One thing about my music taste is I’m always going to enjoy the acoustic introspective melancholy track on an otherwise upbeat and fun album. Taylor Swift released her seventh studio album, Lover, in 2019 and it was instantly a classic pop album. Songs from the album like “Cruel Summer” and “You Need To Calm Down” have well over a million streams across platforms and are celebrated by pop music fans globally. Although I love the fun, upbeat pop songs that Taylor Swift is known for, my favorite song on this album (which is also my all-time favorite song of hers) is “The Archer”, a vulnerable song about simultaneously hating and loving oneself. Don’t stop reading just because it’s a Taylor Swift song and you aren’t usually a fan of hers — just hear me out! ‘The Archer’ has lyrics that are painfully relatable, and the production of the song further emphasizes the emotions described in the lyrics. Let’s get into my breakdown of the song’s meaning.
“Combat, I’m ready for combat,
I say I don’t want that, but what if I do?
‘Cause cruelty wins in the movies,
I’ve got a hundred thrown out speeches I almost said to you,”
The speaker begins by proclaiming that they are “ready for combat,” or prepared for a battle. They explain that a battle isn’t what they want, but then wonders if that is even true. Most people speak negatively about the drama and fights that come with being in a romantic relationship, and although the speaker says they feel the same way, they don’t know if they really mean it. Pondering this idea makes them think of how in movies, relationships are often portrayed very dramatically. The cinematic fights lead to a better and more interesting story, and the speaker wonders if that’s what they might actually want. They even reveal in the next line that they have written out a hundred speeches to dramatically deliver to their partner, and that they almost say them. There’s a part of the speaker that is preparing for the type of drama they see in relationships in the movies, and in their preparation for “combat”, they wonder if that actually is what they want deep down.
“Easy they come, easy they go,
I jump from the train, I ride off alone,
I never grew up, it’s getting so old,
Help me hold on to you,”
The first line is a play on the expression “easy come, easy go,” which means something that is easily gotten is easily lost. The speaker describes their past relationships very nonchalantly, as if they weren’t phased when they lost them because they were so easy to get in the first place. They further explain that it’s not just that the relationships ended, but that they were the one who initiated those endings, or “jump[ed] from the train.” This pattern of getting into relationships and then leaving for whatever reason makes the speaker feel negatively about themselves; they feel like they need to grow up but don't know how. I love the irony of the third line, when they describe the feeling of not being able to grow up as “getting old.” This can be taken as the speaker growing frustrated with the patterns of their actions, or that they have felt this feeling for so long that the feeling itself has been able to “grow up”, but they still haven’t. In the last line, the speaker plainly and vulnerably asks the subject of the song to help them break this pattern of leaving that they have recognized in themselves.
“I’ve been the archer,
I’ve been the prey,
Who could ever leave me, darling?
But who could stay?”
In the relationship between archer and prey, the archer has the power. The archer has a weapon that they can use against their prey in order to kill it, and they are the one “calling the shots” (literally.) The prey is in the vulnerable position because it has no way to defend itself, and its fate lies solely in the hands of the archer. In the relationship the speaker is describing, the archer is the one who has the ability to control or to end things, while the prey has none. An archer is also often hidden, sending their arrow flying at the prey from a distance while the prey has no idea. By comparing themselves to both of these positions in a relationship, the speaker is explaining that their issues in trusting themselves and others come from their experience both being betrayed and being the betrayer. The speaker has been like the archer — planning their attack in secret — but they have also been the prey — shot in the back with no warning. The contrast between the archer and the prey is continued further in the next line as the speaker reflects upon a question of their worth. When they feel confident, they wonder who would ever want to leave them in a relationship. They think back to the times they were “the archer” and the people they left, but they understand that they had to leave those people because, in a way, they feel too good for them. They were never going to leave them – I mean, it’s them. The second part of this question comes back to remind the speaker though that even though they have been the archer, they have also been the prey. They have been the one who was betrayed, who was left, and they wonder if they can even blame the people who did it. This feeling of simultaneous flawlessness and flawedness contradict each other, but it doesn’t make either of them less true in the speaker's mind.
“Dark side, I search for your dark side,
But what if I’m alright, right, right, right here?
And I cut off my nose just to spite my face,
And I hate my reflection for years and years,”
The speaker can feel themselves looking for a reason to leave their relationship as they search for their partner’s “dark side.” They are so used to the pattern of quickly getting into a relationship and then leaving the second things get tricky that they find themselves trying to sabotage the good thing they have. They notice themselves doing this, and wonder if maybe this time it’s okay to get comfortable in their relationship. Even after they have this moment of hesitation, though, they attempt to sabotage themselves again by “cut[ting] of [their] nose just to spite [their] face,” which is an expression used to describe when someone reacts self-destructively and dramatically without a good reason for doing so. After they attempt to undermine their own happiness, they hate themselves for doing it. The speaker wants to let themselves be happy in their relationship, but they have trouble trusting that happiness.
“I wake in the night, I pace like a ghost,
The room is on fire, invisible smoke,
And all of my heroes died all alone,
Help me hold on to you.”
In this verse, the speaker illustrates the danger that they feel in their relationship. They are waking up in the middle of the night terrified, pacing back and forth in their room. By comparing themselves to a ghost, they illustrate that they are not only haunted by their emotions and past, but that they are also the one haunting themselves. The speaker says that “the room is on fire,” but that the smoke is invisible, meaning only they can see it. If anyone else was looking at their relationship or their situation, they wouldn’t see any of the problems that they are facing internally. When they think of their "heroes," or role models, they notice that those people "died all alone." This line could be referring to the way our society glamorizes fame, failing to recognize how isolating it can be. If their “heroes” that they have always longed to be never found true love, they wonder if that means they are destined to live that same reality. The speaker wants to stay in this relationship because they don't suffer the lonely fate that their heroes did, but they don't trust the happiness and the comfort of being with their partner because it makes them feel vulnerable. If they fully commit to the relationship, then their partner has the opportunity to leave and break their heart. They end the verse by asking for their partner's help, worried that they’re losing a battle with themselves to decide if they should follow their heart or keep it guarded.
“I’ve been the archer,
I’ve been the prey,
Screaming, who could ever leave me, darling?
But who could stay?”
The addition of the word “screaming” to this chorus makes a significant difference because it changes the lyrics from lonely, inner thoughts to a loud voice that the speaker can’t drown out. I imagine the speaker feels like they are screaming these thoughts into the void, shouting them out for no one to hear. This further emphasizes the themes of loneliness and isolation that are present throughout this song because it shows how loud their thoughts are but how they have no one to ask this question to but themselves. This isn’t just a passing thought that occurs to the speaker when they’re in an especially dark place, but instead it is a loud truth that their inner monologue consistently reminds them of. It is a constant back and forth of “I’m too good to be with any of these people,” and, “They would never love me if they truly knew me.”
“Cause they see right through me,
They see right through me,
They see right through me,
Can you see right through me?
They see right through me,
They see right through me,
I see right through me,
I see right through me,”
The repetition of these lyrics highlights how the speaker feels paralyzed by their fear of being known. The speaker keeps their guard up because they believe that to know them more is to love them less, and they are terrified that those around them can tell they are putting on an act. The people the speaker is referring to when they say “they see right through me” in this verse could be many different groups such as society, fans (if you interpret the speaker as being Taylor Swift herself), or just the people around them. The speaker wonders if their partner can “see through” the front they put up, and if their partner wants to be with them for who they really are or for who they pretend to be. Even though they have moments when they feel confident, they immediately discount their happiness from those moments because they believe themselves to be pretending to be someone else, someone who is more deserving of love and happiness. They feel like they are kidding themselves when they ask themselves “who could ever leave me,” because that thought is always followed up with, “who could stay?”
“All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn’t put me together again
Cause all of my enemies started out friends,
Help me hold on to you,”
In the nursery rhyme ‘Humpty Dumpty Sat On A Wall’, Humpty Dumpty falls off of a wall and it is said that “All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn’t put Humpty together again.” The speaker adapts this classic tale to represent how they believe their issues are unfixable. They believe that they are broken beyond repair, and that there is no cure for their insecurities and anxieties. When they are already in this self-loathing state, they think of all of the platonic relationships that have failed in their life along with the romantic ones. All of the people who they hate or who hate them were at one point close to them. The speaker uses this to further rationalize their belief that people in their life will leave them once those people truly know them, and they once again ask for their partner to help them stay in this relationship. The speaker almost can’t help but to self sabotage because the darkest parts of their mind convince them that they already know how it will end.
“I’ve been the archer,
I’ve been the prey,
Who could ever leave me darling,
But who could stay?
And who could stay?
Who could stay?
Who could stay?
Who could stay?
You could stay,
Combat, I’m ready for combat.”
For the first time, the speaker allows themselves to embrace the idea that this relationship could be different than the failed ones of their past. The speaker counters the anxieties that make them wonder why they should believe their current partner is any different from the people they’ve been with before by suggesting that maybe this time, it really could be different. Even though they have started to allow themselves to accept the possibility that this could be the start of something different and better, the speaker is still preparing themselves for a battle. Whether the battle will be with their partner or with themselves, and whether or not the battle will be self-created, they are prepared for a fight and aren't ready to let their guard down just yet.
“The Archer” is a raw, emotional song that I have loved since the first time I heard it. What I love most about the lyrics of this song is the way the contrasting emotions about oneself are explained. The idea that one can simultaneously think of themselves as “too good” for the person they’re with while also being terrified that the same person would leave them, and if that person did, could you even blame them? I resonate with feeling strong emotions that fall on opposite ends of the spectrum from each other all at the same time, and sometimes it’s hard to tell what I really believe to be true about myself. The positive and negative emotions both have their moments, and this song illustrates the internal battle between those emotions that I personally have felt in a really beautiful way. Whether you’re already a fan of Taylor Swift’s music or you don’t typically listen to her, I hope you have enjoyed and appreciated the story this song tells.
you hit the bullseye on this one! a lengthy explanation for a great song š
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