What’s Really Going On With “Shake It Off”? Full Lyrical Analysis

Shake it Off is Taylor’s most famous glitter gel pen song. It’s about being unbothered about setbacks, rising above, and dancing through the rainstorm of life. 

But is this song deeper than it seems at first glance? Like all Taylor Swift songs, yes it is. 

Here’s my complete English Teacher dissection of Taylor’s Shake it Off lyrics meaning.

Let’s deconstruct this pop anthem and see what exactly Taylor needs to “shake off,” and why.

Cover image for the song analysis of Taylor Swift's 'Shake it Off' featuring the title in large, pale blue letters against a cloudy sky background. The phrase 'Taylor's version' is styled in cursive, indicating the specific version of the song. The logo 'Swiftly Sung Stories' is placed subtly at the bottom.

Shake it Off (Taylor’s Version) 

  • Title: Shake it Off (Taylor’s Version)
  • Written by: Taylor Swift, Max Martin, Shellback
  • Track: 6, 1989 (Taylor’s Version)
  • Pen: Glitter gel pen 
  • Lyrics from Genius

Shake it Off Narrative Summary

  • Setting: The land where women in the public eye can’t do anything right. 
  • Characters: Narrator (Taylor), “people” (the wider world, press, social media, etc), us (her audience, whom the song is directed toward).  
  • Mood: Unbothered. 
  • Conflict: Everyone tries to tear Taylor down for inconsistent reasons. 
  • Inciting Incident: The press/public saying she “stays out too late”. 
  • Quest: Move along, unbothered and with a spring in her step. 
  • Symbols & Metaphors: gossip (others’ opinions about her), moving ahead (“cruisin’”, “movin’”), “music in my mind”, players/haters/heartbreakers/fakers, dancing, shaking. 
  • Theme: Moving on, moving forward. 
  • Imagery: “got nothing in my brain,” “It’s like I got this music in my mind,” “I’m lightning’ on my feet”, “the fella over there with the hella good hair.” 
  • Lesson: Don’t let others’ opinions of you influence your happiness. 

What is Shake it Off About? 

Shake it Off is about the media’s portrayal of Taylor as a dumb blonde who ‘can’t keep a man.’ In the lyrics, she lets us know that she’s aware of these stereotypes, but does not let it bother her. 

This narrative will become a major theme in her next album, reputation. 

Who is Shake it Off About?

Shake if Off is about Taylor herself, and how she handles criticism as a woman in the public eye.  

She “shakes it off,” moves along, and keeps doing her own thing. 

In both her 1989 prologues, she tells us why she needed to pretend to be unbothered: she was being subjected to an intense amount of slut shaming and scrutiny.

Shake it Off Lyrics Meaning: Line by Line

Image featuring an annotated analysis of Taylor Swift's 'Shake it Off' lyrics against a cloud-strewn sky. At the bottom, the song title 'Shake it Off' is attributed to Taylor Swift's version and is part of the 'Swiftly Sung Stories' collection.
The first verse reads: "I stay out too late

Got nothin' in my brain

That's what people say, mm-mm

That's what people say, mm-mm

I go on too many dates (Haha)

But I can't make them stay

At least, that's what people say, mm-mm

That's what people say, mm-mm"

Verse one opens with her proclamation: “I stay out too late, got nothin’’ in my brain.” This is, of course, satirical, as confirmed by the next line: “That’s what people say.” 

It’s a cheeky wink and a nod to her audience and to the media: she knows what’s said about her. 

“I go on too many dates, but I can’t make ‘em stay,” she winks to her audience, cluing us in that this is all a cheeky clapback to her haters.

It’s important to note that the media portrayal of Taylor in the Red era – and leading up to 1989 – was horrendous. Tabloids, journalists, and social media all made her out to be some sort of maneater harlot. 

The theme of Taylor’s reputation – and her commentary on it – really begins right here. She’ll go on to write an entire album about it (reputation), but at this moment, it’s the first time we really see what she thinks about it. 

“At least that’s what people say, mm-mm” she shrugs. It’s not true, but people talk. 

The “mm-mm” is such a small addition, but in context, it’s emphasizing the crazy gossip. ‘Can you believe it?’ she shakes her head, like chatting to her best friend. 

Pre-Chorus & Chorus: “I Keep Cruisin'”

Image featuring an annotated analysis of Taylor Swift's 'Shake it Off' lyrics against a cloud-strewn sky. At the bottom, the song title 'Shake it Off' is attributed to Taylor Swift's version and is part of the 'Swiftly Sung Stories' collection.
The lyrics read: "[Pre-Chorus]

But I keep cruisin'

Can't stop, won't stop movin'

It's like I got this music in my mind

Sayin', "It's gonna be alright"

[Chorus]

'Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play

And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate

Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake

Shake it off, I shake it off (Ooh)

Heartbreakers gonna break, break, break, break, break

And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake

Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake

I shake it off, I shake it off (Ooh)"

The pre-chorus and chorus narrate what she does with all this gossip and slander. “But I keep cruisin’,” she says.

“Cruisin’” is an interesting choice, as it could mean she satirically “cruises” for men. But it could also mean she just keeps moving along, unbothered by it all. 

“Can’t stop, won’t stop movin’” means she just keeps moving ahead and never backtracks. This might be a metaphor, but it’s also simply very true for Taylor the artist. She is incredibly productive and hardworking.

 “It’s like I got this music in my mind sayin’ ‘It’s gonna be alright,” she says, finding comfort in her own internal beat. This is a fantastic use of simile and metaphor, playing on the colloquial “march to the beat of my own drummer.” 

The beat she moves to is also referenced in the first song on the album Welcome to New York, where she says “it’s a new soundtrack, I can dance to this beat.” The music is her heartbeat, and the rhythm she moves through life to. No matter what other people say, they can’t change her “beat”: her heartbeat, or her music that she produces.

In the chorus, Taylor coins her own series of modern proverbs: “players gonna play”, “haters gonna hate,” “heartbreakers gonna break” and “fakers gonna fake.” All these mean the same thing – people are going to do what they’re going to do, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. 

So what should we do with all this lack of control? “Shake it off,” of course. Don’t let it get to you; let it roll like water off a duck’s back. 

In the 1989 TV prologue, she gives us more context to why she needed to “shake it off,” and revealed that all was not easily dismissed. The voices that tried to tear her down were taking a toll: “I had to make it stop because it was starting to really hurt.”

It was easier to talk about shaking it off than to actually shake it off.

🩵🩵 Can you pass the 1989 TV Lyrics Quiz? 🩵🩵

Verse 2: “Dancin’ On My Own”

Image featuring an annotated analysis of Taylor Swift's 'Shake it Off' lyrics against a cloud-strewn sky. At the bottom, the song title 'Shake it Off' is attributed to Taylor Swift's version and is part of the 'Swiftly Sung Stories' collection.
The second verse reads: "I never miss a beat

I'm lightnin' on my feet

And that's what they don't see, mm-mm

That's what they don't see, mm-mm

I'm dancin' on my own (Dancin' on my own)

I make the moves up as I go (Moves up as I go)

And that's what they don't know, mm-mm

That's what they don't know, mm-mm"

The second verse continues the music and rhythm metaphor with “I never miss a beat.” This is a little meta moment, as she references the beat of her own song as the “beats” of her life. 

“I’m lightnin’ on my feet” means she’s quick-witted and quick-footed, jumping over obstacles that pop up and dodging every bullet. “And that’s what they don’t see,” she explains. 

What don’t “they see”? How much this is all affecting her, and how much work she has to do just to keep up. The media keeps throwing daggers, and she keeps dodging them. 

“I’m dancin’ on my own” could mean she’s single – as she was in this era after being heavily criticized for her dating life – or it could mean she’s singular or one of a kind. 

In this dance of life, she’ll “make the moves up as I go.” She’s improvising, but also innovating. Soon in her career she will truly be “dancing on her own,” as she’ll have success in the industry the likes of which has never been seen. 

“That’s what they don’t know,” she explains. They don’t know that she doesn’t know what she’s doing. She’s never seen this level of fame and success before, and there’s no road map. 

This is also a dig at the media, for criticizing a young girl just doing her best. 

Interlude & Bridge: “I’m Just Gonna Shake”

Image featuring an annotated analysis of Taylor Swift's 'Shake it Off' lyrics against a cloud-strewn sky. At the bottom, the song title 'Shake it Off' is attributed to Taylor Swift's version and is part of the 'Swiftly Sung Stories' collection.
The lyrics read: "[Interlude]

Hey, hey, hey

Just think, while you've been gettin' down and out about the liars

And the dirty, dirty cheats of the world

You could've been gettin' down to this sick beat

[Bridge]

My ex-man brought his new girlfriend

She's like, "Oh, my God" (Haha), but I'm just gonna shake

And to the fella over there with the hella good hair

Won't you come on over, baby?

We could shake, shake, shake

Yeah, oh, woah"

The interlude breaks the 4th wall, with Taylor speaking (and not singing) directly to the audience. 

“Hey, hey, hey,” she beckons. Don’t get “down and out about the liars and the dirty, dirty cheats of the world.” Instead, get down to “this sick beat.”

To “get down” is to dance infectiously, but it’s also a DJ reference. “The get down” was coined by Grandmaster Flash as an innovative way to layer beats. 

But “getting down” also means getting depressed or blue. These two uses of “down” have multiple and intricate meanings. 

And what lyrics do we hear over “this sick beat”? A little anecdote from Taylor about a moment where she really had to “shake it off.” 

“My ex-man brought his new girlfriend,” who is super annoying in a confrontation (“she’s like ‘oh my god’”). What does Taylor do? Shakes it off. 

Then she looks away from this ex and toward a new man (keeps moving). “To the fella over there with the hella good hair,” she calls, “come on over, baby, we can shake, shake, shake.” 

She’s giving us an example of exactly what she means by “shake it off” and “keep movin’” in this bridge. But it also plays into her reputation of being a maneater – the central theme of the song – by calling a new guy into her life.

It’s satire, just as she uses in Blank Space. And it’s brilliant. 

Outro: “You Gotta Shake it Off”

Image featuring an annotated analysis of Taylor Swift's 'Shake it Off' lyrics against a cloud-strewn sky. At the bottom, the song title 'Shake it Off' is attributed to Taylor Swift's version and is part of the 'Swiftly Sung Stories' collection.
The outro reads: "I shake it off, I shake it off

I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off

I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off (Off)

I, I, I shake it off (Yeah), I shake it off

I shake it off, I shake it off

I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off (You got to)

I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off

I, I, I shake it off, I shake it off"

The final chorus and post-chorus repeat, looping over and over the central message: “Shake it off.” Taylor says “I shake it off, and to us, her audience says, “you got to shake it off.” 

This is her central message: don’t let this shit get you down. And there will be a lot of shit. 

The repetition is both reflective of the beat (of her heart, of her life), and how many times she’s needed to shake it off. 

And if Taylor has been able to shake it off, can’t you? 

Shake it Off Song Meaning: Final Thoughts 

At first glance this song seems so simple. But it’s really a beautifully layered look at how Taylor responds when times get hard. 

The central metaphor – the music, the beat – is how she is able to move on and keep going. It’s the heartbeat of her life, and what lets her “shake off” all the things that aren’t as important. 

Songwriting is also a central part of how she processes her emotions, and in this song she’s reminding herself to take her own advice. 

🩵🩵 Can you pass the 1989 TV Lyrics Quiz? 🩵🩵

More Songs From 1989 (Taylor’s Version) 

1989 Prologues: Original vs. Taylor’s Version

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