Taylor Swift Revisits Her Small Town Roots In “Suburban Legends”

Taylor Swift loves a feel-good story where the underdogs win in life, from “Long Live” on Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) to “New Romantics” on 1989 (Taylor’s Version). And on one of the album’s “From the Vault” tracks, she keeps that tradition going.

As part of 1989 (TV), released on Oct. 27, Swift unveiled “Suburban Legends,” which is sure to be the anthem your high school self needed to get by.

What Is “Suburban Legends” About?

Fans are already comparing the song’s swirling cinematic synths to “Mastermind” from Midnights, but lyrically, it’s more akin to the nostalgic hometown reunion in Evermore’s “‘tis the damn season.”

Co-written and produced with her constant collaborator Jack Antonoff, “Suburban Legends” tells the story of two star-crossed lovers who find success beyond their small town but try to stay together against all odds. “I didn’t come here to make friends,” she sings. “We were born to be suburban legends.”

In the second verse, Swift shares her fantasy of walking into their high school reunion together, hoping that “maybe our mismatched star signs would surprise the whole school.” But alas, by the bridge, you can tell their story isn’t meant to last. The underdogs may have won — but they won’t celebrate their victories together.

The story of suburban outcasts has emotional resonance for both Swift and Antonoff, who come from separate East Coast suburbs.

Before heading to Nashville to kickstart her music career, Swift was raised on a (literal) Christmas tree farm outside of Philadelphia, while Antonoff grew up in nearby New Jersey, which has hugely influenced the sounds of his own music with Bleachers.

“Suburban Legends” Lyrics

You had people who called you on unmarked numbers

In my peripheral vision

I let it slide like a hose on a slippery plastic summer

All was quickly forgiven

You were so magnetic it was almost obnoxious

Flush with the currency of cool

I was always turnin' out my empty pockets

And when it came to you

I didn't come here to make friends

We were born to be suburban legends

When you hold me, it holds me together

And you kiss me in a way that's gonna screw me up forever

I had the fantasy that maybe our mismatched star signs

Would surprise the whole school

When I ended up back at our class reunion

Walkin' in with you

You'd be more than a chapter in my old diaries

With the pages ripped outI am standin' in a 1950s gymnasium

And I can still see you now

I didn't come here to make friends

We were born to be suburban legends

When you hold me, it holds me together

And you kiss me in a way that's gonna screw me up forever

I know that you still remember

We were born to be national treasures

When you told me we'd get back together

And you kissed me in a way that's gonna screw me up forever

Tick-tock on the clock, I pace down your block

I broke my own heart 'cause you were too polite to do it

Waves crash on the shore, I dash to the door

You don't knock anymore and my whole life's ruined

Tick-tock on the clock, I pace down your block

I broke my own heart 'cause you were too polite to do it

Waves crash to the shore, I dash to the door

You don't knock anymore and I always knew it

That my life would be ruined