“My Tears Ricochet” is the fifth track on Taylor Swift’s 2020 album ‘Folklore.’ The song speaks about Taylor Swift being a victim of tormet in her personal and public life, that she had to bury some parts of her life altogether to escape.
Taylor Swift announced her 8th studio album ‘Folklore‘ just a few hours ahead of the album release on July 24, 2020. The album had no singles prior to the album release, and Taylor stated the reason for the ‘surprise’ album release as the “uncertainty” surrounding the world right now.
On Instagram, Taylor revealed that this song is about “an embittered tormentor showing up at the funeral of his fallen object of affection.” This hints that Taylor only killed herelf, not anyone else.
Listen to “my tears ricochet” by Taylor Swift
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“my tears ricochet” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review
Verse 1
The song kicks off with a narration of the proceedings at a funeral. Surprisingly enough Taylor is the one laying in the coffin and there is a visitor. Unsurprisingly enough, it is Taylor herself. This imagery marks off Taylor killing her former persona for some reason. The dead Taylor questions her, if she ever deserved this!
This scene possibly alludes to the idea that the “old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now/Because she is dead” lyric from “Look What You Made Me Do” song from her ‘Reputation’ album.
Chorus
In the chorus of the song, the dead Taylor questions the murderous Taylor why did she even bother to show up at the funeral if she hated her so much. The murderous Taylor might hate her, but she also knows that the dead Taylor made her. The dead Taylor took the biggest hit so that the murderous Taylor could be free.
‘Ricochet’ is to bounce off of a surface. The dead Taylor sheds tears because, well, she is dead, and killed by the same person she helped her grew. The murderous Taylor sheds tears realizing the above fact. So it might seem like the tears ricochet off of each other in this scenario.
Verse 2
In these lines, to gather stones is to gather experiences. Life is an uncertain journey. You never know what you will be dealt with tomorrow. So it all adds up as experience as long as you push through to the next day. Some of these experiences can be ugly and some can be shiny like diamonds. Some experiences also can come in the form of ugly stones and put enough pressure and they transform into diamonds.
The dead Taylor’s “hauntings” may be her constant push and craving to become succesfull and popular, possibly some things Taylor feared as a child. But now that she has them, she realizes how futile they are and wants to cut off that engine altogether.
Bridge
In these lyrics, the dead Taylor tells the living Taylor that she can never get rid of her. She may have buried the physical body, but a part of her still lives on inside. And she also knows that at some point in life, the living Taylor will miss this phase of her life.
What are your thoughts on this track? Drop a comment below. Check out the complete lyrics and further meaning breakdown on Genius.
This song is actually about the betrayal of when her old label wouldn’t give her masters back. (Stolen lullabies)