A Fascinating Lyric Analysis of “Our Song” Meaning

Our Song was a huge single from Taylor Swift’s debut album. It’s a sweet look at young love, growing up, and the nostalgia for simpler times.

But what’s the real Our Song meaning, and what can we learn from the lyrics about Taylor and her early career?

Let’s examine the lyrics of Our Song in depth and analyze the meaning.

Cover image for a lyrical analysis of Taylor Swift's song "Our Song" on a light blue background with guitar imagery. Written by Swiftly Sung Stories.

Our Song by Taylor Swift 

  • “Our Song”
  • Track 11: Taylor Swift, debut album (2006)
  • Written By: Taylor Swift
  • Pen: Fountain, with possibly a bit of glitter gel pen.
  • Lyrics from Genius

This song was a huge hit from Taylor’s debut album, and it’s a bit more country-twang than some of the others, like Picture to Burn

What’s interesting about this song is that the whole thing is a metaphor wrapped in the metaverse: it’s a song about a song, that’s not really a song at all. The “song” is the story of their relationship: the little moments that make a romance. 

Our Song Meaning: Narrative Analysis

  • Setting: Small Town America – family home, car. 
  • Characters: Narrator (Taylor), Love interest (“you”).
  • Mood: Happy, realistic, reflective. 
  • Conflict: The ups and downs of young love. 
  • Quest: Find a “song” that represents their love. 
  • Inciting Incident: Realizing they don’t have a “song.” 
  • Symbols & Metaphors: Song, roses, laugh, radio. 
  • Theme: Growing up being in love and the ups and downs. 

What was the Secret Message in Our Song?

The secret message in Our Song was: “Live in love”.

Who is Our Song About?

Taylor says she wrote this for her high school talent show, after realizing that she and her then boyfriend (Drew, as mentioned in Teardrops on My Guitar) didn’t have a song that represented their relationship.

Our Song Meaning: Line by Line

Visual analysis of Taylor Swift's "Our Song" with annotations. 
The first verse reads: "I was ridin' shotgun with my hair undone

In the front seat of his car

He's got a one-hand feel on the steering wheel

The other on my heart

I look around, turn the radio down

He says, "Baby, is something wrong?"

I say, "Nothin', I was just thinkin'

How we don't have a song"

And he says"

The first verse opens with an anecdote that sets the scene: they’re driving, and she’s “ridin’ shotgun with my hair undone.”

What this does is set the scene and characterize their relationship. She’s comfortable with him, her “hair undone” meaning she can be herself around him. It also conjures imagery of her hair blowing in the breeze, representing freedom.

“Ridin’ shotgun” also represents that he’s in the driver’s seat; he controls her heart.

“He’s got a one-hand feel on the steering wheel, the other on my heart” means the same thing: he’s got her, and he means a lot to her.

She turns down the music with the realization that they don’t have a song. This is the catalyst for the rest of the song: trying to find music that represents their love.

Chorus: “Our Song is the Slamming Screen Door”

Visual analysis of the lyrics to Taylor Swift's "Our Song" with annotations.
The first chorus reads: "Our song is the slamming screen door

Sneakin' out late, tapping on your window

When we're on the phone and you talk real slow

'Cause it's late and your mama don't know

Our song is the way you laugh

The first date: "Man, I didn't kiss her, and I should have"

And when I got home, 'fore I said amen

Askin' God if he could play it again"

The chorus is Taylor’s search for the sounds that represent their relationship. And what does she come up with? A bunch of tiny moments that encapsulate their ups, downs, and devotion.

“Our song is the slammin’ screen door,” she says, which means that the sound of the door is somehow reflective of their love. The door could be slamming because they’re fighting, or it could slam because he or she is leaving to see the other one in a hurry.

Another sound that symbolizes their love: “tapping on your window.” Windows at this point in time means a portal to the heart (as in Stay Beautiful and Sweet Tea and God’s Graces). The tapping is asking to be let into their heart.

Another sound? Talking. “When we’re on the phone and you talk real slow.” The sound of his voice is also their “song” for Taylor, as well as the “way you laugh.”

And the final symbol for their love: his audible regret that he didn’t kiss her on their first date.

Then Taylor ties all these things together by asking “God if he could play it again.” All these sounds that symbolize their love: she wants to hear them all again.

She wants to do this forever, the small moments that add up to love. She wants to put this “song” on repeat.

2nd Verse: “Gone all Wrong or Been Trampled on”

Visual analysis of the lyrics to Taylor Swift's "Our Song" with annotations.
The second verse reads: "I was walking up the front porch steps

After everything that day

Had gone all wrong or been trampled on

And lost and thrown away

Got to the hallway, well on my way

To my lovin' bed

I almost didn't notice all the roses

And the note that said"

The second verse offers another anecdote that ties together their “song” with how it makes her feel.

Taylor is coming home after a bad day, and it feels like nothing can cheer her up. But when she comes home after this tumultuous day when everything “had gone all wrong or been trampled on, and lost and thrown away”, she gets a surprise.

But in the “hallway well on my way” to curl up in bed, she notices something. “I almost didn’t notice all the roses and the note that said.”

2nd Chorus: “Our Song is The Way You Laugh:

Visual analysis of the lyrics to Taylor Swift's "Our Song" with annotations.
The lyrics read: "Our song is the slamming screen door

Sneakin' out late, tapping on your window

When we're on the phone and you talk real slow

'Cause it's late and your mama don't know

Our song is the way you laugh

The first date: "Man, I didn't kiss her, and I should have"

And when I got home, 'fore I said amen

Askin' God if he could play it again"

This chorus is the same, but it’s from his perspective. It’s the contents of the note he leaves her with the roses.

This time, it’s him saying that he loves all these “songs” that represent their love, and then he offers his own prayer that it will last.

Bridge: “I’ve Heard Every Album”

Visual analysis of the lyrics to Taylor Swift's "Our Song" with annotations.
The bridge and outro read: 

"I've heard every album, listened to the radio

Waited for somethin' to come along

That was as good as our song
I was ridin' shotgun with my hair undone
In the front seat of his car
I grabbed a pen and an old napkin
And I wrote down our song"

The bridge contains another metaphor: “I’ve heard every album, listened to the radio, waited for something to come along that was as good as our song.” She’s looked elsewhere, either for other relationships that are as good, or for other music that can encapsulate their love as well as these tiny, everyday moments do.

She comes back to this love: this “song.” This is meta: Taylor is telling us their “song” is this song, in a song.

Then comes another meta moment: “I grabbed a pen and an old napkin, and I wrote down our song.” She tells us how she wrote the song, in the song. It’s her “dear reader” moment.

She’s breaking the fourth wall, which she loves to do. She’s saying, ‘oh, by the way, this is a song about a song about a song.’ 

It’s the most Taylor thing to do; lead us in circles round and round, dropping hints and easter eggs along the way. 

Our Song Meaning: Final Thoughts

The extended metaphor of ‘Our Song’ is pretty incredible. This is her first use of the “soundtrack of her life”, which will become a thread that entwines many of her lyrics.

She’s done some incredible things in this early track, including breaking the 4th wall for the first time, which will become one of her most iconic traits.

The music metaphor runs throughout the length of the song, and she remains faithful to it throughout. It’s a masterful bit of lyricism for a 15 year old, and it’s only one small sign of what’s to come.

💚 How well do you know Taylor’s first album? Take the Debut Lyrics Quiz! 💚

Read More: Analyzing all the Songs on Taylor’s Debut Album 

Debut Album Prologue: Full Text, And What it Means

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