What Does "Forever and Always" Really Mean? Full Lyrical Analysis

Forever and Always is one of the catchiest tracks on Fearless, and for good reason. This song sees Taylor reflecting on promises and betrayals, and questioning people’s intentions.

Like a lot of the breakup songs on the album, Taylor is confused and trying to figure out what went wrong. So what really happened, and how does this song tie into the rest of the album?

Here’s my full Swiftie English teacher analysis of Taylor’s Forever and Always meaning, line by line.

Cover image for Swiftly Sung Stories' post analyzing the meaning of Taylor Swift's "Forever & Always". A gold glitter background features the title text: "Analysing Forever & Always (Taylor's Version) with Swiftly Sung Stories branding at the bottom.

Forever and Always (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift

Title: Forever & Always (Taylor’s Version)
Track: 11, Fearless (Taylor’s Version)
Written By: Taylor Swift
Pen: Glitter, with a tiny bit of fountain
Secret Message: “If you play these games, we’re both going to lose.”
Lyrics via Genius

Forever and Always Narrative Summary

Setting: In the present, looking back at a past or soon-to-be-over relationship.
Characters: Narrator (Taylor), Subject (“you”).
Mood: Betrayed, baffled, sarcastic.
Conflict: He promised he would love her “forever and always,” then backtracked.
Inciting Incident: “You’re halfway out the door” (their communication is breaking down).
Quest: Find out the truth: did he ever love her?
Symbols & Metaphors: Catching and holding on, “out the door,” “forever and always”, rain, phones & calls, bedroom, remembering vs. forgetting
Theme: Emotional betrayal.
Imagery: “scared little boy,” “cuts me to the core,” “it rains in your bedroom”

What is Forever and Always About?

Taylor explained:

“It’s about watching somebody fade away in a relationship. They said they were going to be with you forever, that they loved you, and then something changed in the relationship and you don’t know what it is, but you’re watching them slowly drift.

That emotion of rejection, for me, usually starts out sad and then gets mad. This song starts with this pretty melody that’s easy to sing along with, then in the end I’m basically screaming it because I’m so mad.”
-Taylor Swift, upon the original release of Fearless

Who is Forever and Always About?

Based on the timing of the song, it’s possible that Forever & Always was inspired by her relationship with Joe Jonas.

But regardless of who the breakup was with, it showcases Taylor’s intense emotions of confusion and betrayal at the loss of this person.

What was the Secret Message on Forever and Always?

The secret message in the original liner notes of Forever and Always was “If you play these games, we’re both going to lose.”

In the song, the subject is indeed playing cat and mouse. He tells her one thing then does another.

They “both lose” because not only did it ruin the relationship, but it caused a lot of heartbreak and hurt feelings along the way.

Forever and Always Meaning: Line by Line

Annotated portions of Taylor Swift's "Forever and Always" (Taylor's Version) on a glittering gold background. English teachers' red pen translates the song's meaning, line by line.
The first verse lyrics read: "Once upon a time
I believe it was a Tuesday when I caught your eye
And we caught onto somethin'
I hold onto the night
You looked me in the eye and told me you loved me
Were you just kiddin'?
'Cause it seems to me
This thing is breaking down, we almost never speak
I don't feel welcome anymore
Baby, what happened? Please, tell me
'Cause, one second, it was perfect
Now you're halfway out the door"

Taylor opens with “Once upon a time,” which fits in with the other fairy tale motifs of the album (White Horse, Love Story, Today Was a Fairytale, et al). It also puts it in past tense: she’s taking us back to the beginning so she can see where it went wrong.

“I believe it was a Tuesday when I caught your eye,” she says, noting a normal day made magical by a significant event, “And we caught onto somethin’.” They noticed one another (“caught your eye”), and then quickly “caught” feelings for each other.

“I hold onto the night,” she says, remembering a significant moment, “You looked me in the eye and told me you loved me.”

She recalls this admission perfectly: he told her he loved her. She wasn’t imagining it, it actually happened. She holds onto it tightly, because it’s the only evidence she has left that they were ever in love.

“Were you just kiddin’?” she wonders, frustrated, “’Cause it seems to me / This thing is breaking down, we almost never speak.” Was it all a lie? Was it a cruel joke? How has it all fallen apart so quickly, when their connection was so magical?

“I don’t feel welcome anymore,” she says of his life and his heart. She’s slowly been shunned by him, and made to feel like an outcast.

“Baby, what happened? Please, tell me,” she begs, totally confused, “’Cause, one second, it was perfect / Now you’re halfway out the door.” It’s like a switch flipped: one second, everything was smooth sailing. But now, she can’t even see the ship. It’s like it was a mirage.

Chorus: “It Rains in Your Bedroom”

“And I stare at the phone, he still hasn’t called,” she says in the chorus, painting herself as the hopeless girl waiting at home for him to call. She doesn’t want to be in this position, but she’s so confused and has so few answers, that all she can do is wait.

“And then you feel so low you can’t feel nothin’ at all,” she says, switching from first to second person. Here, “you” is her audience: she’s looping us into the universal experience of rejection. We’ve all been there, and we commiserate with Taylor.

“And you flashback to when he said, “Forever and always,” oh,” she says, narrating another universal experience: being duped. We’ve all been lied to in this way; we’ve all been promised love and attention, only to have it yanked away.

“Oh, and it rains in your bedroom, everythin’ is wrong,” she says, her – and our – safe place tainted with sadness and longing (the metaphorical “rain”).

“It rains when you’re here and it rains when you’re gone,” she says, switching back to one specific “you.” She’s sad when he’s around, and sad when he’s not around. What was once promising has turned into only pain.

“’Cause I was there when you said, “Forever and always”,” she says, addressing him. She was there, “it was rare,” and she’ll “remember it all too well.” He can’t gaslight her into forgetting.

Verse 2: “Like a Scared Little Boy”

In verse two, she switches from sad to sarcastic and scathing. “Was I out of line?” she wonders, “Did I say somethin’ way too honest, made you run and hide / like a scared little boy?”

Did she offend him by daring to tell the truth? She’s infantilizing him here, portraying him as too immature to handle her.

“I looked into your eyes,” she says, “Thought I knew you for a minute, now I’m not so sure.” She thought she really knew him, and thought she saw the truth in his eyes.

But in reality, he’s Jekyll & Hyde. He says one thing, and does another. Like the two-faced liars of Tell Me Why, White Horse, and You’re Not Sorry, he’s duplicitous.

“So here’s to everything coming down to nothin’,” she says, satirycally raising a glass to his rejection. She’ll use this sarcastic toast again in This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things.

“Here’s to silence that cuts me to the core,” she says, having never “heard silence quite this loud.” His lack of communication, after having the most intimate communication (confessions of love), hurts her deeply.

“Where is this going?” she wonders, but she has a gut feeling it’s nowhere good.

“Thought I knew for a minute, but I don’t anymore,” she says, their future “forever and always” crumbling at her feet.

Post-Chorus & Bridge: “Back Up, Baby”

“You didn’t mean it, baby,” she accuses in the post-chorus, “I don’t think so.” This is an infantilizing use of “baby”: he’s not her “baby,” and she’s not his. He’s just acting like one.

“Oh, back up, baby, back up,” she says in the bridge, “Did you forget everything?” She needs a pause: what’s happening here? She can’t quite believe that everything they had is now gone. Did he forget all the things he promised her?

“Back up, baby, back up,” she repeats, but this time it really means “back off.”

“Did you forget everything?” she repeats sarcastically. She can’t forget his confessions of love, and she can’t forgive his childish retreat. She remembers it all, the good and the bad.

Final Chorus & Outro: “Yeah…”

The chorus repeats: “And it rains in your bedroom, everythin’ is wrong.” But this time, we can see that it’s also his bedroom that’s soaked in sadness.

Remember the secret message: “if you play these games, we’re both going to lose.” She’s lost him, and he’s lost her. Now his world is soaked in sadness and regret, just like hers.

“It rains when you’re here and it rains when you’re gone,” she repeats once again, imagining that he’s sad with her, and sad without her.

“You didn’t mean it, baby,” she says one final time in the outro, and this time it’s not a question. He must not have meant it, because someone who loves you would never just ghost.

“You said, ‘Forever and always,’ yeah,” she shrugs in the final line. He said it, but he didn’t mean it. All he did was mess with her head, and all he is is a jerk.

The “yeah” is a genius bit of sarcasm. It’s pointing out his lies, while simultaneously shrugging. It’s Taylor’s shrug to herself, like ‘yeah that happened…moving on.”

And she will move on, the lessons learned and the chapter closed. She’s now in her present world, and he’s long behind her, “forever and always” in the past.

⭐️ How well do you know Fearless? Take the Fearless TV Lyrics Quiz ⭐️

Forever & Always Meaning: Final Thoughts

The moral of the story? Don’t promise Taylor something you can’t deliver! She’ll absolutely call you out on your gaslighting.

No matter who this song is about, it doesn’t paint them in a very flattering light. But what’s most important? It’s relatable. We’ve all been that person in the relationship who was promised the world, only to have it yanked out from under them.

He did a serious bit of love bombing on her, but she now knows what to look out for. She’ll protect her heart even more carefully after learning this lesson.

When the real “forever” person comes around, she’ll know it.

More Songs from Fearless (Taylor’s Version)

What Does “Forever and Always” Really Mean? Full Lyrical Analysis

Forever and Always (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift

Forever and Always Narrative Summary

What is Forever and Always About?

Who is Forever and Always About?

What was the Secret Message on Forever and Always?