What does "Look What You Made Me Do" by Taylor Swift mean?
"Look What You Made Me Do" Lyrics Meaning
"Look What You Made Me Do" has to be the most contentious song of my Taylor Swift-listening lifetime. I thought "Bad Blood" was a departure for her, but "Look What You Made Me Do" seems to have even less to do with the sweet, pure, country singer in songs like "Mean" or "Our Song." Of course, Taylor Swift as an artist certainly is allowed to change and develop, but I don't think anyone six years ago or even three would have expected this. Of course, that's not me saying that "Look What You Made Me Do" is a bad song--that's for you to decide--but both music and lyrics are clear departures for her.
"But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time"
Not only has Taylor Swift's music changed, but her public persona has changed as well. Her earlier music paints her as a southern, darling, sweetheart type, but with the advent of hugely (and often unfairly) negative coverage of her in tabloids and news stories, she's gone on the defensive and then on the offensive. "Look What You Made Me Do" is her explaining some of the changes she's gone through.
Wanna go deeper with this song? Check out my podcast!
Verse 1
I don't like your little games
Don't like your tilted stage
The role you made me play
Of the fool, no, I don't like you
I don't like your perfect crime
How you laugh when you lie
You said the gun was mine
Isn't cool, no, I don't like you (oh)
The first verse of "Look What You Made Me Do" has Taylor Swift complaining about the "games" that her enemies play with her and the "tilted stage" they provide for her--an unfair disadvantage. Some claim this is a direct reference to an actual tilted stage that Kanye West performed on, but Taylor Swift usually deals in generalities, so it seems unlikely though not impossible that she would refer to some obscure set piece.
When she sings about "the role you made me play / Of the fool; no, I don't like you," she's describing the narratives others have created for her in the media and how they interpret her actions based on their own assumptions. She calls this attack a "perfect crime" and accuses them of "laugh[ing] when [you] lie." Despite their attempt to blame problems on her, she fights back and makes it clear that their actions aren't "cool."
Pre-Chorus
But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time
Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time
I've got a list of names and yours is in red, underlined
I check it once, then I check it twice, oh!
In the pre-chorus of "Look What You Made Me Do," Taylor Swift begins transitioning into the main idea of her song: her unfortunate need to change and develop to stay strong. She explains that she "got smarter" and "harder." Even when it looked like her enemies would be victorious over her, she "rose up from the dead" and in fact does "it all the time" because she has to.
In her attempts to survive and thrive, she's created "a list of names" and claims that the name of the person she's singing the song to (likely a generic enemy) is in "red, underlined." Like a revenge-minded Santa Claus, she "check[s] it once, then I check it twice, oh!" (Pardon the joke--I couldn't resist.) She's coming for them and plans to destroy them.
Chorus
Ooh, look what you made me do
Look what you made me do
Look what you just made me do
Look what you just made me—
Ooh, look what you made me do
Look what you made me do
Look what you just made me do
Look what you just made me do
The chorus is one simple concept: "Look what you made me do." We're not quite sure what this action is, but we assume it's her becoming "stronger" and "harder" like she mentions in the first verse. Because of what she's had to endure, she's changed and become more survival and revenge focused. She's had to do so to be able to survive in the hostile environment her enemies have created for her. (Of course, she's still able to relax at times like she sings about in "Call It What You Want."
Verse 2
I don't like your kingdom keys
They once belonged to me
You asked me for a place to sleep
Locked me out and threw a feast (what?)
The world moves on, another day, another drama, drama
But not for me, not for me, all I think about is karma
And then the world moves on, but one thing's for sure
Maybe I got mine, but you'll all get yours
In the lyrics of the second verse, Taylor Swift complains that her enemies now seem to control the "kingdom" (which could be a reference to them being more famous than her or people agreeing with them about Taylor Swift), and she recalls how she used to be undeniably in control. She feels like she was taken advantage of when they asked "for a place to sleep" and then "locked me out and threw a feast."
Of course, despite her feelings or what others are doing, "The world moves on." There's "drama" everyday, and the drama shows no signs of stopping. But Taylor Swift doesn't let it bother her; she's meditating on "karma" and what it's going to mean for her enemies, and even if the rest of the world is no longer worried about her or how hurt she was, she's confident that her enemies will "all get [theirs]." They will get what they deserve especially if she has something to say about it.
Bridge
I don't trust nobody and nobody trusts me
I'll be the actress starring in your bad dreams
I don't trust nobody and nobody trusts me
I'll be the actress starring in your bad dreams
I don't trust nobody and nobody trusts me
I'll be the actress starring in your bad dreams
I don't trust nobody and nobody trusts me
I'll be the actress starring in your bad dreams
(Ooh, look what you made me do
Look what you made me do
Look what you just made me do
Look what you just made me—
Ooh, look what you made me do
Look what you made me do
Look what you just made me—)
"I'm sorry, the old Taylor can't come to the phone right now
"Why? Oh, 'cause she's dead!" (Oh)
The bridge's lyrics show Taylor getting darker and more serious than we thought possible even in this song: "I don't trust nobody and nobody trusts me." She goes on to say that she'll be "starring in your bad dreams." Her enemies will fear her and be so stressed out and frightened by her that they have stress dreams about what she might do to them. And why is she doing all of this? It's because of what they did to her first: "Look what you made me do."
The single most significant lines of "Look What You Made Me Do" have Taylor Swift talking to someone on the phone. That someone presumably asks for the "old Taylor"--the sweet, pure, country singer, and "new Taylor" claims that "old Taylor" is dead. She's moved past her naive innocence, and she's claiming to be ready to hurt those who have hurt her.
Deeper Meaning of "Look What You Made Me Do": Is this for real?
I hesitate to give my opinion too often, but in this section of each blog post, I sometimes let myself slide, so here goes: Taylor Swift isn't going to hurt anyone and probably can't. This song seems to be more wishful thinking on her part as she mentally plays out a string of events she maybe thinks she'd like to see happen.
Of course, I could be wrong. She could truly be a hardened, soul-darkened revenge-plotting mastermind, but I think this song's tone reminds me more of "Blank Space." "Blank Space" was beautifully done satire that imagined what she'd be like if everything tabloids and haters said about her were true. "Look What You Made Me Do" seems to play more with the idea of who she'd become if she really let haters get to her. She certainly may have had to become tougher to deal with the hate, but I don't think the "old Taylor" is really dead or really that far off.
