In the months leading up to Taylor Swift's release of "The Tortured Poets Department," Swift theorized about the feel and sound of the singer's 11th album of originals. If the moody visuals and tracklist remind you of a dark academic breakup album, you're not alone. But you're not right either. A new song, "Down Bad," imagines an alien relationship.
Well, not really. But Swift does use alien imagery to depict the reality of a difficult breakup. Here's an explanation of the lyrics to "Down Bad."
"Cosmic Love" by Swift
To set the scene, the song starts with some beeping, bebop sounds. "Did you really put me in a ball of sparkling dust, just to do an experiment? Tell me I'm the chosen one?" the narrator sings to his ex. “For a moment, I understood the love of the universe.”
But then the relationship that showed the narrator how big the world is suddenly ends and she is brought back to reality, figuratively and perhaps literally.
There are plenty of other alien references in "Down Bad," from "Nearer Encounter" to the narrator's decision to build a fortress on another planet where their love might have a chance. "If I talked about your existence, they'd call me crazy," she sings. "For a moment, I was in a state of ecstasy."
Okay, so what does “Down Bad” actually mean?
The song's alien story is a convenient metaphor for a sudden breakup—specifically, the end of a relationship that leaves you feeling whiplash and alienation (ahem). The chorus is a jarring return to reality: in the narrator's case, "crying so hard in the gym," which may be a reference to Swift's rigorous tour training routine for the era.
"Every day I would run on the treadmill and sing the whole thing out loud," Swift told Time magazine in a recent interview. “Go fast when you sing fast songs, jog or walk fast when you sing slow songs.”
"Down Bad" sounds like it's about a fleeting relationship — which may rule out Swift's former long-term partner Joe Alwyn as a potential subject. Theoretically, this could be a nod to her "casual" relationship with 1975's Marty Healy, which was reported last year, or it could go back further.
"How dare you think this is romantic, keep me safe and stuck" sounds like a very specific callback to 1989's The New Romantics, so it's entirely possible that Swift is using alien romance tropes to deal with an old breakup.
bad lyrics
Read the full lyrics to the song below.
Did you really make me happy?
in glittering dust clouds
Just for experimentation
Tell me I'm the chosen one
Let me know that the world is bigger than us
Then send me back to where I came from
For a moment I knew the love of the universe
Now I'm in a bad mood and crying in the gym
Everything is full of youthful impatience
Damn it if I can't have him.
I could die but it wouldn't make any difference
Woke up covered in blood
Look at the sky and come back to pick me up
If I can't have it we'll fuck it
I might just not get up, I might just stay lying down
Damn it if I can't have him.
Down is not good
Damn it if I can't have him.
Did you take all my old clothes?
Just to leave me here naked and alone
In the fields of my same old town
It seems a bit hollow now
If I talk about your existence they'll call me crazy
I was stunned for a moment
Now I'm in a bad mood and crying in the gym
Everything is full of youthful impatience
Damn it if I can't have him.
I could die but it wouldn't make any difference
Woke up covered in blood
Look at the sky and come back to pick me up
If I can't have it we'll fuck it
I might just not be able to get up;
I might be in a bad mood
Like I lost my twin
It would be too bad if I couldn't have him
Feeling bad, waving to the boat
Damn it if I can't have him.
I like your hostile takeover
The encounter is getting closer
All your indecent exposure
How dare you say this is...
I'll build you a fortress on some planet
somewhere they can all understand
How dare you think this is romantic
Keep me safe and trapped
Because fuck, I'm in love
So if I can't have it we'll fuck you
Because fuck, I'm in love
Now I'm in a bad mood and crying in the gym
Everything is full of youthful impatience
Damn it if I can't have him.
I could die, but it wouldn't make any difference.
Feeling bad, waking up in blood
Look at the sky and come back to pick me up
If I can't have it we'll fuck it
I might not just get up
I might be in a bad mood
Like I lost my twin
Damn it if I can't have him.
Down is not good
wave to the ship
Damn it if I can't have him.
Like I lost my twin
Damn it if I can't have him.
Down is not good
wave to the ship
Damn it if I can't have him.
