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treacherous-crooked-love · 1 month

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how's one to know?

an ivy (by taylor swift) analysis

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Another one of my favourites off evermore <3 I feel that this song uses metaphors to express that sense of burning desire so well. my favorite lyric is "my house of stone, your ivy grows" which I feel is one of Taylor's most romantic lyrics. Taylor has said that this song is part of the unhappily ever after anthology of marriages, with its subject being similar to August and Illicit Affairs (from sister album folklore)

"How's one to know?" sets the tone for a mysterious, furtive song.

I found it clever the way she described the graveyard as a place where "the spirit meets the bones". Later she goes to describe how it is a "faith forgotten land" perhaps because all there is in graveyards could ghosts lurking, much like herself and her lover.

She goes on to describe the relationship as "snow", lacking of warmth and love. In contrast, her lover gives her an "incandescent glow", tarnished due to the infidelity but still burning bright regardless.

From this lyric, the widow is so devoted to her loved one that she visits their gravestone everyday. She was clearly in a loving marriage, setting a deep contrast between the protagonist who is in a loveless marriage, sitting and waiting for her lover to show up, hiding away from her husband.

"Grieving for the living" suggests to me that she's grieving for herself and the lifeless relationship and lifestyle that she leads with her husband. This is also suggested in the later lyric "my house of stone" suggesting that she herself is lifeless before meeting her lover.

"My pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand" is a lyric that often confuses me

"Oh, I can't stop you putting roots in my dreamland," shows how the tendrils of this love is permanently rooted and curled in the protagonist's mind forever, in her innermost fantasies.

"My house of stone" shows how lifeless she used to be, before the ivy (their love) grew, adding a touch of colour to her life. This reminds me of a line in Out of the Woods, "The rest of the world was black and white, but we were in screaming colour." This also reminds me of the line in "High Infidelity"---"Do I really have to tell you how he brought me back to life?"

"And now I'm covered in you" shows how rapidly and intensely the feelings of affection grew. Ivy is known to scramble up bricks very quickly, often covering up houses in 3 months. This could also imply at how their love was like a warm embrace to her.

"The fatal flaw" gives birth to the theory that in this verse her husband kills her lover after finding out that they were in a secret affair.

"I wish to know the fatal flaw that makes you long to be magnificently cursed" shows how she thinks her lover is making a mistake to be loving her, at a great cost, perhaps even at the cost of their lives. She thinks that they are perhaps being (in a sense) self-sacrificial. The fact that she uses "magnificently cursed" shows that she cares about her lover's life to the point where she'd rather end the relationship and save their life, rather than take the risk.

She shows a massive indifference and desperate longing in the next line, "He's in the room, your opal eyes are all I wish to see, He wants what's only yours." This gives us a bigger idea of how her dynamic with her husband is like.

Opals are a form of precious stone (i think), and are said to represent hope, clarity and truth.

'He wants what's only yours"--Basically, her husband longs for her attention and affection. But her heart belongs to her lover.

When clover blooms, it means that it is springtime. I believe that she and her lover had planned to run away together during the spring, from the lyric "breaks loose" which to me, also indicates her impending freedom from her husband.

"Crescent moon, coast is clear" suggests that they had prepared to sneak away at night time.

"Spring breaks loose, but so does fear" shows the warring emotions in her heart at this point in time. Hope blooms, yet she feels nervous and anxious for her lover's safety.

I find it extremely clever the way Taylor structured the verse"What would he do if he found us out?" followed by "He's gonna burn this house to the ground." It shows the opposing personalities that the two of them have. Her lover demonstrates a reckless and bold behaviour with a somewhat challenging tone with "What would he do?"

Meanwhile, she shows a nervous and expecting-the-worst personality with the dramatic statement of "He's gonna burn this house to the ground". I think that this also suggests the stormy and (maybe!) violent behaviour of the husband if she expects him to commit such a violent thing. This highlights the possible trauma and fear that she faces while with her husband.

"He's gonna burn this house to the ground" reminds me of the burning Lover house during the Eras Tour. Perhaps the house symbolises her heart or their relationship?

Repetition is used in the phrase "How's one to know?" emphasising yet again, the secretive nature of their love affair.

She shows desperation in the ways that she would meet up with her lover in the phrase "begged and borrowed time". To beg and borrow means to do whatever is necessary to get something that is wanted or needed. To live like this has the implication that perhaps her husband restricts her from going out often, so she has to beg her husband to let her out. (Although he doesn't know where she's going!)

The next line kinda gives me a fight or flight response. To fight and rebel against the husband is to "sit and watch what we'll become and drink my husband's wine" which is extremely brave and brazen behaviour. "So tell me to run" is a flight response, being constantly on the run from the husband. This statement also perhaps implies that she is begging her lover to run away with her, with her warning her lover about the violent consequences that they may face.

The next part shows the consequences of their actions. "So yeah, it's a fire" is a response to "watch what we'll become".

I think that in this verse, she compares their ending to their love. How all-consuming and passionate that it was. "Goddamn blaze in the dark" suggests how their love gave her hope and warmth in the darkness of her relationship with her husband. This calls back to "Call it what you want" as well-"He built a fire just to keep me warm."

"So yeah, it's a war, it's the goddamn fight of my life" calls back to the lyrics in State of Grace-"Love is a ruthless game" and parallels back to how she had to fight hard to have secret meetings with her lover.

Conclusion:

I hope that she and her lover made it out safe from the fire :"( This details how the most passionate love affairs can end up in flames. (so its gonna be forever, or its gonna go down in flames) I honestly think this would have made an amazing music video...i can see the vision in my mind...🍃

#oooh #goddamn #mypainfitsinthepalmofyourfreezinghands #taylor swift #ts #lyrics #ivy #evermore #thisislong

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