“gold rush” is the third track on Taylor Swift’s second 2020 album ‘evermore.’ During the live stream leading up to the album release, Taylor Swift revealed that the story in this song happens in a “single daydream where you get lost in thought for a minute and then snap out of it.”
Taylor Swift announced her 9th studio album ‘evermore‘ in quick succession to her previous studio album ‘folklore‘ which was released in July 2020. Both albums follow a similar theme and Taylor called them ‘sister-records.’ “To try and put it more poetically, it feels like we were standing on the edge of the folklorian woods and had a choice: to turn and go back or to travel further into the forest of this music. We chose to wander deeper in,” said Taylor Swift announcing the album. The ‘evermore’ album releases on December 11, 2020.
Jack Antonoff, a frequent collaborator and producer of Taylor’s albums, is credited with the lyrics on this track. Taylor also revealed that this song is Jack’s favorite on the album.
Listen to “gold rush” by Taylor Swift
Buy ‘evermore’ Album on Apple Music and Amazon
“gold rush” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review
Intro
In the intro to the song, Taylor describes a person that she is ready to jump into a relationship with, which sets the premise for the song.
Taylor sings about “Eyes like sinking ships on waters” which can be interpreted as deep and blue colored. Uncoincidentally, Taylor Swift’s current boyfriend Joe Alwyn has “ocean-blue eyes.“
Chorus
Get ready for metaphors-galore!
The term ‘gold rush’ refers to the feeling of ecstasy when in love. In history, the ‘gold rush’ was a sentiment given to a new discovery of gold, which was and still is, one of the most precious metals on Earth. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th Century in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States.
Taylor’s face in a “red flush” refers to her blushing at the presence of this guy. But these feelings are mutual for everyone else as well. All the girls want him, and Taylor is not happy about that. This is the ‘gold rush’ Taylor talks about. He is the gold mine and all the girls want to claim their treasure.
A “double vision in rose blush” could refer to how Taylor’s vision is blurred as she gets more and more intoxicated in love with him. A ‘rose blush’ vision is where you see through a rose-colored glass, which instantly makes everything look way better because of the rose overcoat, but at the same time, is something far from reality. All this is a more poetic way of saying that ‘love is blind.’
Verse 1
In the first verse of the song, Taylor Swift dives further into her feelings about this guy. She calls him beautiful, and his hair perfect. She wanders into a daydream where she is at his house, at dinner parties with him, and at a getaway in a coastal town. And she just feels the love flowing through her. All this is still a tunnel vision of what could be.
Verse 2
In the second verse, Taylor Swift shouts out to her 8th studio album ‘folklore.’ She tells that in her daydreams, their story turns into folklore–something magical, soothing, and comforting. In the same live stream, Taylor said that she associated seasons of Spring and Summer with the album ‘folklore’ and Autumn and Winter with the album ‘evermore.’ So, we see Taylor escape from the current album to her previous album for some warmth and comfort.
She just wants to jump in to this relationship!
Let us hear what you think about this song in the comments below. Check out the complete lyrics and further meaning breakdown on Genius.