Illicit Affairs

Album: Folklore (2020)
Charted: 44
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Illicit Affairs" is a slow-building ballad about infidelity. Taylor Swift lays out the differing emotions of the secret tryst, from the sneaking around:

    Make sure nobody sees you leave
    Hood over your head, keep your eyes down


    To the evaporating emotions stirred by the illicit affair:

    A dwindling, mercurial high
    A drug that only worked
    The first few hundred times


    During the bridge, Swift explores the effects of the relationship being carried out in secret.

    And you wanna scream
    Don't call me "kid," don't call me "baby"
    Look at this godforsaken mess that you made me
  • Taylor Swift first tackled the idea of infidelity on 2006's "Should've Said No," where she condemned a boyfriend who cheated on her. By Reputation's "Getaway Car," Swift was attempting to escape her own relationship by hooking up with someone else. This song finds Swift withholding judgment about the temptation to stray without ignoring the resulting heartbreak.
  • Taylor Swift wrote and produced the song with her frequent collaborator, Jack Antonoff. The Bleachers lead singer also played percussion, bass, and guitar. The other instrumentalist on the track is Antonoff's Bleachers bandmate, Evan Smith, who played guitar, accordion and saxophone.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Gary Lewis

Gary LewisSongwriter Interviews

Gary Lewis and the Playboys had seven Top 10 hits despite competition from The Beatles. Gary talks about the hits, his famous father, and getting drafted.

Loudon Wainwright III

Loudon Wainwright IIISongwriter Interviews

"Dead Skunk" became a stinker for Loudon when he felt pressure to make another hit - his latest songs deal with mortality, his son Rufus, and picking up poop.

Songs Discussed in Movies

Songs Discussed in MoviesSong Writing

Bridesmaids, Reservoir Dogs, Willy Wonka - just a few of the flicks where characters discuss specific songs, sometimes as a prelude to murder.

George Harrison

George HarrisonFact or Fiction

Did Eric Clapton really steal George's wife? What's the George Harrison-Monty Python connection? Set the record straight with our Fact or Fiction quiz.

Vanessa Carlton

Vanessa CarltonSongwriter Interviews

The "A Thousand Miles" singer on what she thinks of her song being used in White Chicks and how she captured a song from a dream.

Maria Muldaur

Maria MuldaurSongwriter Interviews

The "Midnight At The Oasis" singer is an Old Time gal. She talks about her jug band beginnings and shares a Dylan story.