Taylor Swift explains the soul-crushing meaning behind her Anti-Hero lyrics

25 October 2022, 12:41

Taylor Swift says Anti-Hero is one of her favourite songs she’s ever written

By Sam Prance

"This song is a real guided tour throughout all the things I tend to hate about myself."

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Taylor Swift's new album Midnights is finally here and fans are crying over the candid meaning behind her 'Anti-Hero' lyrics.

Ever since Taylor Swift announced her 10th studio album Midnights and unveiled the tracklist, fans have been desperate to find out what each song is about. Describing the concept of the album, Taylor said: "This is a collection of music written in the middle of the night, a journey through terrors and sweet dreams. The floors we pace and the demons we face."

'Anti-Hero' is the lead single from the project and it's already becoming a fan-favourite. What is 'Anti-Hero' about though? Ahead of Midnights' release, Taylor explained the meaning behind her 'Anti-Hero' lyrics and it is truly soul-destroying.

What are Taylor Swift's Anti-Hero lyrics about?

Taylor Swift Anti-Hero lyrics meaning explained. Picture: Kevin Mazur/WireImage, @taylorswift via Instagram

In 'Anti-Hero', Taylor appears to confront all of her inner demons. She opens the ballad singing: "I have this thing where I get older but just never wiser." Taylor then goes deeper by adding: "It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me / At tea time, everybody agrees / I'll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror / It must be exhausting, always rooting for the anti-hero."

It also contains another iconic Taylor Swift bridge. Describing a recurring nightmare about her future daughter-in-law, Taylor reveals: "I have this dream my daughter-in-law kills me for the money / She thinks I left them in the will / The family gathers around and reads it and someone screams out / "She's laughing up at us from hell!" That, my friends, is poetry.

Describing the song in an Instagram reel (Oct 3), Taylor revealed: "'Anti-Hero' is one of my favourite songs I've ever written. I don't think I've delved this far into my insecurities in this detail before. I struggle a lot with the idea that my life has become unmanageably sized. Not to sound too dark but I just struggle with the idea of not feeling like a person."

Taylor then went on to explain: "This song is a real guided tour throughout all the things I tend to hate about myself. We all hate things about ourselves and it's all of those aspects of the things we dislike and like about ourselves that we have to come to terms with if we're gonna be this person.

She ended by saying: "I like 'Anti-Hero' a lot because I think it's really honest."

Taylor Swift - Anti-Hero (Official Music Video)

BRB - going to listen to 'Anti-Hero' on repeat and cry.

Read Taylor Swift's 'Anti-Hero' lyrics below:

VERSE 1
I have this thing where I get older but just never wiser
Midnights become my afternoons
When my depression works the graveyard shift
All of the people I've ghosted stand there in the room

PRE-CHORUS
I should not be left to my own devices
They come with prices and vices
I end up in crisis
I've realized all this time
I wake up screaming from dreaming
One day I'll watch as you're leaving
Cuz you got tired of my scheming
For the last time

CHORUS
It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me
At tea time, everybody agrees
I'll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror
It must be exhausting, always rooting for the anti-hero

VERSE 2
Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby
And I'm a monster on the hill
Too big to hang out, slowly lurching towards your favorite city
Pierced through the heart, but never killed

PRE-CHORUS
Did you hear my covert narcissism
Lightly disguised as altruism
Like some kind of congressman
I wake up screaming from dreaming
One day I'll watch as you're leaving
And life will lose all of its meaning
For the last time

CHORUS
It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me
At tea time, everybody agrees
I'll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror
It must be exhausting, always rooting for the anti-hero

BRIDGE
I have this dream my daughter-in-law kills me for the money
She thinks I left them in the will
The family gathers around and reads it and someone screams out
"She's laughing up at us from hell!"

BREAKDOWN
It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me
It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me
It's me, hi, everybody agrees
Everybody agrees...

CHORUS
It's me, hi, I'm the problem, it's me (I'm the problem, it's me)
Everybody agrees
I'll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror
It must be exhausting, always rooting for the anti-hero