DISCLAIMER
I haven't watched the music video. By the time I was wrapping this up, the music video came out and was different than what I imagined. Throughly enjoyed the visuals though! This was originally meant to be gatekeep. But my mood is good. So here's my
Theory of Anti-Hero lyrics
(before watching the official music video)
Trigger Warning:
Mentions of Eating Disorder, light description of gores and murders, snakes and morbid thoughts. If any of these topics bring discomfort, I completely understand. You may move on to another reading material. Thank you for checking this out.
Shall we begin?
"I have this thing where I get older but just never wiser."
This shows that Taylor really repeats her mistake if she never gets wiser. I Did Something Bad, Taylor Swift says, "Most fun I ever had. And I'd do it over and over and over again if I could."
"Midnights become my afternoons."
First of all, I AM LAUGHING MY ARSE OFF HEARING THIS LINE THE FIRST TIME! It was literally Friday afternoon and I was still at school when Taylor released her album. I was very bumped out at first because that would mean I'd be slower one hour. Her Midnight is literally my afternoon!
Anyway, back to business.
It's highly encouraged for us to take naps in the afternoon because our brains are required downtime to function more efficiently. When Taylor says her midnights become her afternoon, it could imply that she only takes short naps at night. Before waking up again. In afternoons, we tend to feel sleepy and exhausted despite the loads of works we must finished by the end of the day. I think for Taylor, she still has lots of works to settle out. It can be her literal works or perhaps her relationships, ambitions, ect. Her midnights become her afternoons, which is to say there's rarely sleep for her. Only naps.
"When my depression works at the graveyard shift. All of the people I've ghosted stand there in the room."
This line really emphasizes the previous line's theory.
According to Google, 'graveyard shift' is a work shift that runs through the early morning hours, typically covering the period between midnight and 8am. I'd say this line is very cleverly worded. This line shows how she spent all night thinking about all the people she left in her past, coming back at the dead of the night. Haunting her to being unable to sleep. It could mean both positively and negatively. Like her old friends she lost touch, or maybe the fandom she left when she chose to disappear after the Kimye scene, ect. But I would like to think the people she ghosted were her past selves, her old versions before she became so broken.
"I should not have been left to my own devices. They come with prices and vices. I end up in crisis. (I've realized all this time.)"
IM SORRY I DON'T KNOW THIS ONE!!
"I wake up from screaming. One day, I'll watch you as you're leaving. Cuz you got tired of my scheming for the last time."
