What Does ‘So It Goes…’ Mean? Full Lyrical Analysis
On the surface, “So it Goes…” is a silky, sensual song about sexual escapades. But when you analyze the lyrics from a literary perspective, it takes on much darker meaning.
This song uses some really heavy references, metaphors and imagery, and all is definitely not what it seems for this magician and her illusionist.
Here’s my full English teacher analysis of Taylor’s So it Goes meaning, line by line and metaphor by metaphor.

So it Goes… by Taylor Swift
- Title: “So it Goes”
- Written by: Taylor Swift, Shellback, Max Martin, Oscar Görres
- Track: 7, reputation (2017)
- Pen: Fountain
- Lyrics from Genius
“So it Goes” is bookended by Look What You Made Me Do and Gorgeous. The former is a dark song about revenge, and the latter is a much lighter song with happier metaphors.
This song lies somewhere in the middle between dark and light, a theme which we’ll examine in depth below.
So it Goes… Narrative Breakdown
- Setting: No physical location except for a bar, but we can assume it’s dark, night, maybe in a bedroom.
- Characters: Narrator (Taylor), subject/Magician (love interest, “you”).
- Mood: Dark, sexy, angsty.
- Conflict: This person is bad for her, or they’re bad for one another, but their sexual chemistry is undeniable.
- Inciting Incident: “See you in the dark”: she spies this person, and there’s an instant connection.
- Quest: Figure out why she keeps begging for the pain.
- Symbols & Metaphors: “pieces fall into place,” “illusionist” and “magician,” “cut me into pieces,”
- Theme: Love/attraction that hurts so good.
- Imagery: lipstick, cutting, wall, tripping, dark colors gray and black, gold cage.
- Lesson: Sometimes love and attraction doesn’t make sense.
Interesting to Note: This is one of two songs on Reputation that uses punctuation, the other one being …Ready for It? In So it Goes…the ellipses come after the title, implying that what comes next is unknown.
What is So it Goes… About?
The lyrics narrate a doomed romance, where physical chemistry does not always equate to a happy relationship. The two protagonists seem to keep being drawn together, despite the fact that they aren’t good for one another.
But what does “…So it Goes” mean, and where does it come from?
The title and the lyric is likely a reference to Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut. This is a canonical mind-bending, non-linear work of fiction with an unreliable narrator.
The phrase is used in the novel as shrug. When horrific things happen around or to the characters, they repeat: “so it goes,” reflecting their fatalistic views. They can’t change the trauma happening around them, so they brush it off.
After Taylor’s own shrug in the title comes an ellipses, essentially saying, ‘this is going to happen no matter what. But what come next?’
Who is So it Goes About?
It’s possible that it’s about Joe Alwyn, who Taylor was dating at the time she wrote the song, but she has never publicly stated who the song is about.
Besides being (likely) influenced by Slaughterhouse Five, it may also reference Billy Joel’s song “And So it Goes,” which he wrote about his doomed marriage to model Elle MacPherson.
We know that Taylor is a Billy Joel fan (what major artist isn’t), so it’s entirely possible she took a note from his lyrics and themes in this track.
When Was So it Goes Written?
We don’t know at exactly what point in time this track was written. Redditors have poured through the evidence, though, and theorise that it was written in 2017.
So it Goes Meaning: Line by Line

“See you in the dark,” she begins in the first verse, “All eyes on you, my magician.” You can’t see in the dark, so what does this mean? She can’t see them clearly, or the situation is mysterious and murky.
“My magician” portrays this person as a master of illusion. They are someone who can make things appear out of thin air. They’re a conjurer; a manipulator. Things are not what they seem.
What magic tricks do they perform? “You make everyone disappear.” The world is full of people watching (“all eyes on us”), but her magician makes everyone fade into the background.
Then they perform another trick. “Cut me into pieces,” she says, comparing the classic magic act of sawing a woman in half to the emotional damage this person does to her.
She’s in a “Gold cage, hostage to my feelings,” meaning she’s in a gilded cage. It looks pretty, and many are envious, but in reality, she’s stuck. She’s “hostage” to how she feels about this person, and although she knows it’s bad for her, she can’t help it.
Taylor will use the cage metaphor several more times throughout her songbook (and possibly describing the same relationship), including in Midnight Rain, Bejeweled, Dear Reader, and this is me trying.
This person has her “Back against the wall / Trippin’, trip-trippin’ when you’re gone.” Being pinned against a wall is sexual innuendo, but it also means she’s cornered and can’t escape.
“Trippin” means she freaks out when this person is gone, but she also keeps tumbling down, over and over, as we’ll learn in the lyrics that follow.
Pre-Chorus & Chorus: “We Break Down a Little”
![Annotated portions of Taylor Swift's "So it Goes..." lyrics on a newsprint background. Red English teacher's pen translates each line, points out double meanings, and helps the reader understand the tone and message of the song lyrics.
The lyrics read:
"'Cause we break down a little
But when you get me alone, it's so simple
'Cause, baby, I know what you know
We can feel it
[Chorus]
And all the pieces fall right into place
Gettin' caught up in a moment, lipstick on your face
So it goes
I'm yours to keep and I'm yours to lose
You know I'm not a bad girl, but I do bad things with you
So it goes"](https://swiftlysungstories.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/so-it-goes-lyrics-meaning-pre-chorus-and-chorus-annotated-lyrics-1024x1024.jpg)
“’Cause we break down a little,” she says in the pre-chorus, “But when you get me alone, it’s so simple.” They fight, or break up, or communication breaks down when they’re out in the real world. But once they’re alone, with no one watching, it feels right and it seems to work.
“’Cause, baby, I know what you know,” she says, “We can feel it.” There’s something undeniable between them. But what else is between them? Pain, and cages, and being cornered.
“All the pieces fall right into place,” she says in the chorus. Everything aligns, but what have we learned about the “pieces?” That they’re broken, with shattered edges. Like in Out of The Woods, “we were built to fall apart, and fall back together.”
Everything might “fall right into place,” but it’s only when they’re being intimate.
She’s “gettin’ caught up in a moment, lipstick on your face,” meaning their sexual chemistry is hot. But their emotional chemistry? Not so much.
“So it goes,” she shrugs. This keeps happening – the falling apart and mending, the fights and the reunions. She’s powerless to break this cycle, because there’s something about this person that keeps her coming back.
“I’m yours to keep and I’m yours to lose,” she says, putting the ball in his court. It’s his decision, but this leaves Taylor powerless. She’s at the mercy of her lover’s whims.
“You know I’m not a bad girl,” she says, “but I do bad things with you.” She’s not the archetypal “bad girl,” but he’s the archetypal “bad boy.” He can make her do naughty, dangerous things.
“So it goes,” she shrugs again. Is the “high worth the pain”? This cycle keeps them in perpetual chaos, but when it’s good, it’s really good.
🐍🐍🐍 Are you ready for the reputation Lyrics Quiz? 🐍🐍🐍
Verse 2: “All Eyes on Me, Your Illusionist”

“Met you in a bar,” she says in the first verse. She encounters him for the first time in a bar (just like Delicate), which foreshadows something dark. This isn’t a meet-cute in an ice cream shop; it’s in a place of debauchery.
“All eyes on me, your illusionist,” she says, also portraying herself as a magician. But her act is quite different, as we’ll learn in the lines that follow.
“All eyes on us,” she says of the watchful crowd, “I make all your gray days clear.” She can make his life bright and happy, and cheer him up. But does he do the same for her?
She’ll “Wear you like a necklace,” which is sexual innuendo, but also implies ownership. She wants to own him, like he already owns her.
“I’m so chill, but you make me jealous,” she says, and this is the act she performs as his “illusionist.” She pretends to be the chill girlfriend, but deep down, she’s not chill at all. She’s jealous.
“But I got your heart,” she says, “Skippin’, skip-skippin’ when I’m gone.” She owns his heart, or she makes it skip a beat when she’s absent. Or at least she imagines it does.
Refrain & Bridge: “Who’s Counting? (One, Two, Three)”
![Annotated portions of Taylor Swift's "So it Goes..." lyrics on a newsprint background. Red English teacher's pen translates each line, points out double meanings, and helps the reader understand the tone and message of the song lyrics.
The refrain and bridge lyrics read: "Come here, dressed in black now
So, so, so it goes
Scratches down your back now
So, so, so it goes
[Bridge]
You did a number on me
But, honestly, baby, who's countin'?
I did a number on you
But, honestly, baby, who's countin'?
You did a number on me
But, honestly, baby, who's countin'?
Who's countin'? (One, two, three)"](https://swiftlysungstories.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/taylor-swift-so-it-goes-meaning-refrain-and-bridge-annotated-lyrics-1024x1024.jpg)
“Come here, dressed in black now,” she says in the refrain, “So, so, so it goes.” Black is sexy and mysterious, but it’s also foreboding.
“Scratches down your back now,” she says, “So, so, so it goes.” She’ll scratch his back in a hot sexual encounter. But this is also “marking her territory,” so to speak. She wants him all to herself.
“You did a number on me,” she says in the bridge. This person hurt her, “But, honestly, baby, who’s countin’?” She’s not keeping score, and even though it’s painful, she keeps going back for more.
“I did a number on you,” she says, hurting him similarly, “But, honestly, baby, who’s countin’?” Their cyclical pattern continues: getting hurt, falling apart, and falling back together. But neither of them seem to hold it against one another, right?
Wrong.
“Who’s countin’? (One, two, three)” means she IS keeping score of every scar, and every lie.
This circles back to the themes of Look What You Made Me Do and I Did Something Bad – holding grudges, forgiving but not forgetting, and burying hatchets.
She won’t forget what the magician did to her. But the pain is so exquisite that she brushes off the score, and keeps playing the game.
Final Chorus & Refrain: “So, So, So it Goes…”
![Annotated portions of Taylor Swift's "So it Goes..." lyrics on a newsprint background. Red English teacher's pen translates each line, points out double meanings, and helps the reader understand the tone and message of the song lyrics.
The final chorus and refrain lyrics read:
"And all the pieces fall (Pieces fall) right into place
Gettin' caught up in a moment (Caught up, caught up), lipstick on your face
So it goes
I'm yours to keep (Oh) and I'm yours to lose (Baby)
You know I'm not a bad girl, but I (I do) do bad things with you
So it goes
[Refrain]
Come here, dressed in black now
So, so, so it goes
Scratches down your back now
So, so, so it goes"](https://swiftlysungstories.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/so-it-goes-meaning-final-chorus-outro-annotated-lyrics-1024x1024.jpg)
“And all the pieces fall right into place,” she repeats in the final chorus. But by this point, we can see that the pieces are really just…falling. Crumbling.
She’ll keep “Gettin’ caught up in a moment” because of their sexual chemistry. But when they hurt one another, as they will inevitably do, “So it goes.” With immense pleasure comes immense pain.
“I’m yours to keep and I’m yours to lose,” she repeats. She surrenders to whatever will come of this – she wants any piece of him that she can have.
“You know I’m not a bad girl, but I do bad things with you,” she shrugs, “So it goes.” And go it does, round and round, back and forth. She’s powerless to end this cycle.
The final refrain ends by asking him to come to her once again. “Come here, dressed in black now,” she begs, so she can make “Scratches down your back now.” She doesn’t care that this will hurt her in the long run.
‘This is bad for me,’ she tells her reader, ‘but I just don’t care.’
“So, so, so it goes,” she shrugs one last time, surrendering to the highs and lows. But who will end on a high, and who will sink to the bottom?
🐍🐍🐍 Are you ready for the reputation Lyrics Quiz? 🐍🐍🐍
What Does So it Goes Mean? Final Thoughts
If I had to pick one overall theme for So it Goes…it would be blindness vs. seeing clearly. The magician and illusionist metaphors imply that all is not what it seems, and we should carry that thought into the rest of the lyrical analysis.
What’s the overall message? That sometimes love and attraction don’t make sense. Sometimes it’s bad for you, but feels amazing. And even Taylor falls for it.
I think it’s also important to remember what a vulnerable place she was in during the writing and recording of reputation. She was the fallen angel, trying to rise from the ashes. She likely clung to whatever she could hold onto.
Did she cling to the wrong person?
More from reputation