Taylor Swift Explains the Double Meaning of Her ‘Down Bad’ Lyrics

April 23, 2024, 6:25 p.m.

By Sam Prance

Are Taylor Swift’s ‘Down Bad’ Lyrics About Matty Healy? Here’s what Taylor Swift said about the song.

Are you crying at the gym? Does it all come from adolescent petulance? Well, it’s more likely than you think and now Taylor Swift has revealed exactly what her viral “Down Bad” lyrics are actually about and what the song has to do with aliens.

With 31 tracks in total, it’s almost impossible to choose a favorite track from “The Tortured Poets Department.” The album has a song for every mood. Sorry? “So Long, London” will ease your pain. Lover? “So High School” is the perfect song for you. Are you overwhelmed and managing to keep everything together? “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” is your new anthem.

However, one song that caught everyone’s attention was “Down Bad.” From very different clear lyrics to apparent references to Matty Healy, there’s a lot to talk about. But what did Taylor say about the song? We have what you need.

Who are the lyrics to Taylor Swift’s “Down Bad” about?

Taylor Swift – Down Bad (Official Lyric Video)

In “Down Bad,” Taylor sings about being “bad” to a lover in the sense that you’re obsessed with them, but also “bad” in the sense that they’ve turned you into a complete mess. Not only that, but Taylor uses the metaphor of being abducted by aliens and then brought back “to earth” against her well to get her point across.

Describing the meaning of the song during his iHeartRadio listening party for “The Tortured Poets Department,” Taylor said, “The metaphor of ‘Down Bad’ is that I was sort of likening the idea of ​​being bombarded by the ‘love. Where someone… rocks your world. and dazzles you, then sort of abandons you.

She continued: “This girl was abducted by aliens but she wanted to stay with them… And then when they took her back to her hometown, she was like, ‘Wait, no, where are you going? I liked this place! It was weird but it was cool, come back!'”

Taylor finished by saying, “And so… the girl in the character in the song was like, ‘I just got exposed to a whole different galaxy and a whole different universe and I didn’t know that… ‘was possible, how could you put me back in place'”. Where was I before?’”

It’s basically “Illicit Affairs (Alien Version)” – you showed me colors, you know I can’t see with anyone else!

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Fans also believe the song could be about Matty Healy, based on the song’s bridge. Taylor sings: I loved your hostile takeovers/Closer and closer encounters/All your indecent revelations. “Indecent exposures” could be a specific reference to Matty’s reputation making headlines for his wild behavior on stage and problematic antics off stage.

Elsewhere, people noticed that the clean version of the song had a completely different post-chorus. Instead of Damn if I can’t have itTaylor sings What if I can’t have it? It also changes ‘Cause I was fucking in love / So fuck you if I can’t have us has Because what if I was in love? What if I can’t have us?

One fan tweeted: “Down Bad (clean version) is a completely different and possibly more devastating song??”

Whichever version you prefer, one thing is certain: “Down Bad” is a classic!

Taylor Swift – “Down Bad” Lyrics

VERSE 1
Did you really teleport me
In a cloud of sparkling dust
Just to experiment?
Tell me I was the one
Showed me that this world is bigger than us
Then sent me back where I came from

PRE-CHORUS
For a moment I knew cosmic love

CHORUS
Now I’m in bad shape, I’m crying at the gym
Everything springs from adolescent petulance
“I don’t care if I can’t have it.”
“I could die, it wouldn’t make a difference.”
I’m in bad shape, I wake up in blood
I look at the sky, come back and pick me up
Damn if I can’t have us
I might not get up, I might stay

POST-CHORUS
Down bad
Damn if I can’t have it
Down bad
Damn if I can’t have it

VERSE 2
Did you take all my old clothes
Just to leave me here, naked and alone
In a field in my same old town
Does it seem so hollow now?
They’ll say I’m crazy if I talk about
Your existence

PRE-CHORUS
For a moment I was stunned

CHORUS
Now I’m in bad shape, I’m crying at the gym (Crying at the gym)
Everything springs from adolescent petulance
“I don’t care if I can’t have it” (I don’t care if I can’t have it)
“I could die, it wouldn’t make a difference.”
I’m in bad shape, I wake up in blood (I wake up in blood)
I look at the sky, come back and pick me up
Damn if I can’t have us
I might not get up, I might stay

POST-CHORUS
I’m in bad shape (like I lost my twin)
I don’t care if I can’t have it (it’s bad)
In bad shape (rocking the ship)
Damn if I can’t have it

BRIDGE
I loved your hostile takeovers
Closer and closer encounters
All your indecent exposures
How dare you say it’s…
I’ll build you a fort on a planet
Where they can all understand it
How dare you think it’s romantic
Leaving me safe and stranded
Because damn, I was in love
So fuck you if I can’t have us
Because damn, I was in love

CHORUS
Now I’m in bad shape, I’m crying at the gym (Crying at the gym)
Everything springs from adolescent petulance
“I don’t care if I can’t have it” (I can’t have it)
“I could die, it wouldn’t make a difference.”
I’m in bad shape, I wake up in blood (I wake up in blood)
I look at the sky, come back and pick me up
Damn if I can’t have us
I might not get up, I might stay

POST-CHORUS
I’m in bad shape (as if I had lost my twin)
Damn if I can’t have it (I’m in bad shape)
In bad shape (rocking the ship)
Damn if I can’t have it

OTHER
As if I had lost my twin
Damn if I can’t have it
In bad shape (rocking the ship)
Damn if I can’t have it

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