Bandits of the Heart: Taylor’s “cowboy like me” Meaning, Explained

Taylor Swift’s cowboy like me – like many of the songs on folklore and evermore – is a fictional narrative. The plot centers around two con artists who fall for each other when they least expected it.

Even though the plot is fictional, it’s most definitely layerd with Taylor’s own thoughts and feelings about love and loss.

Here’s my full English teacher analysis of Taylor’s cowboy like me meaning, line by line and metaphor by metaphor.

Cover image for a lyrical analysis of Taylor Swift's "cowboy like me." A picture of wild horses running on the plains features title text: "cowboy like me lyrical analysis, by swiftly sung stories".

cowboy like me by Taylor Swift

  • Title: cowboy like me
  • Written by: Aaron Dessner, Taylor Swift
  • Track: 11, evermore
  • Pen: Quill 
  • Lyrics from Genius

cowboy like me Narrative Summary

  • Setting: Desolate con-land, trying to swindle unsuspecting lovers.
  • Characters: Narrator (Taylor as a protagonist “cowboy”), subject (“you,” her male counterpart “cowboy”). 
  • Mood: Knowing, surrendered. 
  • Conflict: They’re both cons: will they con each other? 
  • Inciting Incident: “ you asked me to dance”
  • Quest: Try to trust one another. 
  • Symbols & Metaphors: “cowboy like me”, “tent-like thing,”  “dancin’is a dangerous game”, “one of those things,” “ tricks up my sleeve,” “takes one to know one,” “fancy car,” “airport bar,” “in the dark,” “the way forward,” “Only if they pay for it,” “bandit,” “eyes full of stars,” “skeletons in both our closets,” “before I locked it down,” “you hang from my lips / Like the Gardens of Babylon,” “your boots beneath my bed,” “Forever is the sweetest con.” 
  • Lesson: You can never fully let go of your past. Can you? 

What is cowboy like me About? 

cowboy like me narrates a con artist protagonist’s adventures in true love. She meets her male counterpart at a fancy event, and they enter a cat-and-mouse game for affection and fidelity. 

In the evermore prologue, Taylor said that cowboy like me is:

“The one about two young con artists who fall in love while hanging out at fancy resorts trying to score rich romantic beneficiaries.”

But emotionally, this song goes much deeper. The themes of past indiscretions, true nature, loneliness and trickery flow through Taylor’s lyrics, painting a picture of two people who are made for each other.

Can they give up their criminal pasts to create a future together? Or will your past always taint your future?

Who is cowboy like me About? 

Taylor has never revealed if cowboy like me was inspired by any real people in her life, but it’s very unlikely. The emotions within the song are likely real, but the characters and plot line are fictional. 

Many books and films have narrated similar storylines, so it’s possible Taylor took inspiration from outside sources.  

cowboy like me Lyrical Analysis: Line by Line

Portions of Taylor Swift's "cowboy like me lyrics", annotated to explain plot, characters, metaphors, and find deeper meanings.
The first verse and refrain read: "And the tennis court was covered up

With some tent-like thing

And you asked me to dance

But I said, "Dancin' is a dangerous game"

Oh, I thought

This is gonna be one of those things

Now I know

I'm never gonna love again

[Refrain]

I've got some tricks up my sleeve

Takes one to know one

You're a cowboy like me"

The opening verse sets the scene, where the protagonist is at a high-class event. She describes this fancy scene as “the tennis court was covered up / With some tent-like thing.”

This tells us a lot about our protagonist: she’s not used to tennis courts, and doesn’t seem to know a tent is a popular outdoor wedding and event setup. 

She meets someone at the event and says: “And you asked me to dance / But I said, ‘Dancin’ is a dangerous game’”. She warns him that he doesn’t want to start anything with her. 

Dancing as the game of love is a common Taylor metaphor, also used in songs like Fearless, Holy Ground, and Dancing With Our Hands Tied. She’s warning him that the ‘dance of love’ is complicated, especially with her.  

“Oh, I thought,” the narrator says, “This is gonna be one of those things.” She immediately feels a connection with this person, and worries it’s only going to bring heartbreak. 

“Now I know,” she muses, “I’m never gonna love again.” She’s found her person, and she’ll never be able to fake love from here on out. She’ll never truly love another person who isn’t him, and she won’t be able to keep up her swindling, either. 

Verse 2: “Never Wanted Love / Just a Fancy Car”

Portions of Taylor Swift's "cowboy like me lyrics", annotated to explain plot, characters, metaphors, and find deeper meanings.
The second verse and refrain reads: "Never wanted love

Just a fancy car

Now I'm waiting by the phone

Like I'm sitting in an airport bar

[Refrain]

You had some tricks up your sleeve

Takes one to know one

You're a cowboy like me"

“Never wanted love,” she admits in the second verse, “Just a fancy car.” She was only playing the ‘game of love’ for the money. She wasn’t looking for a real romance, but she happened upon one. 

But now everything has changed: “Now I’m waiting by the phone / Like I’m sitting in an airport bar.” She’s waiting for him to call in a lonely and desolate place, symbolized by the airport bar. She’s lost her motivation, and only wants him. 

“You had some tricks up your sleeve,” she says, while she waits for him to call. Is he just playing her like he plays everyone else? 

“Takes one to know one,” she shrugs, “You’re a cowboy like me.” She knows the games he’s playing, because she plays them, too. They’re both “cowboys” – never say in one place very long, keep roaming the open pastures of life, and don’t follow the rules of polite society. 

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Chorus: “You’re a Bandit Like Me / Eyes Full of Stars”

Portions of Taylor Swift's "cowboy like me lyrics", annotated to explain plot, characters, metaphors, and find deeper meanings.
The chorus reads: "Perched in the dark

Tellin' all the rich folks anything they wanna hear

Like it could be love

I could be the way forward

Only if they pay for it

You're a bandit like me

Eyes full of stars

Hustling for the good life, never thought I'd meet you here

It could be love

We could be the way forward

And I know I'll pay for it"

The chorus describes her former con artist ways. 

“Perched in the dark,” she says, waiting like a predatory animal, “Tellin’ all the rich folks anything they wanna hear.”

She waits and watches, then captures her “prey”: “the rich folks.” She’ll swindle them with promises, “like it could be love.” 

“I could be the way forward,” she tries to make them see, “only if they pay for it.” She’ll hook them with the promise of love, then milk them for every penny they’re worth. 

“You’re a bandit like me,” she says of her male counterpart, “Eyes full of stars.” He, too, has charming eyes that lure prey. He makes his female victims “see stars,” meaning they fall in love with him. 

They were both “Hustling for the good life,” but they “never thought I’d meet you here.” They thought the con would last forever, and they’d never have anything true. But then they met, and it’s all changed. 

“It could be love,” she muses about their new romance. “We could be the way forward,” meaning they could leave their life of crime behind and try to live a respectable existence. 

“And I know I’ll pay for it,” she says regretfully. She knows this will be bad for her, but she can’t help it. Like the “rich folks” who get swindled out of their money, she’ll get swindled out of her love. But she wants it to happen, damn the consequences. 

Bridge: “The Skeletons in Both Our Closets / Plotted Hard to Fuck This Up”

Portions of Taylor Swift's "cowboy like me lyrics", annotated to explain plot, characters, metaphors, and find deeper meanings.
The bridge reads: "And the skeletons in both our closets

Plotted hard to fuck this up

And the old men that I've swindled

Really did believe I was the one

And the ladies lunchin' have their stories about

When you passed through town

Oh, but that was all before I locked it down"

“And the skeletons in both our closets,” she says of their scandalous pasts, “plotted hard to fuck this up.” They both have secrets in their pasts that can come back to bite them. 

They’ve never had a real relationship: the “skeletons” are all the fake romances based on money. How will they learn to not take advantage of each other? 

“And the old men that I’ve swindled,” she says, “Really did believe I was the one.” She can make anyone believe that they love her. Is she doing the same to him? Or is it real? 

“And the ladies lunchin’ have their stories about / When you passed through town,” she says of her lover’s past. He can also con anyone into loving him. Is she being conned, too? 

“Oh, but that was all before I locked it down,” she says. They’re now exclusive, and have settled down together. They’ve given up their criminal ways. But can they stay that way? 

Verse 3: “Now You Hang From My Lips / Like the Gardens of Babylon”

Portions of Taylor Swift's "cowboy like me lyrics", annotated to explain plot, characters, metaphors, and find deeper meanings.
The third verse and final chorus reads: "Now you hang from my lips

Like the Gardens of Babylon

With your boots beneath my bed

Forever is the sweetest con

[Refrain]

I've had some tricks up my sleeve

Takes one to know one

You're a cowboy like me

[Outro]

And I'm never gonna love again

I'm never gonna love again

I'm never gonna love again"

“Now you hang from my lips,” she says, “Like the Gardens of Babylon.” I see two possible interpretations here, and it depends on what you believe happens to the protagonists in the end. 

“Hang from my lips” could mean kissing. The “Gardens of Babylon” are a mythical place that may have never existed; this means their kiss is so lovely that it’s almost unreal. Taylor will use this imagery again, in her collab with Gracie Abrams: us.

But “hang from my lips” could also mean she almost speaks his name. And if she nearly says his name, he’s the mythical thing. Was he real? Did this all really happen? Or did she imagine it? 

“With your boots beneath my bed” seems to imply that he’s surrendered to her. He’s hung up his metaphorical boots, and can’t go anywhere without them. 

But “Forever is the sweetest con” means that forever isn’t real. It won’t last, or it’s already over. She only dreamed that he could hang up his boots and stay with her. 

“I’ve had some tricks up my sleeve,” she says, implying that she no longer does. She’s given up her “tricks” in favor of something real. 

“Takes one to know one” means she knows he used to have tricks, too. “You’re a cowboy like me,” she repeats again. 

But are they still “cowboys”? If they’ve come in from the desolate plains and dismounted their horses, did they lose a vital piece of themselves in the process? 

“And I’m never gonna love again” repeats three times in the outro, and it’s open to interpretation. 

If you think the “cowboys” stay together, it could mean that they will never love anyone else. They’ll never again fake love for monetary gain. 

But “I’m never gonna love again” could also mean they broke one another’s hearts. They’ve seen what real love is, and therefore, they can’t fake it anymore. 

They’ve ruined each other’s romantic and criminal lives: they can’t go on living the way they were, because for a moment they saw what love was supposed to be. 

They finally met their match, and it broke them, like you’d break a wild stallion. 

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cowboy like me Song Meaning: Final Thoughts 

Though this definitely isn’t a favorite on the evermore album for almost anyone, the message is still poignant. Once you see what your world could be, can you ever go back to how it was? 

Similar to the previous track ivy, the protagonist has seen something so bright and shining that she can’t go back to the cold, desolate place from which she came. 

Love can change you, Taylor says, for better or for worse. But once you glimpse it, you’ll roam the plains to try to capture it, searching for the rest of your life. 

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