The Lonely Meaning Behind “Babylon” by Taylor Swift

In “Babylon”, Taylor Swift describes the consequences of raw ambition. And the trail of broken relationships and meaningful experiences it leaves behind. It appears as the final track on Swift’s Encore edition of The Life Of A Showgirl.

The Stallion Flees the Stable

Swift sings about leaving the safety of a small-town home. It’s the impulse to leave what feels like a stifling place, drawn to the buzzing lights of places beyond familiar borders.

But once out there in the wild, nostalgia begins pulling our tragic hero back home.

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.

The predictability of home now feels soothing. Lost in a dense city of strangers, this person longs for the recognizable humdrum of a close-knit community.

’Cause it’s where you’re from,
Aunt Virginia with her 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.

Till It Was Gone

In the chorus, Swift uses a Babylon metaphor for materialism and cheap pleasure. This is chasing success at the expense of lasting relationships.

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,
Till it was gone.

They see falling in love as an impediment. A stubborn obstacle that blocks some professional goal, aspiration, newness.

Love is ice upon the ladder that you need to climb,
She captured your attention, so free of all pretension,
It stopped you cold.

Now wealthy and successful, they ignore true love behind walls of loneliness and nameless flings.

Because she loved you so,
Pretty as a picture that you didn’t post,
Looking at you like you’re made of solid gold.
Never official, you mention you’re single to the girls at the bar.

Finally, Swift points out that this person is never present. They long for other places and use fuzzy nostalgia to continue to disappear.

You’re using nostalgia as a weapon to hurt yourself,
But darling, you end up hurting everybody else.

Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic