subtext haha.
Another impression I get from the second to last line “I still see it until I die” is that she can also see how they were made for each other so that constant reminder of their field of dreams leave her feeling that loss every time she thinks of him. There is anger and resentment in only seeing his arson at the end, the terrible thing for her is that she still sees a thread of truth in the lies.
I was waiting for this video for months! My fav song, and my favorite part is also What a valiant roar, what a bland goodbye, the coward claimed he was a lion, I'm combing through the braids of lies"I'll never leave" ..."Never mind" I said it in an Ally Sherman video months ago, also another meaning of You cinephile in black and white could be that this man see things in black and white meaning all or nothing, which I find funny because Halsey’s song Colors is about Matty too and there she says everything is grey his hair, his smoke, his dreams and now he’s so devoid of color he don’t know what it means.
i live for your videos, thank you for making this!!! I don't know if you've done Down Bad yet, or if you ever will, but omg, the imagery. I don't love the chorus but the verses are so good
You really thought I put a second typewriter behind me in honor of the described John Doe, didn’t you? I have this feud with my Swiftie colleague about whom she’s addressing. She is Team J, while I’m Team M. I used your breakdown to proof the fact that I’m right since April 19. Love your analysis here and in other topics as well (going way back since the beginning you started your Tayjourney).
"Your arson's match, your somber eyes" can be interpreted two ways 1. Listing two separate things 2. Without the comma, the arsons you performed match your somber eyes Genius.
I also think the Holy ghost might be a reference to a temporary relationship that is very impactful. Like Mary has the brief interaction with the holy spirit and her whole life changed and she was left to deal with the "consequences"
Also, different part of the song, someone said that the sentence "you shit-talked me under the table" can be interpreted as a parallel to "drinking someone under the table", as in "you lied to me saying you wanted to marry me and I believed it, but it didn't affect you at all"
Impressionism is actually an artistic movement/style of painting. The most well-known impressionist artist was Claude Monet. Here's what the Wikipedia says: "Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), ordinary subject matter, unusual visual angles, and inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience." Maybe he was portraying Heaven like it was in his everyday life, like it was something familiar to him, something that he had and that he could share with her. But he was lying to her and to himself.
Yes, I know!! :) It doesn't give a clear, crisp image but one that's more fluid and more like an impression. Love what you're bringing to the conversation here!! Thanks for sharing it ^.^
This was amazing and I can sadly relate to this all too well at a personal level. I wanted to point out, could "A Field of Dreams" be a reference to the movie? I mean ghost baseball players when she's referenced ghosts right before, there has to be something there. Love your videos!
@@meganmaclaine I get your affinity… I love my own (non-Super) Sterling in similar blue, and my gold S-C Galaxie Twelve in mint condition. But if you ever have a chance to get your hands on a clean working Olympia, jump at it. Fantastic typers.
When Taylor says she tried to reform him (Matty) she means she was hopeful that she could help him with his drug addiction. But when he continued to take drugs even in front of her, with no regard for her she knew she couldn't fix him. So sad for so many reasons. Love your videos!
No, I don't think Taylor would say anything about reforming Joe. If someone were to hear about her relationship with Matty Healy, how long they have known each other, and their desire to be together it makes sense. There are so many things, like "your suit and tie" Matty would often wear a black suit with a white shirt while performing on stage. It's been said that he love-bombed her, I googled it and it's really a thing! He has a long history of drug addiction and saying things that the public did not like! She talks about his love/use of drugs in several of the songs on TTPD as well. It's possible that it was one of the main reasons they broke up. It also could be about Joe, some say she has combined her feelings about both of them in her songs. One day she will probably talk about it and we will finally know. 🧐😂
@@user-mz2ne4yh2tThis song screams Matty Healy in a million ways. A rekindled flame, that it was "all fake" and he ghosted her and "it was momentary" and all the "lies" are all things she says about Matty not Joe.
Are the "dancing phantoms on the terrace" her guards doing their regular sweeps at her house? It's wild to think about not being able to wallow in bed w/o your staff knowing.
Megan, I would LOVE with you could check out a song by Aurora called When The Dark Dresses Lightly. She has a very unique mind and her lyrics are incredible!
Megan, do you listen to Taylor's music regularly now? I know you respect her lyrics and the way she tells a story. But, I wanted to ask if you love her music now, not just to listen to her as a writer but as a fan?
I do! I've listened to her music since her first album but got away from it during college when I was more off the grid and didn't keep up with music. But yeah, I'm finding so many gems now, how could I not?? ;)
@@meganmaclaine Yes, she’s so prolific!😂I’ve also been listening since her first album. I’m so happy you are also a fan! Thank you for giving her lyrics the attention they deserve! 💖
I think her cemetery line is interesting because while she talks about ghosts and haunting all the time, she very rarely talks about cemeteries. It makes me think about Ivy and how that character was married but in love with someone else. It feels like they could be related in their metaphors.
Favorite line in loml?? 👀
"Are they secondhand embarrassed that I can't get out of bed 'cause something counterfeit's dead?"
@@SiriuslyPotty 😭😭😭
It was legendary
It was momentary
It was unnecessary
Should've let it stay buried
Not a "line", but it's just such a heartbreaking construct
@@amanda.paccagnella Yesss
@@meganmaclaine Our field of dreams, engulfed in fire. Your arson's match, your somber eyes.
The imagery and metaphor combos in these lines make me mad with sad, literary joy.
Something I didn't realize until editing - she never actually says "love of my life" in the song, so "loml" can really only refer to "loss of my life" UGH STOP IT
Hurts, doesn’t it?
For your listening pleasure, might I suggest you listen to her singing loml as a surprise song on the eras tour? Especially when she mashed it up with her song Don’t You from her Fearless album.
I can’t hear this song without singing Don’t You with it now lol. But yeah, it’s a great mash up.
Yes. If LOML means love of my life, then loml means loss of my life. Small, perfect details like this are how Taylor embroiders her song titles and lyrics with precise stitching.
One other thing I would like to point out about the lyric “ combing through the braids of lies”, if you have ever tried to comb through a braid, even a loose one, all the strands get tangled up. You make the hair go from an organize weave to tangled chaotic mess. It’s almost like she’s trying to say her trying to dissect what the lies were from the truth made the whole situation worse for her.
Omg SO true! Awesome point - thanks for sharing it ^.^
Absolutely
the ink bleeds because she starts crying as she’s writing this, her tears literally smudge the ink
Ohhh yess I was thinking something similar as I was editing!! Love this idea
I've been trying to figure out how to tie in Matty's tattoo ink as the ink that bleeds... but I haven't been able to make that work... yet!
Hm I was thinking it was a comment on the fake paintings, that from one moment to another the paintings are falling apart... But then it would make more sense that the paint was bleeding, not ink. She has a tendency of creating metaphors with multiple potential meanings, though.
I absolutely love this though so sad. Thank you!
This song is so damn sad. I loved your interpretation, I hadn't realized sooo many things! The "impressionist" paintings of heaven!
I love when she says:
"Dancing phantoms on the terrace
Are they second-hand embarrassed
That I can't get out of bed?
Cause something counterfe it's dead"
It's so saaad but so clear the picture she paints and it kills me 😩💔
Could you analyze The Prophecy? to continue with the wave of torture 😓
I love your analysis of their songs, thank a lot!💕
TTPD+Anthology can be hard to listen to when really paying attention to the lyrics as you do but I also find it glorious, magnificent and surprisingly uplifting by the end. It's a magnificent piece of work and its good to hear you giving it a close reading. Thank you.
I agree! It's magnificent in so many ways!
Also... Cinephile > Cowardly Lion reference > Field of Dreams reference. This is just about my favorite song right now. So well written.
omg you are my favorite person whose videos I love the most when it comes to literature
Oh wow thank you 🥺
Not sure of it was mentioned in the comments but the "stand up guy" line has two meanings for me. Yes, it could be that he's a good guy, but because of the suit and tie lyric and "talking rings" later on it makes me think she meant more like he stood her up. Never really showed up for her and the promised marriage never happened
That's good!
Late reply, just saw this comment
I like your analysis.
I also think it could be a little cynical and sarcastic, "you stand-up guy", as in, you pretend and claim to be a stand up guy, saying I need a brave guy and say you are him, but you are still just that low down boy that only cares for himself and hasn't the courage to stick around and face the music and the results of your past comments and behaviours.
@allanaaron2281 Absolutely. That's the beauty of Taylor's lyrics. There are so many layers and ways to interpret them. Love your analysis of her songs ❤
talking someone under the table is like drinking someone under the table. it was a game until it wasn’t. she even implicitly admits she herself is a s***-talker too (maybe used to winning these kinds of games, being so good with her words), since it’s meant to be a game to see who can outlast the other person, but he was so devastatingly good at it and dishonest that he destroyed her. The line reads a bit like “hats off to you, well played, you 100% got me and now I’m broken”
I was coming here to say something similar. She's saying he was better at shit-talking than her. Like when you drink someone under the table. Ugh. So sad.
Regarding "waltzing back." Peter is basically written as a waltz and that song always brought up the imagery to me of two young children learning a grownup dance. The line gives me the feeling of someone repeating patterns they're not conscious about.
That’s good!
I knew it is a waltz, but I never thought of the rest. Interesting!
Also, the lines "you cinephile.. All those plot twists and dynamite" makes me think that she's saying he loves to live his life like the movies. He wants plots twists, he wants dynamite. Essentially he loves the drama ("you said nomal girls were boring" from The Smallest Man) but gets bored once the initial stages of the relationship are over ("it wasn't sexy once it wasn't forbidden")
Oooh love this interpretation!
It might just be me, but I also see "Stand-up guy" and "Holy Ghost" as saying he stood her up and ghosted her at the end. So these are like good things that can also be interpreted as bad things.
Came to say the same thing
Oooh this is so cool!!
As a long-time English teacher, lit major, and poet, i love your reactions to Taylor's music. She's truly a pop artist like no other with her lyricism and world building.
Oh thank you. I'm honored!! :')
Loved this analysis! As for my favorite lines in this song, I especially love "you shit-talked me under the table, talking rings and talking cradles", because it combines two different idioms. On the one hand, like you said, "talking someone under the table" means that he was talking about all of these things but in the end it was a waste of her time because none of it ever came to fruition. I haven't heard anyone make this connection, and I might be way off, but I think she turned "sweet talk" into "shit talk". "Sweet talk" already implies that he was feeding her lies in order to persuade her of something, promising all of these things that she wanted out of a partner in order to "steal her", convince her to leave her partner and choose him instead. And while the "sweetness" when you "sweet talk" someone is not real, at least it *feels* sweet at the moment. However, by choosing to say "shit-talk" instead of "sweet-talk" she's emphasizing just how much BULLSHIT everything he said was, not only because he never meant any of it but also because of how monstrous and elaborate his con was . Does this make any sense?
Yes. That works. I always thought of drinking someone under the table: Drink someone under the table" is an informal phrase that means to drink more alcohol than someone else without becoming extremely drunk or unconscious. For example, "Lucy can drink me under the table".
---------
The phrase "under the table" can also be used to describe a secret, hidden, or illegal action. For example, "They offered him money under the table to change his mind.
In the Smallest Man Who Ever Lived, she mentions that he was ghosted, so now he knows what it feels like. Obviously implying he ghosted her, which links with the bland goodbye line here. I also just realized this reference could be added to the Holy Ghost line here.
OMG. Some other people have been saying this too. I LOVE this idea!! So great
Yes! And "holy" is used in "Guilty As Sin?" at 2:50 min: "what if the way you hold me is actually what's holy?"
So Holy might have described her idea of the relationship, but then it was really just a Ghost, maybe dancing on the terrace.
@@kerrisouth Yes exactly, for sure.
Omg I was waiting patiently for a new Taylor analysis - you really need to do them more, they're always sooo good!
Thank you for waiting so patiently 🥺
Same!
I've always interpreted "all at once the ink bleeds" as when she realized she was hurt, wounded, she started to bleed, not blood but ink, in the sense that she couldn't help but write songs. They bled out of her.
Aw, love this interpretation!
That’s how I interpreted it too
Oooh I love this
Wow, never thought of that, she did say, she had to write this , ink bleeds, wow.
I always thought of “valiant roar” as him boasting, promising, and love bombing at the beginning of the situationship that ties to him being a “lion” that turned into coward.
Totally agree!! Thanks for adding this 😍
From the prophecy lyrics :
And I sound like an infant
Feeling like the very last drops of an ink pen ~ lyrics from Loml
And all at once, the ink bleeds
A con man sells a fool a get-love-quick scheme
But I felt a hole like this
Never before, and ever since
Loved your break down Megan. I hadn't considered your interpretation of "Shit talked me under the table". That was interesting. I'm not surprised that something Taylor says can have double and even triple meanings. My interpretation : it's a play on the phrase "you drank me under the table". They were both talking shit (bluffing, lying, saving face, holding their cards close etc etc) but he beat her at the game, by going so far with exaggerated promises: "talking rings and talking cradles". These were things he knew she desperately wanted with him. When he went there, it was game over. He won the shit-talking contest by telling her the biggest, most hard-breaking thing, which she believed.
Thanks Madeline! And ooh, interesting take! I appreciate you sharing this. That's given me another way to think about that line ^.^
“That i can't get out of bed cause something counterfeit's dead” hits like a mf
It's SO sad UGH
I love the cohesiveness of the lyrics in this song. Thank you for your analysis, Megan! This song is indeed very sad, it's in my top 5 in TTPD. My number is Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus. Something about that song wrecks me everytime I hear it.
100% love your channel. Your break downs of songs are always so spot on. I wish more on-the-fence Swifites would watch your channel, I think her poems go over a lot of peoples' heads.
Aw, thank you tons. That means a lot to me!
Gosh, English isn't my first language and even though I understand it pretty well I'm miles away from picking up every nuance you talk about in these videos ! Thank you so much, you take my appreciation for these songs to a whole other level with your analyses :)
Loml lyric:
You said I'm the love of your life
About a million times
Illicit affairs lyric:
And you know damn well
For you, I would ruin myself
A million little times
What if I told you none of it was accidental?
I love your Taylor Swift break downs!! 🇨🇱🇨🇱
Thank you :')
The "plot twists and dynamite" line reminds of the music video of "Mean" where old school bandits tie Taylor at the railway, then they drink and laugh at her while waiting for the train to run over her.
“embroidering” also means maybe playing a little fast and loose with the truth, like “embellishing”. “it didn’t work out because we were just kids babe” is just something they were telling each other while they were rekindling their relationship, suggesting the actual truth was that it didn’t work out the first time for much deeper reasons (which will eventually come back to end them again).
OMG. I never knew that was one of the meanings of 'embroider' ooooh thanks for adding this
I'm 59 and have never heard embroider used that way. Maybe a younger generation thing? I can see how embellish has similar meanings. Interesting!
@@kerrisouthYeah is that really one of the meanings of embroider?
I've always taken the ink line as referring to the painting for some reason. Like it was not a painting but like a print of a painting, and somehow, the ink started to fade and drop, something a real painting wouldn't do, that's how she realized she was sold a fake.
I can't stop listening to this song, definitely one of my faves of her entire work. Thank you for this video!
when she says 'you shit talked me under the table, talking rings and talking cradles' I took that as a negotiation - you lied to get me into negotiations about our future. I've heard business dealings referred to as getting people to the table or around the table, wondered if that might be in reference to that
Megan been waiting for you to do more TTPD breakdowns since your Albatross video. This interpretation is so good and your lipstick and shirt look fantastic!
Aw thank you!! I appreciate you!
Wow this is the best description and interpretation of this song I have ever seen or heard! Great great job!!
Aw thank you! I appreciate it :')
So happy you finally broke this one down! It was in instant favorite of mine when the album came out because the lyrics are so good ❤ I absolutely love when you make these videos, they make me feel so smart 😭
Hahaha I'm so glad!!
The Holy spirit is also something that descends upon people, while a ghost possesses people. I think it's that expectation vs reality again here: she thought he was a gift from God, but he was there only to possess her. That ties with the exorcise in The Black Dog and the abduction metaphor in Down Bad.
Ooooh yes UGH
this song is a masterpiece of sadness
Also how about
“in my defense I have none, for diggin up the grave another time, but it would’ve been fun, if you would’ve been the 1”…?
And
“& the old woman goes to the stone everyday but I don’t I just sit here and wait, grieving for the living”
I see parallels.
Ohhhh yes, she sure loves her cemeteries
Definitely "I'll still SEE it" (not say) as it ties back to the "somber EYES." Thanks for this! I love hearing your interpretations of her songs.
The phrase "the ink bleeds" could also be referring to a phrase in her summary poem for this album "my veins of pitch black ink". As in she's now bleeding from this injury but her blood is ink that she uses to write all these poems about her heartbreak.
You should really react to that summary poem, it puts the whole album in a new perspective
I adore your beak downs, and specially the connection to other lyrics!
"A con man sells a fool a get-love-quick scheme" reminds me of cowboy like me 🤧
"forever is the sweetest con"
"I thought I was better safe than starry-eyed"
"And all at once, the ink bleeds"
cardigan:
you drew stars around my scars but now I'm bleeding
loml:
Stitching, "We were just kids, babe"
glitch:
Five seconds later, I'm fastening myself to you with a stitch
loml:
Are they second-hand embarrassed that I can't get out of bed 'cause something counterfeit's dead?
glitch:
Nights are so starry, blood moonlit
It must be counterfeit
I LOVEEEEE YOUR T SHIRT, ABSOLUTELY STUNNING
Thank youuuu :')
One of the things I find really interesting about “holy ghost” is how it comes after she talks about killing time in the cemetery, never quite buried. Perhaps for HER it’s never quite buried, she can’t put the dirt in the grave so to speak. And he swoops in at the nick of time, every time, so that she never QUITE buries it/gets out and the flames keep getting rekindled, but he’s already a ghost, like you said intangible and not really there, one foot out the door almost. But to her something about him felt heaven sent…idk I feel like I’m rambling a little bit but I get a little bit of supernatural ghost imagery with the proximity to the cemetery references in addition to the religious reference.
Also! She keeps referencing films after she calls him a cinephile. Wizard of oz yes (I think calling him the cowardly lion is a bit of a dig there) but also field of dreams is a movie!
I love when she says “your somber eyes”. It makes me feel like he sort of acted like it hurt him to do this. Like he was SORRY it ended this way, when he never had any intention of it ending another way.
One of my top 3 songs from TTPD. Great analysis!
breakdown is always onpoint. i loved it. I learned a lot
Ive really missed your Taylor videos. You always find things that ive missed in the lyrics.
Also, even tho you have no obligation to post, you are kinda like family or friend in that if you dont post for a while, one cant help but be a little concerned that all might not be well with you.
Of course one has no right to worry but as a human, it just seems to happen!
Aww this is so sweet 🥺. I’m trying to get back into a rhythm! Work’s been crazy but I always miss making videos and chatting with you all. Thank you for being so kind and caring 🥺
This is also one of my favorite and i was worried cuz whenever she sings it i would be reminded how hurt she was and how much she loved him. But in Miami she sang it and mashed it up with white horse (also a favorite) and it shows she is good now! I think it was night 2 if you want to watch it. 🤗
"what a valiant roar, what a bland goodbye, the coward claimed he was a lion" cross references with the line in "The Black Dog" where she says "You said I needed a brave man, then proceeded to play him, until i believed it too" and later "cause tail between your legs your leaving"
Yesssss!! Love this connection
This is one of my favorite songs as a Swiftie. Thank you so much for breaking it down. ❤
I’m taking AP Lit this year and breaking down a lot of poems and prose (and I write my own), and you give me such a Lit teacher vibe like my own teacher. Your voice is even similar 😂.
This is honestly one of the best compliments I've ever received XD. Thank you!! Also have fun in AP Lit! I loved that class (shocking :P)
@@meganmaclaine I’m glad you liked my little compliment! Lit is so much fun. It’s a challenge sometimes, but I like literary challenges! My teacher is so understanding and she gives off such a warm vibe like you. Maybe in another life you were an AP Lit teacher!
Haha, yeah the class is fun. For our weekly Poetry Fridays, this week we just rearranged the poem “Wild Geese” from Mary Oliver today, trying to guess if we could assemble it on our own before she revealed what it was. We all had different interpretations but it was cool figuring out speaker/audience/occasion/theme/shift and the order of the lines in the stanza.
The background of the video starts as white, then slowly gets darker, ending in black. Urgh, so sad. And it's not even track #5
That's an interesting take on the use of "Holy Ghost." I hear that and just recognize Holy Ghost as being the old english/archaic form of Holy Spirit, so I don't apply any deeper meaning to its usage. But you make a good point that she perhaps used the archaic form purposefully--it does add another potential dimension to the story. Gotta love subtext haha.
Not Chrome Vader watching a TSwift video!! ^.^ I am honored :') haha!! And yes mmm subtext, mhmm we love it (do we?)
@@meganmaclaine Don't worry, I won't let it happen again. 🤣
@@ChromeVader 🤣🤣🤣 nooooo
Another impression I get from the second to last line “I still see it until I die” is that she can also see how they were made for each other so that constant reminder of their field of dreams leave her feeling that loss every time she thinks of him. There is anger and resentment in only seeing his arson at the end, the terrible thing for her is that she still sees a thread of truth in the lies.
Yesss T.T
I love the line Holy Ghost because it could mean so many things. I would add that she could also be referring to the was she was ghosted
Honestly, I LOVE that interpretation. Totally floated, ghostlike, right over my head
I was waiting for this video for months! My fav song, and my favorite part is also What a valiant roar, what a bland goodbye, the coward claimed he was a lion, I'm combing through the braids of lies"I'll never leave" ..."Never mind" I said it in an Ally Sherman video months ago, also another meaning of You cinephile in black and white could be that this man see things in black and white meaning all or nothing, which I find funny because Halsey’s song Colors is about Matty too and there she says everything is grey his hair, his smoke, his dreams and now he’s so devoid of color he don’t know what it means.
omg yay you're back!
I would love to hear your take on Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus.
i live for your videos, thank you for making this!!! I don't know if you've done Down Bad yet, or if you ever will, but omg, the imagery. I don't love the chorus but the verses are so good
You're too sweet!! 🥺 And ahhh yes I need to look at that one
Definitely love this song. It’s perfection. I hope you can also discuss chloe or sam or sophian or marcus, peter and the prophecy
Peter is in my first TTPD vid! :) The others are on their way..... ;)
You really thought I put a second typewriter behind me in honor of the described John Doe, didn’t you?
I have this feud with my Swiftie colleague about whom she’s addressing. She is Team J, while I’m Team M. I used your breakdown to proof the fact that I’m right since April 19.
Love your analysis here and in other topics as well (going way back since the beginning you started your Tayjourney).
"Your arson's match, your somber eyes" can be interpreted two ways
1. Listing two separate things
2. Without the comma, the arsons you performed match your somber eyes
Genius.
Please do The Anthology's The Prophecy, instant Taylor all-timer for me
Embroider can also mean to add details to make it more interesting or colorful. Better than it actually was, perhaps?
I also think the Holy ghost might be a reference to a temporary relationship that is very impactful. Like Mary has the brief interaction with the holy spirit and her whole life changed and she was left to deal with the "consequences"
Also, different part of the song, someone said that the sentence "you shit-talked me under the table" can be interpreted as a parallel to "drinking someone under the table", as in "you lied to me saying you wanted to marry me and I believed it, but it didn't affect you at all"
Impressionism is actually an artistic movement/style of painting. The most well-known impressionist artist was Claude Monet. Here's what the Wikipedia says:
"Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage of time), ordinary subject matter, unusual visual angles, and inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and experience."
Maybe he was portraying Heaven like it was in his everyday life, like it was something familiar to him, something that he had and that he could share with her. But he was lying to her and to himself.
Yes, I know!! :) It doesn't give a clear, crisp image but one that's more fluid and more like an impression. Love what you're bringing to the conversation here!! Thanks for sharing it ^.^
Please also do the prophecy. Would love to hear your pov 😊
Sooooon!!
This was amazing and I can sadly relate to this all too well at a personal level. I wanted to point out, could "A Field of Dreams" be a reference to the movie? I mean ghost baseball players when she's referenced ghosts right before, there has to be something there. Love your videos!
Yes I think you're on to something with the movie reference! And thanks for the support ^.^
@meganmaclaine My pleasure!
amazing song and review🥺 pls do more TTPD songs !!
Taylor wrote the book on starry eyed.
I like your Smith Corona Super Sterling. Is that a relatively new acquisition?
Oh my, thank you!! Yes, it was gifted to me by a friend at work :') I am a sucker for the SC typies 🥰
@@meganmaclaine I get your affinity… I love my own (non-Super) Sterling in similar blue, and my gold S-C Galaxie Twelve in mint condition. But if you ever have a chance to get your hands on a clean working Olympia, jump at it. Fantastic typers.
Remember screaming in a pillow in
season 5 😂
How did it end next plsss❤
When Taylor says she tried to reform him (Matty) she means she was hopeful that she could help him with his drug addiction. But when he continued to take drugs even in front of her, with no regard for her she knew she couldn't fix him. So sad for so many reasons. Love your videos!
I thought this was for Joe?
@@user-mz2ne4yh2tthis is about Matty. You wanna portray Joe as this shitty person Taylor sings in this song???
No, I don't think Taylor would say anything about reforming Joe. If someone were to hear about her relationship with Matty Healy, how long they have known each other, and their desire to be together it makes sense. There are so many things, like "your suit and tie" Matty would often wear a black suit with a white shirt while performing on stage. It's been said that he love-bombed her, I googled it and it's really a thing! He has a long history of drug addiction and saying things that the public did not like! She talks about his love/use of drugs in several of the songs on TTPD as well. It's possible that it was one of the main reasons they broke up. It also could be about Joe, some say she has combined her feelings about both of them in her songs. One day she will probably talk about it and we will finally know. 🧐😂
@@user-mz2ne4yh2tThis song screams Matty Healy in a million ways. A rekindled flame, that it was "all fake" and he ghosted her and "it was momentary" and all the "lies" are all things she says about Matty not Joe.
i think the opening line is more of a rhetorical sentence
Ooh yes for sure! Besides, she already knows the answer T.T
Are the "dancing phantoms on the terrace" her guards doing their regular sweeps at her house? It's wild to think about not being able to wallow in bed w/o your staff knowing.
The Shirt!! Nice touch. 20 seconds in and already love the video. Good to see you again Megan.
Thank you for noticing 🤭😆 and ohh! I'm so glad 🥺. Good to see you again, too!!❤
Megan, I would LOVE with you could check out a song by Aurora called When The Dark Dresses Lightly. She has a very unique mind and her lyrics are incredible!
Ooh thanks for this!!
@@meganmaclaine I think you’re gonna love her songs. She’s a very different artist 💜
girl i love u❤
You're too sweet!
can you please react to ,,in summation'' poem from this album, its really goooooood.............
you should listen to the second part of the album, the anthology its much better then the standard
I have! :)
@@meganmaclaine have you posted it? i am really excited to watch your reaction
Peter and The Black Dog were in my first reaction, and I've done the Albatross as well :) excited to do more
Megan, do you listen to Taylor's music regularly now? I know you respect her lyrics and the way she tells a story. But, I wanted to ask if you love her music now, not just to listen to her as a writer but as a fan?
I do! I've listened to her music since her first album but got away from it during college when I was more off the grid and didn't keep up with music. But yeah, I'm finding so many gems now, how could I not?? ;)
@@meganmaclaine Yes, she’s so prolific!😂I’ve also been listening since her first album. I’m so happy you are also a fan! Thank you for giving her lyrics the attention they deserve! 💖
Gave you a like just from the subject title. He is definitely a piece of work. Or maybe work is the wrong word.
Aw thank you! And hahahaha
I think her cemetery line is interesting because while she talks about ghosts and haunting all the time, she very rarely talks about cemeteries. It makes me think about Ivy and how that character was married but in love with someone else. It feels like they could be related in their metaphors.
TOTALLY. The more I listen to TTPD, the more I'm like, um these connect an awful lot to Folklore/Evermore
has anybody ever told you you look like brie larsson???????
hahaha yes! Very flattering. Thank you!!
@@meganmaclaine no seriously you both are lost twins
I really love that shirt! Where can I get one 😂
Thank youuuu! Etsy!! www.etsy.com/listing/1578578094/a-lot-to-write-at-the-moment-funny?click_key=862041a469e9fb7d201af1e8bce844e117cbe7a8%3A1578578094&click_sum=767fee22&ref=shop_home_recs_1&pro=1&sts=1
Pls react to the prophecy 🙏🏼
Sooooon..... :D
Do you have a video here or on patreon reacting to the song?
“ he set fire” who has a lighter collection? yes joe
Loml is one of my favourites too 🤍🤍🤍