Perils & Pitfalls of Fame: “The Lucky One” Lyrics Meaning

The Lucky One (Taylor’s Version) compares the popstar to those who have come before her in the world of fame.

Were those people lucky that they got out just in time, and is Taylor now too far gone into the world of celebrity to ever go back?

Let’s explore the perils and pitfalls of fame that Taylor writes about in this epic track 13 (her lucky number), and dissect what she’s trying to tell us in the lyrics.

Here’s my complete analysis of The Lucky One lyrics meaning, line by line.

Cover image with a moody background of aged novel pages, with red flowy cursive title text reading: "Analyzing The Lucky One (Taylor's Version), from Swiftly Sung Stories"

The Lucky One (Taylor’s Version)

Title: The Lucky One (Taylor’s Version)
Track: 13, Red (Taylor’s Version)
Written By: Taylor Swift
Pen: Fountain
Secret Message: “Wouldn’t you like to know”
Lyrics via Genius

The Lucky One Song Meaning: Narrative Breakdown

Setting: Los Angeles and the land of celebrity.
Characters: Narrator (Taylor), Subject (“you,” a character who was famous before Taylor), “They” (the wider world, the press, etc.).
Mood: Cautious, contemplative.
Conflict: Fame might not be all it’s cracked up to be.
Inciting Incident: “Your secrets end up splashed on the news front page”
Quest: Figure out if it’s lucky to leave or lucky to stay.
Symbols & Metaphors: “up in lights”, luck and being lucky, “the young things”, getting it “right” vs. wrong, fame.
Theme: Fame comes with a cost.
Imagery: “camera flashes make it look like a dream,” “Another name goes up in lights / Like diamonds in the sky”, “big black cars and Riviera views”,

The Lucky One (Taylor’s Version) Lyric Video

What was the Hidden Message for The Lucky One?

The hidden message in The Lucky One was “wouldn’t you like to know.”

This is Taylor leaving us a little teasing easter egg, as she knows we’ll wonder about the “60s queen” in the lyrics.

My theory is that it’s not about one artist in particular, but a composite of different female vocalists Taylor admires.

What is The Lucky One About?

The Lucky One is about the perils and pitfalls of fame. It describes a Hollywood star who retreats from the spotlight after a series of ‘mishaps’ in the press.

Taylor likens her own journey to the character in the song.

She explained, “It kind of talks about some of my fears through telling the story of other people that I was inspired by. More than their stories being told, I’m pretty much singing about what I’m scared of in that song…It kind of expresses my greatest fear of having this not end up being fun anymore, having it end up being a scary place.”

Who is The Lucky One About?

The Lucky One is rumored to be about two female vocalists: Kim Wilde (nee Kim Smith) and Joni Mitchell.

Both of these artists’ careers fit pieces of the narrative of the song, but neither is fully accurate.

It could be that Taylor has taken segments of their life stories and included both, or that she’s made up a composite character to represent the perils of fame.

The Lucky One Lyrics Analysis: Line by Line

The lyrics to Taylor Swift's The Lucky One are stylistically displayed on an aged novel page, with red editor's pen marking instances of literary devices.

The first verse reads: "New to town with a made-up name

In the angel's city, chasin' fortune and fame

And the camera flashes make it look like a dream

You had it figured out since you were in school

Everybody loves pretty, everybody loves cool

So overnight, you look like a '60s queen"

The opening verse describes the Hollywood star who came before Taylor, who arrives to Los Angeles “with a made-up name.” She’s come here for fame and fortune, and she’ll find it.

“The camera flashes made it look like a dream” means that being famous seems like the ultimate dream for this starlet – it’s what she wanted more than anything, but it also foreshadows that it might not actually be all glitter and rainbows.

“You had it figured out since you were in school” means that she knew exactly what people wanted, and made herself into that (“everybody loves pretty, everybody loves cool”).

Then “overnight, you look like a 60s queen.” She’s changed her look to reflect what the public wants.

Remind you of anyone? A certain starlet who is always reinventing herself?

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Pre-Chorus & Chorus: “Another Name Goes Up in Lights”

The lyrics to Taylor Swift's The Lucky One are stylistically displayed on an aged novel page, with red editor's pen marking instances of literary devices. The pre-chorus and chorus read: "Another name goes up in lights

Like diamonds in the sky

And they'll tell you now, you're the lucky one

Yeah, they'll tell you now, you're the lucky one

But can you tell me now, you're the lucky one?

Oh, oh, oh"

“Another name goes up in lights” uses a figure of speech to describe fame. If your “name goes up in lights” (on a figurative or literal marquee), that means you’ve “made it.”

The marquee glitters, “like diamonds in the sky.”

This lyric alludes to “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,” the classic 1967 Beatles song that would have been popular in the era this new starlet is making her way in the world.

“And they’ll tell you now, you’re the lucky one” describes how Hollywood “yes men” or fans will think she’s got it all – she’s made it in Hollywood, the toughest town to find fame and fortune in.

But is she lucky, really?

“But can you tell me now, you’re the lucky one?” foreshadows that this fame isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Verse 2: “Your Lover in the Foyer Doesn’t Even Know You”

The lyrics to Taylor Swift's The Lucky One are stylistically displayed on an aged novel page, with red editor's pen marking instances of literary devices. The second verse reads: "And now, it's big black cars and Riviera views

And your lover in the foyer doesn't even know you

And your secrets end up splashed on the news front page

And they tell you that you're lucky, but you're so confused

'Cause you don't feel pretty, you just feel used

And all the young things line up to take your place"

Verse 2 fast-forwards in time, with the Hollywood star enjoying “big black cars and Riviera views.” She’s clearly made a decent chunk of money, and has moved away to the Italian or French Riviera, away from Hollywood.

“And your lover in the foyer doesn’t even know you” could mean that she uses men for enjoyment, but more likely means that she doesn’t let people see the real version of her – she only lets them see the facade that the press sees.

“Your secrets end up splashed on the news front page” is the universal pitfall of fame: it comes with a high cost. When everyone is interested in you, the press will take more than they give.

This has been true for Taylor most of her career, and she uses this allegory to tell us that it’s taken its toll.

“They tell you that you’re lucky, but you’re so confused / ‘cause you won’t feel pretty, you just feel used” means that the price of fame is losing a part of yourself. You’re used for your notoriety, used for your looks, and used to sell papers (or, in the modern age, clicks).

“All the young things line up to take your place” describe the neverending Hollywood factory, where as soon as a woman “ages out,” she’s done, and a million girls flood the gates trying to take that spot to get their name in lights.

Taylor has spoken about trying to stay relevant and having to reinvent herself in the Miss Americana documentary, where she explained:

“Everyone’s a shiny new toy for like 2 years. The female artists I know of have reinvented themselves twenty times more than the male artists. They have to. Or else you’re out of a job.”

Or else, as Taylor explains, another of the “pretty young things” will “take your place”.

Pre-Chorus: “You Wonder if You’ll Make it Out Alive”

“Another name goes up in lights

You wonder if you’ll make it out alive”
-Taylor Swift, “The Lucky One” (Taylor’s Version)

The second pre-chorus changes from “like diamonds in the sky” to “you wonder if you’ll make it out alive.”

This is Taylor telling us her biggest fear: that this industry will destroy her.

Is it losing her physical life? That’s quite possible – she’s had some scary run-ins with stalkers. But it could also mean losing her soul. What’s left when the press has taken every inch of your privacy?

Verse 3: “Chose the Rose Garden Over Madison Square”

The lyrics to Taylor Swift's The Lucky One are stylistically displayed on an aged novel page, with red editor's pen marking instances of literary devices. The third verse reads: "It was a few years later, I showed up here

And they still tell the legend of how you disappeared

How you took the money and your dignity and got the hell out

They say you bought a bunch of land somewhere

Chose the rose garden over Madison Square

And it took some time, but I understand it now"

The third verse switches from the “60s queen” to Taylor’s point of view.

She’s now in Hollywood (either metaphorically, as in the music industry, or physically), and she hears the story of her predecessor (“the legend of how you disappeared”).

“How you took the money and your dignity and got the hell out” means that the woman before her did make it out alive. Will Taylor have the same fate?

The “60s queen” “chose the rose garden over Madison Square,” meaning that she chose a simple life on her “bunch of land” over performing in a gigantic stadium (Madison Square Garden in NYC). “Rose garden” vs. Madison Square Garden is a clever pun.

Taylor reflects on why this person – at the height of their fame – would step away and leave it all behind. “It took some time, but I understand it now,” she says.

After “some time” of being in the spotlight herself, and having her own “secrets splashed” all over the tabloids, she gets it.

The pressure is building.

Final Chorus: “You’re The Lucky One”

The lyrics to Taylor Swift's The Lucky One are stylistically displayed on an aged novel page, with red editor's pen marking instances of literary devices. The final chorus and outro reads: "'Cause now my name is up in lights

But I think you got it right

Let me tell you now, you're the lucky one

Let me tell you now, you're the lucky one

Let me tell you now, you're the lucky one

Oh, oh, oh

Yeah, they'll tell you now, you're the lucky one

Yeah, they'll tell you now, you're the lucky one

Let me tell you now, you're the lucky one"

The final pre-chorus and chorus tie in the allegory to Taylor’s life: “‘Cause now my name is up in lights” means that now Taylor is in the exact same position.

She’s Hollywood’s new “shiny toy,” and she wonders how long it will stay that way.

“But I think you got it right” means that she admires her predecessor for stepping away after it was no longer fun.

She closes with a potent message for the woman who got away from it all: “let me tell you now, you’re the lucky one.” Why is this star – who has faded into obscurity – “the lucky one?”

Because she “made it out alive.” She got it all – the fame, the money, and – finally – the independence and freedom.

Can Taylor ever have both? No. She’s gone too far the other way, farther than any other artist ever on the scale of fame (except maybe the Beatles, who are still in the public consciousness all these decades later).

Is she “the lucky one”? Yes. Does fame come with a ton of really damaging baggage? Also yes.

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The Lucky One Lyrics Meaning: Final Thoughts

The most important theme of the song is the balance between having it all and having too much. Taylor walks the fragile line, every day, and likely dreams everyday of getting out and leaving it all behind.

She also shows deep fear and vulnerability in The Lucky One, and similar songs like Nothing New, Long Live, and mirrorball.

But will she ever let this fear get the best of her? No. She loves her career too much, and she’s worked too hard to let it all go.

The miraculous thing about Taylor is that she makes her own luck, with a ton of hard work (and a ton of privilege and help behind the scenes).

Taylor’s songs about her career are some of my favorites, as they give us an unprecedented peek behind the curtain at what she really thinks of her life.

More From Red (Taylor’s Version)