Unlike several songs on Taylor Swift’s “The Life of A Showgirl,” the new album’s fifth track, “Eldest Daughter,” has remained cloaked in mystery since Swift announced the album’s track listing on Aug. 13.
The title of “Eldest Daughter” doesn’t include a reference to a specific object, like “Opalite,” or a character, like “The Fate of Ophelia.”
Swift herself, of course, is an eldest daughter — her only sibling, younger brother, Austin Swift, is 33. Of course, Swift doesn’t always write autobiographically from her own perspective — though she did call this album a “self portrait.” But as this fifth track — a place on albums typically reserved for Swift’s most gut-wrenching works — fans knew to prepare for something emotional.
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Now that “Eldest Daughter” officially dropped along with the rest of the album at midnight ET on Oct. 3, the song has proven a moving ballad, seemingly about dropping artifice and being unquestionably there for someone.
In contrast to the upbeat, pop-heavy album, Swift is accompanied on acoustic guitar and piano as she sings about the core traits of eldest daughters — specifically highlighting their loyalty.
“I’m not a bad b—/ And this isn’t savage/ And I’m never going to let you down/ I’m never going to leave you now,” she sings in the chorus.
She also makes a reference to marriage — fitting as she just announced her engagement to football star Travis Kelce — as well as youngest children, which her fiancé happens to be.
Read the Full Lyrics to ‘Eldest Daughter’
Everybody’s so punk on the internet
Everyone’s unbothered ’til they’re not
Every joke’s just trolling and memes
Sad as it seems, apathy is hot
Everybody’s cutthroat in the comments
Every single hot take is cold as ice
When you found me I said I was busy, that was a lie
I have been afflicted by a terminal uniqueness
I’ve been dying just from trying to seem cool
But I’m not a bad b—
And this isn’t savage
But I’m never gonna let you down
I’m never gonna leave you out
So many traitors, smooth operators
But I’m never gonna break that vow
I’m never gonna leave you now, now, now
You know the last time I laughed this hard was on the trampoline in somebody’s backyard
I must’ve been about 8 or 9, that was the night, I fell off and broke my arm
Pretty soon I learned cautious discretion
When your first crush crushes something kind
When I said I don’t believe in marriage, that was a lie
Every eldest daughter was the first lamb to the slaughter
So we all dressed up as wolves and we looked fire
But I’m not a bad b—
And this isn’t savage
But I’m never gonna let you down
I’m never gonna leave you out
So many traitors, smooth operators
But I’m never gonna break that vow
I’m never gonna leave you now, now, now
We lie back, a beautiful, beautiful time lapse
Ferris wheels, kisses and lilacs, and things I said were dumb
Cause I thought that I’d never find that
Beautiful, beautiful life that shimmers that innocent light back
Like when we were young
Every youngest child felt they were raised up in the wild but now you’re home
Cause I’m not a bad b—
And this isn’t savage
But I’m never gonna let you down
I’m never gonna leave you out
So many traitors, smooth operators
But I’m never gonna break that vow
I’m never gonna leave you now, now, now
I’m never gonna leave you now
