Who is Taylor Praying to? Complete “False God” Analysis

False God is a very interesting track from the Lover album. It’s got some jazz and R&B influences, both sonically and in the lyrics. 

But what on earth is Taylor talking about in these lyrics? What is a “false god,” and is this song really talking about love, or is it only about sex? 

Let’s get down to the bottom of it. Here’s my complete False God analysis, line by line. 

False God by Taylor Swift

• Title: False God
• Written by: Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff
• Track: 13, Lover
• Pen: Fountain
• Lyrics from Genius

False God Lyrics Meaning: Narrative Synopsis

• Setting: In the middle of a fight, or of a relationship falling apart. 
• Characters: Narrator (Taylor), subject (her lover, “you”)
• Mood: Sexy, sultry, naughty, and maybe naive. 
• Conflict: They’re fighting, and their whole relationship might be a sham. 
• Inciting Incident: “I can’t talk to you when you’re like this” (they’re fighting). 
• Quest: Try to figure out if they have stable ground to stand on. 
• Symbols & Metaphors: “false god,” “jump,” “ocean separating us,” “favorite town,” “New York City,” “blind faith,” “get away with it,” “religion”, “altar”, “worship,” “heaven”, “hell”, “confessions,” “West Village.” 
• Theme: Temperamental sexual attraction. 
• Imagery: “jump in the ocean separating us,” “Staring out the window like I’m not your favorite town,” “Religion’s in your lips,” “The altar is my hips.”
• Lesson: Attraction might not be enough for a lasting relationship. 

What is False God About? 

False God uses heavy religious imagery and metaphors to describe a relationship that’s mostly based on physical attraction. 

The couple depicted in the song “worship” one another’s bodies, but that might not be enough to sustain a long-distance relationship. 

Who is False God About? 

Taylor has never revealed who False God was inspired by, but given the timing of the release of the song, it could be about her relationship with her then-boyfriend Joe Alwyn. 

False God Meaning: Line by Line

Verse 1 synopsis: Why did we ever think this would work? There’s too much distance between us. 

Verse one begins with Taylor rehashing their past. They were “crazy to think that this could work,” meaning that they started a relationship thinking it could work out. But looking back, it all seems crazy and stupid. 

“Remember how I said I’d die for you?” she asks him. She would have sacrificed herself to have him. This will become important later on in the context of the religious symbols that will pop up. 

“We were stupid to jump / In the ocean separating us” means they jumped into a relationship when there were metaphorical or actual oceans between them. The distance was too large; it would never work. 

But she tried. “Remember how I’d fly to you?” she asks him. When the oceans were too large, she would hop on a plane and go to him, either in reality or metaphorically. 

Pre-Chorus: “I’m New York City”

Pre-Chorus Synopsis: It’s really tough right now, especially when you’re ignoring me. 

The pre-chorus gives us some present-day context after the first verse told us how it all started. 

“And I can’t talk to you when you’re like this,” she says, “staring out the window like I’m not your favorite town.” He’s sulking or ignoring her; staring out the window instead of looking at and talking to her. 

He’s staring like she’s not his “favorite town,” which is a metaphor for his favorite place to be. She is his metaphorical town; his home.

“I’m New York City,” she says, implying that she’s the ‘greatest city in the world.’ She’s the absolute best place he could be, but he’s pretending she’s not. 

“I still do it for you, babe,” she reminds him. This means he’s either still attracted to her, or he still satisfies her as his “favorite town.” 

“They all warned us about times like this,” she says, “they say the road gets hard and you get lost.”

They’re going through a rough patch, and others have warned them about this. The “road gets hard and you get lost” means the way forward is difficult and unclear. They don’t know where they’ll go from here. 

Why? They were “led by blind faith.” Blind faith means to believe in something when you have no evidence it exists.

Their entire relationship is based on blind faith, which might be an illusion or a delusion for both of them. 

Chorus: “Religion’s in Your Lips”

Chorus Synopsis: We might be able to make this work, even if it’s just physical. 

“But we might just get away with it,” she begins in the chorus. They might be able to make their relationship work out, even though it’s based on “blind faith.” 

They only have “blind faith,” but “religion’s in your lips.” This likely means that their entire relationship revolves around physical attraction. His lips are her “god” that she worships. It’s all she has that’s tangible evidence that their love will last. 

She worships his lips, “even if it’s a false god.” This means that she puts all her faith into the only tangible evidence they have:physical attraction.

Is that enough to sustain a relationship? They will “still worship”, even if they’re praying to something that’s false or illusionary. 

“We might just get away with it,” she repeats, “the altar is my hips.” He “prays” to the altar of her hips, which is the same meaning as the “lips” of before. The only evidence they have that this will work is each other’s bodies, and the deep attraction they share. 

“Even if it’s a false god,” she says, “we’d still worship this love.” They’ll keep going, even if the whole thing is a sham based on physical attraction alone. 

Verse 2: “Hell is When I Fight With You”

Verse 2 Synopsis: After we fight, the makeup sex is the best. 

Verse two brings in more religious symbolism. “I know heaven’s a thing,” she says, “I go there when you touch me, honey.” To her, heaven is them being together physically. 

“Hell is when I fight with you,” she says, “but we can patch it up good.” This means they fight, but then “patch it up good” with passionate makeup sex. 

During the make up period, they’ll “make confessions” and be “begging for forgiveness.” If the altar is her hips and religion is his lips, the metaphorical church in which they’ll confess is sex. 

This alludes not only to the emotional making up after a fight, but the physical making up after a fight. 

“Got the wine for you” alludes to the religious tradition of communion: drinking the “body of Christ” symbolized with wine. This likely means that he’ll ‘drink her wine,’ likely meaning they’ll have sex. 

She has the potion that will cure all ills, and it’s her body on his body.

Pre-Chorus: “You’re The West Village”

2nd Pre-Chorus Synopsis: I’m getting really mad at you so I’m going to push some buttons. 

The pre-chorus describes more of their arguments. 

“And you can’t talk to me when I’m like this,” she says, “daring you to leave me just so I can try and scare you.” She’s pushing his buttons, taunting him with leaving just to scare him into trying to make it work. 

While she is New York City, he’s “the West Village.” This means he’s her home, or her favorite neighborhood. This calls back to Cornelia Street, where Taylor lived in the West Village / Greenwich Village area. 

“You still do it for me, babe,” she says. She still likes/loves him, just as she still loves her home and her neighborhood. 

She reiterates that they’re led by “blind faith,” meaning they don’t know if this will work out. She only knows that he still ‘does it for her’ – she’s still attracted to him. 

Outro: “Still Worship This Love, Even if It’s a False God”

Outro Synopsis: Even if we don’t work out emotionally, physically it’s dynamite.

The final chorus and outro repeat everything we’ve learned before: she finds “religion” in his “lips,” he prays at the “altar” of her “hips”, and they’ll still “worship this love, even if it’s a false god.” 

So what does it all mean? They don’t know if it will work out – they have no evidence that it will, except the evidence of strong physical attraction and dynamite makeup sex. 

They “worship” each other in their “religion” (sex), but their whole relationship is based on this “false god”. There’s nothing else to believe in, but they go ahead and pray anyway. 

False God Meaning: Final Thoughts  

This song is a great example of a long, extended metaphor. Taylor’s use of gods, religion and worship as lust (a “sin”) is also a great form of irony. 

Overall, it’s a sexy, sultry song about how far physical attraction can take you. In the moment, it can feel great. But in the long run, is it enough to sustain a relationship? 

When you add in the long-distance factor, and you don’t get to physically be together often, it’s likely worshiping a “false god.”

When you’re apart, your entire religion falls apart, and there’s nothing left to pray for. 

More Songs From Lover

• Lover Prologue: What It Says vs. What It Means
• I Forgot That You Existed
• Cruel Summer
• Lover
• The Man
• The Archer
• I Think He Knows
• Miss Americana and The Heartbreak Prince
• Paper Rings
• Cornelia Street
• Death by a Thousand Cuts
• London Boy
• Soon You’ll Get Better
• You Need to Calm Down
• Afterglow
• It’s Nice to Have a Friend
• Daylight