Taylor Alison Swift is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans… Read Full Bio ↴Taylor Alison Swift is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her narrative songwriting, which is often inspired by her personal life, has received widespread media coverage and critical praise.

Swift rose to mainstream prominence with her sophomore studio album, Fearless (2008), a country pop record with crossover appeal. Aided by the top-five singles “Love Story” and “You Belong with Me”, Fearless was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Swift's third studio album, Speak Now (2010), blended country pop with elements of rock and featured the top-ten singles “Mine” and “Back to December”.

Drawing inspiration from various pop, rock, and electronic genres, Swift's fourth studio album Red (2012) saw her transcending her country roots. She completely moved to pop with her synth-pop fifth studio album, 1989 (2014), and expanded the electropop sound on her next two studio albums, reputation (2017) and Lover (2019), which respectively embraced urban and retro styles. The four albums spawned a string of international top-five singles, including “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”, “I Knew You Were Trouble”, “Shake It Off”, “Blank Space”, “Bad Blood”, “Look What You Made Me Do”, “ME! (feat. Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco)”, “You Need to Calm Down”, and “Lover”.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Swift experimented with folk and alternative rock on her eighth and ninth studio albums, folklore and evermore (both 2020), whose lead singles “cardigan” and “willow” topped charts around the world. She also released the critically acclaimed documentaries Miss Americana and Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions that year. Swift's tenth studio album, Midnights (2022), marked her triumphant return to pop after two folk albums. The album set the record for biggest first day and first week ever on Spotify, spawned the hits Anti-Hero and Lavender Haze, and sold over 1.5 million copies in its first week becoming not only the biggest debut of the decade but also Swift's biggest debut ever. She would make history by becoming the first artist to occupy the entire top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 with tracks from Midnights.

Additionally, Swift began re-recording her back catalog in November 2020 as a result of a publicized dispute with talent manager Scooter Braun and her former label Big Machine, regarding the acquisition of the masters of her back catalog. In April 2021, Swift released a re-recorded issue of her 2008 album Fearless, titled Fearless (Taylor's Version). It debuted at number one in the US. Swift continued releasing re-recorded versions of her back catalog in November, 2021 with the release of Red (Taylor's Version), a 30 track re-issue of her 2012 critical smash. The album debuted at #1 in the US, spawned the #1 hit All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version) (From the Vault), and broke the record at the time for biggest first day for a female album on Spotify. Red (Taylor's Version) was a critical and commercial hit, and proved that Swift's ambitious, yet ongoing plan to re-record her first 6 albums was well worth it.

Along with the release of Red (Taylor's Version) came All Too Well: The Short Film (2021), Swift's filmmaking debut. The 15 minute romantic drama was based on the lyrical content from Swift's 2012 fan favorite “All Too Well” starring Sadie Sink and Dylan O'Brien. It had a limited theatrical release in major cities, and Swift held special screenings of the film throughout 2022 at various film festivals. In December, 2022 Taylor announced that she would be making her feature directorial debut with Oscar-winning studio Searchlight Pictures.

Following the release of Midnights, Swift would embark on her first tour in five years, The Eras Tour—a retrospective tour covering the entirety of her discography. During her ongoing tour, Swift would release her next two re-recorded albums, Speak Now (Taylor's Version) in July and 1989 (Taylor's Version) in October of 2023. The former of which would land Swift as the woman with the most number-one albums (12) in Billboard 200 history, surpassing Barbra Streisand. The latter was her sixth album to sell one million copies in a single week in the US, her largest album sales in a week span. “Is It Over Now? (Taylor's Version)”, the lead single for 1989 (Taylor's Version), would peak at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

At the 66th annual GRAMMY Awards, Taylor Swift surprised viewers by announcing her eleventh studio album, THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT. On April 19, 2024, the album was released globally, breaking records: it became the first ever to amass 1 billion Spotify streams in a week and sold 2.6 million units in its first week in the US. Swift dominated the charts, monopolizing the top 14 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 and securing the top 10 positions on Australia’s ARIA Singles Chart. The lead single, Fortnight, featuring Post Malone, quickly soared to the number-one position on the Hot 100. Additionally, just two hours after the album’s release, Swift surprised fans with a reissue titled THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY, which included 15 extra songs.

Swift has released several songs for film soundtracks. She co-wrote two songs for the Hannah Montana: The Movie soundtrack— “You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home” and “Crazier”, and contributed two songs to the Valentine's Day soundtrack, including the single “Today Was a Fairytale”, which was her first number one on the Canadian Hot 100, and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. She also contributed two original songs to The Hunger Games soundtrack album: “Safe & Sound - from The Hunger Games Soundtrack”, co-written and recorded with The Civil Wars and T-Bone Burnett, and “Eyes Open”. “Safe & Sound” won the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. In 2013, Swift recorded “Sweeter than Fiction”, a song she wrote and produced with Jack Antonoff for the One Chance film soundtrack, which received a Best Original Song nomination at the 71st Golden Globe Awards. Swift and English singer Zayn Malik, mononymously known as Zayn, released a single together, “I Don't Wanna Live Forever”, for the soundtrack of the film Fifty Shades Darker (2017). She also recorded an original song called “Beautiful Ghosts”, which she wrote with Andrew Lloyd Webber for the Cats's soundtrack (2019). In 2020, Swift's documentary Miss Americana featured the song “Only the Young” which was written after the 2018 United States elections. In 2022, she released an original song titled “Carolina” for Where The Crawdads Sing (2022) inspired by the novel written by Delia Owens.

With sales of over 200 million records worldwide, Swift is a best-selling music artist. Her accolades include 14 Grammy Awards, including four Album of the Year wins, which makes Swift the artist with the most awards for that category in history, two Brit Awards (including a Global Icon award), an Emmy Award, 28 [https://guinnessworldrecords.com/]Guinness World Records, 32 American Music Awards (the most wins by an artist), and 23 Billboard Music Awards (the most wins by a woman). She ranked eighth on Billboard's Greatest of All Time Artists Chart (2019) and was listed on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time (2015). Swift has been included in various power rankings, such as Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world (2010, 2015 and 2019) and Forbes Celebrity 100 (placing first in 2016 and 2019). She was named Woman of the Decade (2010s) by Billboard, Artist of the Decade (2010s) by the American Music Awards, and Person of the Year (2023) by Time Magazine.

This Is Why We Can
Taylor Swift Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

It was so nice throwing big parties
Jumping to the pool from the balcony
Everyone swimming in a champagne sea
And there are no rules when you show up here
Bass beat rattling the chandelier
Feeling so Gatsby for that whole year

So why'd you have to rain on my parade?

I'm shaking my head
I'm locking the gates

This is why we can't have nice things, darling
Because you break them
I had to take them away
This is why we can't have nice things, honey
Did you think I wouldn't hear all the things you said about me?
This is why we can't have nice things

It was so nice being friends again
There I was giving you a second chance
But you stabbed me in the back while shaking my hand
And therein lies the issue
Friends don't try to trick you
Get you on the phone and mind-twist you
And so I took an axe to a mended fence

But I'm not the only friend you've lost lately, hm hm
If only you weren't
So shady

This is why we can't have nice things, darling
Because you break them
I had to take them away
This is why we can't have nice (nice things)

Things (baby) honey
Did you think I wouldn't hear all the things you said about me?
This is why we can't have

Here's a toast to my real friends
They don't care about that he said, she said
And here's to my baby
He ain't reading what they call me lately
And here's to my momma
Had to listen to all this drama
And here's to you
'Cause forgiveness is a nice thing to do
I can't even say it with a straight face

This is why we can't have nice things, darling (darling)
Because you break them
I had to take them away
This is why we can't have nice things, honey
Did you think I wouldn't hear all the things you said about me?
This is why we can't have nice things, darling
(And here's to my real friends)
Because you break them, I want to take them
And here's to my baby

Nice things, honey (they don't care about that he said, she said)
Did you think I wouldn't hear all the things you said about me?
This is why we can't have nice things

Overall Meaning

In the first verse of the song, Taylor Swift depicts a luxurious and extravagant lifestyle. She describes throwing lavish parties, jumping into pools from balconies, and everyone indulging in a sea of champagne. There are no rules or limits in this world, and Swift compares the feeling to that of F. Scott Fitzgerald's character Jay Gatsby from his novel "The Great Gatsby." It's a year of opulence and excess, seemingly without consequences or limitations.

However, the mood quickly shifts in the chorus as Swift confronts someone who has ruined the fun and dampened her spirits. She questions why they had to rain on her parade, expressing her disappointment and frustration. The metaphor of locking the gates symbolizes her desire to protect herself from further harm caused by this individual. The repeated line "This is why we can't have nice things" signifies how their actions have led to the loss of enjoyment and luxury in her life.

In the second verse, Swift reflects on a friendship that seemed to be rekindled. She confesses that she gave this person a second chance, but they betrayed her by backstabbing her while pretending to be friendly. Swift emphasizes the issue lies in the fact that genuine friends don't try to deceive or manipulate each other. To symbolize the damaged trust, she takes an axe to a previously mended fence, indicating the destruction of their friendship.

Swift then reveals that this person's shady behavior has cost them other friendships as well. The line "If only you weren't so shady" suggests that this individual's deceitful actions have caused them to lose other friends too, emphasizing the negative consequences of their behavior.

In the final chorus, Swift raises a toast to her true friends who don't engage in gossip and drama. She also mentions her baby and her mother, who have had to endure the fallout from the drama. Swift acknowledges that forgiveness is important, but her inability to say it with a straight face suggests that she may still be hurt by their betrayal. The chorus is repeated, reinforcing the idea that the loss of nice things is a direct result of this person's actions, as they spread hurtful rumors and betray Swift's trust.

Overall, "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things" is a song that explores the consequences of betrayal, deceit, and gossip in relationships. It illustrates the impact such actions can have on both personal connections and the ability to enjoy a luxurious and carefree lifestyle, drawing a parallel to F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby" and its themes of excess and downfall. Through this song, Swift reflects on the negative effects of toxic behavior and values the importance of genuine friendships based on trust and respect.

Line by Line Meaning

It was so nice throwing big parties
I used to enjoy hosting extravagant parties and having a great time

Jumping to the pool from the balcony
We were fearless, taking daring leaps into the pool from high balconies

Everyone swimming in a champagne sea
We were surrounded by luxury and indulging in an abundance of champagne

And there are no rules when you show up here
We embraced a carefree and rule-free lifestyle when you were around

Bass beat rattling the chandelier
The powerful music shook everything, even the elegant chandelier

Feeling so Gatsby for that whole year
We felt like characters from The Great Gatsby, living an extravagant lifestyle throughout that entire year

So why'd you have to rain on my parade?
Why did you have to ruin the joy and excitement I had?

I'm shaking my head
I am disappointed and disapproving of your actions

I'm locking the gates
I am closing myself off and shutting you out of my life

This is why we can't have nice things, darling
Our inability to maintain pleasant things is because of your destructive behavior, my dear

Because you break them
You continuously ruin and destroy the nice things we have

I had to take them away
I had no choice but to remove those nice things to protect them from being destroyed further

Did you think I wouldn't hear all the things you said about me?
Were you under the impression that I wouldn't find out about all the negative things you've been saying behind my back?

It was so nice being friends again
I cherished the positive moments we shared after reconciling our friendship

There I was giving you a second chance
I was willing to give you another opportunity despite past disagreements

But you stabbed me in the back while shaking my hand
You betrayed me when you pretended to be friendly and trustworthy

And therein lies the issue
The problem lies exactly in that backstabbing and betrayal

Friends don't try to trick you
True friends do not attempt to deceive or manipulate you

Get you on the phone and mind-twist you
They don't engage in manipulative conversations and psychological games

And so I took an axe to a mended fence
In response, I destroyed the mended relationship between us, completely cutting ties

But I'm not the only friend you've lost lately, hm hm
You have been losing other friends recently as well, hmm hmm

If only you weren't so shady
If only you weren't deceitful and untrustworthy

Here's a toast to my real friends
Let's celebrate and raise a glass to my true and loyal friends

They don't care about that he said, she said
They are not affected or interested in gossip and rumors

And here's to my baby
Cheers to my significant other, who remains unaffected by the negative opinions of others

He ain't reading what they call me lately
He doesn't pay attention to the derogatory labels people have been using to refer to me

And here's to my momma
Let's also honor my mother, who has had to endure all the drama surrounding me

Had to listen to all this drama
She had to bear the burden of hearing about all the conflicts and controversies

And here's to you
Lastly, a toast to you

'Cause forgiveness is a nice thing to do
Because forgiving others is a kind and positive action

I can't even say it with a straight face
But I struggle to genuinely express forgiveness towards you

Because you break them, I want to take them
Your tendency to break nice things makes me want to possess and keep them away from you

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Jack Michael Antonoff, Taylor Alison Swift

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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anon

on Blank Space

13w

Nice to meet you, where you been?
Hey there, I'm interested in getting to know you. What's your story? test

I could show you incredible things. Magic, madness, heaven, sin
I can offer you an exciting, unpredictable experience. It could be heavenly or dangerous.

Saw you there and I thought, Oh my God, look at that face. You look like my next mistake
When I saw you, I was immediately drawn to you. But I have a habit of getting into relationships that end poorly.

Love's a game, wanna play? Ayy
I view relationships as a game, and I want to see if you're up for playing it with me.

New money, suit and tie. I can read you like a magazine
You appear to be wealthy and put together, but I can tell that you're not as perfect as you may seem.

Ain't it funny, rumors fly. And I know you heard about me. So hey, let's be friends
There are likely rumors and gossip about me, but I want to befriend you despite what you might have heard.

I'm dyin' to see how this one ends. Grab your passport and my hand. I can make the bad guys good for a weekend
I'm curious to see where this relationship will go. Let's go on an adventure together and I can change your perspective on things.

So it's gonna be forever. Or it's gonna go down in flames. You can tell me when it's over, mm. If the high was worth the pain
Our relationship might be long-lasting or it might be a complete disaster. Once it's over, let me know if it was worth all the trouble.

Got a long list of ex lovers. They'll tell you I'm insane. 'Cause you know I love the players. And you love the game
I've had many past relationships that didn't end well, and they might say I'm crazy. But I can tell that you're a player, and I like the game.

Cherry lips, crystal skies. I could show you incredible things. Stolen kisses, pretty lies
I can give you thrilling, romantic experiences. But I might also deceive you with sweet lies.

You're the king, baby, I'm your queen. Find out what you want. Be that girl for a month
You can be in charge of this relationship, and I'll be there to fulfill your desires. I can try being someone different for a month.

The worst is yet to come, oh no. Screaming, crying, perfect storms. I can make all the tables turn. Rose garden filled with thorns
Things might get even worse between us. We could have explosive fights and difficulties. But I have the power to change things around. Our relationship might seem wonderful, but it has hidden dangers.

Keep you second guessing like. Oh my God, who is she? I get drunk on jealousy. But you'll come back each time you leave
I can be unpredictable and keep you on your toes. I'm prone to jealousy, but you'll keep coming back to me despite my flaws.

'Cause darling, I'm a nightmare dressed like a daydream
I might seem lovely and sweet, but I can turn into a total nightmare in a relationship.

Boys only want love if it's torture. Don't say I didn't, say I didn't warn ya
Many men enjoy being in dramatic, tumultuous relationships. I'm warning you that's what you're in for with me.

But I've got a blank space, baby. And I'll write your name
I may have a history of failed relationships, but now there's an opportunity for something new and exciting with you. I'll make you mine, and it'll be unforgettable.