Among the stunning songwriting bouts on Taylor Swift‘s The Tortured Poets Department is “The Prophecy.” This introspective ballad sees Swift submit a plea to a higher power in the hopes that her lot in love will be changed. Find out whether or not she gets her answer, below.
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Behind the Meaning of Taylor Swift’s “The Prophecy”
Hand on the throttle
Thought I caught lightning in a bottle
Oh, but it’s gone again
Much of The Tortured Poets Department is concerned with the breakdown of one or more relationships in Swift’s life. It’s a topic that has been well-traversed in Swift’s career–typically from a place of closure. In “The Prophecy,” Swift isn’t resigned to her fate. She prays to some benevolent figure, hoping to secure her relationship before it’s too late.
Please
I’ve been on my knees
Change the prophecy
Don’t want money
Just someone who wants my company
Swift isn’t egregious with her desires in “The Prophecy.” All she wants is for someone to be with her for the long haul. Given Swift’s public dating life, we know that desire has not yet been fulfilled. She sings this song from the perspective of a woman who is growing tired of getting over a lover. I guess a lesser woman would’ve lost hope / A greater woman wouldn’t beg, she sings.
A greater woman has faith
But even statues crumble if they’re made to wait
I’m so afraid I sealed my fate
Swift has talked about her not being the end-all, be-all for someone several times throughout her career. “I also feel like I’m the girl before ‘the one,’” she once said. “I’m not ‘the one.’ I’m the girl you think is the one for you, and when it doesn’t work out with me, you meet the next girl, and realize she IS the one.”
This song feels like the final word on that idea. Her scope is wide and her emotions are palpable. Check out the song, below.
(Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images)
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