Taylor Swift Explains Double Meaning Behind Her 'Down Bad' Lyrics

23 April 2024, 18:25

By Sam Prance

Are Taylor Swift's 'Down Bad' lyrics about Matty Healy? Here's what Taylor Swift has said about the song.

Are you down bad crying at the gym? Everything comes out teenage petulance? Well, it's more likely than you think and now Taylor Swift has revealed exactly what her viral 'Down Bad' lyrics are really about and what the song has to do with aliens.

With 31 tracks in total, it's almost impossible to pick a favourite 'The Tortured Poets Department' track. The album has a song for every mood. Heartbroken? 'So Long, London' will ease your pain. Lovestruck? 'So High School' is the perfect track for you. Overwhelmed and somehow keeping it all together? 'I Can Do It With a Broken Heart' is your new anthem.

However, one song that's captured everyone's attention is 'Down Bad'. From the wildly different clean lyrics to the apparent Matty Healy references, there's a lot to talk about. What has Taylor said about the song though? We've got you covered.

• Read more: What Is Taylor Swift's 'Guilty As Sin?' About? The Spicy Lyrics Meaning Explained
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Who are Taylor Swift's 'Down Bad' lyrics about?

Taylor Swift - Down Bad (Official Lyric Video)

In 'Down Bad', Taylor sings about being "down bad" for a love interest in the sense that you're obsessed with them but also "down bad" in the sense that they've turned you into a complete mess. Not only that but Taylor uses the metaphor of being abducted by aliens and then being brought back "down" to earth against her well to get her point across.

Describing the meaning behind the song in her iHeartRadio listening party for 'The Tortured Poets Department', Taylor said: "The metaphor in ‘Down Bad’ is that I was comparing sort of the idea of being love bombed. Where someone…rocks your world and dazzles you and then just kind of abandons you."

She continued: "This girl is abducted by aliens but she wanted to stay with them…And then when they drop her back off in her hometown, she’s like, ‘Wait, no, where are you going? I liked it there! It was weird but it was cool. Come back!’"

Taylor ended by saying: "And so…the girl in the character in the song felt like, ‘I’ve just been exposed to a whole different galaxy and universe and didn’t know it was possible, how could you just put me back where I was before?’"

It's essentially 'Illicit Affairs (Alien Version)' - you showed me colours, you know I can't see with anyone else!

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Fans also think the song could be about Matty Healy based on the song's bridge. Taylor sings: I loved your hostile takeovers / Encounters closer and closer / All your indecent exposures. "Indecent exposures" could be a specific reference to Matty's reputation making multiple headlines for his wild onstage behaviour and problematic offstage antics.

Elsewhere, people have spotted that the clean version of the song has a completely different post-chorus. Instead of F--- it if I can't have him, Taylor sings What if I can't have him?. She also switches 'Cause f--- it, I was in love / So f--- you if I can't have us to 'Cause what if I was in love? What if I can't have us?

One fan tweeted: "Down Bad (clean version) is an entirely different song and maybe more devastating??"

Whichever version you prefer, one thing is clear: 'Down Bad' is a classic!

Taylor Swift - 'Down Bad' lyrics

VERSE 1
Did you really beam me up
In a cloud of sparkling dust
Just to do experiments on?
Tell me I was the chosen one
Showed me that this world is bigger than us
Then sent me back where I came from

PRE-CHORUS
For a moment, I knew cosmic love

CHORUS
Now I'm down bad, cryin' at the gym
Everything comes out teenage petulance
"Fuck it if I can't have him"
"I might just die, it would make no difference"
Down bad, wakin' up in blood
Starin' at the sky, come back and pick me up
Fuck it if I can't have us
I might just not get up, I might stay

POST-CHORUS
Down bad
Fuck it if I can't have him
Down bad
Fuck it if I can't have him

VERSE 2
Did you take all my old clothes
Just to leave me here, naked and alone
In a field in my same old town
That somehow seems so hollow now?
They'll say I'm nuts if I talk about
The existence of you

PRE-CHORUS
For a moment, I was heavenstruck

CHORUS
Now I'm down bad, cryin' at the gym (Cryin' at the gym)
Everything comes out teenage petulance
"Fuck it if I can't have him" (Fuck it if I can't have him)
"I might just die, it would make no difference"
Down bad, wakin' up in blood (Wakin' up in blood)
Starin' at the sky, come back and pick me up
Fuck it if I can't have us
I might just not get up, I might stay

POST-CHORUS
Down bad (Like I lost my twin)
Fuck it if I can't have him (Down bad)
Down bad (Wavin' at the ship)
Fuck it if I can't have him

BRIDGE
I loved your hostile takeovers
Encounters closer and closer
All your indecent exposures
How dare you say that it's—
I'll build you a fort on some planet
Where they can all understand it
How dare you think it's romantic
Leaving me safe and stranded
'Cause fuck it, I was in love
So fuck you if I can't have us
'Cause fuck it, I was in love

CHORUS
Now I'm down bad, cryin' at the gym (Cryin' at the gym)
Everything comes out teenage petulance
"Fuck it if I can't have him" (Can't have him)
"I might just die, it would make no difference"
Down bad, wakin' up in blood (Wakin' up in blood)
Starin' at the sky, come back and pick me up
Fuck it if I can't have us
I might just not get up, I might stay

POST-CHORUS
Down bad (Like I lost my twin)
Fuck it if I can't have him (I'm down bad)
Down bad (Wavin' at the ship)
Fuck it if I can't have him

OUTRO
Like I lost my twin
Fuck it if I can't have him
Down bad (Wavin' at the ship)
Fuck it if I can't have him

Read more about Taylor Swift here:

• Taylor Swift Fans Think Her 'The Alchemy' Lyrics Are About Travis Kelce
• Taylor Swift Explains "Tragic" Meaning Behind Her 'Fortnight' Lyrics
• Are Taylor Swift's 'I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)' Lyrics About Matty Healy?
• Read Taylor Swift's 'The Tortured Poets Department' Prologue Poem In Full Here
• Taylor Swift Reveals Real Meaning Behind 'Who's Afraid Of Little Old Me?' Lyrics

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