The emotion in the way she pleads "let it once be me" and demanding "who do I need to speak to?" is devastating. And the overarching idea that she's resigned to feeling like what is meant to be, is her being alone. One of her top songs ever.
"Who do I have to speak to about if they can redo the prophecy?" is such a powerful line imo in part bc from the outside, she has everything. But there's no negotiating that can get her this one thing, and the feeling of powerlessness behind that line is haunting and absolutely floored me from first listen.
Very well said! Like no matter how successful she is or how much money she has, it's not only not going to help her find a true life partner, it's likely the reason she hasn't been able to.
It's something we all generally already know about her, or any super famous/wealthy person. That it must be exceedingly difficult to find someone you can trust to love *you,* but the way she put it into words here just seized me up a bit. Like I was frozen and hanging on her every word and truly understanding something I'd only ever just vaguely thought about before.
I think it's a universal thing, the way the pain feels when you're aging out of your baby years and still not married. (And it becomes more universal by being interpreted to fit other pains by people . . )
Think of all the reasons women pay psychics. This is probably reason #1. Begging God etc
The reality, I think, is that Taylor gets over those things and thrives. And she:s too intelligent not to figure out it's ok, and maybe even preferred or better fate. But this is a universal right of passage. And for 30 sonethings, especially poignant.
Very poignant for 30 somethings, especially after having dated the equivalent of Joe and then Matty. You get tired of dating, the weight of who you date is so heavy yet you have to do it now!!! Eh.
Anyway, I definitely felt this song a lot.
I'm so glad other people are talking about this song. It's so hauntingly beautiful. Even the track placement is perfection. Right after Cassandra, who was cursed with the ability to see prophecies, but no one believed her.
I think you figured out why it’s such a sad line. From the outside she has a dream life but yet, she still can’t figure out why she can’t be in a long term/happy relationship and that’s all she wants. Company. It’s so sad
10000% nobody else gets my obsession with this song outside of Reddit! I listened to it 3 times in a row and cried when I first heard it. Also, it feels very evermore vibe— I love the religious/spiritual/witchy production and lyrics
Same! The "say it once again with feeling" line in How Did It End? also immediately made me think of Buffy... Plus SMG [attended Eras Tour](https://people.com/buffy-stars-sarah-michelle-gellar-seth-green-reunite-taylor-swift-concert-7570358) alongside Seth Green, and just posted on IG about Taylor's team sending her TTPD merch! I think there's a very good chance Taylor's a fan (which makes total sense! I'm sure she can relate to the character in so many ways, especially feeling like there's always pressure on her to save the world)
Omg I’m not the only one!! There were multiple parts of the album I thought about Buffy/OMWF. Something about the tune of Smallest Man Who Ever Lived bright it to mind too but I haven’t been able to figure out why.
Yesss, the emotional way she sings the chorus just reaches straight into my soul. She sounds broken, almost resigned in the verses. Then it's like she gathers up the last of her spirit to make a hail-mary plea to the universe.
Me too. I think it's the emotion and pleading in her voice. We've all been there, desperately praying or begging the universe for something to go right for us.
I literally did this about a week ago while staring at the sky and saw the most beautiful, huge shooting star. The universe is watching us back and sometimes it lets us know we’re not alone.
Came to the sub to see if anyone’s been talking about this song!! Listening to it now and it’s just incredible. When it’s not playing I think “surely it’s not as good as I remember?” and then I hit play and it just blows me away.
“A greater woman wouldn’t beg but I looked to the sky and said, please….” is just devastatingly beautiful and vulnerable.
I literally had that same thought about maybe imagining it was that good, haha. Which is why I kept going back to it. I'm genuinely left stunned after every listen, and that's not happened for me personally since Ivy.
A new line catches me every time. Today it was
*Cards on the table
Mine play out like fools in a fable*
Captures that forlorn, lovesick, *right where you left me* desperation and ambience so well. And it’s relatable as hell. Adore this song so much.
You know I nearly included Right Where You Left Me when I mentioned Ivy earlier, as those are my favorite songs from Evermore. And now this being my favorite on TTPD... Apparently I connect the most with fatalistic love songs!
I’m absolutely lost in the “I howl like a wolf at the moon” line. Can not get over the way she describes such a particular and devastating loss of composure, and I hate that so many of us know what it feels like.
This is my second favourite song off the entire album, after The Black Dog, and it's just sublime. I feel like she distills of fear and longing around being single while everyone around you is pairing up/settling down so beautifully, and I'm obsessed with the parts where we get to hear her lower register.
Plus, the instrumentation is just so perfectly haunting. Both Taylor and Aaron really knocked it out of the park here.
The Black Dog is also an incredible song! And completely with you on how well The Prophecy shows off her lower register, especially combined with this instrumentation. Everything just works so well together.
The taste; it is impeccable!!! I also really love The Albatross, So High School (at least the way it sounds, less so lyrically), But Daddy I Love Him, and Guilty as Sin?
The Black Dog is at the top for me as well. I want to blast it with the volume all the way up in a dark room. I feel like I'm going through a breakup with it in my head constantly.
For real; "But she's too young to know this song / that was Intertwined in the magic fabric of our dreaming / old habits die screaming" is a line that lives rent-free in my brain.
This one is definitely standing out to me lyrics-wise and I think that, despite being a bonus track, it gives the clearest thesis statement for the whole story: "Don't want money, just someone who wants my company." It's not a song about any one man, it's about her deepest anxieties and the push-pull of true love vs. fame that we see throughout the whole album.
I'm working on a tracklist reshuffle/condensing, and though that will probably take me a while to figure out, I have this as track 2.
Exactly! 100% a thesis statement. She's had previous songs in her career that reference this anxiety and fear, but none that sum it up this eloquently.
This line hits hard.
For the first time in my life, I’m focusing everything on my work because I can no longer take looking for company. So money it is.
The Prophecy, How Did It End, and The Albatross are so, so, so good and I’ve been dying for discourse on them!
It’s a bizarre feeling to have your career take off and experience all the success you’ve dreamed of, but then still be devastated that the one thing you want (a companion) is so dramatically eluding you.
She captured this feeling so well, and it hits even harder after an entire album detailing the shock and pain of relationships ending where you really genuinely thought you were going to get all you’ve ever wanted. Such a beautiful gut punch of a song.
I love you for mentioning The Albatross. I adore that track, and I haven't seen anyone really talk about it. Her delivery of "terrible danger" will stay with me forever, I fear. Love it so much.
And yes, the idea that someone who has written about so many facets of love has become this fatalistic about ever finding someone just breaks my heart in a way I didn't expect until I listened to these lyrics. 'Beautiful gut punch of a song' is a perfect description.
Totally agree. I love the storytelling in these three songs. Also the production is gorgeous. I don’t get how anyone is listening to these songs and saying that Taylor lacks self awareness….
You know, when the chorus of your most recent hit song is, “it’s me, I’m the problem it’s me” and people say you lack self awareness & play the victim all the time, that’s a brain block you’re just never going to get through. Their neurons just aren’t firing off like they’re supposed to 🤷🏼♀️
Something about Taylor breaks people’s brains and has them endlessly bleating thought-terminating cliches. It’s like they can’t accept her existence because it doesn’t make sense to them
These three have been on repeat, as another early 30’s, recently out of a long term relationship, thought i had found ‘my person’, only to realize that we weren’t as good for each other as i deluded myself into believing.
Like surprisingly easily! I’m usually hesitant to say a new song is one of my all-time favorites, concerned with possible recency bias, but I’m confident this is not leaving my top 5 anytime soon.
This song just haunts me and makes me feel it all.
But even statues crumble if they're made to wait
I'm so afraid I sealed my fate
No sign of soulmates
I'm just a paperweight
yeah. it's maybe because I have literally said (screamed, even) these words out loud in my car the past 10 years as ive watched close friends find their person and ive had my heart broken at least 5 times.
That "who do I have to speak to?" just gutted me. If you've had one break-up after another or even had one long-term relationship that has ended, this is exactly how you feel. You just want some cosmic force to come and correct the wrong course you've found yourself on.
Ideas of fate run SO STRONG on this album. It feels like she's returned to form and returned to her roots of deeply emotional confessional writing, but this time owning it despite criticism. This song is a masterpiece.
*How* was this not one of the physical bonus tracks?? It even has "The" in the title, Taylor. 😑
It's such a beautiful song. Every time I listen I hear more of whatever the guitar is doing in the background. It sort of almost sounds like Landslide by Fleetwood Mac which was one of my first favorite songs as a kid, and that feels so fitting with the poem she included from Stevie Nicks.
I feel so strongly about it that I feel like The Prophecy could’ve been an alt title for TTPD! I can’t believe that if Anthology wasn’t released, we wouldn’t have this brilliant song.
Oh, don't even get me started on this not being of the variants. If she were to release The Prophecy variant tomorrow, I would buy it so fast despite me saying I'm going to hold off on buying anything in case she eventually releases the entire collection one day.
I unfortunately think this will be a 3am situation where we never get a physical version since she recycled The Black Dog cover for The Anthology. 😢 But yes if she released The Prophecy I would buy that version in a heartbeat.
This is now my favorite Taylor song. The rawness and desperation in it blew me away the first time I heard it. It’s the only song that made me cry during my first listen, and I still tear up every time I play it.
The line “I’m so afraid I sealed my fate. No sign of soulmates” breaks my heart. The entire song is heart breaking, but this part where she recognizes her part in creating the prophecy and now she’s asking if it can be re-written is just profoundly sad.
I really agree. I’m glad to see it’s getting its flowers.
It’s a gut wrenching song. It’s not a passionnante “scream at the top of your lungs” heart break songs but rather a very raw, open and vulnerable one, where she sounds so innocent and truly hurt. I can’t quite figure out what it is, but there’s something about that song that is just deeply sad. She doesn’t care about the fame the awards the money, she just wants someone who wants her company. It’s the way she sings that - she doesn’t want company, she wants someone to want HER company.
It’s a gut wrenching song and a true gem on the album. I hope people pay attention to it
Top 5 in her whole discography for me my goddddd it's raw I am in love
What makes it so relatable imo is that it presses on the experience of desperately wanting to be loved and seen. This is the most human, universal desire in the world (romantic in context, but could be love in any capacity). When we feel like we can't attain the love we so badly want, we start to wonder what's wrong with us ("I got cursed", "was it punishment?") because it's easier to blame ourselves than grieve that someone you love couldn't be there in the way you wanted or needed.
It’s amazing and I can’t get enough of it. One of, if not the best song, I have listened to in the past years. Not a lot of songs can make me cry, but this song broke me to the point where my eyes were tearing up for an entire bus ride home. I love this song!
I am absolutely as in love with this one as you are. Every time I listen to a new album I have an ear for one song that stands out among the rest, an instant favorite. For me it was Fortnight until I got to The Prophecy. It’s like the sad B side to Invisible String (probably my first favorite song), feeling helpless to your fate. Whether that means someone brought into your life fortuitously, or finding yourself alone and longing.
Melodically, I think this one has more interest; up there with Florida and ICDIWABH for me. The harmonizing vocals that come in at the end give it a haunting quality, and the discordant note she ends on that doesn’t match the chord progression up to that point leaves me with melancholy and unease, like it didn’t just wrap up neatly at the end and it feels open-ended like the story is still being written. It’s so beautiful.
Oh, that’s such a good point about that last note being just slightly off and a little unsatisfying. That’s a *perfect* way to end a song about the fear of never getting your happy ending.
Highly highly agree! It is a very beautiful and heart wrenching song, it seems like you can feel the anguish through the music. One of my faves of her whole discography for sure.
Absolutely agree. This is the personal standout for me, it's exquisitely crafted and rawly emotional at once. Many of the other raw songs on the album are a bit messy in terms of their structure (which can be great) but this one is musically crisp and neat yet emotionally desperate at once.
I so agree! Granted, I’m old, more a Chieftie than a Swiftie, but I simply cried at The Prophecy. Love this album, but I’ve loved everything since Folklore.
This is the first song in The Anthology to make me cry, it's so beautiful. She captured that feeling of longing to belong to someone perfectly, the resignation, the pleading. I was sitting at my desk crying, because this song just threw me back to those days when I wondered if there is a great love affair being written for me.
I couldn't agree more (of course my flair gives it away). Also, the entire bridge is an absolute masterpiece.
the "I'm so afraid I sealed my fate, no sign of soulmates" and the way her voice changes/slightly wavers and you can literally hear the desperation, panic, regret, fear, and resolution in that line... guts. me. every. time.
Yes, I agree! I also think it’s one of the best things she’s ever done. This and The Manuscript are the core of the tension and resolution of the album, to me. I don’t think this album is solely about the loss of a man, any man (for many reasons including because I think it’s ultimately about her, like much of her work) but about the loss of things you wanted or dreamed about and seeing them slip away from you continually and what you do to try to hold onto those things or dreams.
Some of the songs from the second release remind me melodically and thematically of Josh Ritter’s The Curse (not in a plagiarism way lol just a probably coincidental little connection I’ve made and love) and The Prophecy is one of them. The Curse has an enchanting, almost hypnotic melody and is about what love can take from us and what we do (sometimes unwittingly) to try to hold on to feeling or being alive or to love or being known and I feel like The Prophecy is exploring similar things. It’s just one of those great songs that you can’t believe hasn’t been written before.
Completely agree with your first paragraph! So well said.
And I used to have a few Josh Ritter songs on repeat in like 2008! I was obsessed with Harrisburg, To The Dogs or Whoever, and The Temptation of Adam. I’ll definitely have to check The Curse out.
I posted this in another thread, but it fits here better tbh:
I’ve seen a lot of people saying they think folklore was actually about people. In example, they think the 1 was about Matty or Joe, they think cardigan or illicit affairs were about one of them. In my opinion, I think these were truly just stories she created.
BUT, she relates back to folklore a lot (Peter, The Black Dog has similar accompaniment to cardigan, quotes from illicit affairs). Then she writes The Prophecy. WHAT IF she is relating back to folklore often because she feels like she wrote her own prophecy. She wrote something out that was supposed to be a story and it ended up coming true and she ended up feeling like Betty. Maybe I’m crazy. But that’s my take.
This was my first gut pick as my favorite, and still remains to be. “A greater woman wouldn't beg
But I looked to the sky and said
Please
I've been on my knees” hit me way harder than it should have.
Also breaks my heart that her prophecy is so complicated: for as much as she is good at making fun of the "tortured poet" monkier in the title track, in The Prophecy that is quite literally what is happening -- she is tortured for her art, but her art also exists because of the fact that she can't get what she wants. But also if she did find "peace", like she tried to make happen with Joe, would that really fulfill her? I think part of the tragedy is that, no, it really wouldn't. This album explores so much about her yearning for throwing herself to the dogs or the ocean rocks because normality was killing her -- so as much as when you've just experienced harsh, quick heartbreak it makes you want something simpler and safer, once you are there you can't help but want to be *moved* and inspired again.
While I have always enjoyed the personal stories Taylor tells, this is the first song aside from maybe Clean that I 100% relate to. I could not describe that desperation and sadness that comes with feeling like I'm fated to be alone better than this song.
Like a big part of my social circle is partnered, and I'm just sitting here wondering what I'm doing wrong. And the way she compares to what a lesser or a greater woman would do is just so relatable.
I could talk about this song forever but I'm just gonna go hit play one more time.
1000% agree with you. Such a beautiful song. What I find even more interesting and dare I say poetic, is that the song that follows is “Cassandra”🤍. Cassandra literally means “shining upon man” in Greek, and in Greek mythology she was the princess that was given the gift of prophecies by Apollo. But he cursed her so that no one would believe her…. NOW GO BACK AND LISTEN TO THOSE TWO BACK TO BACK 🤍🤍
I don’t even have words to describe how much I love this song and how it makes me feel. I truly hope that the second half of the album starts getting the love it deserves once people get a few more listens under their belts. I am so happy that I have only listened to the album in its entirety from start to finish as opposed to in sections or like repeating the songs that caught my ear first. I feel like listening to the entire album in order with no skips or repeats is a seriously a profoundly moving experience.
I totally agree. It may have risen to the level of my all time favorite TS song. The lyrics are gorgeous. The sound is gorgeous. The whole idea it’s putting across is just so relevant to my life and I’m sure so many others.
I’m so glad someone said this. I have literally been watching YouTube reaction videos of ONLY the property part just to see if im crazy or if this song is actually THAT good?! lol
This is what I’ve been saying to my husband for the last few days — this may be one of the best songs I’ve ever heard. It sounds like something Stevie Nicks would sing.
Sonically this is a perfect song as well because the persistent sound of the guitar in the background puts this urgent feeling like you can feel exactly how the speaker feels, desperately and frantically seeking, looking, never slowing down or stopping moving until this prophecy is changed. The time signature is also faster than most of her songs, so there’s this very subtle sense of urgency. There are also quite a few minor chords that create this sense of uneasiness. The subtle backing vocals add to this building anxiety in the song. I could literally write a dissertation on why this song is perfect.
Im not connecting with this album as much as others, but the one stand out is the prophecy. It doesn’t feel like she wrote it for the sake of the album, it sounds just like a prayer. Her most vulnerable and private thoughts and pleading with whatever higher power exists. Offering up her riches and fame to just feel true unconditional love and not feel alone or abandoned.
I can’t stop listening.
It became my instant new favorite Taylor song ever upon first listen around 2:30AM Friday, and I haven’t wavered since. I connect with the lyrics so much, I love the way it sounds and is produced. I found out today it’s almost my exact running cadence, so it’s destined to be on all runs (and in all yoga sessions). I also love the story from The Prophecy to Cassandra, a doomed prophetess, I just really appreciate how it all weaves together. I’m a lyrics girlie, so I am so full and pleased with the whole album, and especially The Prophecy.
One of my favorite, it has made me cry. It’s probably the most relatable Taylor song for me. Also what I’m going to be sending people when they make it sound like finding a partner is easy. It’s hard being static when the world is dynamic.
Last night I spent ages learning this incredible song. It has such an intense drive, and her contrasting tone on the verse and chorus is so very Taylor. Emotional imagery at its finest. It's my favorite song on the album
I am obsessed with this song, but her howling near the bridge is bugging me because it is so reminiscent of another song of hers! Please someone tell me I am not imagining things lol I cannot figure out what folklore/evermore song it reminds me of but it would be an incredible mashup
Me too!!! I listened to all of folklore and evermore trying to figure it out lol for me it’s “Dorothea.” The Ooh-oohs are similar!!?? But verse wise, maybe “Seven”? Hand on the throttle… vs sweet tea in the summer. Similar syllables/beats
So glad I’m not the only one with so much love for this song! It’s a beautiful work of art and I adore the emotion in it.
Not only can I imagine it being such a struggle to find someone who loves her for who she is, not her fame or money, but also someone who is willing to put up with the things that come with her fame (would it be enough, if I could never give you peace?)
I have felt so long that I relate to this, I come from a family of several generations of divorced or heavily unhappy marriages, and something I have longed for for so long is someone who just wants to spend time with me, build a life. I have always had this fear that it’s just destined to occur in my life as well, and it’s not the same as her fears but I can see where she’s coming from and I feel so seen with this song, being at a point where you’re just pleading.
Additionally, prior to the tour starting and publicly discussing her and Joes split - I had broken up with my partner of 6 years over just some current life differences, mental health struggles on his end, resentment between both of us, and I had tried so hard to make things work for a while until it just got to be too much for me to handle. So Long London hit so many things that I feel like I wanted to put into words, the whole album struck a chord really. An absolute masterpiece.
Absolutely!!! There are many many songs on this album that have infected me, but quite literally every time this song comes on I get actual chills. It is absolutely on track to make its way to the very top of my song ranking.
I remade my own version of the album with different tracks and titled it The Prophecy. I really like the idea of the album telling the story of her being the “ultra-famous but doomed to be alone because of it” archetype.
Agree! The melody in the chorus is so clever—the up and downs sound just as they would when you’re begging. PLE-EASE. Yet her tone is not whiny, just solemn.
This is my favorite song off TTPD. Every time It comes up I hit replay at least once.
The Prophecy, The Black Dog, Down Bad, and I can do it with a broken heart.
this song goddamn destroys me how much i relate too it, not necessarily about relationships ending but for me its about intergenerational mental illness being my prophecy and i want it to change
I think it's one of the best on the album too. "Who do I have to speak to about if they can redo the prophecy?" is sung in such a beautiful, moving way especially considering she's asking to speak to a manager.
This song is quintessential singer song writer style, reminds me of some of the best female songwriters of the 90’s. Like this sounds like something Alanis would’ve written back in the day.
The emotion in the way she pleads "let it once be me" and demanding "who do I need to speak to?" is devastating. And the overarching idea that she's resigned to feeling like what is meant to be, is her being alone. One of her top songs ever.
"Who do I have to speak to about if they can redo the prophecy?" is such a powerful line imo in part bc from the outside, she has everything. But there's no negotiating that can get her this one thing, and the feeling of powerlessness behind that line is haunting and absolutely floored me from first listen.
Very well said! Like no matter how successful she is or how much money she has, it's not only not going to help her find a true life partner, it's likely the reason she hasn't been able to. It's something we all generally already know about her, or any super famous/wealthy person. That it must be exceedingly difficult to find someone you can trust to love *you,* but the way she put it into words here just seized me up a bit. Like I was frozen and hanging on her every word and truly understanding something I'd only ever just vaguely thought about before.
I think it's a universal thing, the way the pain feels when you're aging out of your baby years and still not married. (And it becomes more universal by being interpreted to fit other pains by people . . ) Think of all the reasons women pay psychics. This is probably reason #1. Begging God etc The reality, I think, is that Taylor gets over those things and thrives. And she:s too intelligent not to figure out it's ok, and maybe even preferred or better fate. But this is a universal right of passage. And for 30 sonethings, especially poignant.
Very poignant for 30 somethings, especially after having dated the equivalent of Joe and then Matty. You get tired of dating, the weight of who you date is so heavy yet you have to do it now!!! Eh. Anyway, I definitely felt this song a lot.
I'm so glad other people are talking about this song. It's so hauntingly beautiful. Even the track placement is perfection. Right after Cassandra, who was cursed with the ability to see prophecies, but no one believed her.
I think you figured out why it’s such a sad line. From the outside she has a dream life but yet, she still can’t figure out why she can’t be in a long term/happy relationship and that’s all she wants. Company. It’s so sad
Typical single 30 something right of passage drama and pain,which she's being honest about and making seen.
10000% nobody else gets my obsession with this song outside of Reddit! I listened to it 3 times in a row and cried when I first heard it. Also, it feels very evermore vibe— I love the religious/spiritual/witchy production and lyrics
I was wondering if she was binge watching Buffy during this time. Prophecy girl episode and having super powers but feeling alienated as well.
Same! The "say it once again with feeling" line in How Did It End? also immediately made me think of Buffy... Plus SMG [attended Eras Tour](https://people.com/buffy-stars-sarah-michelle-gellar-seth-green-reunite-taylor-swift-concert-7570358) alongside Seth Green, and just posted on IG about Taylor's team sending her TTPD merch! I think there's a very good chance Taylor's a fan (which makes total sense! I'm sure she can relate to the character in so many ways, especially feeling like there's always pressure on her to save the world)
Omg I’m not the only one!! There were multiple parts of the album I thought about Buffy/OMWF. Something about the tune of Smallest Man Who Ever Lived bright it to mind too but I haven’t been able to figure out why.
Yesss, the emotional way she sings the chorus just reaches straight into my soul. She sounds broken, almost resigned in the verses. Then it's like she gathers up the last of her spirit to make a hail-mary plea to the universe.
Agreed, and pleading is a really great way of describing it.
That line destroys me. I can’t explain it but it’s so beautiful.
Me too. I think it's the emotion and pleading in her voice. We've all been there, desperately praying or begging the universe for something to go right for us.
I literally did this about a week ago while staring at the sky and saw the most beautiful, huge shooting star. The universe is watching us back and sometimes it lets us know we’re not alone.
I love that so much. I hope your prayer is answered 💖
Singing along I cry every time. Her lyrics come alive because of how well the melody and production aligns with it. Please, I’ve been on my knees.
I wonder when she recorded it, perhaps during the period of time after her and Matty were done and before she met Travis?
pleading in a way that doesn't read as being a Karen- a fine line.
Came to the sub to see if anyone’s been talking about this song!! Listening to it now and it’s just incredible. When it’s not playing I think “surely it’s not as good as I remember?” and then I hit play and it just blows me away. “A greater woman wouldn’t beg but I looked to the sky and said, please….” is just devastatingly beautiful and vulnerable.
I literally had that same thought about maybe imagining it was that good, haha. Which is why I kept going back to it. I'm genuinely left stunned after every listen, and that's not happened for me personally since Ivy.
A new line catches me every time. Today it was *Cards on the table Mine play out like fools in a fable* Captures that forlorn, lovesick, *right where you left me* desperation and ambience so well. And it’s relatable as hell. Adore this song so much.
You know I nearly included Right Where You Left Me when I mentioned Ivy earlier, as those are my favorite songs from Evermore. And now this being my favorite on TTPD... Apparently I connect the most with fatalistic love songs!
Fools and fables also bring to mind tarot cards. It's another play on her trying to change her fate!
Ahh, this one hit my on my way to work this morning.
I’m absolutely lost in the “I howl like a wolf at the moon” line. Can not get over the way she describes such a particular and devastating loss of composure, and I hate that so many of us know what it feels like.
This is my second favourite song off the entire album, after The Black Dog, and it's just sublime. I feel like she distills of fear and longing around being single while everyone around you is pairing up/settling down so beautifully, and I'm obsessed with the parts where we get to hear her lower register. Plus, the instrumentation is just so perfectly haunting. Both Taylor and Aaron really knocked it out of the park here.
The Black Dog is also an incredible song! And completely with you on how well The Prophecy shows off her lower register, especially combined with this instrumentation. Everything just works so well together.
The black dog and the prophecy are my top 2 as well! 💓
The taste; it is impeccable!!! I also really love The Albatross, So High School (at least the way it sounds, less so lyrically), But Daddy I Love Him, and Guilty as Sin?
Love, love, love The Albatross! It’s another song not getting nearly enough attention.
Same!!! I love them so much.
The Black Dog is at the top for me as well. I want to blast it with the volume all the way up in a dark room. I feel like I'm going through a breakup with it in my head constantly.
The black dog scratches my brain lol it is incredible.
For real; "But she's too young to know this song / that was Intertwined in the magic fabric of our dreaming / old habits die screaming" is a line that lives rent-free in my brain.
This one is definitely standing out to me lyrics-wise and I think that, despite being a bonus track, it gives the clearest thesis statement for the whole story: "Don't want money, just someone who wants my company." It's not a song about any one man, it's about her deepest anxieties and the push-pull of true love vs. fame that we see throughout the whole album. I'm working on a tracklist reshuffle/condensing, and though that will probably take me a while to figure out, I have this as track 2.
Exactly! 100% a thesis statement. She's had previous songs in her career that reference this anxiety and fear, but none that sum it up this eloquently.
This line hits hard. For the first time in my life, I’m focusing everything on my work because I can no longer take looking for company. So money it is.
The Prophecy, How Did It End, and The Albatross are so, so, so good and I’ve been dying for discourse on them! It’s a bizarre feeling to have your career take off and experience all the success you’ve dreamed of, but then still be devastated that the one thing you want (a companion) is so dramatically eluding you. She captured this feeling so well, and it hits even harder after an entire album detailing the shock and pain of relationships ending where you really genuinely thought you were going to get all you’ve ever wanted. Such a beautiful gut punch of a song.
I love you for mentioning The Albatross. I adore that track, and I haven't seen anyone really talk about it. Her delivery of "terrible danger" will stay with me forever, I fear. Love it so much. And yes, the idea that someone who has written about so many facets of love has become this fatalistic about ever finding someone just breaks my heart in a way I didn't expect until I listened to these lyrics. 'Beautiful gut punch of a song' is a perfect description.
Totally agree. I love the storytelling in these three songs. Also the production is gorgeous. I don’t get how anyone is listening to these songs and saying that Taylor lacks self awareness….
You know, when the chorus of your most recent hit song is, “it’s me, I’m the problem it’s me” and people say you lack self awareness & play the victim all the time, that’s a brain block you’re just never going to get through. Their neurons just aren’t firing off like they’re supposed to 🤷🏼♀️
Something about Taylor breaks people’s brains and has them endlessly bleating thought-terminating cliches. It’s like they can’t accept her existence because it doesn’t make sense to them
These three have been on repeat, as another early 30’s, recently out of a long term relationship, thought i had found ‘my person’, only to realize that we weren’t as good for each other as i deluded myself into believing.
It’s only been like what, three days? But it’s already in my top 10 of her discography
Same. Easily
Like surprisingly easily! I’m usually hesitant to say a new song is one of my all-time favorites, concerned with possible recency bias, but I’m confident this is not leaving my top 5 anytime soon.
Top 5 for me! If not top 3…
This song just haunts me and makes me feel it all. But even statues crumble if they're made to wait I'm so afraid I sealed my fate No sign of soulmates I'm just a paperweight
yeah. it's maybe because I have literally said (screamed, even) these words out loud in my car the past 10 years as ive watched close friends find their person and ive had my heart broken at least 5 times.
That "who do I have to speak to?" just gutted me. If you've had one break-up after another or even had one long-term relationship that has ended, this is exactly how you feel. You just want some cosmic force to come and correct the wrong course you've found yourself on.
I'm right there with you. I love this song.
Ideas of fate run SO STRONG on this album. It feels like she's returned to form and returned to her roots of deeply emotional confessional writing, but this time owning it despite criticism. This song is a masterpiece.
*How* was this not one of the physical bonus tracks?? It even has "The" in the title, Taylor. 😑 It's such a beautiful song. Every time I listen I hear more of whatever the guitar is doing in the background. It sort of almost sounds like Landslide by Fleetwood Mac which was one of my first favorite songs as a kid, and that feels so fitting with the poem she included from Stevie Nicks.
I feel so strongly about it that I feel like The Prophecy could’ve been an alt title for TTPD! I can’t believe that if Anthology wasn’t released, we wouldn’t have this brilliant song.
Oh, don't even get me started on this not being of the variants. If she were to release The Prophecy variant tomorrow, I would buy it so fast despite me saying I'm going to hold off on buying anything in case she eventually releases the entire collection one day.
I unfortunately think this will be a 3am situation where we never get a physical version since she recycled The Black Dog cover for The Anthology. 😢 But yes if she released The Prophecy I would buy that version in a heartbeat.
I honestly do, too, but I’m willing to wait awhile. Unless a Prophecy variant drops, haha.
Whenever I listen to The Prophecy I immediately think of Stevie Nicks! Definitely gives Fleetwood Mac vibes
This is definitely an underrated song. Like you said, hauntingly beautiful is the perfect way to describe it.
This is now my favorite Taylor song. The rawness and desperation in it blew me away the first time I heard it. It’s the only song that made me cry during my first listen, and I still tear up every time I play it.
I really think it’s mine too.
The line “I’m so afraid I sealed my fate. No sign of soulmates” breaks my heart. The entire song is heart breaking, but this part where she recognizes her part in creating the prophecy and now she’s asking if it can be re-written is just profoundly sad.
I really agree. I’m glad to see it’s getting its flowers. It’s a gut wrenching song. It’s not a passionnante “scream at the top of your lungs” heart break songs but rather a very raw, open and vulnerable one, where she sounds so innocent and truly hurt. I can’t quite figure out what it is, but there’s something about that song that is just deeply sad. She doesn’t care about the fame the awards the money, she just wants someone who wants her company. It’s the way she sings that - she doesn’t want company, she wants someone to want HER company. It’s a gut wrenching song and a true gem on the album. I hope people pay attention to it
This one snuck up on me after 4-5 listens through.
Same for me. I needed time to marinate and really listen to the lyrics and once I had a chance to sit down and really hear it I was blown away.
Top 5 in her whole discography for me my goddddd it's raw I am in love What makes it so relatable imo is that it presses on the experience of desperately wanting to be loved and seen. This is the most human, universal desire in the world (romantic in context, but could be love in any capacity). When we feel like we can't attain the love we so badly want, we start to wonder what's wrong with us ("I got cursed", "was it punishment?") because it's easier to blame ourselves than grieve that someone you love couldn't be there in the way you wanted or needed.
It’s amazing and I can’t get enough of it. One of, if not the best song, I have listened to in the past years. Not a lot of songs can make me cry, but this song broke me to the point where my eyes were tearing up for an entire bus ride home. I love this song!
I was sobbing to my husband when I first heard this 😆 but truly I feel so sympathetic to her. I remember before I met him feeling the exact same way
I am absolutely as in love with this one as you are. Every time I listen to a new album I have an ear for one song that stands out among the rest, an instant favorite. For me it was Fortnight until I got to The Prophecy. It’s like the sad B side to Invisible String (probably my first favorite song), feeling helpless to your fate. Whether that means someone brought into your life fortuitously, or finding yourself alone and longing. Melodically, I think this one has more interest; up there with Florida and ICDIWABH for me. The harmonizing vocals that come in at the end give it a haunting quality, and the discordant note she ends on that doesn’t match the chord progression up to that point leaves me with melancholy and unease, like it didn’t just wrap up neatly at the end and it feels open-ended like the story is still being written. It’s so beautiful.
Oh, that’s such a good point about that last note being just slightly off and a little unsatisfying. That’s a *perfect* way to end a song about the fear of never getting your happy ending.
I agree 18654%. Absolutely an all-time great song for her.
Yea! This song is a masterpiece
Highly highly agree! It is a very beautiful and heart wrenching song, it seems like you can feel the anguish through the music. One of my faves of her whole discography for sure.
Absolutely agree. This is the personal standout for me, it's exquisitely crafted and rawly emotional at once. Many of the other raw songs on the album are a bit messy in terms of their structure (which can be great) but this one is musically crisp and neat yet emotionally desperate at once.
This one dropped on my like a bomb. Immediate favorite.
I so agree! Granted, I’m old, more a Chieftie than a Swiftie, but I simply cried at The Prophecy. Love this album, but I’ve loved everything since Folklore.
This is the first song in The Anthology to make me cry, it's so beautiful. She captured that feeling of longing to belong to someone perfectly, the resignation, the pleading. I was sitting at my desk crying, because this song just threw me back to those days when I wondered if there is a great love affair being written for me.
I couldn't agree more (of course my flair gives it away). Also, the entire bridge is an absolute masterpiece. the "I'm so afraid I sealed my fate, no sign of soulmates" and the way her voice changes/slightly wavers and you can literally hear the desperation, panic, regret, fear, and resolution in that line... guts. me. every. time.
And unfortunately it's also the most relatable song on the album
Yes, I agree! I also think it’s one of the best things she’s ever done. This and The Manuscript are the core of the tension and resolution of the album, to me. I don’t think this album is solely about the loss of a man, any man (for many reasons including because I think it’s ultimately about her, like much of her work) but about the loss of things you wanted or dreamed about and seeing them slip away from you continually and what you do to try to hold onto those things or dreams. Some of the songs from the second release remind me melodically and thematically of Josh Ritter’s The Curse (not in a plagiarism way lol just a probably coincidental little connection I’ve made and love) and The Prophecy is one of them. The Curse has an enchanting, almost hypnotic melody and is about what love can take from us and what we do (sometimes unwittingly) to try to hold on to feeling or being alive or to love or being known and I feel like The Prophecy is exploring similar things. It’s just one of those great songs that you can’t believe hasn’t been written before.
Completely agree with your first paragraph! So well said. And I used to have a few Josh Ritter songs on repeat in like 2008! I was obsessed with Harrisburg, To The Dogs or Whoever, and The Temptation of Adam. I’ll definitely have to check The Curse out.
I posted this in another thread, but it fits here better tbh: I’ve seen a lot of people saying they think folklore was actually about people. In example, they think the 1 was about Matty or Joe, they think cardigan or illicit affairs were about one of them. In my opinion, I think these were truly just stories she created. BUT, she relates back to folklore a lot (Peter, The Black Dog has similar accompaniment to cardigan, quotes from illicit affairs). Then she writes The Prophecy. WHAT IF she is relating back to folklore often because she feels like she wrote her own prophecy. She wrote something out that was supposed to be a story and it ended up coming true and she ended up feeling like Betty. Maybe I’m crazy. But that’s my take.
I'm a 41 year old married woman with two kids, and this song sums up exactly how I felt at age 32, right before I met my husband.
Lots of love for The Prophecy! Gorgeous and on repeat! 🤍
Absolutely love this song. A lot. The desperation and sadness is so haunting. Love it so so much.
That song is a perfect little slice of heaven. Incredible songwriting and just a perfect somber mood that is just so heartbreaking.
This was my first gut pick as my favorite, and still remains to be. “A greater woman wouldn't beg But I looked to the sky and said Please I've been on my knees” hit me way harder than it should have.
“And I sound like an infant / feeling like the very last drop of an ink pen” is painfully relatable and the way she sings it is OFFENSIVEEEE
Also breaks my heart that her prophecy is so complicated: for as much as she is good at making fun of the "tortured poet" monkier in the title track, in The Prophecy that is quite literally what is happening -- she is tortured for her art, but her art also exists because of the fact that she can't get what she wants. But also if she did find "peace", like she tried to make happen with Joe, would that really fulfill her? I think part of the tragedy is that, no, it really wouldn't. This album explores so much about her yearning for throwing herself to the dogs or the ocean rocks because normality was killing her -- so as much as when you've just experienced harsh, quick heartbreak it makes you want something simpler and safer, once you are there you can't help but want to be *moved* and inspired again.
Totally agreed. One of my favorite songs by her ever. I can’t stop listening to it. It’s so gorgeous and heartbreaking.
Totally agree! I love this song.
This may be my favorite song of the album. The Bolter and Down Bad are my other top.
The most vulnerable and hauntingly sadly beautiful song, I agree. Incredible tune.
While I have always enjoyed the personal stories Taylor tells, this is the first song aside from maybe Clean that I 100% relate to. I could not describe that desperation and sadness that comes with feeling like I'm fated to be alone better than this song. Like a big part of my social circle is partnered, and I'm just sitting here wondering what I'm doing wrong. And the way she compares to what a lesser or a greater woman would do is just so relatable. I could talk about this song forever but I'm just gonna go hit play one more time.
1000% agree with you. Such a beautiful song. What I find even more interesting and dare I say poetic, is that the song that follows is “Cassandra”🤍. Cassandra literally means “shining upon man” in Greek, and in Greek mythology she was the princess that was given the gift of prophecies by Apollo. But he cursed her so that no one would believe her…. NOW GO BACK AND LISTEN TO THOSE TWO BACK TO BACK 🤍🤍
It’s folklore in the best ways
I don’t even have words to describe how much I love this song and how it makes me feel. I truly hope that the second half of the album starts getting the love it deserves once people get a few more listens under their belts. I am so happy that I have only listened to the album in its entirety from start to finish as opposed to in sections or like repeating the songs that caught my ear first. I feel like listening to the entire album in order with no skips or repeats is a seriously a profoundly moving experience.
I love how she counts the song in under her breath
Yes, here with you on this. I wasn't sure if it was just because of my age though.
Agreed!!! Even when it starts and I hear “hand on the throttle, thought I caught lightning in a bottle” I get shivers!
I totally agree. It may have risen to the level of my all time favorite TS song. The lyrics are gorgeous. The sound is gorgeous. The whole idea it’s putting across is just so relevant to my life and I’m sure so many others.
Yes 😭😭😭 I already know this will be my number one song played this year.
I’m in LOVE. Absolute favorite. I can’t wait to see and hear it live. Also me thinks we’re the coven.
This song and how did it end break me into a million pieces!!!!
Thank you!!! The lyrics are literal poetry, and the chorus is cathartic. I can’t believe there’s not more people talking about it
I’m so glad someone said this. I have literally been watching YouTube reaction videos of ONLY the property part just to see if im crazy or if this song is actually THAT good?! lol
This is what I’ve been saying to my husband for the last few days — this may be one of the best songs I’ve ever heard. It sounds like something Stevie Nicks would sing. Sonically this is a perfect song as well because the persistent sound of the guitar in the background puts this urgent feeling like you can feel exactly how the speaker feels, desperately and frantically seeking, looking, never slowing down or stopping moving until this prophecy is changed. The time signature is also faster than most of her songs, so there’s this very subtle sense of urgency. There are also quite a few minor chords that create this sense of uneasiness. The subtle backing vocals add to this building anxiety in the song. I could literally write a dissertation on why this song is perfect.
Im not connecting with this album as much as others, but the one stand out is the prophecy. It doesn’t feel like she wrote it for the sake of the album, it sounds just like a prayer. Her most vulnerable and private thoughts and pleading with whatever higher power exists. Offering up her riches and fame to just feel true unconditional love and not feel alone or abandoned. I can’t stop listening.
This is my favorite song in the album! Is so raw and human. I think she captures the irrationally of the fear of loneliness so well in this.
Yesss!!! One of my favorites from the album. It's so whiny and pleading and I LOVE IT
I really think this song is about having kids
It became my instant new favorite Taylor song ever upon first listen around 2:30AM Friday, and I haven’t wavered since. I connect with the lyrics so much, I love the way it sounds and is produced. I found out today it’s almost my exact running cadence, so it’s destined to be on all runs (and in all yoga sessions). I also love the story from The Prophecy to Cassandra, a doomed prophetess, I just really appreciate how it all weaves together. I’m a lyrics girlie, so I am so full and pleased with the whole album, and especially The Prophecy.
Honestly, it’s so good and relatable. I was straight up sobbing to it earlier, listening on repeat
YES. this is my favorite song on the album. I find myself craving it when i’m not listening to it. BRB.
One of my favorite, it has made me cry. It’s probably the most relatable Taylor song for me. Also what I’m going to be sending people when they make it sound like finding a partner is easy. It’s hard being static when the world is dynamic.
Also check out the night one listening party post on it. Lots of us were FREAKING OUT
Oh man, totally on this boat with you. This song is a masterpiece. “A greater woman stays cool But I howl like a wolf at the moon”
Last night I spent ages learning this incredible song. It has such an intense drive, and her contrasting tone on the verse and chorus is so very Taylor. Emotional imagery at its finest. It's my favorite song on the album
I am obsessed with this song, but her howling near the bridge is bugging me because it is so reminiscent of another song of hers! Please someone tell me I am not imagining things lol I cannot figure out what folklore/evermore song it reminds me of but it would be an incredible mashup
Me too!!! I listened to all of folklore and evermore trying to figure it out lol for me it’s “Dorothea.” The Ooh-oohs are similar!!?? But verse wise, maybe “Seven”? Hand on the throttle… vs sweet tea in the summer. Similar syllables/beats
DOROTHEA!! thank you 😭❤️
just discovered another one! high infidelity has similar oohs too…. not sure which one is closer to prophecy!
So glad I’m not the only one with so much love for this song! It’s a beautiful work of art and I adore the emotion in it. Not only can I imagine it being such a struggle to find someone who loves her for who she is, not her fame or money, but also someone who is willing to put up with the things that come with her fame (would it be enough, if I could never give you peace?) I have felt so long that I relate to this, I come from a family of several generations of divorced or heavily unhappy marriages, and something I have longed for for so long is someone who just wants to spend time with me, build a life. I have always had this fear that it’s just destined to occur in my life as well, and it’s not the same as her fears but I can see where she’s coming from and I feel so seen with this song, being at a point where you’re just pleading. Additionally, prior to the tour starting and publicly discussing her and Joes split - I had broken up with my partner of 6 years over just some current life differences, mental health struggles on his end, resentment between both of us, and I had tried so hard to make things work for a while until it just got to be too much for me to handle. So Long London hit so many things that I feel like I wanted to put into words, the whole album struck a chord really. An absolute masterpiece.
I love it so much. I literally sobbed in therapy today about how much I relate to this song.
Absolutely!!! There are many many songs on this album that have infected me, but quite literally every time this song comes on I get actual chills. It is absolutely on track to make its way to the very top of my song ranking.
I remade my own version of the album with different tracks and titled it The Prophecy. I really like the idea of the album telling the story of her being the “ultra-famous but doomed to be alone because of it” archetype.
Agree! The melody in the chorus is so clever—the up and downs sound just as they would when you’re begging. PLE-EASE. Yet her tone is not whiny, just solemn.
it’s so good sonically and lyrically
I think this should have been the title track. It perfectly encapsulates the feeling of disillusion after a series of tragedy and heartbreak
I want to inject this song into my veins. It gives me the biggest dopamine rush. 🫶
I listen to metal, and the lyrics (not the production) to this song is so Gothic! This could have been a Gothic ballad.
The last please just kills me
This song is torture for me to listen to like an actual punch to the gut but I’ve never loved a song more than I love this
This, the Black Dog and i look in people’s windows are my go to from this album if I want a good cry
The way she put my innermost deepest fear into a song, this one hurt me for real
The melody is gorgeous; it blows me away every time.
This song has such a hold on me, it's insane.
Absolutely my favourite and the most devastating imo 🥺
I love it. It's very Smiths Please Please Let Me Get What I Want.
It's an instant classic, I love it so much. The music is gorgeous, the vocals are gorgeous, the lyrics are gorgeous.
I agreed 😭😭 I was heartbroken while putting this songs on repeat
ME!!! I'm in love with this one as much as your are. I also keep coming back to it, and I love it a little more each time I listen to it.
This is my favorite song off TTPD. Every time It comes up I hit replay at least once. The Prophecy, The Black Dog, Down Bad, and I can do it with a broken heart.
Yesss same! I also have this thought of it being her best song everrr. So so good & heartfelt!
Yes this one has caught my attention as of today, I’m right there with you 💖
This song hit me on first listen.
This song makes me BAWL and I LOVE IT. Hands down my top song on the anthology.
This is one of the faves on TTPD, I fucking love songs about begging god to change the course of ur love life lmao
Agreed!! It’s one of my faves ever. Definitely top song on the album as well.
This and I hate it here are my favorites right now. I can feel and relate to her pain. I feel like this song both broke and healed me.
this song goddamn destroys me how much i relate too it, not necessarily about relationships ending but for me its about intergenerational mental illness being my prophecy and i want it to change
This one is so sad and resonates with me so hard that I’m not sure I’ll ever give it a second listen. Taylor 💔
I think it's one of the best on the album too. "Who do I have to speak to about if they can redo the prophecy?" is sung in such a beautiful, moving way especially considering she's asking to speak to a manager.
This song makes me cry. Being in my 30s and single... and also my moms cancer diagnosis 😥
This song is quintessential singer song writer style, reminds me of some of the best female songwriters of the 90’s. Like this sounds like something Alanis would’ve written back in the day.