The Sad Irony of Taylor’s “happiness” Lyrics Meaning: Full Analysis

happiness is not a happy song: it’s Taylor’s devastating track 7 from evermore. 

The lyrics tell the story of a heartbreaking loss, where two people are trying to make sense of their grief. Something broke down between them, and the narrator struggles with the duality of emotions. 

What themes are at play in this song, and what do the lyrics mean? It’s more complex than it looks on the surface. 

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

happiness by Taylor Swift

• Title: happiness
• Written by: Aaron Dessner, Taylor Swift
• Track: 7, Evermore
• Pen: Quill 
• Lyrics from Genius

happiness Narrative Summary

• Setting: After a heartbreak. 
• Characters: Narrator (Taylor, or another protagonist), subject (the love she’s lost, “you”). 
• Mood: Melancholy, hopeless, hopeful.  
• Conflict: They hurt one another. 
• Inciting Incident: “I was dancing when the music stopped.” Something broke or ended between them. 
• Quest: Trying to find closure.  
• Symbols & Metaphors: “happiness,” “above the trees,” “shit we’re dividin’ up,” “hiding spots,” “dancing when the music stopped,” “reinvention” and “the new me”, “after” and “because of you/me”, “blood and bruise,” “curses and cries,” “terror in the nightfall,” “Leave it all behind,” “smile” vs “smirk”, “lessons” vs. “weapons,” “my deepest hurt,” “beautiful fool”, “my spot next to you,” “facts” vs “fury,” “our great divide,” “glorious sunrise,” “flickers of light,” “dress I wore at midnight,” “villain,” “seven years in heaven,” “ acid rain,” “green light of forgiveness,” 
• Imagery: “when I’m above the trees,” “Showed you all of my hiding spots,” “I was dancing when the music stopped,” “Past the blood and bruise / Past the curses and cries / Beyond the terror in the nightfall / Haunted by the look in my eyes,” “Tell me, when did your winning smile / Begin to look like a smirk? / When did all our lessons start to look like weapons / Pointed at my deepest hurt?”, “a beautiful fool,” “There is a glorious sunrise / Dappled with the flickers of light / From the dress I wore at midnight,” “I pulled your body into mine / Every goddamn night,” “But now my eyes leak acid rain on the pillow,” “green light of forgiveness.” 
• Lesson: You can appreciate the good memories, as well as curse the bad, all at the same time. 

What is happiness About? 

happiness describes a heart wrenching breakup between the protagonist and an ex (either lover, friend, or other significant person). The lyrics narrate how a relationship can cause both pleasure and pain, and how it’s hard to move on from something that was so meaningful. 

The themes of closure, moving on, forgiving vs. forgetting, happy memories vs. sad memories, and gaining perspective with time are prominent in the song. 

In the evermore Prologue, Taylor said that this song is about “The realization that maybe the only path to healing is to wish happiness on the one who took it away from you.”

Who is happiness About? 

Taylor has never revealed if happiness was inspired by any real people in her life. She said about the song in an interview:

“I think ‘I haven’t met the new me yet,’ in the context of the relationship song, I was trying to sort of channel my friends who have gotten out of very, very long, impactful, life-altering relationships and saying, ‘How do I pack this up? How do I put this in a box, put it in my car and drive away? And what did I leave there?’” 

-Taylor Swift, Apple Music

Some fans theorize that the song is about her former manager Scott Borchetta, who sold her masters to her arch-nemesis Scooter Braun. Some clues include “seven years in heaven,” which could symbolize the six albums she wrote while with Borchetta, the seventh never having been released due to her pre-reputation disappearance. 

“My eyes leak acid rain,” similarly, could allude to her folklore track my tears ricochet, which is almost certainly about Borchetta. 

“I was dancing when the music stopped” could symbolize the moment she found out her “music” had stopped: the moment she found out her masters had been sold. 

But no matter who inspired the song, it’s a powerful look at closure and trying to move on from the good memories and the bad ones. 

happiness Song Analysis: Line by Line

In the first verse, the narrator tries to gain some perspective.

“Honey, when I’m above the trees,” she says, “I see this for what it is.” When she gets a better view – a clearer perspective – she can see things how they actually are. 

Being “above the trees” could allude to a childhood perspective like in seven (“please picture me in the trees”). But it could also reference The Great Gatsby, one of Taylor’s favorite novels to draw inspiration from. 

“Out of the corner of his eye Gatsby saw that the blocks of the sidewalks really formed a ladder and mounted to a secret place above the trees — he could climb to it, if he climbed alone, and once there he could suck on the pap of life, gulp down the incomparable milk of wonder.” 

–The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald 

The Great Gatsby centers around the themes of wealth, power, and deception, following the protagonist’s failed quest to stake a position in high society. Taylor has referenced this book before in This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things and the last great american dynasty. 

Right now, the protagonist can’t see clearly: “But now I’m right down in it,” she says,  “all the years I’ve given.” She’s in the thick of this mess, and can’t see how it will get better anytime soon. 

“Is just shit we’re dividin’ up” means they’re dividing their assets, akin to a divorce. This is dangerous, because he knows where she keeps her most prized possessions: she “showed you all of my hiding spots.” 

“I was dancing when the music stopped,” she says. She was having a good time until something terrible happened. This could allude to her masters being sold out from under her, but could also allude to the classic American Pie by Don McLean. 

McClean’s “the day the music died” represents Buddy Holly’s fatal plane crash. Taylor’s “the music stopped”, therefore, is something just as impactful. This was a drastic, tragic event that caused her world – her “music” – to grind to a halt. 

It could also represent the time at which she wrote folklore and evermore, however, as the “music” of the world stopped, and everything shut down. 

“And in the disbelief, I can’t face reinvention,” she says. She’s still stunned by this tragic event, and can’t face having to start all over and reinvent herself.

“I haven’t met the new me yet” represents this reinvention: moving on when you’re still stuck in the past. 

Chorus & Post-Chorus: “Beyond the Terror in the Nightfall”

The chorus gives us the grand perspective she’s longing for from “above the trees”. 

“There’ll be happiness after you,” she says, “But there was happiness because of you.” She will eventually recover, but she doesn’t know where her future joy and meaning will come from.

Previously, it came from him. She’s lost. 

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“Both of these things can be true,” she surmises, but she doesn’t know for sure. Will she ever find happiness again? “There is happiness,” she says. It exists. It just doesn’t exist for her right now. 

There’s happiness to be found “Past the blood and bruise / Past the curses and cries.” Once she gets past this tortuous heartbreak that has made her bleed and bruised her up, she might find joy again. 

“Past the curses and cries” could allude to “cursin’ my name” from my tears ricochet; another clue that this song could be about her former label’s manager. 

She might be able to find happiness “Beyond the terror in the nightfall.” Nightfall represents when “the music stopped.” Darkness fell, and everything went black. 

He’s still “Haunted by the look in my eyes,” she surmises, “That would’ve loved you for a lifetime.” This could also allude to my tears ricochet, where she says, “I didn’t want to have to haunt you, but what a ghostly scene.” 

He’s still “haunted” by her eyes, which could have looked at him with affection forever. But now they glare hatred, loathing, and disgust. 

“Leave it all behind,” she tells herself, or him. “And there is happiness.” If they can forget all these tragic events, they might be able to find happiness once again. 

Verse 2: “When Did All Our Lessons Start to Look Like Weapons”

Verse two narrates their slow falling apart. 

“Tell me, when did your winning smile,” she asks, “Begin to look like a smirk?” When did he begin this treachery? When did Dr Jekyll turn into Mr Hyde? 

“When did all our lessons,” she asks, “start to look like weapons”? When did all the things they learn about each other become ammunition “Pointed at my deepest hurt?”

He’s using her greatest vulnerabilities against her, because he knows what they are. He knows which buttons to push. 

“I hope she’ll be a beautiful fool,” she sneers, “Who takes my spot next to you.” This is a reference to Daisy in The Great Gatsby, who says of her daughter, “I hope she’ll be a fool—that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” 

A “beautiful fool” is someone who is charmingly naive, and expects the best because it’s all she’s ever known. Taylor hopes her replacement will fall victim to his schemes just as she did. 

But then she backtracks: “No, I didn’t mean that / Sorry, I can’t see facts through all of my fury.” She apologizes for the jab, but she’s still in the midst of anger. Her words are still barbed, and will be for some time. 

“You haven’t met the new me yet,” she says, hoping that a future version of herself will be more kind and less resentful. 

Second Chorus & Post-Chorus: “Across Our Great Divide”

The chorus and post-chorus narrates a melancholy surrender. 

“There’ll be happiness after me,” she says, “But there was happiness because of me.” She brought him joy, but other people can do that in the future. She won’t be that person anymore for him. 

“Both of these things, I believe” means that you can hold both the good and the bad in the same hand. 

“There is happiness”, she says, “In our history, across our great divide”. Somewhere in there – in the gulf that now lies between them, there were good moments. She just can’t see them now. 

“There is a glorious sunrise” after the “terror in the nightfall.” This represents rebirth and renewal: the sun has to set in order to rise again, and somewhere in the future it will happen for her. 

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The sunrise will be “Dappled with the flickers of light / From the dress I wore at midnight.” This imagery conjures a sort of Cinderella moment, where her sparkly gown disappears at midnight. When this moment of rebirth happens, she’ll “leave it all behind / and there is happiness”. 

But “the dress I wore at midnight” could also symbolize other significant dress moments in Taylor’s discography: “the girl in the dress” from Dear John, “only bought this dress so you could take it off” from Dress, or “that little black dress” from her first hit Tim McGraw.

Dresses often symbolize youth and innocence for Taylor, and this time it’s no different. She’s “wearing” her past, symbolized by the dress. And when it disappears and morphs back into rags like Cinderella, she’ll be allowed a new beginning. 

Like her re-records of her masters, she’ll go back to her roots to rise once again. She’ll leave behind the pain of the past, take off her old dresses of youth and naivete, and be born again a new woman. 

Bridge: “The Price I Paid for Seven Years in Heaven”

The bridge narrates: “I can’t make it go away by making you a villain.” She can’t dissolve or forget her heartbreak by blaming him. She either doesn’t want to villainize him, or he doesn’t deserve it. 

“I guess it’s the price I paid for seven years in Heaven” means not making him the villain is her “price”: she’s accepting some responsibility for the situation, too. 

“Seven years in heaven” is an allusion to the teenage kissing game “seven minutes in heaven,” but here it could symbolize the seven albums she made with Scott Borchetta (in theory – she released six with Borchetta/Big Machine, and likely had another in the works when she left the label). 

Alternatively, it’s the price she has to pay for having all of her prior happiness – it came with a cost, and the cost is that they’ve both descended into hell. 

“I pulled your body into mine / Every goddamn night,” she says, describing their former intimacy.  But “now I get fake niceties,” meaning they are far from intimate these days. It’s all a facade that hides their contempt and heartbreak. 

“No one teaches you what to do / When a good man hurts you” means she doesn’t know where she’s going next. Formerly he was her teacher, or she was his, or they taught each other (“all our lessons”). Now there is no one to guide her. 

“And you know you hurt him too” displays her own culpability in the situation. They’re both maimed each other. 

Verse 3: “My Eyes Leak Acid Rain”

Verse three echoes the grand view “above the trees” vs. her current limited view from below. 

“But now my eyes leak acid rain,” she says, “on the pillow where you used to lay your head.” Acid rain is corrosive, and would not only destroy her eyes (her “view”), but his place in her bed. Her pain is destroying her, and destroying what they had together. 

“After giving you the best I had,” she continues, “Tell me what to give after that.” She gave him everything she had, and now there’s nothing left. She’s depleted. 

“All you want from me now is the green light of forgiveness” means that he wants the go-ahead to move on with a clear conscience. But this could also tie into The Great Gatsby, where the “green light” represents the American dream of money and power. 

Throughout the novel, the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock has represented hope of a prosperous life for Gatsby. But by the end, after his dreams of wealth, power, and love have failed, “the colossal significance of that light had now vanished forever… now it was again a green light on a dock.”

Taylor’s “green light of forgiveness” could represent not only the go-ahead to move forward, but the failure of attaining their “American dream” together. In the context of Scott Borchetta and the masters heist, the “green light” could represent forgiving his greed. 

“You haven’t met the new me yet,” she says, “And I think she’ll give you that.” A future version of Taylor might be able to give him the “green light of forgiveness.” But her current self cannot. 

Final Chorus & Post-Chorus: “Leave it All Behind, And There is Happiness”

The final chorus and post-chorus echo everything we heard previously: she had happiness with him, and she hopes to find it again after he’s left. 

She reflects on the sun that rose “across our great divide,” then again echoes the dress metaphor. She imagines the sunrise reflects and sends “flickers of light” across the ocean between them. Are these “flickers” of hope? 

If the dress represents when it all fell apart, there were sparks of happiness even in that dark night. If she can “leave it all behind,” she might have the possibility of seeing those sparks of happiness again. 

“Leave it all behind,” she summarizes, “and there is happiness.” If she can move on past this trauma, she might be able to be reborn into a new version of herself. 

She can’t let go of the past quite yet, but future Taylor might be able to attain forgiveness and forgetting. She can only hope. 

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happiness Song Meaning: Final Thoughts 

There could be no heavier irony than a song titled “happiness,” with no happiness to be found within the lyrics. 

This song is all about the hope of happiness, and while she’s the opposite of joyful now, she yearns for the time when she will actually feel it again. 

She grapples with memories – both the good and the bad – and how something that was so beautiful can also be so ugly. If something that brought her so much joy could also bring her so much pain, why would she want to do it all over again? 

Present Taylor isn’t ready to start from square one, but future Taylor will see the sun rise on her life once again. And when that happens, she might find her elusive happiness. 

More Songs From evermore:

• evermore Prologue
• willow
• champagne problems
• gold rush
• ‘tis the damn season
• tolerate it
• no body, no crime
• dorothea
• coney island 
• ivy
• cowboy like me
• long story short
• marjorie
• closure
• evermore
• right where you left me
• it’s time to go