lyrical breakdown of the lakes by taylor swift: a thread

“is it romantic how all my elegies eulogize me?”
elegies are a form of poem that is usually series and reflective and to eulogize means to speak highly about, especially after a person’s death.
this line is saying how ironic it is every one speaks highly about her once shes gone

“i’m not cut out for all these cynical clones, these hunters with cell phones”
this line can be in reference to the selflish nature of our society. people are constantly trying to model themselves after influencers, celebrities, etc and everything is documented online

“take me to the lakes, where all the poets went to die”
this is in reference to the Lake Poets, a group that includes William Wordsworth who is later mentioned in the song. this group of poets lived in the lake district of NW England, bonding over their similar poetic styles

they were key figures in the early romantic period and believed in the importance of using your everyday surroundings to draw inspiration from. in this line, taylor is saying she wants to live a life similar to theirs, simply writing and being with her love all day every day.

“i don’t belong, my beloved, and neither do you”
taylor is saying she doesn’t feel like she fits in with the rest of society, most likely to her classical, romantic nature, and that joe doesn’t belong either.

“those windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry”
windermere is a lake within the lake district where the lake poets lived. today, it’s a very popular tourist destination and known for its beauty. it is england’s largest natural lakes and is surrounded by mountain peaks.

by associating this beautiful place with crying, taylor is saying it is in her nature to feel her emotions very strongly. tears aren’t always associated with sadness, but can symbolize her strong emotions

“i’m setting off but not without my muse”
the lake poets drew inspiration from nature and the things around them, but taylor is saying her muse is her love and she won’t live without him.

“what should be over burrowed under my skin in heart-stopping waves of hurt”
she is unable to forget a situation that she knows she should move past from, but it still haunts her and stays with her. this can represent her past heartbreaks and the pain they left behind.

“i’ve come too far to watch some name dropping sleeze tell me what are my wordsworth”
Wordsworth is in reference to William Wordsworth, a poet from the 1800s and is a play on words
this line is her reaffirming the fact that she has found her worth outside of what people think

“i want auroras and sad prose, i want to watch my wisteria grow right over my bare feet”
auroras = naturally appearing light displays in the sky
prose = a form of ordinary conversation
wisteria = a flower that symbolizes new life and love

auroras are widely regarded as beautiful and romantic and along with sad prose, she is saying she wants both the highs and lows of life and that saddness and beauty are not necessarily polar opposites.

bare feet can be in reference to her vulnerability and openness in regards to finding someone she wants to settle down with. wisteria growing over her feet represents a new life filled with love.

“cause i haven’t moved in years and i want you right here”
she has been rebuilding herself and reconstructing her belief system for years and she wants him right beside her throughout all of it.

“a red rose grew up out of ice frozen ground with no one around to tweet it”
taylor and joe fell in love during one of the hardest times in her life. they rarely speak about their relationship in public and have little to no social media presence

“while i bathe in cliffside pools with my calamitous love and insurmountable grief”
calamitous = destructive, catastrophic
insurmountable = overwhelming, unconquerable

she ends with saying that she loves recklessly and carries a large amount of grief with her everyday. these two things will be her constant companions for the rest of her life.

end of thread:
don’t forget to stream folklore https://open.spotify.com/album/2fenSS68JI1h4Fo296JfGr?si=vWXOhAxNTG2FRs3_CkcFrw