Taylor Swift's "Eldest Daughter" Lyrics Require Some Tissues

A new Taylor Swift album has arrived, which means it’s time to bring out the tissue box — especially when it comes to Track 5. On Oct. 3, the singer unveiled “Eldest Daughter,” a heartfelt ballad in which she allows herself to have a happy ending after years of professional and personal chaos.

Over nothing but pensive piano and guitar plucks, Swift examines the media landscape she’s dealt with her entire career and candidly admits how it’s affected her outlook on love, especially when someone shows interest in her. “When you found me, I said I was busy, that was a lie,” she sings. “I have been afflicted from a terminal uniqueness, I’ve been dying just from trying to seem cool.”

As she warms up to her new suitor, Swift lets her guard down even more, recalling her fondest childhood memory and getting honest about her thoughts on marriage. She confesses, “When I said I don’t believe in marriage, that was a lie.” On the melancholic chorus, she makes a vow both to herself and her new lover (aka fiancé Travis Kelce).

“I’m not a bad bitch, and this isn’t savage, but I’m never gonna let you down, I’m never gonna leave you out,” she sings. “So many traitors, smooth operators, but I’m never gonna break that vow, I’m never gonna leave you now.”

“Eldest Daughter” joins the famous pantheon of Swift’s Track 5s, which are typically the most vulnerable, emotional, or downright devastating songs on her albums. She even admitted that selecting a Track 5 has become a “pressurized decision” during her concert special for folklore: the long pond studio sessions. For The Life of a Showgirl, she chose perfectly.

Taylor’s “Eldest Daughter” Lyrics

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 from a terminal uniqueness

I’ve been dying just from trying to seem cool

But I’m not a bad bitch, 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 I last time I laughed this hard

Was on the trampoline in somebody’s backyard

I must have been about eight or nine

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 bitch, 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 timelapse

Ferris wheel 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 bitch, and this isn’t savage

And 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

(Never gonna break that vow, I’m never gonna leave you now)

Now, now

Never gonna leave you now