Down Bad

Album: The Tortured Poets Department (2024)
Charted: 4 2
Play Video
  • Did you really beam me up
    In a cloud of sparkling dust
    Just to do experiments on?
    Tell me I was the chosen one
    Showed me that this world is bigger than us
    Then sent me back where I came from

    For a moment, I knew cosmic love

    Now I'm down bad, cryin' at the gym
    Everything comes out teenage petulance
    "What if I can't have him?"
    "I might just die, it would make no difference"
    Down bad, wakin' up in blood
    Starin' at the sky, come back and pick me up
    What if I can't have us?
    I might just not get up, I might stay

    Down bad
    What if I can't have him?
    Down bad
    What if I can't have him?

    Did you take all my old clothes
    Just to leave me here, naked and alone
    In a field in my same old town
    That somehow seems so hollow now?
    They'll say I'm nuts if I talk about
    The existence of you

    For a moment, I was heavenstruck

    Now I'm down bad, cryin' at the gym (cryin' at the gym)
    Everything comes out teenage petulance
    "What it if I can't have him?" (What it if I can't have him?)
    "I might just die, it would make no difference"
    Down bad, wakin' up in blood (wakin' up in blood)
    Starin' at the sky, come back and pick me up
    What it if I can't have us?
    I might just not get up, I might stay

    Down bad (like I lost my twin)
    What if I can't have him? (Down bad)
    Down bad (wavin' at the ship)
    What if I can't have him?

    I loved your hostile takeovers
    Encounters closer and closer
    All your indecent exposures
    How dare you say that it's-
    I'll build you a fort on some planet
    Where they can all understand it
    How dare you think it's romantic
    Leaving me safe and stranded
    'Cause what if I was in love?
    What if I can't have us?
    'Cause what if I was in love?

    Now I'm down bad, cryin' at the gym (cryin' at the gym)
    Everything comes out teenage petulance
    "What if I can't have him?" (Can't have him)
    "I might just die, it would make no difference"
    Down bad, wakin' up in blood (wakin' up in blood)
    Starin' at the sky, come back and pick me up
    What if I can't have us?
    I might just not get up, I might stay

    Down bad (like I lost my twin)
    What if I can't have him? (Down bad)
    Down bad (wavin' at the ship)
    What if I can't have him?

    Like I lost my twin
    What if I can't have him?
    Down bad (wavin' at the ship)
    What if I can't have him? Writer/s: Jack Michael Antonoff, Taylor Swift
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 1

  • AnonymousMatty Healy is famously known for his love of forts. Take that as you wish
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Jon Anderson of Yes

Jon Anderson of YesSongwriter Interviews

From the lake in "Roundabout" to Sister Bluebird in "Starship Trooper," Jon Anderson talks about how nature and spirituality play into his lyrics for Yes.

Concert Disasters

Concert DisastersFact or Fiction

Ozzy biting a dove? Alice Cooper causing mayhem with a chicken? Creed so bad they were sued? See if you can spot the real concert mishaps.

Peter Lord

Peter LordSongwriter Interviews

You may not recognize his name, but you will certainly recognize Peter Lord's songs. He wrote the bevy of hits from Paula Abdul's second album, Spellbound.

David Paich of Toto

David Paich of TotoSongwriter Interviews

Toto's keyboard player explains the true meaning of "Africa" and talks about working on the Thriller album.

Protest Songs

Protest SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know your protest songs (including the one that went to #1)?

Soul Train Stories with Stephen McMillian

Soul Train Stories with Stephen McMillianSong Writing

A Soul Train dancer takes us through a day on the show, and explains what you had to do to get camera time.