I Knew You Were Shopping
Taylor Swift Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Once upon time
A few mistakes ago
I was in your sights
You got me alone
You found me
You found me
You found me
I guess you didn't care
And I guess I liked that
And when I fell hard
You took a step back
Without me, without me, without me

And he's long gone
When he's next to me
And I realize the blame is on me

'Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So shame on me now
Flew me to places I'd never been
So you put me down oh
I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So shame on me now
Flew me to places I'd never been
Now I'm lying on the cold hard ground
Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble
Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble

No apologies
He'll never see you cry
Pretend he doesn't know
That he's the reason why
You're drowning, you're drowning, you're drowning

And I heard you moved on
From whispers on the street
A new notch in your belt
Is all I'll ever be
And now I see, now I see, now I see
He was long gone
When he met me
And I realize the joke is on me

I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So shame on me now
Flew me to places I'd never been
So you put me down oh
I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So shame on me now
Flew me to places I'd never been
Now I'm lying on the cold hard ground
Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble
Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble

When your saddest fear comes creeping in
That you never loved me or her or anyone or anything
Yeah

I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So shame on me now
Flew me to places I'd never been
So you put me down oh
I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So shame on me now
Flew me to places I'd never been
Now I'm lying on the cold hard ground
Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble
Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble

I knew you were trouble when you walked in
Trouble, trouble, trouble




I knew you were trouble when you walked in
Trouble, trouble, trouble

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Taylor Swift’s song “I Knew You Were Trouble” tell the story of a woman who entered into a relationship with a man who was trouble from the start. She knew deep down that he would hurt her, but she allowed herself to be swept up in the excitement of being with him. As the relationship progresses, he takes a step back, leaving her alone and feeling abandoned. The woman blames herself, realizing that she knew he was trouble from the moment he walked into her life.


Throughout the song, Swift uses metaphors to convey her feelings of being manipulated and used by the man she was with. She compares her experience to drowning, indicating how she felt suffocated and trapped in the relationship. The lyrics “Flew me to places I’d never been” suggest that the man brought excitement and adventure into her life, but ultimately let her down.


Despite the heartache and pain that the woman experiences due to the man she was with, there is a sense of empowerment in the lyrics. The woman recognizes that she allowed herself to be fooled, but she takes responsibility for her own mistakes and moves forward with determination.


Line by Line Meaning

Once upon time
It was a long time ago


A few mistakes ago
It was back when I made a few errors in judgement


I was in your sights
You had your eyes set on me


You got me alone
You somehow managed to isolate me from everyone else


You found me
You discovered me


You found me
You discovered me


You found me
You discovered me


I guess you didn't care
I assume that you didn't care


And I guess I liked that
And I think I actually enjoyed that


And when I fell hard
And when I fell strongly for you


You took a step back
You distanced yourself from me


Without me, without me, without me
You left me without any support


And he's long gone
And he's gone for good


When he's next to me
Even though he's beside me


And I realize the blame is on me
I understand that it was my fault


'Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in
I knew from the beginning that you were bad news


So shame on me now
So I have only myself to blame now


Flew me to places I'd never been
You took me to new experiences


So you put me down oh
But then you brought me down


No apologies
You don't care to apologize to me


He'll never see you cry
He will never see any weakness from you


Pretend he doesn't know
Act like he's oblivious


That he's the reason why
When he is actually the cause


You're drowning, you're drowning, you're drowning
You are suffocating, you are overwhelmed


And I heard you moved on
I found out that you have moved on


From whispers on the street
From gossip or rumors


A new notch in your belt
A new conquest for you


Is all I'll ever be
I'm nothing more than that to you


And now I see, now I see, now I see
And now I understand


He was long gone
He has already left for good


When he met me
Before he met me


And I realize the joke is on me
And I understand that I was tricked


When your saddest fear comes creeping in
When your worst possible fear becomes a realization


That you never loved me or her or anyone or anything
That you never truly cared for me, or her, or anyone or anything


I knew you were trouble when you walked in
I knew it from the moment I met you


Now I'm lying on the cold hard ground
Now I'm left alone and broken


Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble
Oh, the pain, the pain, the pain




Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: SWIFT, TAYLOR / MARTIN, MAX / SHELLBACK

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found
Comments from YouTube:

@chatsandreacts

Everyone: Nothing can save this year...

Taylor: HOLD MY CARDIGAN

@thefinalgirl3639

AMAZING.

@mariastanica3735

Nice:)

@lesachipambala1399

I hope you are well and alive 😊

@NancyMay-e2w

Fitting you evrywhere!

@DatBrian

so beautiful lyrically and melodically. taylor, can we have a 3rd folklore type alternative album? 🥺

@caramelgirl6962

I'm trying~

@brandonaireyong

this is she trying~

@jeirartyt9010

YO CREI QUE ERA LOVER PERO EN 2020 CAMBIO SU ALBUM A FOLKLORE NO LO PYEDO CREER :O

@revermore3959

you mean Woodvale? XD

More Comments

More Versions