The Meaning of Look What You Made Me Do by Taylor Swift

This Taylor Swift music video is so impressive that in its 4 minutes and 15 second run time she manages to throw a shot at variety of feuds and attack every persona she’s created over her career.

Some of the references go after exes like Calvin Harris or feuds with Kanye West all the way to Kate Perry. While she lit up the music video, which you should watch (if for some reason you haven’t).

I don’t like your little games
Don’t like your tilted stage
The role you made me play
Of the fool, no, I don’t like you
I don’t like your perfect crime
How you laugh when you lie
You said the gun was mine
Isn’t cool, no, I don’t like you (oh!)

This verse is clearly a shot at Kayne West, referencing the tilted stage he used at one of his concerts in Saint Pablo. The perfect crime is referencing the recorded conversation between Taylor Swift and Kanye west, that without consent, may be illegal.

If we look passed those references this verse also has a general meaning. Games and tilted stage could be considered a reference at a rigged or setup circumstance giving the other person an advantage.

But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time
Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time
I’ve got a list of names and yours is in red, underlined
I check it once, then I check it twice, oh!

No matter how much controversy or heat Taylor Swift has taken, she always comes back strong with another album or song, or a rebuttal. She rose up from the dead and does it all the time is her saying she’s not going to back down, but she’s also not going to forget which is why she has a list of names and this one is in “red underline.”

Ooh, look what you made me do
Look what you made me do
Look what you just made me do
Look what you just made me
Ooh, look what you made me do
Look what you made me do
Look what you just made me do
Look what you just made me do

This is the catchy pop part of the song that makes it go viral, which seems to always occur in Taylor Swift’s basic songs (most with just 4 chord structure) that seem to get stuck in the listener’s head. This can be as simple as look at what you made me do I wrote this song and made this music video or more complexly can reference things like her lawsuit or rebuttals in public appearances, tweets, talks, or other songs.

I don’t like your kingdom keys
They once belonged to me
You asked me for a place to sleep
Locked me out and threw a feast (what?)
The world moves on, another day, another drama, drama
But not for me, not for me, all I think about is karma
And then the world moves on, but one thing’s for sure
Maybe I got mine, but you’ll all get yours

Many believe this is a shot at the media, where once she was the beloved fairy tale Taylor Swift loved by everyone, she’s not turned into this bad girl and her reputation is constantly being assaulted, hence the title of this album (Reputation) and the appearances of all the personas she’s created over the years in her music video.

This was her kingdom in the way that Miley Cyrus used to be the good girl now turned bad. She invited everyone into her lives and then they turned on her. Now everything is full of drama and she constantly thinks about revenge.

I don’t trust nobody and nobody trusts me
I’ll be the actress starring in your bad dreams
I don’t trust nobody and nobody trusts me
I’ll be the actress starring in your bad dreams
I don’t trust nobody and nobody trusts me
I’ll be the actress starring in your bad dreams
I don’t trust nobody and nobody trusts me
I’ll be the actress starring in your bad dreams

Obvious translation here, she can’t trust anyone and they can’t trust her because at one point they can be best friends or at peace and then the next they get hit or thrown under the bus in one of her songs.

“I’m sorry, the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now.”
“Why?”
“Oh, ’cause she’s dead!” (ohh!)

A reference at possibly the recorded phone conversations and basically what she means by saying she can’t come to the phone because she’s dead, is that she’s not the same Taylor Swift anymore that was on that phone call and things have changed.

If you haven’t yet I encourage you to check out her music video. As always I am impressed with Taylor Swift’s ability to create catchy music that goes viral. The verses could literally say anything and it wouldn’t change anything about this song, the beat, music, and chorus are all the hook this songs need to go to the top of the charts.