Taylor Swift’s ‘Babylon’ Lyrics Reveal the Cost of Choosing Status Over Love

4 min read

Three of Taylor Swift’s four new The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore tracks seem to draw inspiration from her romantic past (“Patient Zero,” “Pink Clouding”) and present (“Cleveland!”). But the subject of her final track, “Babylon,” is less clear. Instead, it tells the story of a social-climbing man who grapples with what he left behind—his small town, good partner, and family—as he pursued wealth and a more materialistic life.

In some verses, Swift hints at his regret: “You ran with all the wild things / A liberated libertine who then longed for home” and reveals his wrongdoings, especially as a parent: “You’re using nostalgia as a weapon to hurt yourself / But darling, you end up hurting everybody else / The self-harm of never being where you are / It’s bedtime, but you’re sitting in your car / You’re missin’ all the best parts.”

In the final chorus, she portrays him having the realization that his Babylon, a term used to describe “a city devoted to materialism and sensual pleasure,” has cost him the most meaningful people in his life—though he now has the opportunity to change that.

She sings, “But you love this song / You wake up on the train and you’re all alone / Then that memory is all you want / You never knew that it was Babylon / ’Til it was gone.”

Swift’s “Babylon” is a vivid character study of her song subject. While it’s possible the song was inspired by real-life people Swift knows, the singer has kept the backstory of the track private for now. But the singer is no stranger to using storytelling to blend truth and fiction in her songwriting. It’s what she did throughout her albums Folklore and Evermore.

In April, she spoke to The New York Times about the evolution of her songwriting and how she has moved away from writing autobiographical songs. “I can only speak to me but as I’ve grown up, the intensity of the sort of no-pun-intended ‘message in a bottle’ nature of my songwriting has shifted and changed into something else,” she explained. “It used to be like, ‘I can’t tell a person how I feel so I’ll write it in this song.’ And that was really important for me at the time that it was important for me. It’s also important when you’re in your early 20s, and there’s someone you shouldn’t talk to and you don’t want to call them because they’re bad for you and it’s toxic. So you just—you write it in the song, and that’s where it lives, like almost as a method of self-control or self-preservation or something. But for the Folklore album and everything like that…it wasn’t as a response to having a public life and the intrusions that come with that. It was really more of just wanting to challenge myself as a writer.”

“Babylon” is a haunting reminder of what you can lose when you pursue the wrong things. Listen to the song and read its lyrics below:

Verse 1
The casino doesn’t like when you run the tables
And though the box is wrapped up nice, it’s just a cage to you
Those electric fences buzz
The stallion flees the stable
And that small town’s even smaller now in your rear view
You ran with all the wild things
A liberated libertine who then longed for home

Pre-Chorus
’Cause it’s where you’re from
Aunt Virginia with a church dress on
No elbows on the table
And the neighbor’s lawn always looked better
Your hand-me-down sweater should’ve been from the mall

Chorus
And you hate this song
But you wake up on the train with your headphones gone
Then that melody is all you want
You never knew that it was Babylon
’Til it was gone

Verse 2
Give the people what they want, then you keep it movin’
Make your plans and friends, a stranger’s makeup on your tie
Twenty watches in the safe ’cause your time is money
Love is ice upon the ladder that you need to climb
She captured your attention, so free of all pretension
It stopped you cold

Pre-Chorus
Because she loved you so
Pretty as a picture that you didn’t post
Lookin’ at you like you’re made of solid gold
Never official
You mention you’re single to the girls at the bar

Chorus
You hate this song
But you wake up on the train with your headphones gone
And then that melody is all you want
You never knew that it was Babylon
’Til it was gone

Bridge
You’re using nostalgia as a weapon to hurt yourself
But darling, you end up hurting everybody else
The self-harm of never being where you are
It’s bedtime, but you’re sitting in your car
You’re missin’ all the best parts

Pre-Chorus
And they’re all at home
She’s hangin’ Christmas lights with your son
Sneak into the bathroom to call her mom
And say, “It’s not workin’
It’s just not worth it if we’re not what he wants”

Chorus
But you love this song
You wake up on the train with your headphones gone
Then that melody is all you want
You never knew that it was Babylon
And now, it’s almost gone

Pre-Chorus
Aunt Virginia with a church dress on
No elbows on the table and it’s almost gone (It’s almost gone)
And the neighbor’s lawn always looked better
Your hand-me-down sweater should’ve been from the mall

Chorus
But you love this song
You wake up on the train and you’re all alone
Then that memory is all you want
You never knew that it was Babylon
’Til it was gone