Out of the Woods (Taylor Swift) : The Analysis of a Song
Taylor
Swift is an award-winning contemporary recording artist. Listen to her song Out of the Woods.
The lyrics
to the song are given below.
Looking at it now, it all seems so simple
We were lying on your couch, I remember
You took a Polaroid of us
Then discovered (then discovered)
The rest of the world was black and white
But we were in screaming color
And I remember thinking
We were lying on your couch, I remember
You took a Polaroid of us
Then discovered (then discovered)
The rest of the world was black and white
But we were in screaming color
And I remember thinking
Are we out of the woods yet?[x3]
Are we out of the woods?
Are we in the clear yet?[x3]
In the clear yet, good
[x2]
Are we out of the woods?
Are we in the clear yet?[x3]
In the clear yet, good
[x2]
Are we out of the woods?
Looking at it now, last December
We were built to fall apart, then fall back together
Your necklace hanging from my neck,
The night we couldn't quite forget
When we decided (We decided)
To move the furniture so we could dance
Baby, like we stood a chance
Two paper airplanes flying, flying, flying
And I remember thinking
We were built to fall apart, then fall back together
Your necklace hanging from my neck,
The night we couldn't quite forget
When we decided (We decided)
To move the furniture so we could dance
Baby, like we stood a chance
Two paper airplanes flying, flying, flying
And I remember thinking
Are we out of the woods yet?[x3]
Are we out of the woods?
Are we in the clear yet?[x3]
In the clear yet, good
[x2]
Are we out of the woods?
Are we in the clear yet?[x3]
In the clear yet, good
[x2]
Are we out of the woods?
Remember when you hit the brakes too soon
Twenty stitches in a hospital room
When you started crying
Baby, I did too
But when the sun came up
I was looking at you
Remember when we couldn't take the heat
I walked out, I said, I'm setting you free
But the monsters turned out to be just trees
When the sun came up
You were looking at me
Twenty stitches in a hospital room
When you started crying
Baby, I did too
But when the sun came up
I was looking at you
Remember when we couldn't take the heat
I walked out, I said, I'm setting you free
But the monsters turned out to be just trees
When the sun came up
You were looking at me
You were looking at me
Oh!
Oh!
You were looking at me.
Are we out of the woods yet? [3x]
Are we out of the woods? (I remember)
Are we in the clear yet? [x4] (Oh, I remember)
Are we out of the woods yet? [3x]
Are we out of the woods? (I remember)
Are we in the clear yet? [x4] (Oh, I remember)
Are we out of the woods yet?[x3]
Are we out of the woods?
Are we in the clear yet?[x3]
In the clear yet, good
[x4]
Are we out of the woods?
Are we in the clear yet?[x3]
In the clear yet, good
[x4]
Songwriters: Jack Antonoff / Taylor Swift
Out of the Woods lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing
LLC
-She describes her relationship as being of
‘screaming colour’, whereas her peers were of a dull monochrome palette. This
shows that their relationship is an anomaly that did not fit in with the rest of
the world.
- The rhetorical questions ‘Are we out of the
woods yet?’ and ‘Are we in the clear yet?’ are constantly being asked (repetition), which serve to
re-emphasise the feeling of urgency and indecision that is clouding their
relationship.
-The
relationship is compared to paper
airplanes, which are fragile objects that are easily damaged.
-She uses informal language to candidly confess
that she had doubts about the longevity of their liaison: ‘Baby like we stood a
chance’.
- She
intersperses personal details
throughout the narrative ‘Polaroids, moving the furniture to dance’, to convey
emotion by emphasising the humaneness
of their interactions.
-She
compares the relationship to being physically lost in a forest. This evocative use of language brings to
mind fairy tales, and traditional tropes
of good and bad.
-She uses dramatic and graphic language (‘hit the
brakes too soon’ … ‘twenty stitches’) to detail an accident that she and her
partner experienced. The rhymes of
‘soon’ and ‘room’ add emphasis to the situation, and renders it more memorable
in the reader’s mind.
-She uses the second person: ‘You’, as a means of
directly confronting her partner for his past reckless behaviour.
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