The Gardens of Babylon is such a brilliant allusion. As they fall in love it is like one of the seven wonders of the world, but now she's locked it down, she's not sure it ever existed.

Please do “I hate it here” next

When I think of this song, I think that Mitski is singing about someone who cheers for people don’t have anyone to cheer for them. She wants to be there for someone who faces life alone. Kind of like a mother.

In this song she says " years of labor and locks" and in So Long London " stopped trying to drill the safe" these lyrics make me think of Renegade!!

32:49 Yes ofc!! Its a need

I think the telephone wires sizzling like a snare are referencing snare drum wires that are underneath a snare drum and give it that sizzling vibration sound- which makes sense since she is dancing and hearing music in the sounds around her

PLEASE DO VENICE BTCHHHHHH

porchlight connects this song to Peter and Cardigan/Betty imo

"splintered back in winter" also makes me think of "balancing on breaking branches" from exile

Thank you for this analysis. I think, as you mention during the video, the key word is "regret". This is a song of regret and of being haunted by a bad experience with love. And, as you also said, the different uses of "take me back to the night we met" illustrate both 1. the author's wish to escape future pain by changing history and not getting involved in the relationship and 2. reliving the euphoria of those first electric moments of feeling he had for this new person. The juxtaposition of those two different interpretations of that line is stark. After all, for those of us who have been through break-ups --- who has not had a hard time reconciling the wish to have never met the person with the nostalgia of discovering new love?

This was made for a school project btw

I hadn’t thought of it before, but, when you talked about the possibility that she did something to end up in the slammer, I thought of the way people talked about her dating life. She should be able to date people for whatever length of time and not be the butt of jokes due to it, but a years-long relationship worked as a response to them. With that in mind, how can you leave if it’s not right? When the narrative is that you blow through guys, how long do you need to stay in a relationship to change that? “But it’s gonna be alright; I did my time.”

this was great! could you next make an analysis on The Albatross. No body talks about it and its so sad becuase its so good

Matty is engaged to gabriette

I always thought that it ended with him stealing her money. The relationship starts at a tennis court and switches back and forth between “you’re a cowboy like me” and “you’re a bandit like me” almost like a tennis game itself. The power in the relationship switch back and forth as well which we can see in who will pay for it in the end, as in “only if they pay for it” versus “and I know I’ll pay for it”. Notice also how it’s never the other person who will pay for it. After she “locked it down” the other person is hanging from protagonists lips, insinuating that they are the person in power at that time. It can indicate that she locked the relationship down with this person but also that she succeeded in swindling someone, securing money. Going off of that, the protagonist now embodies the very people they both swindle, a person with assets, which is why I believe that the last line in the bridge is important to discern the ending. “Forever is the sweetest con” is not a hopeful ending. It insinuates that the protagonist believes that it won’t last forever which leads to “I’ve had some tricks up my sleeve” which indicates that she no longer has them. I believe the protagonist got swindled herself but she was prepared to spend the money she locked down in order to pursue the love she felt for the other person. She no longer has the tricks because she’s no longer engaging in the game, she quit swindling and became a victim of it instead. The “I’m never gonna love again” could mean that she quit swindling for good and that she is quitting love because it ruined her.

Thank you for all these analysis. I've been a huge swiftie since the Fearless era. English is not my first language, so watching you has helped me a lot to understand the lyrics more deeply. "I will never miss your videos again" 🎶

Thank you for another insightful analysis! I thought I had a pretty good understanding of this song but, as usual, you brought up intriguing ideas for me to think about... Your close examination of specific word choice is key; as we know, Ms. Swift is hyper-deliberate in all forms of art she releases, and must not be skimmed over. Your analysis helps me appreciate her brilliant songs/poetry/ lyrics even more than I already do!

Your sense of humor and editing is great! Singing after saying you're a bad singer at the beginning and delicate.mp3 had me rolling

"Handcuffed to the spell..." makes me think of "spell" as in a period of time. She'd never been in a relationship so long. Maybe she felt a stronger pull to the commitment than to the person?

When I hear tunnels in this context I think of Cornelia Street. "Turned around before I hit the tunnel." Perhaps that's something she did often. Maybe fight, her drive off, get to the tunnel and get the call from him to go back home?

Love this analysis! You should also see if you can do an analysis of the “in summation” poem for the album

Need loml breakdown

I absolutely love your analysis!! I can’t wait to hear more! I would love to hear your analysis on songs like The albatross and Cassandra and who’s afraid of little old me and The prophecy etc. !!! Those are some of my favorites off the album!❤

never miss a Taylor analysis from you... patiently for the loml 😣

In the slammer eating Nando’s 😂😂

I love your analysis, and you are beautiful!!!!❤❤❤❤❤

FINALLY

Hey ! I am big fan of your analysis...can you pls pls do the analysis of sufjan Steven music also, album carrie and lowell

"where the spirit meets the bones" I imagine a grave :> both are the remains of the dead, only bones are physical. I think with the meaning of soul meeting body she would've used a poetic version of the word body (I can't think of any rn) instead of "bones". And they meet at a grave because they are doing it in secret and there's not much happening around a grave But I like your way of understanding it as well <3

the ship lyric kinda makes me think that he accused her of giving up on their relationship, when she was actually fighting to keep it alive, but she was not succeeding at it, thats why she went down, she's still inside the ship, which would symbolize their relationship

I also think maybe the fairy lights through the mist might be referring to her memories of happier times. She has often associated Joe with light and warmth in other songs, but now the relationship has become cold and hazy like mist. But she keeps fighting because she remembers those fairy lights and she's hoping they can get back there. I love these videos, not only because I enjoy your analyses, but they encourage me to think about the songs in a different way.

the "two graves, one gun" lyric got me thinking that this "gun" is some action, something he did, that killed them both and their relationship, thats why there are two graves

Please do The Great War when you can.

Do you think it was intentional for her to use "knees" plural in stead of knee? People usually propose in "one knee". That paints a more sad picture.

wdym I don't ask my washing machine out on a date

idk why but "i founded the club she's heard great things about" reminds me of the song "all of the girls you've loved before" but in this case she would be one of the girls, so i think it means she helped him become a better person for "her"(his new girl)

I don't like bringing North into it.

This was written in 2023 - Oh Highschool

Great analysis! This is my first time seeing your content and I am a fan! A few additional thoughts: the phrase "Keep calm and carry on" comes from a motivational poster from the UK before WWII, and fits in with the stereotype of the British being unflappable, having a "stiff upper lip," etc. In this case American Taylor seems to be borrowing this British phrase to describe how the protagonist faced the ending of this relationship. Also, while "rift" could mean fight, I think it's more helpful to think of it as a physical break (it has connotations to geology, a rift in the ground). So instead of carrying a fight, I imagine her carrying a rock that has been split in two and trying to hold the two pieces together. Lastly, I interpreted the phrase "I founded the club she's heard great things about" simply to mean that she made Joe someone that another person would want to date - both by elevating his status as her boyfriend, and perhaps by putting some work into him as a person - and the "her" then becomes someone who was Joe's next potential or actual love interest. Thanks again for this, this song is so rich lyrically!

I like your thought on not saying well to people who wronged you. I do the same

I thought she was talking more like the race dogs instead of dog fights. 🤷🏾‍♀️

❤😂he might meant to another dimension where he came from, but now he's been stuck and lost in the hologram , trying to find the way back. 😅😅😅

You just can’t trust that this narrative is necessarily true As she has changed her story of the many loves of her life -many many times Come on guys If she truly loved Joe she wouldn’t be over him and then crushed emotionally by her celestial love Matty instantly - then Travis in less than a year - I think there is a reason all these men move away from her Give them the benefit of the doubt 💚

Another two 👍👍up SS.

now that i think abt it, the first line might mean that she (in her mind) thought that things were going to get better in the relationship (fairy lights have a positive connotation) and the mist signifies uncertainty, so it means she really thought it was going to improve, but it didnt, thats why she says "in my mind"

I picture this song as, you meet your ex lover somewhere for the last time, maybe like during the day, outside somewhere, a foggy day, to hand over keys or something. And you are standing there, and have your last conversation to say goodbye. And you are just calm.The tears are done, there are no hysterics. It's just now bitter cold reality. And you say to each other, I hope you find someone. And then you just want to get out of there. You walk quickly away.

"Every day a love affair" to me, means Taylor is scared Joe is cheating on her. Its kind of like the song, No Body No Crime - she thinks he's is cheating, but she just can't prove it. I was also in a similar position in my long term relationship. So many shady incidents with other women with him, but he always denied it and declared his innocence, and called me paranoid. So I was always scared he was cheating. But eventually I did catch him cheating, and I saw I had been right all along.

A little fyi. And you can google it. Taylor and Joe offered on a house together in London in December 2022. A large house in the Hampstead Heath area. And the house closed in April of 2023. April 2023 is when their breakup was leaked. So kind of bad timing, that they broke up just as their new house closed. I wonder if she got Joe off the title on that house yet, or what. Edit - But I like your interpretation, that she left all she knew in New York, to be with him in London. And then he left her in London.

Your analysis of every song is so beautiful, I would love it if you analysed all the songs on TTPD, I WOULD JUST EAT IT ALL UP. I love how deeply you analyse each word, I haven't seen any other "song analyser" do that Love your videos💕💕💕

Great analysis !!! Your videos make me appreciate Taylor’s songs even more 💖 I think the line “I founded the club she heard great things about” might also be a reference to the “tortured men club” (if you know the backstory of the whatsapp group chat, that also inspired the album title). Maybe the new girl of the song heard the love interest talking ironically about this group chat (the tortured men club) and Taylor is saying “I’m the founder of that club”, as to say “I am responsible, I’m the one who tortures the men”. Keep up with the great job, love you🫶🫶