“You’re On Your Own Kid” has become a fan favorite since Taylor Swift released it as part of Midnights in 2022. The song likely connects with Swifties because of its personal meaning to Swift. Her fans are more like close friends of the singer-songwriter. Swift’s wins are theirs to celebrate as well. Her losses are also theirs to mourn.
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Since the song has been widely interpreted as a definitive snapshot of Swift’s rise to fame, it’s no surprise that it has connected with fans in the way that it has.
Uncover the meaning behind the track, below.
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Behind the Meaning
“You’re On Your Own Kid” is one of Swift’s most narrative songs in recent years. Each of the verses tells one piece of Swift’s story. Though she doesn’t market the track as an autobiographical piece per se, fans will notice marked connections to the singer-songwriter’s rise to fame.
The first verse sees a young Swift experiencing the first tinges of young love. Summer went away / Still, the yearning stays / I play it cool with the best of them / I wait patiently / He’s gonna notice me / It’s okay, we’re the best of friends, she sings.
As the first chorus rolls around, Swift realizes her feeling are not returned and she’s been stuck in a one-sided love affair. I search the party of better bodies / Just to learn that you never cared / You’re on your own, kid / You always have been, she submits.
In the next verse, Swift catches the songwriting bug. She talks about the moment she first learned to channel her feelings into her craft. Many of Swift’s songs come in the breakup persuasion. According to the lyrics in “You’re On Your Own Kid,” that affinity started as a means of escape from heartbreak.
I see the great escape
So long, Daisy May
I picked the petals, he loves me not
Something different bloomed
Writing in my room
I play my songs in the parking lot
I’ll run away
After earning her first glimmers of fame, Swift runs into another roadblock: the realization that her dreams aren’t rare. This verse can be understood as the period in which Swift made her way to Nashville, armed with the songwriting chops that got her heralded as a protege at a young age, only to discover there is a host of promising up-and-comers vying for the same prize.
In the following lines, Swift transitions into talking about the follies of fame—mainly an eating disorder she has spoken about publicly a number of times. I hosted parties and starved my body
Like I’d be saved by a perfect kiss, the lyrics read.
In the final verse, Swift becomes the bad-ass, industry mogul she is today. I looked around in a blood-soaked gown / And I saw something they can’t take away, she sings, likely referencing her drama with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. In the same breath, Swift nods to her re-recording project and the freedom it has given her as an artist.
‘Cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned
Everything you lose is a step you take
So make the friendship bracelets
Take the moment and taste it
You’ve got no reason to be afraid
While at the beginning of the song, the line You’re on your own kid / you always have been has lonely connotations, by the end of the song, the same line seems hopeful. She effectively tells herself, “You’ve always been on your own and look how much you’ve accomplished despite that.”
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