Apparently, Taylor Swift cannot go one weekend without debuting new music now that's she reentered the arena. During the the Alabama vs. Florida State football game on Saturday night, she dropped another one. Luckily, the lyrics of Swift's "Ready For It" are a little bit easier on the mind. Rather than taking down enemies and burying Easter eggs all over this tune, Swift is apparently taking this last weekend of summer to give herself one more shot at becoming the song of the summer. It's just a little jarring, considering how vastly different this Taylor is from the New Taylor we supposedly met on "Look What You Made Me Do." Update: The full song debuted early on the morning of Sept. 3 and it is, well, a little harder than the first tease implied. (It's not exactly "Paint It Black," but it's rougher around the edges.)
Swift opens the song by rapping, putting all these other light lyrics into context:
Well he was a killer
First time that I saw him
How many girls he had loved and left
Haunted
But if he's a ghost then
I can be a phantom
Holding him for ransom
Some boys are trying too hard
He gon' try it all though
Younger than my exes but he act like such a man so
I see nothing better
I keep him forever
Like a vendetta
That heads back into the lyrics we heard on Saturday night, with a slight twist: "I see how this is gonna go / Touch me and you'll never be alone." The second "rap" verse continues the theme of the first:
Me I was a robber
First time that he saw me
Stealing hearts and running up and never saying sorry
But if I'm a thief then
He can join the heist and
And we'll move to an island
And he can by jailor
Welcome to this Taylor
Every love I've known in comparison is a failure
I forget their names now
I'm so very tame now
I'll never be the same now
Earlier: The lyrics seem to be all about what could be a fun, little summer fling with the promise of more. (Of course, that's kind of what Tom Hiddleston appeared to be from many fans' perspectives, so it's entirely possible there's more to it after all.) This bit repeats itself a few times in the beginning:
So baby let the games begin
Let the games begin
Let the games begin
Are you ready for it?
Sounds like a textbook vacation boyfriend offer to me.
Then there's a whimsical mention of Island breezes, a seemingly innocent request for a little action, and a promise of discretion:
Oh! I-I-I see how this is gonna go
Touch me and you'll never be alone
I-Island breeze, lights down low
No one has to know
The rhythm of the song is jaunty enough to pump up a football crowd, and easygoing enough to make your Labor Day (see also: Farewell, Summer) playlist, with wispy promises of dreamy trysts with a side of forever.
In the middle of the night
In my dreams
You should see the things we do, baby
(We do, baby)
In the middle of the night
In my dreams
(My dreams)
I know I’m gonna be with you
So I'll take my time
In the middle of the night
Oh and then back comes the "let the games begin" bit.
The song itself is absolutely nothing like Swift's last single (which again, dropped only a week before this), so if it is a song off of Reputation, "Ready For It" brings into the question the tone of the new Taylor (if the old one is in fact dead like the song says). The lyrics, the vibe, all of it feel like classic Swift rather than the darker one we've been promised.
So, if the Old Taylor is dead, then why is she still debuting songs during America's favorite pastime, and playing all her old Taylor games?
