What is the song, The Black Dog by Taylor Swift actually about?
Taylor’s bonus tracks never qualify as bonus tracks. Why? The songs easily turn out to be a fan-favorite and nothing about these songs spell ‘bonus’. This can also be said about The Black Dog. The song is the 17th track on Taylor’s Tortured Poets Department album.
The song’s title already gives us an idea about what it will be about since black dog literally means depression, dejection, or melancholy. Now, let’s delve into the Black Dog lyrics to see the story Taylor tells here.
A Betrayal We Can All Relate to
Verse 1
“I am someone who until recent events
You shared your secrets with
And your location, you forgot to turn it off
And so I watch as you walk
Into some bar called The Black Dog
And pierce new holes in my heart
You forgot to turn it off
And it hits me”
When relationship ends and you are no longer part of their lives, it feels like leaving a part of you behind. Sometimes, you tend to avoid all the routines you used to do together. But what happens when your former lover continues the routine with a new lover?
This experience is not only painful, it feels like a second betrayal. This is the situation the first verse of Black Dog by Taylor Swift describes.
Her partner visited the place they often visited and she found out because he still shared his location with her. A new realization dawned on her, that things are not the same anymore.
Old Habits Die Screaming
Chorus
“I just don’t understand
How you don’t miss me in The Black Dog
When someone plays “The Starting Line”
And you jump up, but she’s too young to know this song
That was intertwined in the magic fabric of our dreaming
Old habits die screaming”
In the first chorus of the song The Black Dog by Taylor Swift, she registers her disbelief about how fast her partner moved on. And how her partner no longer misses her probably although she misses him so much.
She goes into overthinking mode and just like everyone going through a heartbreak, a painful scenario forms in her head. She imagines that her partner visits the place (The Black Dog) with a younger lover and that lover doesn’t have the enthusiasm she has for their favorite song “The Starting Line” because this new lover is too young to know such songs.
She noted that he jumped up to dance to the song because it had become a habit. A habit he acquired during their relationship.
Taylor Tells her Broken Heart Experience the Way We Wish We Can Describe Ours. One Word – Relatable
Verse 2
“I move through the world with the heartbroken
My longings stay unspoken
And I may never open up thе way I did for you
And all of those best laid plans
You said I needed a bravе man
Then proceeded to play him
Until I believed it too
And it kills me”
The way Taylor talks about heartbreak makes the girlies who have been through it feel seen. Your mind is on the pain most of the time, but you know you cannot share how much you long for your ex-lover, at least not all of it. She recounted their plans, she thought they were perfect.
This partner presented himself as the man he claimed Taylor needed – a brave man. She practically believed that he was everything she needed and then it all ended.
This parallels the lyrics in Loml where Taylor uses the line “The coward claims he was a lion”. (The coward claimed he was brave).
Sigh.
Chorus
“I just don’t understand
How you don’t miss me in the shower
And remember how my rain-soaked body
Was shakin’, do you hate me?
Was it hazing? For a cruel fraternity
I pledged and I still mean it
Old habits die screaming”
The first part of this chorus is most likely a reference to a specific moment in their relationship where she was vocal about her doubt in his love for her. She wouldn’t talk about remembering if it didn’t happen.
She went on to talk about how she knew that being with him wasn’t doing her any good (cruel fraternity) but she wanted (pledged) to be with him anyway.
[Bridge]
“Six weeks of breathin’ clean air
I still miss the smoke
Were you makin’ fun of me
With some esoteric joke?
Now I wanna sell my house
And set fire to all my clothes
And hire a priest to come and exorcise my demons
Even if I die screaming
And I hope you hear it”
And now they have been apart for six weeks but she misses him and his toxic (smoke) love. She recounts a moment where he made a joke, one he knew she wouldn’t understand. Of course, it was only meant to be understood by the other people around after all, it is an esoteric joke.
Then comes her desire to get rid of everything that reminds her of him and the relationship. Her house, and clothes. She even wishes to get rid of her inner thoughts and feelings even if it kills her.
The Black Dog – A Restaurant, a Pub, or an Emotion?
This song gained recognition for its beautiful lyrics but it gave popularity to something else, a restaurant in London called the Black Dog. Since the title of the song is a place that exists, Swifties will definitely check it out.
Turns out there is a pub in Ireland with the same name so we can never tell. But we love that Taylor used a phrase that meant two different things and they both fit into the context of the song. Black Dog – the name of a restaurant and a pub. Black dog – also used to describe depression.
Final Sentiments on The Black Dog By Taylor Swift
This song reminds me of Taylor’s “Right Where You Left Me”. When a partner has completely moved on and you are left with unresolved feelings, you find it hard to wrap your head around the fact that they can do the things they did with you with someone else with ease.
The Black Dog by Taylor Swift shares raw emotions that people struggle to explain when they find themselves in this situation.
