Time of Taylor’s Life: Complete “Long Live” Song Meaning
Long Live (Taylor’s Version) is the most triumphant song on Speak Now. In the lyrics, Taylor battles dragons and is crowned Queen, in front of massive crowds under sparkling lights.
What’s this song really about, and what messages can we learn from it?
Here’s my full analysis of Taylor’s Long Live song meaning, line by line.
Long Live (Taylor’s Version)
- Title: Long Live (Taylor’s Version)
- Track: 14, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
- Written By: Taylor Swift
- Pen: Fountain
- Hidden Message: “For you.”
- Lyrics via Genius
Long Live Narrative Breakdown
- Setting: In the present, looking back on past memories.
- Characters: Narrator (Taylor), subject (“you”, likely her band members & fans)
- Mood: Triumphant, nostalgic.
- Conflict: This success might not last; it might all come crashing down.
- Inciting Incident: Recalling a sparkling memory.
- Quest: Remember how you feel in this moment, pass down her story through the ages.
- Symbols & Metaphors: “walls we crashed through,” “fighting dragons,” “Kings and Queens”, “kingdom”, “band of thieves”
- Theme: Nostalgia, success.
- Imagery: “kingdom lights shined,” “shaking hands,” “held your head like a hero”, “confetti falls to the ground”
- Lesson: Remember how good it used to be, in case it ever disappears.
What was the Hidden Message in Long Live?
The hidden message in Long Live was “For you.” This is directed at the subject of the song, whom she “fights dragons” with in the lyrics.
What is Long Live About?
Long Live celebrates Taylor’s memories of her early performances as she was climbing the ladder of the music industry. It describes past moments with her band and her fans, cherishing these magical memories.
The title and central message of the song, “long live,” is a common historical and fairytale phrase, usually used in the context of “long live the Queen,” or “long live the King.” This sets up the central metaphor: Taylor’s career as a kingdom.
This is the first instance she uses such a metaphor, and it will continue throughout her songbook, including songs like Look What You Made Me Do, New Romantics, The Archer, Castles Crumbling, long story short, Bejeweled, and Call it What You Want.
Who is Long Live About?
At first glance, this song is about Taylor and her band. In the original Speak Now prologue, Taylor said that one of the songs on the album was “To my band.”
But in the Speak Now Taylor’s Version Prologue, she said:
“I’ll always feel shivers all over when I remember singing “Long Live” to close the show every night on tour. The outstretched hands of those bright and beautiful faces of the fans. Their support was like an open palm that reached out and helped me up off the ground when others were, frankly, mean.”
The song may have initially been written to her band, but has come to celebrate her entire career and relationship with her fans, too.
Long Live Lyrics Meaning: Line by Line
Verse one opens with Taylor in past tense, entering a memory.
“I said, ‘Remember this moment,’ in the back of my mind,” she says. She’s telling herself to take a mental picture of this momentous, memorable time, so she can recall this feeling in the future.
What’s “this moment?” It’s “The time we stood with our shaking hands,” she says, when “The crowds in stands went wild.” It’s here that we can see she’s talking about a performance.
She’s nervous – and her band is nervous – signified by “shaking hands.” But they’re also excited, as the crowds cheer, and the show begins.
“We were the kings and queens” brings back a fairytale metaphor that was so heavily prominent in the Fearless album, and makes a few appearances in Speak Now. Taylor and her band are “the kings and queens” whose names are read off (likely being introduced to a cheering crowd).
She remembers this night, when “you danced like you knew our lives would never be the same.” She recalls her band – or her fans – dancing their hearts out.
But the “dance” is also the dance of life and love, another common metaphor in Taylor’s songwriting. Things are changing, and like in Welcome To New York, “It’s a new soundtrack” to her life, and “I can dance to this beat.”
“You held your head like a hero,” she says of her bandmates, “On a history book page.” Her mental snapshot includes this image of her band, looking like the heroes of their fairytale.
“It was the end of a decade,” she says of this era, “But the start of an age.” The “decade” could refer to the year (this album was initially released in 2010, the start of a new decade), but it could also refer to Taylor’s age (she was 19-20 when Speak Now was originally written and released).
The “start of an age” is prophetic: this time would mark the beginning of the age Taylor Swift. From here on out, she’ll dominate the music industry. In the history book of Taylor Swift, this was a momentous occasion – it was the start of all that was to come.
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Chorus: “Long Live The Walls We Crashed Through”
“Long live the walls we crashеd through,” she says in the first chorus. “Long live” is a reference to the classic fairy tale trope of “Long live the king/queen.” It means that she hopes this lasts forever.
“The walls we crashed through” is a metaphor for barriers they broke on the way to success. There were obstacles, but – as a team – they blew right through every barrier, and scaled the “kingdom” walls.
“How the kingdom lights shined just for me and you,” she recalls of this magical time. The “kingdom” is their arena where they’re performing, and the lights are stage lights or stadium lights, aglow with the magic of this moment.
“I was scrеaming, ‘Long live all the magic we made’,” she says, but we can tell that “screaming” really means singing. This is also a meta moment, as when Taylor sings this song on stage, she is actually “screaming” “Long live all the magic we made.”
“And bring on all the pretenders,” she says, “One day, we will be remembered.” The “pretenders” are likely her haters, or the critics who voiced their opinions after Fearless won countless awards.
In the Speak Now Taylor’s Version Prologue, she explained that she was “tormented by the doubt that swirled loudly around my ascent and my merits as an artist. I was trying to create a follow up to the most awarded country album in history, while staring directly into the face of intense criticism.”
“Bring on all the pretenders” is her clapback to her haters, and – as she proudly and correctly asserts – “we will be remembered.”
Verse 2: “We Are the Kings and Queens”
“I said, ‘Remember this feeling’,” she says in the second verse, “I pass the pictures around.” You can imagine Taylor and her band in a pre-show huddle, hyping one another up for a performance.
Taylor passes photos around – either physically, or recalls her mental snapshots – “Of all the years that we stood there on the sidelines / Wishin’ for right now.”
The “sidelines” likely represent being an opening act, versus being the headliner of a show. But now she is the headliner, and “We are the kings and the queens.” They now rule their domain, and their kingdom is waiting, crowd chanting, and lights shining.
“You traded your baseball cap for a crown,” she says, symbolizing their moving up in the world. They were once everyday, pedestrian musicians, but now they rule their domain.
“When they gave us our trophies,” she says, likely signifying their Grammy awards, “And we held them up for our town.” They win awards, and show them off to their “town” back home, or the “town” of Hollywood. But the “pretenders” aren’t happy with these awards.
“The cynics were outraged,” she says, “Screaming, ‘This is absurd’.” This likely alludes to the criticism she received for Fearless, which received intense backlash.
Fearless won countless Grammy awards, but most importantly, Album of the Year. Critics didn’t believe she wrote her own songs, and critiqued her voice. The world had a hard time believing that a country album, let alone one written by a pretty teenage girl, deserved the highest honor.
Why were they mad? “’Cause for a moment, a band of thieves in ripped up jeans got to rule the world.” This group of outcasts swept the awards show.
“Ripped up jeans” signifies their “lower social status” as country artists, and “band of thieves” implies that they “stole” the awards. They didn’t – they won, fair and square. But Taylor uses this imagery to portray the controversy, making it all that much sweeter that the underdog won.
2nd Chorus: “I Had the Time of My Life Fighting Dragons With You”
The first part of the chorus remains the same, then “we will be remembered” changes to “I’m not afraid”. She’s the figurehead of this merry band of misfits, and she bravely leads them into battle.
“Long live all the mountains we moved,” she continues, “I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you.” To move mountains is to conquer an impossible task, and represents all the hard work they had to do for the chance to rule their “kingdom.”
“Fighting dragons” likely represents the battle for success, but could also signify her haters trying to tear her down. Dragons will pop up again in the Bejeweled music video, which follows a similar theme as Long Live.
“I was screaming, ‘Long live that look on your face’,” she says, recalling another mental snapshot of this particular performance. But the “look on your face” could also be a shout-out to fans, who Taylor can see from the stage, smiling, screaming, and singing along.
“And bring on all the pretenders,” she says, “One day, we will be remembered.” She’s slayed dragons, moved mountains, and broken through walls. Pretenders? Not such a vicious foe, and she’ll conquer them, too.
Bridge: “Hold on to Spinning Around”
“Hold on to spinning around,” she says in the bridge, conjuring a spiraling, blurring time of confusion and excitement. Hold tight to the craziness, she says, and stay anchored, while the world spins around you.
“Confetti falls to the ground” paints a cinematic portrait of this celebratory moment: this time is magic, and she wants to remember it.
“May these memories break our fall,” she says, holding onto the good times for when the road ahead gets rocky. If they ever fall from grace, or if the bottom drops out of her career, she can at least hold onto these magic moments.
“Will you take a moment? Promise me this,” she asks, “That you’ll stand by me forever.” She asks her band – and her fans – to stay close, and to never stray. They will, and we will, but at the time she originally wrote the song, there’s no way she could have foreseen the level of fandom that was to come.
“But if, God forbid, fate should step in,” she says, “And force us into a goodbye / If you have children some day / When they point to the pictures / Please, tell ’em my name.”
If something terrible happens, and this career doesn’t last, she hopes that her legacy will live on. She wants her story – and her band’s story – to be passed down through the ages, so it can be remembered forever.
“Please tell ‘em my name” means “remember me.” This is an interesting time capsule moment, which is a bit ironic now that Taylor is the most popular musician in the entire world. How could anyone forget?
She’ll give her final will and testament in the last part of the bridge, below.
“Tell ’em how the crowds went wild,” she says, “Tell ’em how I hope they shine.” These lines are directed at the next generation, but it can also be construed as a message to her fandom at large.
“Hope they shine” brings back a commonly used metaphor in both Speak Now and Fearless, where shining means to let your light glow brightly. To “shine” means to be unabashedly yourself, and to attain success and brilliance, just by being you.
“Long live the walls we crashed through,” she says one final time in the outro, “I had the time of my life with you.”
It’s no longer about fighting dragons, and it’s not about remembering one particular moment. It’s about the entire experience, and her entire life.
“I had the time of my life with you” is not just to her band, it’s to everyone: her fans, her collaborators, her family, her friends. She cherishes it all, and hopes it can live on forever.
The chorus repeats one final time, ending with “we will be remembered.” And – oh, Taylor – how you will be remembered. Forever, and forevermore.
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Long Live Meaning: Final Thoughts
Taylor has prophesied her success a few times in her lyrics, the first being A Place in This World, and the second being Change.
The difference between those first manifestation songs and Long Live is that they were more general “I’ll make it” tunes, full of hopes and dreams.
But in Long Live, she sees the success she’s starting to have, and she’s wary that it won’t last. She reminds herself that this may all be temporary, and she needs to take mental pictures of when she was at her peak.
She somehow knew this was not her peak, and prophesied future success without fear or regret. This is an incredible time capsule of a song, that encapsulates Taylor’s career so perfectly. It’s a celebration of success, hard work, perseverance, and – most importantly – the magic of Taylor Swift.
More Songs About Taylor’s Career Longevity:
More Songs From Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
- Speak Now Album Prologues Compared
- Mine
- Sparks Fly
- Back to December
- Speak Now
- Dear John
- Mean
- The Story of Us
- Never Grow Up
- Enchanted
- Better Than Revenge
- Innocent
- Haunted
- Long Live
- Ours
- Superman
- Electric Touch (ft Fall Out Boy) [From the Vault]
- When Emma Falls in Love [From the Vault]
- I Can See You [From the Vault]
- Castles Crumbling (ft. Hayley Williams) [From the Vault]
- Foolish One [From the Vault]
- Timeless [From the Vault]
