Love & Loss: Taylor’s “marjorie” Song Meaning, Explained
marjorie, Taylor’s heartfelt track 13 on evermore, is an ode to her late grandmother.
Like many of her “lucky” track thirteens, the song is especially important to Taylor as it describes a deep personal loss.
What do the lyrics mean, how does Taylor memorialize her grandmother, and what can we gather from this tragic but hopeful track?
Here’s my complete English teacher analysis of Taylor’s marjorie song meaning, line by line.

marjorie by Taylor Swift
- Title: marjorie
- Written by: Taylor Swift, Aaron Dessner
- Track: 13, Evermore
- Pen: Quill, Fountain
- Lyrics from Genius
marjorie Lyrics Meaning: Narrative Summary
- Setting: Taylor’s present, after losing her grandmother.
- Characters: Narrator (Taylor), Subject (Marjorie, Taylor’s late grandmother, “you”)
- Mood: Wistful.
- Conflict: Taylor’s grandmother died before she could get to know her better.
- Inciting Incident: “What died didn’t stay dead” (still feels her grandmother’s presence).
- Quest: Help the memory of her grandmother live on.
- Symbols & Metaphors: “Marjorie,” “What died didn’t stay dead,” “autumn chill,” “Long limbs and frozen swims / You’d always go past where our feet could touch,” ”And I complained the whole way there,” “I should’ve asked you how to be,” “Asked you to write it down for me,” “ grocery store receipt,” “every scrap of you,” “All your closets of backlogged dreams / And how you left them all to me” “And if I didn’t know better / I’d think you were singing to me now,” “you’re still around.”
- Lesson: You carry your loved ones with you always.
Who is marjorie About?
Marjorie is Taylor Swift’s ode to her late grandmother, Marjorie Finlay.
Finlay was an opera singer, whose voice can be heard in the background on the track.
In the evermore prologue, Taylor explains that this song is “starring my grandmother, Marjorie, who still visits me sometimes…if only in my dreams.”
marjorie Lyrics Explained: Line by Line
![Selected lyrics from Taylor Swift's "marjorie," annotated to uncover hidden meanings and explain her use of literary devices.
The lyrics read: "Never be so kind
You forget to be clever
Never be so clever
You forget to be kind
[Pre-Chorus]
And if I didn't know better
I'd think you were talking to me now
If I didn't know better
I'd think you were still around
[Chorus]
What died didn't stay dead
What died didn't stay dead
You're alive, you're alive in my head
What died didn't stay dead
What died didn't stay dead
You're alive, so alive"](https://swiftlysungstories.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/marjorie-song-meaning-lyrical-analysis-1024x1024.jpg)
Swift begins with a proverb: “Never be so kind / You forget to be clever / Never be so clever / You forget to be kind.” This is likely a nod to her late grandmother, who either said something similar, or would have said something similar.
This sets the tone for advice being passed down from an older, wiser person to Taylor.
“And if I didn’t know better,” she says, “I’d think you were talking to me now.” The proverb she just recounted has come from a person who has passed on. She hears the voice in her head, handing down advice from the beyond.
“If I didn’t know better,” Taylor says to her grandmother, “I’d think you were still around.” This alludes to feeling her presence, as well as hearing her voice. She still feels the love of her grandmother long after she died.
“What died didn’t stay dead,” she says, means that even though her grandmother has died, she still lives on in spirit.
But this also alludes to other things – and not just people – dying and resurrecting. Taylor will describe more of her grandmother’s legacy – and how it lives on – in the bridge.
“You’re alive, you’re alive in my head,” she says. Marjorie lives on in Taylor’s mind, as if she’s still talking to her now.
Verse 2: “Never Wield Such Power / You Forget to be Polite”
![Selected lyrics from Taylor Swift's "marjorie," annotated to uncover hidden meanings and explain her use of literary devices.
The lyrics read: "Never be so politе
You forget your power
Nevеr wield such power
You forget to be polite
[Pre-Chorus]
And if I didn't know better
I'd think you were listening to me now
If I didn't know better
I'd think you were still around
[Chorus]
What died didn't stay dead
What died didn't stay dead
You're alive, you're alive in my head
What died didn't stay dead
What died didn't stay dead
You're alive, so alive"](https://swiftlysungstories.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/marjorie-lyrics-meaning-line-by-line-1024x1024.jpg)
The second verse recounts another proverb: “Never be so politе / You forget your power / Nevеr wield such power / You forget to be polite.”
This is another piece of wisdom passed down – or Taylor imagines being passed down – from Marjorie. It means that no matter how powerful you become, you still need to be polite. But don’t let niceties prevent you from exerting your power; don’t be a doormat.
“And if I didn’t know better,” she repeats, “I’d think you were listening to me now.” This is a meta moment: Taylor wonders if her grandmother can hear her singing this song that she wrote for her.
“You’re alive, so alive,” she repeats. She lives on, and she lives on in Taylor.
Bridge: “I Should’ve Asked You How to Be”

The bridge is the only place in the song where we hear some actual memories of her grandmother while she was alive.
“The autumn chill that wakes me up,” she says, “You loved the amber skies so much.” Taylor is awoken by a chill, and looks at the sky. She wishes her grandmother could see this gorgeous sunrise with her.
“Long limbs and frozen swims” are Taylor’s memories of her grandmother, long-limbed and swimming in an icy lake. “You’d always go past where our feet could touch,” she says, which is a clever and subtle way to say that she pushed limits.
I see two possible interpretations: one, she swims with Taylor into the deep water, pushing her to be brave and daring. Or two, she watched her grandmother swim out away from her into the deep, which is another way of losing her and recounting grief.
“And I complained the whole way there / The car ride back and up the stairs,” Taylor remembers, a small child protesting going for an ice cold swim. She kicks herself for this. She should have made better use of their limited time together.
“I should’ve asked you questions,” she says, “I should’ve asked you how to be.” Instead of complaining, she should have used that precious time to ask her grandmother important things.
She should have asked her for life advice – for “how to be”, like the proverbs she recounts in the first and second verses.
She should have “Asked you to write it down for me.” She wishes she had tangible evidence of her loved one, and written advice for how to live your life.
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“Should’ve kept every grocery store receipt,” she says, “’Cause every scrap of you would be taken from me.” She wishes she had kept any scrap of evidence of her grandmother’s existence – even a grocery store receipt – because she would lose everything related to Marjorie.
She should have “Watched as you signed your name Marjorie.” She wishes she could have witnessed a signature; something that showed her who her grandmother was.
“All your closets of backlogged dreams,” she says, “And how you left them all to me.” Her grandmother was an opera singer who didn’t get to live out all of her dreams.
Taylor believes that she inherited Marjorie’s dreams, and now lives out the life that she would have wanted.
Final Chorus: “I Know Better / But You’re Still Around”
![Selected lyrics from Taylor Swift's "marjorie," annotated to uncover hidden meanings and explain her use of literary devices.
The final chorus and outro read: "What died didn't stay dead
What died didn't stay dead
You're alive, you're alive in my head
What died didn't stay dead
What died didn't stay dead
You're alive, so alive
[Outro]
And if I didn't know better
I'd think you were singing to me now
If I didn't know better
I'd think you were still around
I know better
But I still feel you all around
I know better
But you're still around"](https://swiftlysungstories.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/who-is-marjorie-about-line-by-line-analysis-1024x1024.jpg)
This time when “What died didn’t stay dead” repeats, it alludes to the “backlogged dreams.”
Even though Marjorie’s dreams “died” when she did, Taylor took the reins and made every dream come true.
“And if I didn’t know better,” she says, “I’d think you were singing to me now.” At this point in the audio track, you can hear an opera singer in the background. This is Marjorie’s actual voice, taken from an old record and inserted to reply to Taylor.
She is – in fact – still alive, because she lives on through Taylor and Taylor’s music.
When this song was part of the Eras Tour setlist, Marjorie got to “sing” all over the world to sold-out stadiums. Taylor actually did fulfill her grandmother’s dreams, not only metaphorically, but literally.
“I know better,” she concludes. She’s grown up, and has taken the advice passed down. She knows that her grandmother isn’t physically there with her, “But I still feel you all around.”
“But you’re still around,” she says, and Marjorie is still around, in Taylor’s voice, music, life, personality, and dreams.
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marjorie Song Meaning: Final Thoughts
This is one of Taylor’s most heartfelt songs, and unlike many of her tracks, we know exactly who the subject of the song is. Once you know the backstory, the song become all the more powerful.
Though it’s about grief and the grieving process, it’s also hopeful. If the evermore album theme is closure, this allows her to process the grief and move on in a meaningful way.
It’s an incredible way to honor her grandmother, and help her legacy live on, evermore.
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