Taylor’s Poetic Pain: “the lakes” Meaning, Explained Line by Line

the lakes is Taylor Swift’s ode to escape, and the final track on the folklore deluxe edition. 

The lyrics describe her desire to run away to the wilderness, and from modern society, like the 19th century romantic poets did. 

But what do these prosaic and very literary lyrics mean, and what is Taylor’s underlying message? 

Here’s my complete English teacher analysis of Taylor’s the lakes meaning, line by line. 

the lakes by Taylor Swift

• Title: The Lakes
• Written by: Jack Antonoff, Taylor Swift
• Track: 17, Folklore Deluxe Edition
• Pen: Quill
• Lyrics from Genius

the lakes Analysis: Narrative Summary

• Setting: Modern life, the Lake District in the UK. 
• Characters: Narrator (Taylor), subject (her “muse,” possibly her lover). 
• Mood: Romantic, escapist. 
• Conflict: She wants to run from “all these cynical clones.” 
• Inciting Incident: “I’m setting off.” 
• Quest: Find a simpler life.
• Symbols & Metaphors: “the lakes,” “elegies eulogize,” “cynical clones,” “hunters with cell phones,” “the poets,” “my muse,” “burrowed under my skin,” “namedropping sleaze,” “what are my words worth,” “watch wisteria grow,” “red rose grew,” “no one around to tweet it,” “calamitous love and insurmountable grief.” 
• Theme: Running away from it all. 
• Imagery: “my elegies eulogize me,” “cynical clones” & “hunters with cell phones,” “Take me to the Lakes, where all the poets went to die,” “Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry,” “burrowed under my skin / in heart-stopping waves of hurt,” “watch some namedropping sleaze tell me what are my words worth,” ““I want auroras and sad prose,” “watch wisteria grow right over my bare feet”, “A red rose grew up out of ice frozen ground,” “I bathe in cliffside pools.” 
• Lesson: Wherever you go, there you are. 

What is the lakes About? 

the lakes is Taylor’s ode to escaping and escapism, encapsulated by the central setting of The Lake District in northern England. 

She said: 

“I think ‘the lakes’ sort of sounds like a testament of what I’ve wanted to escape from and where I saw myself escaping. We’d gone to the Lake District in England a couple years ago — In the 19th century, you had a lot of poets, like William Wordsworth and John Keats would spend a lot of time there[…]

In my career, since I was probably about 20, [I’ve] written about this sort of cottage backup plan that I have. “the lakes” is really talking a lot about relating to people who, hundreds of years ago, had the same exit plan and did it. […]

…that’s kind of the overarching theme of the whole album, of trying to escape, having something you wanna protect, trying to protect your own sanity, and saying, “Look, they did this hundreds of years ago. I’m not the first person who’s felt this way, they did this.”

-Taylor Swift, Folklore Long Pond Studio Sessions

Who is the lakes About? 

the lakes is about Taylor’s mental and physical escape from the spotlight, while simultaneously being locked down during the pandemic. 

It deals with the themes of criticism and constantly being the public eye, while trying to maintain a private life and preserve your mental health. 

the lakes Song Meaning: Line by Line

The first verse, like her poetic inspirations, begins in an elegant and antiquated prose.

“Is it romantic how all my elegies eulogize me?” she asks. An elegy is a poem for the dead, and a eulogy is a poem or speech of praise, usually given after someone has died. 

She’s saying that her music and lyrics memorialize the “dead” (maybe dead relationships, partnerships, etc)  – and it’s become a part of her reputation. She’s essentially admitting that she’s known for writing breakup songs. 

“Is it romantic” is satire – it’s not romantic at all, but she’s comparing herself to the romantic poets she’ll allude to later in the lyrics. 

“I’m not cut out for all these cynical clones,” she says, “these hunters with cell phones.” She wants to escape the crazy world she’s currently in, where everyone has a camera, and she has no privacy. 

“Take me to the Lakes,” she says to her lover, ”where all the poets went to die.” “The Lakes” is the Lake District of northern England, where romantic poets William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Southey, et al went to escape the madness of modern society.  

These 19th century artists shunned the increasingly complex modern world in favor of a simpler life closer to nature. Most of them lived out the rest of their days there, writing, reading, and enjoying the beautiful surroundings in peace. 

Taylor is saying she wants to do the same thing: “I don’t belong and, my beloved, neither do you.” She doesn’t belong in this crazy society full of “hunters with cell phones,” and neither does her lover. 

“Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry,” she says, describing the vast views of Lake Windermere from atop the surrounding hills. But she’ll still bring her sadness with her. 

“I’m setting off,” she says, leaving the world behind, “but not without my muse.” Her “muse” at this point seems like it’s her lover, whom she beckons to come with her. 

Verse 2: “Tell Me What Are My Words Worth”

Verse two exposes what’s led to this drastic escape from life. 

“What should be over,” she says, “burrowed under my skin.” Something she should have been able to forget is unforgettable. It’s become a part of her that she carries everywhere. It got ‘under her skin’, meaning it bothers her constantly. 

It burrowed there “in heart-stopping waves of hurt.” Like waves of grief, this pain keeps radiating from beneath her skin, a neverending reminder of what happened. 

“I’ve come too far,” she reflects of her life and career, ”to watch some name-dropping sleaze tell me what are my words worth.” It’s not grammatically correct, but she’s done this on purpose to (ironically) name-drop William Wordsworth, one of the lake poets. 

But the “name-dropping sleaze” she refers to is likely Scooter Braun or Scott Borchetta, who were involved in the sale and purchase of her masters. 

What do her masters represent? Her name. As she said in I Did Something Bad, “if he drops my name, then I owe him nothing.” Her “name” was sold out from under her, and now he has the gaul to brag about it. 

🩶 Can you pass my tricky folklore Lyrics Quiz? 🩶

Bridge: “My Calamitous Love and Insurmountable Grief”

The bridge looks forward to the kind of peaceful life she imagines at the lakes. 

“I want auroras and sad prose,” she says. The romantic lake poets were known for emotional nature prose, and were often inspired by the night sky. 

“I want to watch wisteria grow right over my bare feet,” she says, reflecting the passage of time. Bare feet represents freedom and a carefree life surrounded by nature, and wisteria is a common English vine that decorates many of the lake cottages. 

She wants to watch this vine grow over her toes “‘cause I haven’t moved in years.” She wants to be able to sit still long enough to watch time pass slowly. 

“And I want you right here,” she says, possibly to her lover or “muse.” 

“A red rose grew up out of ice frozen ground,” she says, “With no one around to tweet it.” This means that from ground that was once barren – frozen like in hoax – something beautiful and miraculous sprouted free.

If she’s allowed this freedom to be in solitude – without the scrutiny of the public eye – she might be able to sprout more roses. Beautiful things could stem from this solitude. 

The roses sprout “while I bathe in cliffside pools,” she says, “with my calamitous love and insurmountable grief.”

She may have escaped, but her ruinous love and overwhelming grief have followed her. She bathes with them in the solitude of “cliffside pools.” 

Final Chorus: “I’m Setting Off, But Not Without My Muse”

The final chorus echoes the first, but this time around, she is the poet who goes there “to die.” She wants another rebirth, like in reputation. 

She’s “setting off” for this reinvention and rebirth, “but not without my muse.” This time, the “muse” feels like it’s her grief and “ruinous love.” They follow her everywhere. 

As the saying goes, “wherever you go, there you are.” You can get a change of scenery, but what’s inside will always be there until you choose to deal with it. 

She carries with her the grief that “burrowed” under her skin. Will it sprout beautiful red roses? Or will it drown in “cliffside pools”? It’s up to her to decide. 

🩶 Can you pass my tricky folklore Lyrics Quiz? 🩶

the lakes Meaning: Final Thoughts 

Like her romantic poet muses, Taylor has crafted an intricate piece of prose with the lakes. It perfectly summarizes every theme she’s introduced in folklore: rumination, memory, grief, nature, and escapism. 

In the length of the album, Taylor has presented a duality within herself: she wants to escape, but she wants things to stay the same. She wants love, but she also wants pain. She wants to go back to childhood, but she wants to stay powerful. She wants attention, but she also wants privacy.

This final track ties together all these themes, symbolized by her escape with her muse. If she finally escapes, will she ever return? Or is she only living for the hope of it all?

More Songs From folklore: 

• folklore Prologue
• the 1
• cardigan
• the last great american dynasty
• exile
• my tears ricochet
• mirrorball
• seven
• august
• this is me trying
• illicit affairs 
• invisible string
• mad woman
• epiphany
• betty
• peace
• hoax