War Wounds: Taylor Swift’s “epiphany” Meaning, Explained

epiphany is Taylor’s tragic track 13 from folklore, and it recounts historic and present-day trauma.

She weaves two storylines together in the lyrics: a bloody WWII battle, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Both were world-altering events, and she explores how we’ll carry these traumas with us for the rest of our lives.

But what do the lyrics mean, and what is Taylor trying to tell us in this song about trauma?

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

epiphany by Taylor Swift

• Title: Epiphany
• Written by: Aaron Dessner, Taylor Swift
• Track: 13, Folklore
• Pen: Quill pen
• Lyrics from Genius

epiphany Song Meaning: Narrative Summary

• Setting: Historic setting: WWII battlefield. Present-day setting: a pandemic hospital. 
• Characters: Narrator (Taylor), subjects (a soldier and a doctor or nurse) 
• Mood: Devastated. 
• Conflict: Wars and pandemics: trauma-inducing situations. 
• Inciting Incident: Trauma, in all its forms. 
• Symbols & Metaphors: “epiphany”, “keep your helmet,” “just a flesh wound,” “crawling up the beaches now,” “some things you just can’t speak about,” “with you I serve,” “with you I fall down,” “watching you breathe,” “Something med school did not cover,” “Holds your hand through plastic”, “make some sense of what you’ve seen,” “twenty minutes to sleep.” 
• Theme: Trauma and PTSD. 
• Imagery: “Keep your helmet, keep your life,” “Just a flesh wound, here’s your rifle,” “Crawling up the beaches now,” “Watch you breathe in, watch you breathing out,” “Holds your hand through plastic now,” “Just one single glimpse of relief,” “With you I serve, with you I fall down, down.” 
• Lesson: Trauma never goes away. 

What is epiphany About? 

epiphany is about trauma, PTSD, and the lasting effects of experiencing something brutal and life-changing. 

Prior to writing the song, Taylor said she was researching her grandfather’s history as a WWII veteran, where he fought in the bloody battle of Guadalcanal. After he came home, Swift said he never spoke about it again. 

“I was trying to imagine,” she said in the Long Pond Sessions documentary, “what would happen in order to make you to just never be able to speak about something.”

She then began to tie these historic events with the present day, thinking about the pandemic and the trauma that was occurring in hospitals all over the world. 

Who is epiphany About? 

The first central storyline details Taylor’s imagined narrative of her grandfather during a bloody WWII battle. 

The second narrative is set during the COVID pandemic, and describes the “battlefield” of hospitals during this unprecedented time. 

Metaphorically, both narratives represent the lasting nature of trauma, and seeing things so horrific you can never describe them. 

epiphany Meaning: Line by Line

The first verse is set on a WWII battlefield, possibly the beach at Guadalcanal (where Taylor’s grandfather fought). 

“Keep your helmet, keep your life, son” urges Taylor’s imagined soldier character to keep his head protected. 

“Just a flesh wound, here’s your rifle” minimizes a bullet wound as just a minor injury. It’s what happens inside the helmet – the invisible wounds – that are the most harmful. A bullet wound can heal; a brain that has seen things the human mind cannot comprehend is much harder to mend.

“Crawling up the beaches now” describes the soldiers going toward the danger, no matter how much they don’t want to. They have to face their deepest fears. 

“Sir, I think he’s bleeding out” means that one of their own has suffered catastrophic blood loss. They’ve lost a friend, a companion. 

“And some things,” Taylor says of this great loss, “you just can’t speak about.” 

This is the lasting nature of trauma, and the central metaphor of the lyrics. Some things happen that are so difficult to comprehend that you’ll never be able to vocalize what you’ve seen, and what it did to your soul. 

“With you I serve, with you I fall down” both describes the camaraderie of the battlefield and the other “company” you will always carry with you: trauma. It’s with you when you’re fighting, and it’s with you when you’ve surrendered. 

“Watch you breathe in, watch you breathing out” represents the final breath. One final gasp of air, and then you’ll surrender to sweet relief.  

Verse: “Hold Your Hand Through Plastic Now”

Verse two changes the setting to the modern day, set in a hospital during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

This situation is “something med school did not cover,” meaning that the doctors and nurses are woefully unprepared. This is an unprecedented situation that no amount of schooling could ready them for.  

“Someone’s daughter, someone’s mother” humanizes this horrific time: each sick person is important to their family and friends. They’re not just a casualty; they’re human. 

“Hold your hand through plastic now” paints a sad portrait of the very early days of the pandemic, when families were not allowed in the hospitals, even when their loved one was dying. 

The doctors and nurses were their only company, and there are many stories of medical staff comforting patients who were all alone. 

“Doc, I think she’s crashing out” contrasts with the “bleeding out” of the first verse. One is an obvious flesh wound, and the other is this invisible ailment. Both do equal damage, just like invisible trauma. 

“And some things you just can’t speak about” reflects the enormous trauma of the pandemic, and the huge loss of life. Compared to the battlefield in the first verse, they were equally devastating, and both caused lasting mental trauma to those on the front lines. 

🩶 Can you pass my tricky folklore Lyrics Quiz? 🩶

Bridge: “But You Dream of Some Epiphany”

The bridge brings in one moment of relief: “Only twenty minutes to sleep.” The soldier, or the doctor, or the nurse, have a short break. 

While they nap and reset, they “dream of some epiphany.” An epiphany is usually a moment of clarity or revelation, but there are no miraculous revelations to be found in this situation. The only “epiphany” they can reach for is hope. 

They find “just one single glimpse of relief” in their sleep and in their dreams, where they imagine that things will get better.

But that “glimpse of relief” could also symbolize death: the world is too traumatic to be a part of anymore. Hope might only be found after you leave it. 

“To make some sense of what you’ve seen” is the mind trying to put into order the horrific moments it witnessed. But with trauma, your brain cannot process these impactful events in an ordered way. There is no way to make sense of the senseless. 

Outro: “To Make Some Sense of What You’ve Seen”

“Only twenty minutes to sleep

But you dream of some epiphany

Just one single glimpse of relief

To make some sense of what you’ve seen”

-Taylor Swift, epiphany

The outro ties both scenarios together, with the characters trying to comprehend what is happening.

This reflects the world at the time Taylor was writing the song. The pandemic – like WWII – would scar the entire world.

We can’t make sense of what we’ve seen, and we’ll carry the trauma with us forever.

🩶 Can you pass my tricky folklore Lyrics Quiz? 🩶

Epiphany Lyrics Analysis: Final Thoughts 

epiphany is one of two songs on folklore that describes the pandemic setting in which Taylor wrote the album. The other is mirrorball, in which she reflected on her own fame and future. 

Here, she describes the current trauma of the world as akin to WWII, and though she is removed from both situations (not on the front lines, so to speak), she passes down the story like folklore.

In recording these emotions, she’s recounting the past and the present, and tying them together with the thread of “some things you just can’t speak about.” Trauma is everywhere, and you never know what a stranger carries with them everyday. 

If you’re lucky, trama is only a story you’ll hear about. If you’re unlucky, you’ll have traumatic folklore of your own.

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
• betty
• peace
• hoax
• the lakes