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bylerbrainrot · 35 minutes

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The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived - Initial Thoughts

hi! I don't usually to this but here are my thoughts about Taylor Swift's The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived. The purpose of this post is not to hate on Joe Alwyn btw, i'm just trying to decipher the meaning and link the lyrics to other songs. Lmk if you agree/disagree with anything :)

extra note: this is just a theory and i really know nothing about taylor’s life. so don’t take anything said as factual 🤍

Verse 1 pt. 1:

was any of it true? gazing at me starry eyed. in your jehovah's witness suit who the f*ck was that guy?

Thoughts:

Two things jump out at me with this verse.

One: "gazing at me starry eyed" is a direct reference to Call It What You Want, where Taylor describes Joe as possessing "Starry eyes" which light up her darkest nights.

Two: "Jehovah's Witness suit". This part really stood out to be because I literally had no clue what she was talking about. The area I live in doesn't have many Jehovah's Witnesses, so the concept of a suit commonly worn by one is pretty alien to me. However, upon further research I have concluded that it's just a suit with a buttoned up jacket and tie - something Joe often sported when out with Taylor at special events. My sister also suggested that it had something to do with Joe's role in Taylor's life. Jehovah's Witnesses remove themselves from "worldly influences", and tend not to celebrate occasions. This could be indicative of Joe's lack of interest in her achievements, and his detachment from her life as a pop star.

Overall, this part of this song is really just her questioning if the man she loved ever existed.

Verse 1 pt. 2:

you tried to buy some pills from a friend of friends of mine they just ghosted you now you know what it feels like

Thoughts:

So there's definitely some sort of substance abuse going on with Joe. I don't want to delve too much into it, because I think the lyrics speak for themselves and it's obviously a very personal situation, but I do think the second half is of the verse is interesting. It seems like Taylor was ignored/completely ghosted during her relationship, which was something I had never considered before.

Chorus

and i don't even want you back i just want to know if rusting my sparkling summer was the goal and i don't miss what we have but could someone give a message to the smallest man who ever lived

Thoughts:

Essentially Taylor is saying that she never wants to be with him again, but hopes that he knows how much he screwed her over.

When I hear "rusting my sparkling summer was the goal" I immediately think of august, with the song being set in summer and the lyric: "salt air and the rust on your door". August follows the story of a woman wanting love from a man who has no intention of doing so, which is a similar theme in this song.

I love the phrase "the smallest man who ever lived". It paints such a vivid image of how insecure and bitter a person can be. It's also notable that Joe being small contrasts Taylor being "too big to hang out" with (Anti-Hero).

Verse 2 pt. 1:

you hung me on your wall

stabbed me with your pushpins

in public showed me off

then sank in stoned oblivion

Thoughts

"you hung me on your wall / stabbed me with your pushpins" reminds me of a postcard being stuck on a cork board. This alludes to me that Taylor is being preserved and cherished as a memento, which can be validating but also objectifying is some aspects. The imagery of her being stabbed reiterates that she is suffering because of him.

"in public showed me off / then sank into stoned oblivion" is another reference to possible substance abuse. It seems like when they were together around cameras, he appeared proud of her, but in private his affection was inept.

Verse 2 pt. 2:

cause once your queen had come

you treat like her like an also-ran

you didn’t measure up

in any measure of a man

Thoughts

I saw a few people refer to the first part of this verse as Taylor talking about infidelity. I actually think the "queen" she's referring to is herself, considering the next line she says he treats her like"an also-ran". If you didn't know, an also-ran is "someone in a competition who is unlikely to do well or who has failed". Joe considers Taylor his competition rather than his equal, and subsequently treats her as though she is sub-par.

"you didn't measure up / in any measure of man" is such a bad*ss line i love it. Here, she's saying Joe didn't possess any attributes of a "good man", like honesty, loyalty and respect.

Bridge pt. 1:

were you sent by someone who wanted me dead?

did you sleep with a gun underneath our bed?

were you writing a book?

were you a sleeper cell spy?

in 50 years will all this be declassified?

Thoughts

Taylor is questioning if Joe's intention was to ruin her life. She cannot fathom why someone would do the things he did to her without any motive. So instead, to rationalise her suffering, she suggests a plethora of reasons why Joe might've acted this way.

Taylor also asks if he is a "sleeper cell spy", which might be a reference to Stars at Noon - a 2022 film starring Joe Alwyn and Margaret Qualley where he plays an intelligence agent.

Bridge pt. 2:

and you'll confess why you did it

and i'll say good riddance

cause it wasn’t sexy once

it wasn’t forbidden

i would’ve died for your sins

instead i just died inside

Thoughts

She's questioning what it is he wanted from her, because, once again, she cannot fathom the idea of someone being so cruel for no reason.

"cause it wasn't sexy once / it wasn't forbidden" weirdly enough reminds me of cruel summer, where Taylor speaks about having a forbidden, sex-driven relationship over the summer. This also once again reminds me of august, where a similar relationship is endured between augustine and james.

"i would’ve died for your sins / instead i just died inside" is a very blatant reference to peace from folklore, where she says "all these people think love's for show / but i would die for you in secret". It's actually really sad to see how the sentiment of her dying for Joe has evolved into something more sinister.

+++ is good riddance a gracie abrams reference??? (love that if it is)

Bridge pt. 3:

and you deserve prison but you won’t get time you’ll slide into inboxes and slip through the bars

Thoughts

Wowwwww. This one is actually insane! Did he actually do something illegal? Or is this a metaphorical crime? I don't think you're able to determine that from these lyrics alone, but man, it leaves you curious. It's interesting that even if he did get put away, Taylor assumes that he'll be able to evade punishment. Perhaps this is because he doesn't have a guilty conscious? Or maybe there's not enough proof to fully prosecute him? I have no clue, but one thing is for sure - this part makes me feel awful.

Bridge pt. 4:

you crashed my party and your rental car you said normal girls were boring but you were gone by the morning

Thoughts

The first thing I think of when I hear this part is Taylor's grammy's after party, soon after which their breakup was announced. Joe posted a photo of him and Jack, confirming his attendance, but no pictures were taken of Taylor and Joe. Maybe he had "crashed", and attended without her permission? As for the part about crashing a car, I couldn't find any info on Joe being in an accident around this time. But then again, maybe it was covered up? Or perhaps it was a minor crash?

"you said normal girls were boring / but you were gone by the morning " sounds like a washed up ex begging for forgiveness. To me, it tells the story of Joe coming to a party and telling Taylor that she was better than "normal girls" and that he wanted her back, only to depart the next day.

Bridge pt. 5:

you kicked out the stage lights but you’re still performing and in plain sight you hid but you are what you did

Thoughts

She speaks about how Joe is an actor who continues to try and grow his career despite trying to undermine Taylor's. He will carry on about his life as if nothing happened between them, but somewhere in his mind he is aware of how much he hurt her.

Concluding Chorus:

and i'll forget you but i'll never forgive the smallest man who ever lived.

Thoughts

This part reminds me of Bad Blood's "You forgive, you forget, but you never let it go". Taylor is going to move on from Joe, but she will forever maintain her disdain towards him and what he did to her.

Random things I noticed while listening

the breaths you can hear between each verse are the same heard in you're losing me - a song about the death of Joe/Taylor

piano is the primary instrument, which Joe is known for playing (ie. exile)

There is a tempo change in the bridge which is similar evermore, another song about and written by Joe

the song duration is 4:05, which is the same length as tolerate it. The song depicts "the continuous struggle of wanting love from someone who isn’t even paying attention to anything you do" (does this relate to her dynamic with Joe?)

If you made it this far, thanks for reading!! I'm writing this extremely sleep deprived so please tell me if what i'm saying is coherent. Also please do expand on my thoughts!! I'm kind of just jotting down whatever comes to mind, so feel free to correct/add anything you like <3

ps. this is all speculative!! No hate to Joe because i actually have no clue what he did :p

++ going to quickly mention that is it is of my opinion that this song is NOT about m*tty h**ly. I don't think they dated nearly long enough for him to have such a detrimental impact on her mental health, and for her to of metaphorically "died" because of him. Plus, there's a lot of references in this song to other works about/involving Joe.

#taylor swift #taylor swift analysis #the smallest man who ever lived #ttpd #the tortured poets department #joe alwyn #joe x taylor #lyrics #song analysis

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