Imaginary Affairs: Full Analysis of “Guilty As Sin?” Lyrics Meaning

Taylor Swift’s Guilty as Sin? is one steamy ride through an imaginary affair. 

The lyrics ponder whether an emotional affair is really cheating, and whether she can be sent to “hell” if she never physically touches her object of desire. 

But who is Taylor fantasizing about, what’s going on with all the religious motifs, and what can we learn about her desires by dissecting these lyrics? 

Here’s my full English teacher analysis of the Guilty As Sin lyrics meaning, line by line and sin by sin. 

Cover image for a post by Swiftly Sung Stories analyzing Taylor Swift's "Guilty As Sin?". A vintage typewriter with a sheet of paper displays the words "Guilty As Sin?" followed by "lyrical analysis."

Guilty As Sin? by Taylor Swift

  • Title: Guilty As Sin?
  • Written by: Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff
  • Track: 9, The Tortured Poets Department
  • Pen: Quill
  • Lyrics from Genius

Guilty As Sin Lyrics Meaning: Narrative Summary

  • Setting: Inside Taylor’s mind, engaging in an emotional and imaginary affair. 
  • Characters: Narrator (Taylor, or another protagonist), subjects (desired lover, “he”, and possibly current lover, “you”). 
  • Mood: Yearning, wistful, tempted. 
  • Conflict: Is an emotional affair considered cheating? 
  • Inciting Incident: “He sent me ‘Downtown Lights’”: her desired sent her a song that got her thinking about her feelings for him. 
  • Quest: Figure out if her desire for him makes her a “sinner” or not. 
  • Symbols & Metaphors: “guilty as sin,” “Blue Nile,” “Downtown Lights,” “boredom’s bone-deep,” “allowed to cry,” “crackin’ locks,” “throwin’ my life to the wolves or the ocean rocks,” “crashin’ into him,” “paradox,” “bad or mad or wise,” “written ‘mine’ on my upper thigh only in my mind,” “hedge maze,” “way to die,” “our trysts,” “longings locked in lowercase inside a vault,” “bad thoughts,” “fatal fantasies,” “labored breath,” “all of me,” “a vow we’ll both uphold somehow,” “bed sheets are ablaze,” “buildin’ up,” “waves crashing over my grave,” “roll the stone away,” “crucify me,” “the way you hold me is actually what’s holy?”, “long-suffering propriety,” “haunted me,” “choose you and me religiously.” 
  • Lesson: An emotional affair can be just as damaging as a physical affair. 

What is Guilty As Sin About? 

Guilty As Sin narrates Taylor’s desire for a man whom she’s not currently dating. She ponders whether this secret desire makes her a cheater. 

If she never gets together with her desired physically, does that still make her a sinner? Or is this type of emotional affair still considered adulterous? 

Who is Guilty As Sin About? 

Most fans assume that Guilty As Sin was inspired by Taylor’s desire for 1975 frontman Matty Healy while she was in a relationship with Joe Alwyn. 

There are two male characters in the song: the object of her desire (“he”), and the partner she’s bound to (“you”), which fits this theory. 

But this song is mostly about Taylor’s inner turmoil over this temptation. Will simply thinking about this person ruin her? Is it a cheating scandal if she never actually has sex with her affair partner?

She ruminates over this question in the lyrics, and wonders why she’s so tempted when she’s not physically with the object of her desire. 

Guilty As Sin Lyrical Analysis: Line by Line

Annotated lyrics to Taylor Swift's "Guilty As Sin?" with red pen explaining hidden meanings, pointing out literary devices, and translating complex phrases.
The first verse reads: "Drownin' in the Blue Nile

He sent me "Downtown Lights"

I hadn't heard it in a while

My boredom's bone-deep

This cage was once just fine

Am I allowed to cry?

I dream of crackin' locks

Throwin' my life to the wolves or the ocean rocks

Crashin' into him tonight, he's a paradox

I'm seeing visions

Am I bad or mad or wise?"

The first verse begins with a musical reference that gives context to the central relationship. 

“Drownin’ in the Blue Nile,” she says, naming a 1980s Scottish band, “He sent me ‘Downtown Lights’. Her desired has sent her an old song, and she “drowns” in the music and lyrics like a river, thinking of him all the while. 

The song The Downtown Lights uses the central metaphor of city lights as a beacon of hope amidst the loneliness of love. “How do I know you feel it?” the singer asks their lover in this track. Do they feel the same way, or is this love one-sided?

This is the same question Taylor ponders in Guilty As Sin, so it’s a very appropriate reference. 

“I hadn’t heard it in a while,” she says of the song. But this also means she hasn’t had hope in a while. She hasn’t seen “the downtown lights” of love in too long, and her “boredom’s bone-deep” in her current relationship. 

“This cage was once just fine,” she says of her current relationship and life, comparing it to a prison, just like in Fresh Out The Slammer. But now that she’s awoken to the possibilities, she’s going stir-crazy. 

“Am I allowed to cry?” she asks herself. Is she allowed to have real emotions over an imaginary relationship? 

“I dream of crackin’ locks,” she says, imagining breaking out of her “cage” and running to her desired. But this could also reference the end of Hits Different, the last track of Midnights, which is where TTPD picks up. 

In Hits Different, she says “I heard your key turn in the door down the hallway / Is that your key in the door? / Is it okay? Is it you? / Or have they come to take me away?” Has the lock “cracked”, and her lover can now enter her world? 

She dreams of “throwin’ my life to the wolves or the ocean rocks”: ruining herself and her situation so that she can be with the one she desires. To throw her “life to the wolves” could allude to being public with her affections, allowing the vulturous paparazzi to see what she usually keeps hidden. 

But “ocean rocks” is much darker: this alludes to suicide. Like in the last great american dynasty, she could become a reclusive, mentally ill madwoman. Should she end it all? Is there hope anywhere to be found? 

🪶🤍 Are you a tortured poet? Find out with my TTPD Lyrics Quiz! 🤍🪶

There is. Her “ocean waves” could be “crashin’ into him tonight” instead of the rocks of death. Her inner turmoil – represented by the waves – could direct itself toward him instead of toward self-destruction.

But are those two things one and the same? Is being with him self-destructive, or a solution? 

“He’s a paradox,” she says of her desired lover or her current lover. He’s confusing, and she can’t quite read him or his intentions. With either man, she doesn’t quite know why she wants him or why he’s irresistible. 

“I’m seeing visions,” she says, describing her hot fantasies, “Am I bad or mad or wise?” She’s imagining being with the object of her desire, and wonders what that makes her. 

Is she “bad” for wanting this? Is she “mad” for even thinking about it, like the madwoman in the attic, tortured by love? Or is it smart to plot this escape plan, and have a backup man just in case? 

Chorus: “What A Way To Die”

Annotated lyrics to Taylor Swift's "Guilty As Sin?" with red pen explaining hidden meanings, pointing out literary devices, and translating complex phrases.
The chorus reads: "What if he's written "mine" on my upper thigh only in my mind?

One slip and fallin' back into the hedge maze

Oh, what a way to die

I keep recalling things we never did

Messy top-lip kiss, how I long for our trysts

Without ever touchin' his skin

How can I be guilty as sin?"

The chorus jumps into her sexual fantasies with both feet. “What if he’s written “mine” on my upper thigh only in my mind?” she asks herself. What if it never actually happens in real life, and all it turns out to be is a fantasy? 

The word “mine” implies possession, and her lover ‘owning’ her. But it’s also the title of another Swift track: Mine, from 2010’s Speak Now

That song is about believing in love, and finding someone who can help you get over your pessimistic views on lasting relationships. In Guilty As Sin, she’s pessimistic about her current relationship, and wonders if taking a lover will help her believe in love again. 

“One slip and fallin’ back into the hedge maze,” she says, tempted by her thoughts, “Oh, what a way to die.” Like an addict relapsing, she makes a slip up and tumbles back into the Labyrinth or Wonderland of her mind. 

This temptation is dangerous, and if actually performs her fantasies, it’ll “kill” her. But the rumination kills her, too, and it’s self-destructive just like Florida!!! 

“I keep recalling things we never did,” she says of her fantasies, “Messy top-lip kiss, how I long for our trysts.” She lives fully inside her fantasies, and they’re so vivid that it feels real.

She’s created an entire narrative world inside her desires, and longs for a quiet moment when she can daydream. 

“Without ever touchin’ his skin,” she ponders, “How can I be guilty as sin?” If she never enacts her desires, does that make her a “sinner”? Are thoughts alone sinful, or is she free and clear? 

Verse 2: “In lowercase, Inside a Vault”

Annotated lyrics to Taylor Swift's "Guilty As Sin?" with red pen explaining hidden meanings, pointing out literary devices, and translating complex phrases.
The second verse reads: "I keep these longings lockеd

In lowercase, inside a vault

Somеone told me, "There's no such thing as bad thoughts

Only your actions talk"

These fatal fantasies

Giving way to labored breath, takin' all of me

We've already done it in my head

If it's make-believe

Why does it feel like a vow we'll both uphold somehow?"

“I keep these longings lockеd,” she says in the second verse, “In lowercase, inside a vault.” 

This lyric is deeply layered, and is meaningful in the Swiftie universe. Taylor’s “vault” is where she keeps her unpublished work, and it’s been suggested that there are “keys” to this vault hidden in her discography. 

“Lowercase” is a punctuation device Taylor used on folklore, evermore, and reputation, as well as some tracks on TTPD. Does this mean that her “longings” are inside those previous two albums, hidden in the lyrics? 

folklore and evermore are – Taylor has said – partially based on fiction. But is that only a ruse she used to disguise her true feelings?  

“Somеone told me, ‘There’s no such thing as bad thoughts / Only your actions talk’,” she says. Can she think whatever she wants, and she won’t get in trouble unless she acts out her fantasies? 

“These fatal fantasies,” she says, describing the thoughts that will kill her or her relationship, “Giving way to labored breath, takin’ all of me.” She dives deeper and deeper into her sexual fantasies until it feels so real it’s tangible. 

“We’ve already done it in my head,” she confesses. “If it’s make-believe,” she wonders, “Why does it feel like a vow we’ll both uphold somehow?” 

If none of this is real, why does it feel like something that will eventually happen? Were the Paper Rings just a placeholder until they could get the timing right, and put on real rings? 

2nd Chorus: “My Bed Sheets Are Ablaze”

Annotated lyrics to Taylor Swift's "Guilty As Sin?" with red pen explaining hidden meanings, pointing out literary devices, and translating complex phrases.
The second chorus reads: "What if he's written "mine" on my upper thigh only in my mind?

One slip and fallin' back into the hedge maze

Oh, what a way to die

My bed sheets are ablaze

I've screamed his name

Buildin' up like waves crashin' over my grave

Without ever touchin' his skin

How can I be guilty as sin?"

The first part of the chorus repeats, and she falls back into her mental labyrinth. Inside her fantasies, “My bed sheets are ablaze.” It’s mighty hot inside her daydreams. 

But this also calls back to The Archer: “the room is on fire / invisible smoke.” Here, the fire – the forbidden desire – is real, and it could burn the whole house to the ground. 

“I’ve screamed his name,” she says, describing both a hot moment in bed and a cry for help. The scream is “Buildin’ up like waves crashin’ over my grave.” Her desire for him is growing stronger and stronger, and like an orgasm, it will eventually crash. 

“Over my grave” alludes to the French “la petite mort,” or the “little death” of an orgasm. But metaphorically, she’s already dead and buried: she’s surrendered to this desire, and it’s killed her or her relationship, just as she knew it would.

“Without ever touchin’ his skin,” she asks again, “How can I be guilty as sin?” But she’s already in a hell of her own making, locked in the labyrinth of her desire. 

Bridge: “I Choose You And Me Religiously”

Annotated lyrics to Taylor Swift's "Guilty As Sin?" with red pen explaining hidden meanings, pointing out literary devices, and translating complex phrases.
The bridge reads: "What if I roll the stone away?

They're gonna crucify me anyway

What if the way you hold me is actually what's holy?

If long-suffering propriety is what they want from me

They don't know how you've haunted me so stunningly

I choose you and me religiously"

The bridge dives deeper into the religious motifs of the track, and possibly addresses a third character directly with the pronouns “you.”  

“What if I roll the stone away?” she asks. To “roll the stone away” alludes to the biblical story of Jesus’ death and resurrection. The story goes that when his disciples rolled the stone away from his tomb, he was no longer inside: he had been resurrected. 

For Taylor to “roll the stone away” is to either give into her fantasy (to “die” and be buried in a “grave” of her own making), or to give up the fantasy, like giving up the “ghost” of her desired lover. 

Either way, “they’re gonna crucify me anyway,” she says. No matter what she chooses – staying with her partner or choosing her desired lover – the public will “crucify” her and mark her with a scarlet ‘A’. 

🪶🤍 Are you a tortured poet? Find out with my TTPD Lyrics Quiz! 🤍🪶

The scarlet ‘A’ is a common theme in Taylor’s lyrics, as is being “crucified” for her life decisions. But here, she asks “What if the way you hold me is actually what’s holy?” 

This is where the narrative gets tricky. Previously, Taylor has used third person to talk about her desired lover. Here, she uses the second person “you.” She’s either addressing her desired lover directly, or she’s speaking about her current partner, whom she may cheat on. 

If she’s speaking to her potential affair partner, she wonders if it’s actually the right thing to do: it’s what’s “holy”, and may get her crucified, but it’ll all be worth it. 

If she’s speaking to her current partner, she’s wondering if staying with them is actually the right thing to do. In that case, the affair is a bad idea, and she needs to shut these tempting thoughts down. 

“If long-suffering propriety is what they want from me,” she says, “They don’t know how you’ve haunted me so stunningly.” 

This meaning changes depending on who she’s talking about. Her current relationship could be the “long-suffering propriety,” and he’s the one she can’t escape. He’s “haunted” her “so stunningly” that she’s stuck on him, but still fantasizes about another man. 

But it could also mean that her desired lover haunts her, and she keeps herself stuck in “long-suffering propriety” with her current man.

“I choose you and me religiously,” she says, closing out the bridge. But who does she choose? Her current partner, or the one she’s tempted by? 

To me, it goes back to the motif of sin and immorality. She chooses to be the good, pious girl who stays with her long-term partner. But in her head, she chooses this other person. It’s not sinful if no one finds out, right? 

She chooses both “you and me”: her partner in real life, and her fantasy partner in her head. 

Outro: “Am I Allowed to Cry?”

Annotated lyrics to Taylor Swift's "Guilty As Sin?" with red pen explaining hidden meanings, pointing out literary devices, and translating complex phrases.
The outro reads: "He sent me "Downtown Lights"

I hadn't heard it in a while

Am I allowed to cry?"

The chorus repeats, then the outro circles back around to frame the story. “He sent me ‘Downtown Lights,’ she repeats, echoing the first verse. 

She pops back out of her fantasy and back into the real world: her crush has sent her a song that sent her spiraling into desire. 

“I hadn’t heard it in a while” is like saying, ‘whew, that was intense. I forgot I had feelings that deep.’ 

“Am I allowed to cry?” she asks, wondering if she can have real, physical emotions over an imaginary affair. This is her reality check to herself: ‘I’m not a sinner,’ she thinks, ‘but I could be.’ 

The temptation is strong. But who will she choose “religiously,” and will she fall “back into the hedge maze” of fantasy, or stay in reality? 

She doesn’t know yet, and neither do we. 

🪶🤍 Are you a tortured poet? Find out with my TTPD Lyrics Quiz! 🤍🪶

Guilty As Sin Song Meaning: Final Thoughts

This song is tricky to analyze, and for me, it all comes down to her use of second and third person. If she had stuck to third person “him” throughout the entire song, it would be clear: she’s fantasizing about someone. 

But with the switch to “you,” it muddies the waters. Who does she choose and why? It’s unclear, and I think she’s being intentionally vague to cloud the narrative. 

But this confusion of the subject also reflects her internal confusion. Is she a bad person to think about cheating, or is she mad for staying with someone who doesn’t excite her? 

Either way, no matter what she choses, the public will have opinions. But like much of her central message of TTPD, she no longer cares what other people will say. It’s her life, it’s her love, and it’s her choice. 

She’ll be “guilty as sin” either way, depending on who you ask. 

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