The Guy on the Chiefs: “Karma” Song Meaning, Explained

Karma is Taylor Swift’s track 11 from Midnights, and the epic closing song on the Eras Tour.

Her lyrics describe the ideas of fate and retribution: she’ll get what’s coming to her, just like her enemies will get what’s coming to them.

But this track is significant in more ways that one: it’s also the rumored title of the rumored long-lost album. Has she left us any Easter eggs in the lyrics? What will karma bring us next?

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

Karma by Taylor Swift

• Title: Karma
• Written by: Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff, Jahaan Sweet, Keanu Beats & Sounwave
• Track: 11, Midnights
• Pen: Glitter Gel Pen
• Lyrics from Genius

Karma Narrative Summary

• Setting: Taylor’s cosmic, karmic world, summoning the power of vengeance.
• Characters: Narrator (Taylor), subject (“you,” likely various different characters). 
• Mood: Confident, assured. 
• Conflict: This person or people has “burned” her and others. 
• Inciting Incident: “You’re talking shit”: gossip about her gets back to her. 
• Quest: Let this person or people know that they’ll get what’s coming to them. 
• Symbols & Metaphors: “karma,” “betrayal,” “relevant,” “terrified to look down,” “glare of everyone you burned,” “coming back around,” “my side of the street,” all the things “karma” is (“a god,” “a cat”, etc.), “flexing,” “Spiderboy, king of thieves,” “webs of opacity,” “my pennies made your crown,” “trick me once,” “cash ain’t the only price,” “learned from all those years,” “earned from all those tears,” “so many fade,” “thunder,” “on your scent like a bounty hunter,” “sweet like justice,” “summit,” “the guy on the screen” (or “they guy on the Chiefs”). 
• Lesson: What goes around comes around. 

What is Karma About? 

Karma details Taylor’s belief in karmic retribution. This is the idea stemming from Buddhism and Hinduism that what goes around, comes around. 

If you live a good life full of good deeds, you’ll be rewarded in this life or the next. But if you do evil things that hurt others, you’ll pay for it in one way or another. 

The lyrics describe people who have wronged her, whom she assures will pay for their actions against her. She, however, has a positive relationship with karma because she hasn’t done evil things. She’ll be rewarded, instead of punished. 

In the Midnights Prologue, Taylor alluded to the themes of vengeance and retribution in the song:

“Why are you still up at this hour? Because you’re cosplaying vengeance fantasies, where the bad bad man is hauled away in handcuffs and you get to watch it happen. You laugh into the mirror with a red wine snarl. You look positively deranged.”

Unlike the more direct vengeance fantasies of Vigilante Shit, Karma describes the universe’s way of enacting her revenge for her. She won’t have to lift a finger in her karmic fantasies: the cosmos will do it all on her behalf.

Who is Karma About? 

Taylor has never revealed if Karma was inspired by or mentions any real people in her life. 

Fans theorize that the “spiderboy” refers to Scooter Braun, who bought her masters in a shady deal with her ex-label manager Scott Borchetta. 

Recently, Taylor has changed the lyrics to reflect her relationship with Travis Kelce, saying “karma is the guy on the Chiefs / comin’ straight home to me.” This suggests that her reward for all the turmoil she’s gone through is a loving relationship.

Karma Lyrics Meaning: Line by Line

The first verse describes someone who is not living a positive existence. “You’re talking shit for the hell of it,” Taylor says, describing their toxic gossip that they spread, just because they can. 

This person is “Addicted to betrayal, but you’re relevant.” This means that they’re shady and deceptive, but people still listen to them because they’re famous or powerful. 

“You’re terrified to look down,” Taylor says, describing their existence on a pedestal. They think they’re high above everyone else; their power has gone to their head. 

“’Cause if you dare, you’ll see the glare,” she says, “Of everyone you burned just to get there.” If they dare to look back at their past, their eyes will be blinded by the fire that they created. 

They “burned” everyone in their path – meaning hurt or used them – and if they even acknowledge their behavior, it’ll be the end of them. 

“It’s coming back around,” Taylor warns. Whether they acknowledge their past behavior or not, karma will come back to get them. They’re evil, and the punishment will fit the crime once karma decides to bite back. 

“And I keep my side of the street clean,” Taylor says, meaning she keeps her “house” tidy. She doesn’t engage in the shady stuff, and makes sure her life and career are in neat order. Her karma is good. 

“You wouldn’t know what I mean,” she says to them. They wouldn’t know good karma if it bit them, because they have never done a good deed in their life. 

Chorus: “Karma is My Boyfriend”

The chorus describes Taylor’s relationship with karma and fate. 

“’Cause karma is my boyfriend,” she says, describing the close and steady relationship she has with the concept. “Karma is a god” to her – she worships this idea. 

“Karma is the breeze in my hair on the weekend” and “Karma’s a relaxing thought” mean that this idea is comforting for her. It eases her mind, and lets her relax in the craziness that is her life. She doesn’t have to lift a finger, because karma will punish all her enemies for her. 

🌌 Are you a Mastermind? Try my Midnights Lyrics Quiz! 🌌

“Aren’t you envious that for you it’s not?” she asks them. For them, karma is to be feared. They’ll receive the wrong end of the karma stick: they’ll be punished, while Taylor will be rewarded. 

“Sweet like honey, karma is a cat,” she says, “Purring in my lap ’cause it loves me.” She’s close with this idea, and it’s always by her side. It’s a companion for her, reassuring her and giving her comfort. 

“Flexing like a goddamn acrobat,” she says, showing off how great her karma is. She’s “flexing” her sweet revenge, which all comes about because she’s done the right things in her life. 

“Me and karma vibe like that,” she says, describing their mutual affection. She and karma take care of each other, and she is proud of it. 

Verse 2: “Spiderboy, King of Thieves”

The second verse may describe the same enemy, but it could be a different one than the first verse. 

“Spiderboy,” she calls her nemesis, when contrasted with the more famous “Spiderman,” means that he’s less-than, and not at all a hero. He’s a wannabe. 

He’s the “king of thieves,” meaning he’s stolen from her. This is likely Scooter Braun she’s referring to since he owns a company called 100 Thieves, but it also alludes to the classic karmic tale of “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves”. 

The moral of the tale is to not let greed take over your life, which is what he’s done by “thieving” from Taylor. This is the opposite of Robin Hood’s “prince of thieves”: he’s not stealing from the rich to give to the poor. He’s a grifter.

He’ll “weave your little webs of opacity,” which continues the spider metaphor. He weaves intricate lies and deceptions, so confusing that you can’t see what is what. 

“My pennies made your crown,” she says, likely pointing to her masters catalog that constantly makes him money. Her hard work – her music – earns him his “crown.” 

Like the “jewels” that she gave her other business nemesis in my tears ricochet, it comes back to haunt her. But it won’t for long, because like how her “tears ricochet,” karma will come back to bite him. 

“Trick me once, trick me twice” is a play on a common proverb: “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” It means she should have had her guard up the second time around, but she didn’t. She won’t have to clean up this mess, though, because karma will take care of it for her. 

“Don’t you know that cash ain’t the only price?” she asks him. Money won’t be the only cost for his duplicity. He’ll pay in karmic retribution, too. 

“It’s coming back around,” she warns him. 

She repeats “I keep my side of the street clean,” and this time, it likely alludes to her re-records. She’s legally and methodically tearing down his empire, one album at a time. 

Chorus & Bridge: “Ask Me Why So Many Fade, But I’m Still Here”

The bridge reflects on everything she’s learned throughout her career, and in her dealings with shady people. 

“Ask me what I learned from all those years,” she says, likely referencing her “cancellation,” her reclusive years, and her years with Big Machine. She learned that “trash will take itself out, every time.” 

“Ask me what I earned from all those tears,” she says, referencing Teardrops on My Guitar (her first hit), and my tears ricochet (her revenge song against Scott Borchetta and Big Machine). She “earned” her catalog being sold out from under her, but she’s slowly reclaiming it. 

“Ask me why so many fade, but I’m still here,” she says. Why do so many stars fade from the spotlight, but she still stands at the top of her industry? It’s all karma, baby. 

Breakdown: “Karma is The Guy on the Chiefs”

The breakdown details more about Taylor’s relationship to karma and how it serves her. 

“’Cause karma is the thunder,” she says, warning that a karmic storm is rolling in over her enemies, “Rattling your ground” like an earthquake. It will shake everything up, and cleanse her world with torrential rain. 

“Karma’s on your scent like a bounty hunter,” she warns, “Karma’s gonna track you down / Step by step, from town to town.” Karma is hot on their scent, and like a professional bounty hunter, it’s coming to collect. There’s nowhere to run, and nowhere to hide. 

“Sweet like justice, karma is a queen,” she says, describing karma as ruling the world with an iron fist, dispensing justice where it’s needed. 

“Karma takes all my friends to the summit,” she says, implying that anyone who’s on her “team” will get the sweet revenge and rewards they desire. 

And finally, “Karma is the guy on the screen / Coming straight home to me.” On the Eras Tour, Taylor has changed this line to “Karma is the guy on the Chiefs” since it was revealed she’s dating Travis Kelce. 

“Karma is the guy on the Chiefs” means that Travis is her sweet karmic reward. After all the battles, heartbreaks and love lost, she’s finally reaping the benefits of her years of waiting for the right guy. 

He’s “coming straight home to me,” meaning he’s not going out with other people: he’s all hers. 

Outro: “Karma’s a Relaxing Thought”

“Karma is my boyfriend

Karma is a god (Ah)

Uh-huh, mm

Karma’s a relaxing thought”

-Taylor Swift, “Karma”

The final chorus and outro reiterate Taylor’s tight relationship with karma, and ends with “karma’s a relaxing thought.” 

She doesn’t have to worry her pretty little head: karma will take the trash out for her, every time.

And for those who don’t get to be on the relaxing side of karma, be worried: it’s coming to track you down, wherever you are. 

Karma Lyrics Meaning: Final Thoughts 

Karma is such a fun song, and it reminds us that – even if it doesn’t feel like it right now – we’ll all get what’s coming to us. If you do good things and remain a good person, you’ll get your rewards. 

And all your enemies, who do nothing but torture and hurt you? You don’t have to enact revenge yourself. They’ll get theirs, whether they know it or not. 

Karma is a relaxing thought, as long as you’re a good person. And if you’re not? We’re relaxed at the thought of you getting your due. 

🌌 Are you a Mastermind? Try my Midnights Lyrics Quiz! 🌌

More Songs From Midnights 

• Midnights Prologue
• Lavender Haze
• Maroon
• Anti-Hero
• Snow on the Beach
• You’re On Your Own, Kid
• Midnight Rain
• Question…?
• Vigilante Shit
• Bejeweled
• Labyrinth
• Sweet Nothing
• Mastermind
• The Great War
• Bigger Than The Whole Sky
• Paris
• High Infidelity
• Glitch
• Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve
• Dear Reader
• Hits Different
• You’re Losing Me