Secret Sisterhood: “no body, no crime” Meaning, Line By Line

no body, no crime is Taylor’s very own murder mystery song. Inside the folklore and evermore universe, we meet the fictional subject of the song, Este. 

Este suspects her husband is cheating, but then she goes missing. Taylor (or another protagonist) then tries to get justice for her friend by taking down her deadbeat husband. 

Hilarious irony ensues, people die, and the full force of female rage takes down the patriarchy (at least within the lyrics). 

Here’s my full English teacher investigation into Taylor’s no body no crime meaning, line by line. 

no body, no crime by Taylor Swift, ft. HAIM

• Title: no body, no crime
• Written by: Taylor Swift, Aaron Dessner
• Track: 6, evermore
• Pen: Fountain
• Lyrics from Genius

no body, no crime Narrative Summary

• Setting: Suburbiton, USA. 
• Characters: Narrator (Taylor, as a fictional protagonist), Este (Taylor’s friend), the husband who cheats (“he”). 
• Mood: Sneaky, sly, rageful. 
• Conflict: Este’s husband is cheating, then Este goes missing. 
• Inciting Incident: “Her husband’s actin’ different and it smells like infidelity”. 
• Quest: Get justice for Este. 
• Symbols & Metaphors: “no body, no crime,” “my Merlot on his mouth,” “my jewelry on our joint account,” “ call him out,” “I think he did it, but I just can’t prove it,” “until the day I die,” “His truck has got some brand new tires,” “catch him out,” “a boating license,” “cover up a scene,” “Este’s sister’s gonna swear she was with me,” “ his mistress took out a big life insurance policy,” “they think she did it” vs. “she thinks I did it,” “lettin’ up.” 
• Imagery: “That ain’t my Merlot on his mouth / That ain’t my jewelry on our joint account”, “His truck has got some brand new tires,” “And his mistress moved in / Sleeps in Este’s bed and everything”, “I’ve cleaned enough houses to know how to cover up a scene.” 
• Lesson: Female rage wins every time. 

What is no body, no crime About? 

no body, no crime centers around the fictional character Este, who suspects her husband of cheating. She then goes mysteriously – or not so mysteriously – missing. 

The narrator, Este’s friend, decides to get justice for her friend. She murders Este’s husband and covers it up, framing the man’s new mistress. 

In the evermore Prologue, Taylor described the theme of the song:

“The ‘unhappily ever after’ anthology of marriages gone bad that includes infidelity, ambivalent toleration, and even murder. The most righteous motive, to avenge the fallen.”

Within this 3-song “anthology” are tolerate it and ivy, two other tracks which also describe the downfall of a marriage. But we can see that the failed marriage isn’t the point of no body, no crime: it’s the “righteous motive” of justice and karmic retribution.

Who is no body, no crime About? 

no body, no crime is a fictional story that’s not about real people (that we know of).

Taylor may have been inspired by The Chick’s country classic “Goodbye, Earl”, which has a similar theme and narrative. 

no body, no crime Meaning: Line by Line

The intro foreshadows the rest of the narrative, with the chanting “he did it.” Then the narrative begins, with Taylor as a fictional protagonist.

She sets the scene: “Este’s a friend of mine / We meet up every Tuesday night for dinner and a glass of wine.” They’re good friends, and they have a standing weekly date to catch up. 

But at dinner, Este is stressed. “Este’s been losin’ sleep,” she says of her friend, “Her husband’s actin’ different and it smells like infidelity.” “Smells like infidelity” means that Este is “on the scent” of her husband’s affair, and wants to find out the truth. 

“She says, ‘That ain’t my Merlot on his mouth’”, which is a euphemism for the taste of something feminine that is not merlot. “That ain’t my jewelry on our joint account,” Este says. She’s gathering evidence. 

“No, there ain’t no doubt,” Este concludes, “I think I’m gonna call him out.” She’s going to confront her husband about his infidelity. 

Chorus: “I Think He Did it, But I Just Can’t Prove It”

In the chorus, Taylor recounts what her friend says: “I think he did it, but I just can’t prove it”. Este thinks he’s cheating, but she doesn’t yet have enough concrete evidence. 

“No body, no crime” in this chorus means that she doesn’t have the physical evidence of the affair. She hasn’t caught him with a “body” in his bed, and therefore can’t prove that it’s actually happening. 

This alludes to the commonly used “body count,” meaning how many people you’ve slept with. 

“But I ain’t lettin’ up until the day I die,” Este says. This is foreboding, and foreshadows the plot points to come. 

🤎 Can you tolerate my evermore Lyrics Quiz? 🤎

Verse 2: “His truck has got some brand new tires”

The second verse narrates Este’s disappearance. “Este wasn’t there Tuesday night at Olive Gardеn,” Taylor says. Her friend didn’t join her for their weekly date. She’s worried. 

Este’s not “At her job or anywhere.” She’s nowhere to be found, which is ominous, because Taylor knows she was going to confront her husband. Did it get ugly? 

“He reports his missing wife,” meaning he goes to the police to file a missing persons report. But Taylor knows that he knows where Este really is. Taylor gets suspicious, and begins watching him. 

“And I noticed when I passed his house,” she says, “His truck has got some brand new tires.” He’s replaced the tires on his truck in order to physically and metaphorically “cover his tracks.” 

Plus, he’s moved on wildly fast. “And his mistress moved in,” she says, “Sleeps in Este’s bed and everything.” Before the husband has even “discovered” where his wife went, he replaces her with a new model. 

This is Taylor gathering evidence against the husband. “No, there ain’t no doubt,” she concludes. He’s killed his wife.

“Somebody’s gotta catch him out,” she says, meaning she’s going to do something about it. She’ll avenge her friend’s death. 

In the second chorus, the meaning of “I think he did it, but I just can’t prove it” has changed.

In the last chorus, “I think he did it” suspected him of cheating. But this time, it means she thinks he killed his wife. 

“No, no body, no crime” has also changed. Before, Este had no physical evidence (“body”) of his affair (“crime”). 

But this time, it means if they don’t find Este’s body, they can’t prove that he killed her. 

“But I ain’t lettin’ up until the day I die,” Taylor warns. She’ll avenge Este’s death, no matter what it takes. 

Bridge: “I’ve cleaned enough houses to know how to cover up a scene”

In the bridge, the friends enact their plan to avenge Este. 

“Good thing my daddy made me get a boating license when I was fifteen,” Taylor muses. This alludes to a “body” of water, where they can get rid of a different kind of body : that of the husband. 

“And I’ve cleaned enough houses to know how to cover up a scene,” she says. She knows how to cover her tracks, and clean up any…messes…that might arise. 

She’ll also get her alibi in order: “Good thing Este’s sister’s gonna swear she was with me.” Este’s sister will lie to help Taylor get away with murder. “She was with me, dude,” Este’s sister chimes in. 

“Good thing his mistress took out a big life insurance policy” reveals their plan to frame the mistress. If she took out a life insurance policy, and the subject of the policy mysteriously dies, that gives her motive. 

🤎 Can you tolerate my evermore Lyrics Quiz? 🤎

“They think she did it, but they just can’t prove it” jumps to after they’ve murdered the husband. The police are sniffing around, and they suspect the mistress. They just don’t have physical evidence. 

But then, Taylor says of the framed mistress: “She thinks I did it, but she just can’t prove it.” The mistress suspects Taylor, but she, too, is lacking evidence. 

Everyone is just pointing fingers around, but there’s “no body, no crime.” No one has enough evidence to definitively prove anything, which is just the way Taylor wanted it. 

Outro: “No, No Body, No Crime”

The outro summarizes the whole ordeal. “No body, no crime” is repeated three times, one for each of the “crimes” committed in the song. 

The first “no body, no crime” alludes to the affair. “I wasn’t lettin’ up until the day he” cuts off mid-thought, symbolizing the lack of evidence of the affair. 

The second “no body, no crime” alludes to Este’s murder, and “I wasn’t lettin’ up until the day he” similarly cuts off, symbolizing the lack of Este’s body (and therefore evidence). 

The final “no body, no crime” is for the husband’s murder, but this time, Taylor finishes her thought: “I wasn’t lettin’ up until the day he died.” She admits she killed him. 

Her narrator has finally found justice, with “the most righteous motive, to avenge the fallen” at the heart of everything she does.

no body, no crime Song Meaning: Final Thoughts 

Though this isn’t one of the most complex songs on the evermore album, it’s still a great example of Taylor’s superior narrative storytelling. 

In the lyrics, she creates an entire world, start to finish. She’s described an entire episode of Dateline in a short few verses and choruses. 

Like her other masterful narrative songs, like the last great american dynasty, august, Love Story, and All Too Well, she’s shows here that she can work with fiction as well as fact.

It’s really quite amazing what she can do with so few words. We root for the narrator, we loathe the perpetrator, and we celebrate when there is “no body, no crime” to indict Miss Taylor Alison Swift.

More Songs From evermore:

• evermore Prologue
• willow
• champagne problems
• gold rush
• ‘tis the damn season
• tolerate it
• happiness
• dorothea
• coney island 
• ivy
• cowboy like me
• long story short
• marjorie
• closure
• evermore
• right where you left me
• it’s time to go