Taylor Alison Swift is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans mult… 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.

Born in West Reading, Pennsylvania, Swift relocated to Nashville, Tennessee in 2004 to pursue a career in country music. She broke into the country music scene with her eponymous self-titled debut studio album, Taylor Swift in 2006, which included the singles "Teardrops on My Guitar" and "Our Song". Swift also released the holiday album, Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection, later titled as The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection in October 2007.

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 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.

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 12 Grammy Awards (including three Album of the Year wins), 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 and Artist of the Decade (2010s) by the American Music Awards.

evermore
Taylor Swift Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Gray November
I've been down since July
Motion capture
Put me in a bad light

I replay my footsteps on each stepping stone
Trying to find the one where I went wrong
Writing letters

Addressed to the fire

And I was catching my breath
Staring out an open window
Catching my death
And I couldn't be sure
I had a feeling so peculiar
That this pain would be for
Evermore

Hey December
Guess I'm feeling unmoored
Can't remember
What I used to fight for

I rewind the tape but all it does is pause
On the very moment all was lost
Sending signals
To be double crossed

And I was catching my breath
Barefoot in the wildest winter
Catching my death
And I couldn't be sure
I had a feeling so peculiar
That this pain would be for
Evermore
(Evermore)

Can't not think of all the cost
And the things that will be lost
Oh, can we just get a pause?
To be certain we'll be tall again
Whether weather be the frost
Or the violence of the dog days
I'm on waves, out being tossed
Is there a line that I could just go cross?

And when I was shipwrecked (can't think of all the cost)
I thought of you (all the things that will be lost now)
In the cracks of light (can we just get a pause?)
I dreamed of you (to be certain we'll be tall again)
(If you think of all the costs)
It was real enough (whether weather be the frost)
To get me through (or the violence of the dog days)
(Out on waves being tossed)
But I swear (is there a line that we could just go cross?)
You were there

And I was catching my breath
Floors of a cabin creaking under my step
And I couldn't be sure
I had a feeling so peculiar
This pain wouldn't be for
Evermore
Evermore (evermore)
Evermore

This pain wouldn't be for evermore (evermore)
Evermore

Overall Meaning

In Taylor Swift's song "evermore," she sings about the pain of a lost love and the lingering feeling of heartbreak that seems to have no end. The opening lines of "Gray November, I've been down since July" describe the length of time that she has felt this way, comparing it to the bleakness of November after the bright summer months. The line "motion capture, put me in a bad light" suggests that perhaps a media portrayal of her relationship went awry, causing public scrutiny and making the loss even more painful.

The following lines show her attempting to make sense of what went wrong, replaying moments in her head and writing letters that will never be sent. The chorus, "And I was catching my breath, staring out an open window, catching my death, and I couldn't be sure, I had a feeling so peculiar, that this pain would be for evermore," speaks to the overwhelming feeling of loss and the uncertainty of whether or not it will ever go away.

As the song continues, Swift mentions feeling unmoored in December, struggling to remember what she used to value and believe in. She longs for a break from the pain and asks if there is a way to "just get a pause" so she can be certain that she will feel happiness again. The song ends with Swift catching her breath again, this time in a cabin where she is reminded of her lost love. The repetition of the word "evermore" throughout the song emphasizes the idea that the pain and heartbreak will be with her for a long time to come.

Line by Line Meaning

Gray November
The onset of winter, a time of bleakness

I've been down since July
I have been struggling and feeling low for months

Motion capture
Being caught up in a situation that distorts one's perception of reality

Put me in a bad light
Made me look bad or untrustworthy

I replay my footsteps on each stepping stone
Reflecting on every decision that led to the current situation

Trying to find the one where I went wrong
Trying to identify the exact moment of misstep or mistake

Writing letters
Communicating feelings and regrets through written words

Addressed to the fire
Telling one's story to the void, hoping for answers

And I was catching my breath
Feeling overwhelmed and breathless

Staring out an open window
Lost in thought or contemplation

Catching my death
Being in danger or despair

And I couldn't be sure
Uncertainty about the future

I had a feeling so peculiar
An unusual or distinct emotion

That this pain would be for
Understanding that the pain will last

Evermore
For an indefinite or endless time

Hey December
The continuation of winter, a time of sorrow and hopelessness

Guess I'm feeling unmoored
Feeling adrift and aimless

Can't remember
Having difficulty recalling past memories

What I used to fight for
Forgetfulness about past ambitions or dreams

I rewind the tape but all it does is pause
Attempting to relive the past but realizing it is impossible

On the very moment all was lost
The exact moment of hopelessness or failure

Sending signals
Attempting to communicate or convey a message

To be double crossed
Betrayed or misled by someone

Can't not think of all the cost
The realization of the high price one must pay

And the things that will be lost
The things that cannot be recovered or regained

Oh, can we just get a pause?
Yearning for a break or respite from the pain

To be certain we'll be tall again
To find one's confidence and strength again

Whether weather be the frost
No matter how difficult the circumstances

Or the violence of the dog days
The struggles of the hottest days of summer

I'm on waves, out being tossed
Being carried away by the turmoil of one's emotions

Is there a line that I could just go cross?
The search for a definitive answer or solution

And when I was shipwrecked
Being stranded and alone

I thought of you
Finding comfort and solace in the memory of a loved one

In the cracks of light
In the fleeting moments of hope or happiness

I dreamed of you
Wishing for the return of someone who is no longer there

It was real enough
The memory was vivid and poignant

To get me through
To survive or endure the ordeal

Floors of a cabin creaking under my step
The sound of solitude and isolation

This pain wouldn't be for evermore
Hoping for a new beginning and the end of the current suffering

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Justin Deyarmond Edison Vernon, Taylor A. Swift, William Bowery

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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