Decoding the “Paper Rings” Meaning: Forever, or For Now?

Paper Rings is the most upbeat and positive song on all of Lover. The lyrics depict a happy accidental meet-cute, falling in love, and wanting to spend your life with this new person you’ve found. 

But what do the lyrics and central metaphor of “paper rings” mean? It is a recipe for lasting love?

And do we think Taylor is pointing this song in the direction of one person, or singing about love in general? Did she take inspiration from the iconic Grease soundtrack? 

Here’s my full analysis of Taylor Swift’s Paper Rings meaning, line by line. 

Paper Rings by Taylor Swift

• Title: Paper Rings 
• Written by: Jack Antonoff, Taylor Swift,
• Track: 8, Lover
• Pen: Glitter gel pen 
• Lyrics from Genius

Paper Rings Analysis: Narrative Synopsis

• Setting: In the lovestruck days of a relationship, or possibly a wedding reception. 
• Characters: Narrator (Taylor), subject (“you”, who she’d marry with “paper rings”)
• Mood: Lovestruck, upbeat. 
• Conflict: Love comes with ups, but downs too. 
• Inciting Incident: The meet and fall in love. 
• Quest: Let him know that she wants him forever, flaws and all. 
• Symbols & Metaphors: “paper rings,” “ all of the books beside your bed,” cold shoulder, “Cat and mouse,” “watch you breathe,” “ shiny things”, “in picture frames,” “in dirty dreams,” “ icy outdoor pool,” “ even if it makes me blue,” “standing here so tall”, “dreary Mondays.”
• Theme: Lasting love, marriage or not. 
• Imagery: “The moon is high,” “The wine is cold,” “ I’d marry you with paper rings,” “In paper rings, in picture frames, in dirty dreams,” “ In the winter, in the icy outdoor pool”
• Lesson: The right person doesn’t require a diamond. 

What is Paper Rings About? 

Paper Rings is about finding lasting love, whether it requires a wedding ring or not.

The narrator tells us how she “accidentally” found this person, and wants to spend her life with them. She’d marry them with “paper rings,” meaning the material stuff doesn’t matter. It’s time with them that she wants. 

Taylor describes the song as a soundtrack for an old-school wedding reception. She said:

” [I was] imagining that I was a wedding band at a reception, playing the love songs that the bride and groom wanted to hear in, like, 1978 or something…The whole song is just basically reminiscing on fun memories.

And then in the chorus, it talks about how, basically the concept of, like, your whole life you talk with your friends about how, like, ‘Oh my God. Do you wanna get married? What do you want your ring to look like? What kind of ring do you want?’

I don’t know, I just feel like if you really love someone, love someone, you’d be like, ‘I don’t care.’ And so, it talks about that concept as the hook.”

–iHeart Radio Album Release Party

Who is Paper Rings About? 

Taylor has never revealed who Paper Rings was inspired by. It could be about her then-boyfriend Joe Alwyn, but it could be about the idea of finding that kind of love in general. 

Paper Rings Lyrics Meaning: Line by Line

Verse 1 Synopsis: We used to be strangers, but now we’re really close.

Verse one sets the scene for how they met with a few anecdotes from their past. 

“The moon is high / Like your friends were the night that we first met.” She’s in her current setting where the moon is high in the sky – which we can imagine as a wedding reception as per her description – and relaying how his friends were high the night they first met. 

After that initial meeting, she says, she “went home and tried to stalk you on the internet.” And over time, their relationship has grown so much in intimacy and closeness that she has “read all of the books beside your bed.” 

“The wine is cold,” she says, likely referring to her beverage at the wedding reception, “like the shoulder that I gave you in the street.” This likely refers to before they were together, where she gave him the ‘cold shoulder’. 

They played “cat and mouse for a month or two or three.” This means that they each played games before they became a couple, where one or the other chased, then retreated. 

But “now I wake up in the night and watch you breathe,” she says. Now they’re so intimate and close that she’s next to him every night, and simply watches and appreciates him while he’s sleeping. 

Pre-Chorus: “I Waited My Whole Life”

Pre-Chorus Synopsis: Kiss me: you’re the one who makes me feel better. 

The pre-chorus is kind of a punk-esque countdown, with “kiss me once…kiss me twice” echoing the final countdown to the chorus. 

The first kiss is “ ’cause you know I had a long night”: it’s comforting and soothing. The second kiss is the same sentiment, “’cause it’s gonna be alright.” 

The third is “’cause I waited my whole life,” meaning she’s waited her whole life for him. It could also mean she’s waited her whole life to get married. 

Chorus: “I’d Marry You With Paper Rings”

Chorus Synopsis: I want you always and forever, no matter what. 

The chorus gives us the central metaphor: “I like shiny things, but I’d marry you with paper rings.” This means she likes things that are sparkly and new, like a diamond ring, but she’d settle for a “paper ring” to marry him. 

Liking “shiny things” could also mean that she likes the novelty of new partners and dating new people, but she’d stop all that to marry him with a flimsy “paper ring.” 

“Darling, you’re the one I want,” she says, which may sound familiar to keen-eared listeners. The Olivia Newton John and John Travolta song “You’re the One That I Want” from the musical Grease uses the exact same phrase. 

And where is this song often played? Wedding receptions. It’s a clever little callback to that fun song. 

“I hate accidents,” she says, “except when we went from friends to this.” This makes it sound like they accidentally got together. Were they friends first, then fell into a relationship? 

“You’re the one I want / In paper rings, in picture frames, in dirty dreams,” she says. She wants him in every part of her life, always: in the rings they wear, in the pictures displayed in their home, and in the dirty dreams she has at night. 

Verse 2: “Even if It Makes Me Blue”

Verse 2 Synopsis: I’ll follow you no matter what. Our history is what allowed us to be where we are now. 

Verse two gives us a few more anecdotes that illustrate their shared history. 

“In the winter, in the icy outdoor pool / When you jumped in first, I went in too” means that he jumped into a cold pool and she followed him. This could be an actual moment they experienced, or it could be a metaphor for her sticking by him, no matter what. 

“I’m with you even if it makes me blue” means she’ll stay with him even if it makes her sad, but also reflects the color her skin would turn from the icy waters. 

“Which takes me back / To the color that we painted your brother’s wall” means that they painted his brother’s wall blue. This is likely an inside anecdote directed at the subject, as the reader gets no more context or information. 

“Honey, without all the exes, fights and flaws,” she concludes, “we wouldn’t be standing here so tall.” This means that without their pasts, they wouldn’t be here today. To “stand tall” is to be proud or confident, which in this context means solid in their relationship. 

Bridge: “I Want Your Dreary Mondays”

Bridge Synopsis: I want to be with you, even when it gets tough. 

The bridge confronts the subject directly with Taylor’s desires. She wants to “drive away with you,” meaning she wants to either escape, or take the ‘long drive’ of life together. 

“I want your complications too” means she accepts all of him, even the parts that are unclear or frustrating. 

“I want your dreary Mondays” means she wants to go through the everyday inertia of life with him, and wants to be with him even on the bluest days. 

“Wrap your arms around me, baby boy” means she wants to be enveloped by him. She wants his arms around her to make her feel safe, and assure her “it’s gonna be alright.” 

Final Chorus & Outro: “You’re the One I Want”

The chorus repeats, then the outro echoes “you’re the one I want, one I want” twice, much like  the Grease song that could have inspired this phrase. 

She wants him – and no one else – to marry her with “paper rings.” 

But what else are “paper rings”? Fragile. Breakable. Flimsy. Temporary. 

Just saying. 

Paper Rings Meaning: Final Thoughts 

Paper Rings is one of two tracks you might play at a wedding reception on the Lover album, the other being the title track. It seems like weddings were on Taylor’s mind during the writing of this album, as two songs contain wedding imagery and themes. 

But what do they have in common? The chase and never the capture. 

In Lover, she’s constantly asking her love to let her stay (“can I go where you go?”), and in Paper Rings, she’s declaring that she’d marry him with a flimsy, temporary symbol of their commitment. 

Sure, on the surface, they’re both love songs. But in true Taylor fashion, all is not as bright and shiny as it seems. 

More Songs From Lover

• Lover Prologue: What It Says vs. What It Means
• I Forgot That You Existed
• Cruel Summer
• Lover
• The Man
• The Archer
• I Think He Knows
• Miss Americana and The Heartbreak Prince
• Cornelia Street
• Death by a Thousand Cuts
• London Boy
• Soon You’ll Get Better
• False God
• You Need to Calm Down
• Afterglow
• It’s Nice to Have a Friend
• Daylight