A Banished Beloved: Explaining Taylor’s “exile” Meaning, Line By Line

Is exile the most devastating song on the folklore album? It might very well be. 

In exile we get to witness an imagined conversation – sang as a duet – between a former couple. One of them has moved on, and they circle round and round the breakup, what happened, and where they go from here. 

This track is chock-full of unresolved emotions, longing, and jealousy…but what does it really mean?

Here’s my full English teacher analysis of Taylor’s exile meaning, line by line. 

exile by Taylor Swift (ft. Bon Iver)

• Title: Exile
• Written by: Joe Alwyn, Justin Vernon, Taylor Swift
• Track: 4, Folklore
• Pen: Fountain 
• Lyrics from Genius

exile Song Meaning: Narrative Summary

• Setting: Post-breakup, in the “country” that used to be their love. 
• Characters: Narrator 1 (Taylor, as herself or another character), Narrator 2 (Justin Vernon, as the ex-lover). 
• Mood: Sad, forlorn, confused. 
• Conflict: They didn’t understand one another, and broke up. 
• Inciting Incident: She left him. 
• Quest: Rehash the past, see where they went wrong. 
• Symbols & Metaphors: “exile,” “the joke”, house/”hall”, “film”/”ending”, “homeland,” “understudy,” “knuckles bloody,” “breaking branches,” “insult to injury,” “crown,” “side door,” “ thin line,” “signs”, “turn things around.” 
• Theme: Miscommunication.  
• Imagery: “With his arms around your body,” “Holdin’ all this love out here in the hall,” “You’re not my homeland anymore,” “I think I’ve seen this film before”, “You were my town, now I’m in exile”, “I can see you starin’, honey / Like he’s just your understudy,” “get your knuckles bloody for me,” “balancing on breaking branches,” “those eyes add insult to injury,” “You were my crown,” “I’m leaving out the side door,” “We always walked a very thin line.” 
• Lesson: Communication can break down, even when you love someone deeply.  

What is exile About? 

exile tells the story of two ex-lovers seeing one another for the first time since breaking up. There’s resentment, jealousy, and unresolved feelings on both sides. 

The couple falls back into their old pattern of arguing, which plays out in the duet.

In the folklore prologue, Taylor alluded to exile being about “An exiled man walking the bluffs of a land that isn’t his own, wondering how it all went so terribly, terribly wrong.” But as we’ll find out, the “land” is a metaphor for where you belong, or don’t belong.

Who is exile About? 

Taylor has never revealed if she or her co-writer “William Bowery” (aka her then-boyfriend Joe Alwyn) took inspiration from any real people or situations in writing exile. 

She said:

“exile is a song that was written about miscommunications in relationships, and in the case of this song, I imagined that the miscommunications ended the relationship.

They led to the demise of this love affair, and now these two people are seeing each other out for the first time, and they keep miscommunicating with each other. They can’t quite get on the same page, they never were able to.

And even in their end, even after they’ve broken up, they’re still not hearing each other.”

-Taylor Swift, Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions

exile Lyrics Meaning: Line by Line

We open the first verse with the male perspective, who has eyes on his former partner. She’s with a new man. 

“I can see you standing, honey,” he says, “with his arms around your body.” She’s in the arms of a new man, whose arms envelop her and protect her. It’s like he “owns” her now, and her ex is jealous.

He still uses the term of endearment “honey,” maybe because it’s a reflex, or maybe in his mind, she is still endeared to him. 

They seem happy, but he’s devastated. They’re “laughin’ but the joke’s not funny at all.” “The joke” is that she’s moved on; he hasn’t. And it hurts him. 

“It took you five whole minutes to pack us up and leave me with it” is hyperbolic: he means he feels like she moved on really quickly, and he can’t fathom how she could do that while he’s still feeling so devastated.  

She leaves him “holdin’ all this love out here in the hall.” She has let go, and left him metaphorically ‘holding the bag’. She got away scot free, but he’s left with all the emotional baggage.

He has nowhere to put all this love that he still has for her. 

Chorus: “You’re Not My Homeland Anymore”

“I think I’ve seen this film before, and I didn’t like the ending” means he’s seen this narrative happen before. Maybe she’s left before. Maybe she’s been with another man before, or maybe he’s had his heart broken by someone else in the past. 

Either way, he didn’t like the way the “film” ended, and he doesn’t like the way this scene is going, either. 

The film reference calls back to the 1, where Taylor says, “the greatest films of all time were never made.” Film – in both cases – is a metaphor for a great love story. 

“You’re not my homeland anymore,” he says to her. She used to be where he belonged, and where he returned to for comfort and companionship. But not anymore.

“So what am I defending now?” he asks. If she’s not his “homeland,” then why does he keep fighting to defend their love? 

This hints at a sort of military metaphor, how you might defend your country from invaders. It can also be taken as defending yourself, defending your actions, or defending your feelings. He keeps doing it, but he doesn’t know why: there’s nothing left to protect, because she’s not his anymore. 

Then he uses another geographic metaphor: “you were my town, now I’m in exile seein’ you out.” She used to be where he ‘lived.’ She used to be everything, but now he’s been pushed out, pushed aside, or forced to leave.  

“Exile” is such a strong word. It usually means being banned from your country: being shut out of society, being forcibly isolated, or being deported. 

The use of this severe term shows us just how devastating this breakup is: they’re two countries at war. 

🩶 Can you pass my tricky folklore Lyrics Quiz? 🩶

Verse 2: “Those Eyes Add Insult to Injury”

Taylor enters the chat in the second verse. She sees him staring at them – this new couple – and can tell he’s jealous.

“I can see you starin’, honey,” she says. But her use of “honey” doesn’t feel endearing the way he used it. It feels sarcastic, or condescending.  

“Like he’s just your understudy” is a theater metaphor, but could also tie in to the film references. He’s “starin’” like this new man is just there temporarily; only used in case of emergencies. He’s a poor substitute. 

He’s “starin’” “like you’d get your knuckles bloody for me.” His eyes betray him: he looks like he wants to start a fight with the new guy. But it’s too late to fight for her. 

She’s already given him “second, third and hundred chances.” She’s not about to give him another one: they were “balancin’ on breaking branches.” They were already precarious, and they finally broke. There is no repair, no matter how many longing looks he gives.

“Those eyes add insult to injury,” she says. The way he’s looking at her is only exacerbating the problem. He has no right to be jealous: he had his chance, and he blew it. 

Chorus: “So Who Am I Offending Now?”

Taylor’s first chorus is the same first two lines as Justin’s: the film metaphor. But then instead of “homeland,” she sings, “I’m not your problem anymore, so who am I offending now?” 

This lyric is evocative of a feeling we’ve all had: like we can’t do anything right, like we’re just a problem to someone who is supposed to love us, and should love all of us. But they don’t, and we feel like a burden. 

He shouldn’t be “offended” by her new man; he has no right to be. 

“You were my crown,” she says, “now I’m in exile seeing you out.” He was her crowning glory, but now he’s been dethroned. 

The crown can be interpreted in one of two ways: 

1. Crown as monarchy, i.e. the ruler of a country. This ties in with “you’re not my homeland” and the use of the word “exile.” 
2. Crown as a symbol or power, like “crowning achievement.” As in ‘“you were the best thing that’s ever been mine” or King of My Heart.

It works either way, and no matter what it means, we get the gist: this person was her everything, and now he’s nothing. And it hurts deeply, because she wanted him so badly. 

“I think I’ve seen this film before,” she repeats, “now I’m leavin’ out the side door.” She’s not going to stay for the credits to roll on this tragic romance. She’s making a quick exit. 

Bridge: “So Step Right Out”

The bridge brings their two voices together, having an argument that no one wins. 

After Taylor says, “I’m leaving out the side door” in the previous chorus, Justin replies: “So step right out.” 

It’s like saying, ‘fine, go then.’

“There is no amount of crying I can do for you” means he’s all cried out. He could continue crying forever, and it would just never end. More pain doesn’t even count. 

“All this time / We always walked a very thin line” calls back to “balancing on breaking branches.” It’s the imagery of walking a tightrope or balancing precariously on a ledge. They were never steady. The relationship was always in jeopardy. 

“You didn’t even hear me out,” he accuses, which she quickly interrupts with “you didn’t even hear me out.” Neither of them are hearing each other. This is the fundamental breakdown in communication that caused the breakup, unfolding before our eyes (and ears). 

“I never learned to read your mind,” he says, and she replies, “you never learned to read my mind” sarcastically. Of course he couldn’t read her mind – she didn’t expect him to. She just wanted her opinions and thoughts to be valued. 

The back and forth of this bridge continues the heartbreaking conversation: “You never gave a warning sign”, he says. Then she replies, ”I gave so many signs.” He just didn’t see them. He wasn’t paying attention. 

This is the anatomy of a breakup conversation, and we can feel it in our bones. We’ve all been there, when the misunderstandings and miscommunications pile up so high that it topples over and breaks. 

All the signs were there, but they went ignored. 

Outro: “I Gave So Many Signs”

The chorus repeats, and the outro echoes the bridge: he couldn’t read her mind, turn things around, see the warning signs. 

At the end of it all, they’re still following the same dysfunctional patterns they always did. 

Who is to blame? Both of them, neither of them. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that it’s over, and they can never go back, because it wasn’t a good place to begin with. 

They’ve both been exiled from each other, and they might be better off in new kingdoms with new crowns.

Maybe they’ll find happiness abroad, or maybe they’ll always long for their homeland. 

🩶 Can you pass my tricky folklore Lyrics Quiz? 🩶

exile Song Meaning: Final Thoughts

If you’re going through a breakup and put on this song, be warned: exile will break you. 

The contrast between Taylor and Justin’s voices – and the never ending argument they circle round and round in – is a breakup set to music. 

The central metaphor of being “exiled” from your former homeland is exactly what a tumultuous breakup feels like: there’s nowhere you belong, you feel constantly out of place, and have no one to turn to. You reach for your old partner, and they’re no longer there. There is no “home” to return to.

Swift and Vernon have encapsulated these heartbreaking moments so well, and with so much raw emotion, that there may never be another breakup song that can top it. 

I hope these two will team up again, because their musical and lyrical chemistry is magical. 

More Songs From folklore: 

• folklore Prologue
• the 1
• cardigan
• the last great american dynasty
• my tears ricochet
• mirrorball
• seven
• august
• this is me trying
• illicit affairs 
• invisible string
• mad woman
• epiphany
• betty
• peace
• hoax
• the lakes