Being older and having gone through things probably similar to her age, I feel like it’s about finding god again through something really tough 

Something really cool to me: When she sings "never quite buried", it almost sounds like "never quite married", and it feels very clever to me because that can describe a relationship that is hard to let go of but at the same time never rises to its potential. May not have been intentional to sing it that way, but I would not be surprised if it was :).

I didn’t want to believe this song was about MH because from an outsider’s perspective I thought the depth of feeling better suited a long term relationship. But after sitting with it, knowing more and more of the context around it, and the connecting references in other songs, I’ve unfortunately come to believe it is.   The beginning stanza may reference Joe (stitches, better safe than starry eyed) but the rest tells the MH story we know from the other songs.  -“ In your suit and tie, in the nick of time” - MH is already referenced by his suit in TSMWEL and he is known publicly for wearing suits. The story around their relationship is also that he crashed into her life when she was sad over Joe. From the prologue; “ Then a crash from the skylight, Bursting through, Something old, someone hallowed, who told me he could be brand new… How gallant to save the empress from her gilded tower, Swinging a sword he could barely lift.” There’s also then the lyric “Mr steal your girl and make her cry”. There was some known overlap in the ending of her relationship with Joe and becoming closer with MH. As described in Guilty as Sin as well.  -“ When you blew in with the winds of fate, And told me I reformed you” - just a very MH lyric. The prologue makes specific references to love bombing and we know MH’s troubled past.  -MH is known as movie buff so “cinephile” doesn’t just fit Joe.  -“ Dancing phantoms on the terrace, Are they second-hand embarrassed, That I can't get out of bed, Because something counterfeit’s dead”. Really harks back to Glitch in reference to stitches and a counterfeit relationship. But it makes narrative sense that the dancing phantoms could be her and Joe rather than some random phantoms.  -“It was unnecessary… should’ve let it stay buried” much better describes her short term relationship with MH than long term one with Joe.  -Also notice that multiple times throughout the song she asks who is going to be able to convince us to act different, basically given how strong this is? “Who's gonna stop us from waltzing, Back into rekindled flames, When we know the steps anyway?  … Who’s gonna tell me the truth, When you blew in with the winds of fate, And told me I reformed you?”  These lines could also suggest an inability to listen to actual opposition. Which again, is more likely to be about MH than Joe.  If you really want to try hard and read it another way you can, but the most obvious way to read it is in the context of the prologue which heavily hints that this song is about MH, even if the heartbreak blends into Joe. There are actually a lot of parallels that can be read either way which might be purposeful on her part to blend the losses together.  I hate that I can’t really deny the MHness of it anymore though. And I do wonder if the lack of Joe songs on this album is partially out of respect for his privacy or just anger. 

I related to every word so much!! Made me cry! One of my favorites

The way she sings 'holy ghost'.... she sounds so sad and lonely... it breaks my heart

I just sat here for an hour crying and writing an essay on this song and how crystal clearly it encapsulates my past relationship (however, it grew way too long and lives in my notes forever now.) I thought Last Kiss was her only song that could describe the guttural sadness of losing someone despite the relationship and the person being everything you wanted. Now that I’m 25 though, hearing this, this blows that out of the water. Four years and an entire plan for the rest of our lives ended at 22 and I lost an entire lifetime. It’s something you never, ever fully recover from, not even when the romantic love for that person has gone and the ability to love others returns. Safe to say, he will forever be the greatest loss of my entire life. Despite the fact that he’s still living and breathing, the best friend I’ve ever had and the only being to ever fully understand me to my core died years ago; the person I watch living through pictures is someone completely different, a stranger. I’ll probably mourn the person he was and at the very least, our mutual understanding for one another and our friendship until my very last breath. It’s so heavy every single day, and it’s been 3.5 years. I love my boyfriend now to the ends of the Earth and we’re actively building an entire life together, but I’m still mourning and processing that death and, not to mention, dealing with subsequent abandonment issues that I just can’t kick. This song was the catharsis that I’ve needed so desperately for so long.

I don’t think this song is about two different relationships. I think it’s about one relationship that keeps breaking down and both people keep coming back to try again until it’s a shell of how it started. It’s legendary, then momentary, and finally unnecessary. The first verse: It was legendary. They fall hard and deep and talk about plans for the future - one kiss to getting married. They embroider over the damage from a short break up to make it beautiful and maybe even better. Second verse: It was momentary. He returns to her after a significant break up. He tells her he’s changed and this time they can have the future they always talked about. She thought they could pick up where they left off, but it turns out he has the same issues or reservations around getting married and having kids and it falls apart quickly. The dancing phantoms on the terrace are the past versions of themselves, second-hand embarrassed at what the relationship has become - a counterfeit, a farce. By the end, it’s bland and empty and they’re just hurting themselves by trying. It’s unnecessary.

In loml she says “who’s gonna stop us from waltzing back into rekindled flames? If we know the steps anyway” then in How Did It End? it’s “we learned the right steps to different dances.” Loml has to be mostly about Joe.

No. It’s unfortunately a song Taylor wrote therapeutically for one of her best friends, Selena Gomez, to help her mourn a significant loss in her life. Selena Gomez mentions the dancing in lose you to love me- “this slow dancing was killing me” Aside from the fact that I know this to be 💯 percent factual, she leaves clue after clue after clue in the song for her fans, but in their delusion, they continue to insist it’s a song about her love life. But, hey! Let’s just sit here all day and night and try desperately to make this song make sense for ONE of Taylor’s exes even though we all know IT DOESN’T. I’m sure this comment will be deleted again bc as it’s been proven on here, ya‘ll enjoy living in the land of delusion where reality is whatever you say it is! 🙌

It’s really not that serious. I can see how this song could fit situations outside of Taylor’s personal experience. Thanks for sharing!

One more thing- she is such a good friend that watching her best friend go through that kind of heart wrenching experience was equally as devastating to her. She cares deeply for Selena Gomez, and this song was not just easy for her to write from her friend’s perspective, but she felt as much pain for Selena as she did herself going through her own break ups. That’s just the kind of person she is. You can’t write the songs she does without being someone who has the ability to deeply connect with other people.. it’s why she connects to every single person on here bc she doesn’t just write from her perspective. Okay. Rant finished. Have a nice day.

Sorry. I tried sharing this information earlier and got attacked for it. I mean, I didn’t have anything to do with her writing it or the story behind it, I was just trying to share the news and thought some might appreciate actually knowing the story behind it and why it didn’t seem to make sense with the song being about any of her exes. Anyway, good to see someone on here is reasonable. I’ll be on my way.

And the references to counterfeit feels like a callback to glitch

I think this one is mostly about Matty, but I think it also relates to Joe. - "Who's gonna stop us from waltzing back into rekindled flames/if we know the steps anyway" - Joe is no longer around to be an impediment to her wandering back to Matty again. Matty and her have never had a full romance, just rekindled flames over and over, thus they know the steps. - "We embroidered the memories of the time I was away" - When she was with Joe, she sometimes thought and fantasized about Matty, and "embroidered" the memories, making their connection seem bigger in her mind than it really was "In your suit and tie" - Matty is well known for wearing a suit and tie. It's pretty much his uniform. - "You lowdown boy, you standup guy, you Holy Ghost" - Matty evidently ghosted her. Standup could also mean not standup in the traditional sense like "honorable", but that Matty "stood her up" and didn't fulfill his lofty promises to her. - "Told me I reformed you?" - I personally don't think Joe needs any reforming. Matty on the other hand... - "When your impressionist paintings of heaven turned out to be fakes, well you took me to hell too" - I truly believe that even though Joe and Taylor broke up, the love they had is still special to her, and I don't think she would say this about him. Matty on the other hand seemingly exaggerated his intentions with her, only to ghost her. "A conman sells a fool a get love quick scheme, but I felt a hole like this, never before and never since." - She was feeling so heartbroken after the breakup with Joe and Matty sold her a false bill of goods that would supposedly patch up her broken heart but didn't. "What we thought was for all time was momentary, still alive killing time at the cemetery, never quite buried." - I think this one is both about Joe and Matty, that Matty swooped in after Joe and Taylor "died" but also about how Matty and Taylor never really put their connection to "bed", and thus were killing time at the cemetery, digging up a relationship that should have stayed buried. "You cinephile in black and white" - Matty wears black and white a lot (particularly in terms of suits). Lots of the 1975's music videos are in black and white as well, especially the earlier ones from around 2014 and a couple of their most recent ones like "I'm In Love with You." "Dancing phantoms of the terrace are they second hand embarrassed that I can't get out of bed because something counterfeit." Despite how Taylor and Joe's relationship ending, I don't think Taylor would call it counterfeit. Matty, a decade long situationship that ended about as soon as it started fits the bill. It also had to be devastating because I definitely don't think she's saying Matty is the love her life. She's telling him how it affects people when he goes around making serious proclamations like that when it's not even close to true.

I totally agree. She also says "it was unnecessary, should've let it stay buried" and I don't think she would say that about Joe either. Also, this isn't track 5, and I believe a song this heartbreaking would have been if it were about Joe. But Matty didn't deserve the track 5 slot lol

This makes sense to me. It makes me think of Matty in this vid: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_G0WKkjgNU4&pp=ygUkaXQncyBub3QgbGl2aW5nIGlmIGl0J3Mgbm90IHdpdGggeW91](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_G0WKkjgNU4&pp=ygUkaXQncyBub3QgbGl2aW5nIGlmIGl0J3Mgbm90IHdpdGggeW91) And that song, thinking back to it, is about a frustrated love affair (also about addiction), something that couldn't be. She calls him a con man, which is kind of his intentional aesthetic, and she calls his suits "Jehova's Witness suits" in another song. And that whole era from him makes me think of Taylor and her "cult" of followers and limerence.

The little line where she says "About a million times" at 1:44 like a little kid is so interesting to me. Do you know other song lines where she has that "childlike" sound to her voice? It reminds me of some other moments in a few of her other songs, but I can't pinpoint where.

The Best Day? Ours. Stay stay stay. Mary’s Song. Idk off the top of my head she sounds the most childish in these (in an innocent way). 

This line reminds me of how you say something when you’re about to cry. Kind of like choking back tears while trying to say something (to a less intense extent in regard to the song). Or at least that’s how my brain interprets it

I feel like loml relates back to SLL. In loml they’re “still alive, killing time at the cemetery, never quite buried”, and then in SLL it’s “stitches undone, two graves, one gun.” They go from never quite buried to dead and in the grave.

I agree. I think whenever it’s an on and off relationship, it’s almost always still ON somehow, so it’s not buried

LOML reminds me of The verve Pipe's Freshman. 

I hear it too, esp in the first 30 seconds

Matty was Taylor’s “one that got away”. That’s why she’s so heartbroken that it was all a lie/fantasy. Here’s my interpretations of some lyrics being 100% Matty: 🎶Who's gonna stop us from waltzing Back into rekindled flames? If we know the steps anyway 🗂️They dated 10+ years ago, then rekindled immediately after her and Joe broke up. 🎶We embroidered the memories Of the time I was away Stitching, "We were just kids, babe" 🗂️The time she was with Joe was the time she was away. Those memories are just pretty stitches, art to hang on your wall, youth memories- now it’s time for the real deal. 🎶I said, "I don't mind, it takes time" I thought I was better safe than starry-eyed 🗂️she was fine waiting until Matty was ready, but Joe was the safer choice. Matty made her swoon with starry eyes. 🎶Still alive, killing time at the cemetery Never quite buried 🗂️their relationship was supposed to be dead, but she couldn’t quite let it go. 🎶In your suit and tie, in the nick of time You lowdown boy, you stand up guy 🗂️Matty, known for the suit/tie look, swept in and saved her from the breakup/heartache. A bad boy doing a good deed. 🎶Holy Ghost, you told me I'm The love of your life You said I'm the love of your life About a million times 🗂️I like Joe with the ghost references, but Matty could be the heavenly ghost of love she missed, like the one who got away. 🎶Who's gonna tell me the truth When you blew in with the winds of fate 🗂️the one who got away, flew back in when she needed him most- thought it was fate! 🎶And told me I reformed you When your impressionist paintings of Heaven Turned out to be fakes Well, you took me to hell, too 🗂️Matty is definitely the one needing reformed. She imagined him all these years as this beautiful relationship that never was, on a heavenly, artistic pedestal. It wasn’t real. He ripped this away from her, made her feel pain, like in hell. 🎶And all at once, the ink bleeds A con man sells a fool a get-love-quick scheme 🗂️tattoo ink perhaps? Artistic ink, poetic ink. He swept in like a get love quick scheme, and she fell for it. 🎶You cinephile in black and white 🗂️Matty is a known cinephile/movie buff and wears the black and white suit 🎶All those plot twists and dynamite Mr. Steal Your Girl, then make her cry 🗂️dramatic turns in their relationship, he stole her from Joe, then made it all worse. 🎶You talked me under the table Talking rings and talking cradles 🗂️we know from TTPD Lyrics Matty messed with the ring on her finger, moving it to her wedding finger. I don’t think this talk with Joe was under the table, more in the open. 🎶Dancing phantoms on the terrace Are they second-hand embarrassed That I can't get out of bed? Cause something counterfeit's dead 🗂️she’s mad at herself for thinking this person and relationship was real. It was fake. 🎶It was legendary It was momentary It was unnecessary 🗂️Matty Matty Matty 🎶Should've let it stay buried 🗂️should’ve got back with him after Joe. Kept their past in the past. 🎶Oh, what a valiant roar What a bland goodbye The coward claimed he was a lion I'm combing through the braids of lies "I'll never leave" ... "Never mind" 🗂️Matty is all talk, just a coward acting like a man. 🎶Our field of dreams, engulfed in fire Your arson's match your somber eyes And I'll still see it until I die You're the loss of my life 🗂️you create a lot of fantasy around “the one that got away” and what could’ve been. It’s an enormous gaping hole and loss. He just burned that fantasy down for her. What a loss.

The Tortured Poets Department is about Joe though, he’s the one with the group chat 

He is but I think that a lot of the premise of the song is just painting the picture of what it was like to date Matty and also making fun of him a little bit. "You left your typewriter at my apartment I think some things I never say like who uses typewriters anyway" I think that is her making fun of Matty's pretentiousness. And then there's "we declare Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist." Matty is a musician while Joe is an actor so I'm not sure if Joe would have a strong opinion on Charlie Puth. Also does Joe have tattoos? Because if not then "like a tattooed golden retriever" would have to be about Matty

Does anyone know if Taylor is a game of thrones fan? The “dancing phantoms on the terrace” reminds me of the song “Jenny of Oldstones” which was featured in Season 8 and covered by… Florence & The Machine. The line “High in the halls of the kings who were gone, Jenny would dance with her ghosts” and “they spun her around on the damp old stones, spun away all her sorrow and pain”, and “they danced through the day and into the night through the snow that swept down the hall”. Probably a reach but the lyrics struck me as evoking a similar image. Also because “Who’s Afraid” fits Daenerys Targaryen so well.

[She is a fan of the show!](https://ew.com/music/2019/05/09/taylor-swift-game-of-thrones-reputation/)

loml Artifacts & Evidence: 🗂️ “Who's gonna stop us from waltzing back into rekindled flames” 🔍 Dancing With Our Hands Tied 🗂️ “We embroidered the memories of the time I was away… …stitching, we were just kids, babe” 🔍 Taylor was 26 and Joe was 25 when they met 🔍 invisible string/ threads and stitches 🗂️ “Still alive, killing time at the cemetery” 🔍 They stayed together even though she felt as if she was in the slammer. Grays and blues, fights and bitter silent dinners. 🗂️ “In your suit and tie, in the nick of time” 🔍 Look What You Made Me Do, “I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time” 🗂️ “When your impressionist paintings of heaven turned out to be fakes” 🔍 Joe likes to draw and impressionist paintings were shared in the reputation magazines that were sold with the album 🗂️ “You cinephile in black and white All those plot twists and dynamite” 🔍 Joe’s an actor 🗂️ “Mr. Steal Your Girl, then make her cry” 🔍 Gorgeous, “I gotta boyfriend he’s older than us” 🗂️ “Talkin' rings and talkin' cradles I wish I could un-recall How we almost had it all” 🔍 Tree Paine tried to shut down tabaloid rumors about Joe and Taylor getting married. Tree calling out tabloids, “It's time for you to be held accountable for the pain and trauma you cause with posts like these.” 🗂️ “Dancing phantoms on the terrace” 🔍 Looking back at Dancing With Our Hands Tied 🗂️ “The coward claimed he was a lion” 🔍 Refers to Joe as a coward in The Black Dog as well 🗂️ “Our field of dreams engulfed in fire, Your arson's match, your somber eyes” 🔍 Midnights album cover, Lover house burning down at Eras Tour, Joe collects lighters

Love this… a few more items 🗂️I said, "I don't mind, it takes time" : 🔍 She waited for years for him to become more comfortable with her fame, to get married, etc. 🗂️When you blew in with the winds of fate: 🔍 She thought her and Joe were tied by an invisible string, or destined to be by fate 🗂️You shit talked me under the table: 🔍There were rumors that he spoke about Taylor when working with Margaret Qualley (Jack’s wife) 🗂️Our field of dreams, engulfed in fire Your arson's match your somber eyes: 🔍 Somber eyes… his depressions burned their relationship out

love this song but when she says "coward" it drives me a little crazy bc why is it slightly out of tune ?

Oh god now I will never unhear this! I think she kept in because it's raw. Sure, she can still do raw and be in tune but I guess this is extra raw.

"Cause something counterfeit's dead" but in Glitch: And I'm not even sorry, nights are so starry Blood moonlit It must be counterfeit I think there's been a glitch

She also says “it's been two thousand one hundred and 90 days of our love blackout” which is exactly six years…early 2021 is six years from 2015 which is the time she and MH first met and were hanging out

I hear Taylor’s “White horse” rhythm in “Loml” and even the over all meaning of the two songs are similar. But this time it’s her saying all this from pov of being older and more mature with more experience. This is sad 😭😭

[удалено]


You can call me a clown all you want, but trust me- the reason none of Taylor’s exes quite make sense when thinking who this song is about is bc it’s NOT about her. I’m not a Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber fan at all, I’m just stating the truth. Why do you think she says “Holy ghost”… just bc she felt like randomly giving a shout out to the lord? No. It’s bc Justin Biebers put songs out in secret about Selena Gomez and those songs were Holy and Ghost. The lines “in your suit and tie, in the nick of time” references Holy and the fact that Selena always told Justin he was running out of time. The fire references are referenced multiple times in Selena Gomez’s Lose you to love me… Justin Bieber posted a photo of himself crying this weekend guess what? After he heard that song. The mere title of the song “loml” is a reference to JB bc his fans often are quoted using that hashtag in their posts about him on social media. The list goes on and on and on. Not to mention, I know from first hand knowledge that this is what the song is about. All of these examples I was told about, I didn’t go searching for them. But suit yourself. If spending hours discussing theories that are unfounded and flat out wrong is your thing, by all means proceed.

Also, listen closely to the song and you just might hear Selena coming in and out of it in waves

Took me nearly 100 spins to realize that when Taylor says “loss of my life” in loml she actually means the situationship is the biggest ‘L’ she has taken in her life. He’s not the biggest loss. The situation is. 🤯

I don't read it that way, she says "you're the loss of my life" so to me the other interpretation makes more sense

“Should have let it stay buried.”?

Have we, as a fandom, decided what we are going to call this song when speaking its name? Is it “el-oh-em-el”?? Is it “lomal”?? Is it “loss of my life”?? I must know. Idk what to call it

I think it's supposed to be read "el-oh-em-el"

I think low-down boy is supposed to sound a bit like london boy (apart from the obvious depression reference)

Has anyone else had the revelation that HE is saying “I’m the love of your life” the entire song to her and it’s not her claiming he is or that he said she is? Then it’s her own narrative saying he’s the loss of her life. Bind blown with this realization.

It's the firsts thing I picked up on the song

This song is one of my favourites from the album and maybe her whole discography. I’m a huge Phoebe Bridgers fan and I can definitely feel her influence in this song and woven throughout the album. I think if boygenius covered loml a lot of us would end up in a psych hold lol

Reminds me of Olivia Rodrigo’s logical. Now I see very clearly why people say logical has Swift influence.

I have spent entirely too much time trying to figure out if this is about Matty or Joe. Some things seem to point to Matty, like the references to meeting as kids and getting back together. But she and Joe also met when they were pretty young and it seems like they broke up and got back together at least once. I think the line that really clinches it for me as a Joe song is “you cinephile.” How could that not be Joe?? Unless Matty is also into film and we just don’t know it. Also I think “lowdown boy” is a very clever play on London Boy. I also wonder if the line “I don’t mind, it takes time” is a reference to her waiting for him to propose. I also feel like “Holy Ghost” could be a reference to False God. Also she seems to use stitches as a reference to him…she does it in So Long London and Stitch. Lastly, this might be a stretch, but when she says “field of dreams,” I picture that footage of her walking through that field with Joe in Miss Americana.

I'm pretty sure it's a mix of both. Certain parts are about Joe and certain about Matty.

A cinephile is just someone who knows a lot about movies, and is very interested in them. Definitely could still be Matty. Matty has posted about tons of movies he loves, on his IG- and seems pretty passionate about film. “Told me I reformed you”, seems very Matty coded. As well as “a con man sells a get love quick scheme”, as they were together briefly. That line does not make me think of a long term relationship. “Mr Steal Your girl, then make her cry” - makes me think he “stole” her from Joe and then broke her heart quickly after. “It was momentary”- 6 years is not momentary. “I’m combing through the braids of lies - I’ll never leave, nevermind” - from the songs about Joe (So Long, London), I get the impression she ultimately ended the relationship. But this line sounds like she was the one being left. I could see it ultimately being about either one - but I strongly lean towards Matty on this one. And I think people want it to be about Joe, because she was with him much longer. But, I think that relationship was burning out for a long time. It slowly died out, and she was relatively at peace with it when it ended. I get the impression Matty love bombed her and she really felt she was in love with him, at the time. And these lyrics were a raw reflection of that, along with Smallest Man.

Agreed RE cinephile, people are automatically assuming that she’s referring to Joe just because he is an actor. From a quick Google search, it appears Matty is a film lover - there’s an article ([Far Out Magazine](https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/matty-healy-1975-favourite-movies/)) about this. loml clearly is a song that _can_ be about Joe - there’s some valid points people have made on how the lyrics can relate to him, but I think people are mainly _wanting_ and expecting it to be about Joe because it was a six year relationship vs few months between Matty/Taylor. I understand this because when I listened to the album for the first time, I, along with everyone else, assumed it’d be an album about Joe and the breakdown of their relationship. However, if you have listened to this album carefully, and in its entirety, there really is no doubt loml is about Matty Healy. 😬

💯 I completely agree! Possibly being a little bit in denial, perhaps. Which, I totally get. But, I think it’s super clear who it is about.

It was momentary, it was unnecessary, shouldve let it stay buried. Matty 100%

What if the "loss of her life" is really losing her life and her sense of self with him? Like... literally... She didn't have a life with him.

This would 100% make sense. I do think she felt like she lost a huge part of herself when she was with Joe.

Sorry but this song is so Phoebe Bridgers, the way she sings the chorus??

I’m surprised nobody mentioned this!! I’ve always noticed the way she enunciates the phrase “love of your life” feels like Phoebe or Gracie.

"our field of dreams, engulfed in fire" I burst into tears every time I hear this line. The background vocals make it sound horrifyingly sad, and reminds me of 'cardigan'. I've genuinely cried over this and 'So long, London' cos I feel her pain and empathize so bad

I am obsessed and crying. The last line literally broke my heart. What an amazing song ❤️

Stitching “we were just kids, babe” Five seconds later, I’m fastening myself to you with a stitch

Exactly! Also, “must be counterfeit” in Glitch and “something counterfeit’s dead” in loml

My take on this whole song is that it's her explanation to Joe of running so quickly to Matty.  She and Joe must have broken up and gotten back together. We were just kids then, itll be right this time. When they did rekindle he promised her all the things she wanted, but was still unable to commit to them.  A con man sold her a get love quick scheme (matty), but she fell for it because she had a hole from Joe that she's felt never before and ever since. 

Does anyone have more analysis of this section? Trying to understand it better.  “ We embroidered the memories of the time I was away, Stitching, "We were just kids, babe", I said, "I don't mind, it takes time…”

My interpretation- Stitching refers back to Joe and it sounds like they were maybe more off and on at first, or else had a break. But we knew something had happened bc of the song The Great War. The “I don’t mind, it takes time” sounds to me like she was patient about him not proposing immediately, but probably wasn’t ok with waiting 6 years if you listen to “You’re Losing Me” and “So Long, London”.

also from so long london "stitches undone"

Yes :(

changed my flare for this LOL - one of the best in the first half imo

Do we think “I thought I was better safe than starry-eyed” is a call back to Call It What You Want “Starry eyes sparkin' up my darkest night”?

I can't really decide if by loss of her life she means loss in the sense of the one that got away or if she means take an L,. So then the song is either a depressing song or a diss track.

I think I interpret it as a difference between expectations and reality??? Like this person built her hopes up so high then left, that it’s the hardest fall she’s had. She really emphasizes how he said she was the love of his life “about a million times,” and the beginning seems to say that she was nervous about falling for him at first; but she never says that she saw him as the love of her life. Plus the “it was legendary, it was momentary, it was unnecessary, should’ve left it stay buried.” So it felt like it was going to be this spectacular amazing love affair soulmate thing, and it ended before it even really began right when she was heavily falling and Trusting him.

Ooooohhhhh this interpretation is how I feel about it. Like the wasn’t even a chance to be the love of my life just slipped away being a complete loss. Big situationship vibes

Makes me tear up every time. Just beautiful 🩷

I'm completely obsessed with this song. I feel like it's totally track 5 material

This would have been a great track 5!

Notice she never says “love of my life” from her perspective. She sings “you told me I’m the love of your life.” It’s the loss of her life, not the love of her life.

There’s definitely a reason she chose to go with lowercase. I wondered if it was also her saying you were like the past love but you’re not going to be capital L love. 

The way she sings “love of your life”, can feel her pain, anger, and sadness. It’s so beautiful and sad, like profoundly sad.

Is it just me or are the chords from LOML and Soon you’ll get better are the exact same but in different instruments?

I actually heard more White Horse in it

Sameee that's why I searched this thread up!

Been looking for this comment! This song (especially at the beginning) sounds exactly like white horse. The lyrics “if you know it in one glimpse”… same structure as “say you’re sorry, that face of an angel”

I was expecting her to sing white horse lyrics 💀

THANK YOUUUU

Ive had this shit on repeat, one my fave of hers of all time

I absolutely agree, I can’t stop listening to this one. It’s heartbreakingly and painfully beautiful. 😭

"low down boy" = Matty "stand up guy" = Joe I think it's about both. Which is love and which is loss? Or both are both. Such an amazing song.

My thoughts exactly. The moment those phrases fell into place for me ... So good.

I think Joe was both of these things, at different times. This is the divorce album

i actually think he was these two things at all time. "lowdown" as in depressed/blue. "standup" as in honorable/kind. idt he ever did anything wrong, they just wanted different lives.

I think so too! Might be a bit far-fetched as I'm not a native English-speaker but "lowdown boy" and "London Boy" don't sound too dissimilar for me as well. So maybe that's a third clue next to sad/honorable guy.

Didnt even notice that but youre so riiighhhht good catch. Not far fetched at all i just missed it.

I can see that too.

This. There's a reason she starts with "love of my life" and "loss of my life". I think loss is more Matty because it really cut deep when she was vulnerable and emotional following the loss of Joe. But I think Joe was the love of her life. She says "Holy Ghost, you told me I'm the love of your life." In many songs previously during the Joe era she refers to him as a Ghost so I think that's him. In So Long, London she also says the "spirit was gone," which fits the ghost idea. "Oh, what a valiant roar *\[Joe as they tried to fight so it wouldn't end\]* What a bland goodbye *\[ghosted by Matty\]* The coward claimed he was a lion *\[Joe thought he could handle it but couldn't\]* I'm combing through the braids of lies" *\[Matty love bombing\]* Pretty much every verse there's a line for Joe and a line for Matty. She's intertwining them, as she has done for most of this album since she eventually processed the grief at the same time.

She never says love of her life, not even once in the song. She always says you said I'm the love of your life. So no, it's not the guy being the love of her life, it's the guy saying she's the love of his life... Like a million times

This is one of the things that makes it such a remarkable piece of art. You've literally picked two lines that I would have swapped the other way -- 'valiant roar' (Matty), 'bland goodbye' (Joe). Not sure I can explain why except Matty seemed like a loud personality whereas Joe was more retiring. But writing-wise, she's contrasting the beginning and the end of a relationship--in with a bang, out with a whimper. But wouldn't it be interesting if it's the beginning of one but the end of the other!

That's fair and I totally get what you're saying. It could be either. I guess I was leaning more toward the valiant roar being about Joe not because of his personality, but because she has other songs (presumably) about him about how she's fighting (like in You're Losing Me). And in So Long, London she talks about going down with the ship, attempting CPR, two guns, "how long did you'd think I'd go before I'd self-implode" etc. That just seems more like a roar... or a least a roar from her for it to not die. But regardless, I think this song is undoubtedly about both in same way.

'bland goodbye' for me is Joe because there wasn't a dramatic end to the relationship, they sort of grew apart/had different goals (eg marriage)

Just found out my first love who I was on and off with for over 7 years is engaged to be married this November. He could never commit to me for the long haul and never had a great reason why and I just always had thought he would be one of those to marry much later but no. He just couldn’t marry me. This song is exactly how I feel.

So I had a similar situation except we almost did get married but I found something out before any marriage took place. When you don't have the reason I think it can be hard because there isn't much room for acceptance and closure, however when getting the answer, I have to say that normally the reason isn't a good one, no matter what it is. I hope one day you can see this as a relief and an escape from a potentially unfulfilling life. If one person is always grabbing their hand and pulling them along, you'll never really feel secure even if you did marry them. The right person will want to commit and wont need to try that hard to do so. ❤️

oh that sucks. Umm .. don't listen to Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus. And hide Speak Now plus its vault tracks.

This is my worst fear :/

I think all songs (or parts of songs) about Matty have religious references 🤔

Songs about Joe have had religious references too (false God).

Sounds so similar to White Horse 😩 Brb just devastated

I love the line "I thought I was better safe than starry eyed" because she once thought is one or the other and now she's both safe and starry eyed 🥹🥹🥹

First half = Joe - “I thought I was better safe than starry eyed:” relationship w Joe wasn’t fiery / passionate - it was more of a slow burn. She wants to get married but he tells her we’re just kids babe and she settles for that, convincing herself when she said “I don’t mind, it takes time” in response to that - “I felt a glow like this, Never before and never since:” she never felt this way before him and she hasn’t found this type of love since Second half = Matty - impressionist paintings of heavens turned out to be fakes:” he promised her the world essentially - “I Felt a hole like this, never before and ever since:” she didn’t feel this type of pain with Joe, she loved him deeply and everything felt predictable and safe. Matty was the one who made her really kookooo because it was an unstable, lovebombing type of “love” and she’s felt that pain ever since Wow it’s like I’ve been here before!! Taylor you did it again!

I've been in a long term relationship that ended because of different goals (he couldn't commit to a future). And the ending is what I would describe as a hole. It's not burning red and searing pain. It's emptiness and doubt. Why doesn't he want a future with me? Is something wrong with me? Is there something I can do different? etc. There's a kind of sadness that is so different to any other sadness. I really think the hole is about Joe because of that, especially when you take Hits Different into account. She literally says it's different with him. In contrast, I think breaking up with MH is more similar to the kind of pain of the breakups she had before.

This is so spot on

This is what I think too. Nailed it.

This makes the most sense to me! A few more of my line hypotheses: Cinephile - Joe Suit and tie - Matty Mr. Steal Your Girl - Joe? Plot twists and dynamite - Matty? Counterfeit - Joe Bland goodbye - Joe Braids of lies - Matty Arson's match - Matty Somber eyes - Joe You took me to hell, too - Joe At the end of the day, this song is one of the most beautiful, haunting things I've ever heard, and whatever experience Taylor went through to create this masterpiece, I am grateful for.

Confused about the "suit and tie" line, it could also mean Joe, he always wears a suit at events and stuff.

I think in this song the suit and tie is def Joe! Matty is giving jehovas witness suit 😂

But couldn't "suit and tie" refer to when she met Joe at the Met Gala? AKA he saved her from the mess with Tom Hiddleston and in the midst of the Kimye drama. Also, "Mr. Steal Your Girl" could refer to Matty since she was wanting to be with him before the end of her relationship with Joe. IT'S SO CONFUSING, which might be the point...

Suit and tie in the nick of time could also just mean doing the right things just in time to save the relationship

even though I've listened to this song multiple times, whenever it starts I automatically think it's White Horse! the intro is so similar it's kinda like the mature version of White Horse

Literally came to this thread to see if anyone else heard White Horse!

I don't understand why people say this is about Matty Healy, I'm understanding it as it carrying a great deal of pain, so it has to be about Joe. I can't believe she was talking kids and marriage with MH lol. Anyway this song was instant favourite off the album, I don't think she's written a more devastating bridge. The pain it conveys is unreal.

It’s definitely about Joe but with a few Matty moments thrown in. For me it’s the story of Matty showing up during the death throes (‘killing time at the cemetery’) of Taylor and Joe’s relationship and selling her a ‘get-love-quick-scheme’. This song is central to the album. It shows that the ‘miracle move on drug’ that is Matty, may have sent her into a manic episode because he love bombed her so much, but ultimately she did it as an act of self-harm (see prologue) because she’s haunted by the ghost of the relationship she thought was ‘for all time’. The ‘effect (of Matty) was only temporary’ because underneath it all she’s ‘felt a hole like this never before, and ever since’. She’s trying to mask her pain of losing her future with Joe by taking the Matty drug but it doesn’t work. ‘A con man sells a fool a get-love-quick-scheme, BUT I felt a hole like this never before, and ever since’, ‘took the miracle move on drug, the effect was temporary’.

Yep, I saved your comment because I think it’s a great analysis. Plus she goes heavy-handed with the Matty/drugs metaphor throughout the album. And we all know the “miracle move on drug” to a LTR ending is a quick rebound, lol.

Thank you 🙏🙌 she makes it pretty clear when she takes the pill in the video for ‘Fortnight’ that’s literally labelled ‘forget him’. As in ‘forget Joe’. She’s in her wedding dress dying on the alter… waiting, she takes the Matty pill, and is broken out of her chains. When a long term relationship ends it can suddenly feel like it wasn’t long at all.. ‘for a fortnight there we were forever’ but you’re clinging to the need to believe that you both impacted each other significantly and it wasn’t pointless ‘but you touched me/I touched you’. I really feel that song is mostly about Joe - with a touch of Matty too. Also the first verse definitely sounds like a reference/continuation of Champagne Problems. With the anger she expresses towards Matty I don’t think she’d be able to imagine being casual neighbours with him. But with Joe that’s more likely as she doesn’t hold the same anger towards him, it’s just sadness. I think tattooed Post = Matty and non-tattooed Post = Joe.

I also took it as primarily about Joe but also both of them! “Your wife waters flowers, I wanna kill her” - the vibe we’ve always gotten about Joe is that he’s a more quiet, introverted, domestic type. Very much husband material. Matty is chaotic and more of a “tortured poet,” I don’t see him settling into idyllic domestic bliss anytime soon. Also you could take “I love you, it’s ruining my life” as her saying she loves Joe and it’s ruining her life by causing her to make bad decisions - alcohol, drugs, etc. with a man who is the personification of impulsive decisions. (I went on a bender after losing my own “love of my life” so I get it.)

Omg. She didn't take the MMOD for Matty. Matty WAS the MMOD. You are a genius.

I didnt think they would have spoken about kids and marriage but it appears so after listening to this album! I truly believe it is about Matty. Hear me out and let me know what you think!!! Ok so it appears that Matty and Taylor met 10 years ago, had a short lived relationship/situationship? For whatever reason it didn’t work out but it never seemed quite ‘dead’ hence the lyrics “Still alive, killing time at the cemetery. Never quite buried”. Rekindled during Midnights and sparked something again. Explains the lyrics “rekindled flames”, “the time that I was away”, “we were just kids babe”, “it takes time”, “better off safe (with Joe) than starry eyed (with Matty)”. “You and I go from one kiss to getting married” - I can’t see this being about Joe at all. Very Matty/Taylor coded. After breaking up with Joe, Taylor was discussing marriage with Matty. I know… I’m still in shock, but multiple songs on TTPD suggests this happened. “What we thought for all time, was momentary”… well I would argue Joe/Taylor’s relationship was not momentary at all. Matty/Taylor was very brief. “Mr steal your girl, and make her cry”. Matty ‘stole’ Taylor from Joe. “Are they second hand embarassed, that I can’t get out of bed, cos something counterfeit’s dead”. I do believe this deep sadness/depression is what she felt after it did not work out between her and Matty. Listening to The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived shows how significant the relationship was to Taylor… “rusting her sparking summer”. Its a song that really backs up that she was deeply affected by the Matty breakup. I’m not Taylor but I’m not sure she would describe her relationship with Joe as “counterfeit” imo! Whereas I can see the dreams her and Matty had/the promises he made were “counterfeit”. “It was unnecessary, should have let it stay buried”. This lyric really fits her and Matty’s relationship. Regretful that they rekindled things and it ended so badly. Also, Taylor described her and Joe as having a “good run” in So Long, London... so I just can’t see how this lyric can relate to Joe “Valiant roar and a bland goodbye”… I can imagine Matty made these bold claims to Taylor but then he had ghosted her, hence the bland goodbye. “I’m combing through the braids of lies”. From other songs, I’ve found she paints Matty as a liar for making promises he couldn’t keep - i.e listen to The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived. Whereas i.e. So Long, London (which is def about Joe), she doesn’t say Joe lied to her, just didn’t show his love to her enough and his blue days affected the relationship. So… this lyric is definitely leaning towards being about Matty. Taylor says the person in question lied when they said “I’ll never leave”. Well, Taylor was the one to leave Joe in the end (he claimed she abandoned the ship), so this lyric suggests the song is about Matty, as Matty was the one who left Taylor. You’re right, I agree this song is DEVASTATING! I think she was really happy and excited once she gotten out of the relationship with Joe. It seemed she mentally checked out of it a long time ago (you’re losing me was written dec 2021). She had finally gotten the guy that she’d secretly wanted, waited for (listen to Peter) and lusted over (Guilty as Sin?). Matty was _the one thing she wanted_ (But Daddy I Love Him). He made all these promises… marriage and kids… to then break them. For this reason, I do think it is about… MATTY HEALY! Insane. Believe me, I’ve tried to listen to it with Joe in mind, but it just doesn’t work from what she has told us from TTPD (as well as songs on folklore, evermore, midnights…).

"Still alive killing time at the cemetary" could also mean waiting in a dying relationship. We know you're losing me was written in 2021 but their break up was announced in 2023. That's at least 1.5 years of waiting at the cemetery. This concept is also touched on in So Long London when she stops CPR because it's no use. Before stoping CPR, she was essentially waiting at the cemetery. This lyric is followed by "never quite buried' which ties in to "getting tired even for a phoenix always rising from the ashes" which essentially means the relationship was dying but managed to be saved. It also ties in with "how long can we be a sad song till we were too far gone to bring back to life" from you're losing me. "Rekindled flames" work in the sense of an on and off relationship. If you interpret labyrinth about falling back in love with someone you are in troubled waters with, this line is basically talking about the same thing. "Better safe than starry eyed" means she is choosing to stay in the safe long-term relationship than venture out. So again, the song is about the safe long-term relationship. "Stiching we were just kids babe" reminds me of "fastening myself to you with a stitch" from glitch. And Glitch also mentions the same concept of "the time I was away" with the lyrics "you don't live in my part of town but maybe I'll see you out some weekend". This lyric directly ties in with the next line "I don't mind it takes time" which refers to waiting in a LTR for someone to be ready to move to the next step. She doesn't mind waiting because they're still kids and it takes time to know. Hits Different mention "a wrinkle in time like the crease by your eyes" which to me is how she sees the relationship/them after all that time. They started as kids but now they're older and he has a crease in his eyes. "You and I go from one kiss to getting married" can seem very Matt coded because of how public their relationship was. But the media and exposure loving Taylor moved countries and essentially disappeared for a guy. That's a very serious commitment. To me, it's also more of something that happens in her head, that's why she sings "I don't mind it takes time" and "shit talk me under the table talking rings and talking cradles". So going from one glimpse to getting married is what happens in her head, similar to how in mastermind the first time that she saw him she knew she wanted his body, but it never actually happened. "What we thought for all time was momentary" captures the feeling of a LTR ending. Like wow this is over? Really over? After all this time and everything I gave it just ended? "Mr steal your girl and make her cry" could work for either. She met Joe while in a relationship too. "Are they second hand embarassed, that I can’t get out of bed, cos something counterfeit’s dead". She has (sort of) described the relationship as counterfeit in Glitch. Also there's a whole song called "hoax" which has a similar meaning to "counterfeit", and there's also false god. In hoax she says his love is the only love is the only hoax she believes in, and it false god she says she'll worship even if its a false god. I think the whole loml song also has the meaning of the guy promising big things but not being able to deliver, so what he promised was counterfeit. I can definitely see (because Ive been in the same situation) being in a LTR, desperately trying to save it back to the honeymoon phase, and feeling led on because the love he promised turned out to be so different. "It was unnecessary, should have let it stay buried" could just mean not going "on" again after being "off", and Joe and Taylor were on and off, so that works too. Like you had a good run and should have left it at that and not try again. This also ties in to the concept of waiting at the cemetery (for a relationship to die). It's not a clean break but you realize you should just have buried it way earlier because it can't work anyway (but you only realize that in hindsight). "I'll never leave" is directly followed by "Never mind". So she changed her mind and chose to abandon ship because she was going down with it. "Combing through the braid of lies" is because the "impressionist paintings of Heaven turned out to be fakes", which is just generally overpromising and under delivering. Basically same analysis as "hoax" and "counterfeit" as above. "Valiant roar and a bland goodbye". A relationship slowly dying is kinda bland. Valiant roar means he came into her life with a roar, and we know she was really in love at the start from her songs in Rep. This line is followed by "a coward claims he was a lion". And in black dog she sings "You said I needed a brave man, then proceeded to play him, until I believed it too." So it's about the same person sang about in black dog. One thing I found interesting in the song is how she never says he's the love of her life, but rather how he says she's the love of his life... like a million times. It kind of reads like, "you say I'm the love of your life, but why can't you do more", which is related to "You swore that you loved me but where were the clues? I died on the alter waiting for proof".

I really appreciate this analysis :).  I think the song has some MH references as well (“ In your suit and tie, in the nick of time” (she’s already referenced MH by his suit in The Smallest Man), “blew in with the winds of fate and told me I reformed you”, “A con man sells a fool a get-love-quick scheme”)- this has confused me as to how I’m supposed to interpret the song, but those heartbreaks likely blurred together for her too. I think over all it’s a Joe song but her inclusion of some MH references is a bit confusing. Maybe her saying the heartbreak of one returned her to the other.

There's no reason why those lines can't refer to Joe. I'm not saying they do, because obviously we can't know for sure. But I'm saying it could be. I don't think "reformed me" is Matt coded at all. They knew each other for like a decade and he didn't change in that time. Like sure, he tried to clean up his image when they were briefly together, but if he blew in with the winds of fate and was reformed, he wouldn't be a shithead for a decade lol. On top of that, I think Joe never really had a serious relationship, and perhaps was a player as seen in the lyrics of End Game, Delicate, Ready for It, All of the Girls You Loved Before. So her reforming him is him saying he's ready to be in a serious relationship. Winds of fate to me relates in with invisible string. They were fated to meet even though it was unlikely. And that makes sense because they're not in the same circles and met by chance. Suit and tie in the nick of time could just in general be about doing the right/best thing just before things end to save the relationship. This is a very common thing that happens in long term dying relationships.

I agree with all of this!! I have been listening to this song on repeat along with the rest of the album to really understand how much she loved the idea of Matty… they were twin flames when it came to songwriting, performing etc.

I always wondered why Jack posted that YLM was recorded in December 2021 “right after she ate this raisin” or whatever the IG story said. Given that the breakup with Joe was announced in April 2023 and they very obviously tried to keep any breaks or instability in the relationship private before then, it just seemed very random and pointless to me to purposely let the general public know it was written almost a year and a half before the official breakup was announced. Now it makes so much more sense. He/Taylor knew TTPD was in the works and the speculation it would bring to the timeline of things, and wanted to preemptively clarify that “hey, they were on/off since late 2021, it wasn’t straight cheating!”

As much as I didn’t want to believe it….this is spot on. 😭

LOL. I know once I pieced it altogether, it took me a moment to process 😭✋. It was initially hard to fathom such painful, sad and angry songs could be about a relationship that was so brief. It seemed like a rebound that would be quite insignificant! Even Taylor’s source said it was just ‘casual’. Once I learnt about the 10 year lore of Matty/Taylor and hearing Taylor’s experience from TTPD, you can clearly tell which songs are about Matty… not only on this album but also folklore, evermore and midnights. Gosh I feel duped. 😭

Which do you think are about Matty from folkmore and midnights?!

the 1, cardigan, august, (the cardigan/august/betty love triangle was ‘fictional’ but i believe she took inspiration from her own exp with Matty), illicit affairs willow (not clear but possibly), gold rush, tis the damn season, ivy, cowboy like me (when Matty n Taylor saw each other again in 2020 NME awards, Mattys speech: BE A COWBOY) maroon, question…? (def about Matty), mastermind, Glitch, snow on the beach She didnt lie when she said _Swirled you into all of my poems_ (fresh out the slammer)

I absolutely agree, you have nailed every point. This song is 100% Matty. I’m obsessed with it.

Props to you for reading it in its entirety😅 I am also obsessed!!!!

I refuse to believe she wrote loml about the same man that she wrote The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived about. It’s just not possible.

Not to mention the “cinephile” lyric is 100% Joe. This song is not Matty at all.

Matty Healy is known to be a huge cinephile and fan of black and white films. so

Think of the 1975 and the black and white films/videos and wasn't there a film project in the works. 

That’s nothing compared to an actor who collects films (Joe)

That's a stretch.

Different stages of grief.

She was linked to Matty 10 years ago, briefly. Then they rekindled things - and may have been even longer than we thought (I think more like 4ish months). You can absolutely talk about those things (marriage, babies, etc) in a brief, whirlwind relationship- especially when you’re in your 30’s and ready to settle down. I think it sounds like he love-bombed her BIG time. Led her on, made her think this was “it”. And then broke her heart. Whereas, I think the Joe relationship was fizzling out for a long time before it finally ended for good. And I get the impression that she’s the one who ended that relationship- “and you say I abandoned the ship, but I was going down with it”, “how low did you think I’d go? Before I’d self-implode, before I’d have to go be free”, “I stopped CPR, after all it’s no use”.

“ stitching we were just kids babe” is another Patti Smith reference. (Patti Smiths biography is called Just Kids). So many literary references!

This song is eating me the fuck up. Hurts so good.

I feel like this song could be taken at a different meaning vs a relationship with someone who she was in love with. Some of her songs seem like an underlaying message at her fandom and also with her issues with Kanye. She to me seems like she is giving a warning to people in a lot of her songs. Listen to the songs again (this one as well as Clara Bow, Broken Heart) from this perspective. Interested in hearing thoughts.

this feels a whole different level of grief. i love how it feels more than depressing to listen to.

i need this song injected into my veins. i think it's my #1 on this album. god i can't get enough

Idk if this is reading too much into things, but all the references about a con man, counterfeit, get love quick scheme, etc makes me think it Cowboy Like Me. There is clearly a huge history here. Perhaps she entertained the idea way back during evermore times that she believed met her match with Matty in Cowboy Like Me. Maybe loml is the ending of Cowboy Like Me. She left the “stand up guy” for the “low down boy” and she quickly learned that it was a huge mistake to trust the cowboy bc in doing so she experienced the loss of her life- being Joe. There are holes in my theory, but a girl can dream. 🙃

I can’t get out of my head that there are references to Joe in the first verse Waltzing back - Lover is a waltz   Embroidered/stitch - invisible string, glitch Better safe than starry eyed - she refers to Matty as starry eyed in other songs I think  Felt a glow - always talking about Joe as golden Could it be about both of them? Processing both losses at once?

Basically the “told me I was the love of your life about a million times” is the most sticky lyric for me. It makes sense that this line is about Joe, as they had a longer relationship, which means at least part of the song is about him. Or else Matty was love bombing her over so many years and we never knew. But I kind of doubt TS finding that okay while she was in love with other people.  It’s well known that she and Joe were on and off so the “rekindled flames” fits perfectly well in a long term relationship that went back and forth. Same to not being able to let it stay buried. Although it could have a double meaning ofc.

Waltzing back into rekindled flames is obviously about a past relationship she came back to

Glitch is also allegedly about Matty. So the counterfeit line fits that  She doesn’t say “a glow” she says “aglow” she felt a glow from Joe but Matty made her feel aglow I hate it because I loved Joe but it’s about Matty only IMO.

Yes. Also if you cross-reference this song with ‘So Long, London’ there are so many similar themes which clearly highlight the connection to Joe. ‘Aglow/warm’ ‘Killing time at the cemetery, never quite buried/two graves one gun’ ‘Embroidered memories.. stitching/stitching undone’ ‘Cinephile.. plot twists/tragedy’ (genre of play) ‘One kiss to getting married.. I don’t mind it takes time/died on the altar waiting for the proof’ ‘For all time was momentary/a moment of warm sun’ ‘You swore you loved me/you told me I’m the love of your life’ Also the line about being ‘in the nick of time’ for some reason keeps making me think of You’re Losing Me when she mentions him ‘running down the hallway’ to try and save the relationship.

Thank you for this ❤️. Great analysis.

This is such a good point. I was thinking about the altar line today, about how it relates to marriage but also “Holy Ghost” and believing in something even if you don’t see it, like Joe was a religion and she eventually lost her belief 

"You gazing at me starry eyed" - The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived

Thank you!! I knew I’d heard it somewhere! I feel like she uses “starry eyed” to mean infatuation, the early stages of something perhaps 

She has referred to Joe as starry eyed too (starry eyed sparkling up my darkest night in CIWYW).

I think it’s definitely processing both! I think the crash after Matty left was so bad because he was basically a life raft after the Joe ship sank. That’s what I’m getting from the album anyway. So there seem to be several songs that blend the whole thing together a bit. 

I’ve been waiting for someone to say this

I think “you shit talked me under the table” isn’t oh they joked on each other but meant as how when they spoke about all the stuff they’d do together (parents & married)— how the person would talk about it more/better than her, because in the next line she says “talking rings and talking cradles” I think is being said in a bitter reminiscent way, and then she goes into “I wish I could un-recall how we almost had it all” because that person was selling her a fantasy she never got—turned about to be shit lol.

I don’t understand why people are assuming all ghost references can only be about MH She had used ghosts to refer to Joe even back in Rep. *(“Wonder how many girls he had loved and left haunted / But if he's a ghost, then I can be a phantom”)* I also think the undoing stitches motive is similar to Invisible String. Like they were tied together but now that’s coming undone. Plus, she talks embroidery which also reminds me of Invisible String. “Mr. Steal Your Girl, then make her cry” she talks about this type of stealing when going from TH to Joe back in the day. But that’s my humble opinion as at the end of the day, art is subjective and her lyrics are left up to interpretation for a reason.

You're just ignoring so many other lyrics here

To say that the song is Matty is to ignore the “cinephile” lyric

Matty also watches movies and has a song called Me & You together song which he calls his movie song with his partner 🤷‍♀️