No, nothing good starts in a getaway carâŚ
[VERSE 1]
It was the best of times, the worst of crimes
this line
- is a reference to dickens âbest of times, worst of timesâ opening of tale of two cities v famous, we all know this, been told many times
- is a set up for the rest of the story being told
- is a clear indelible link to other songs about Dianna, e.g. Wonderlandâs âlife was never worse, but never betterâ
literally from the very first line, this is a song about Dianna Agron.
I struck a match and blew your mind
But I didnât mean it
And you didnât see it
personally - and keep in mind thereâs nothing but circumstantial evidence to support this theory - I think Taylor used to discuss the possibility of coming out with Dianna. Â
- Dianna was notably not keen to stay closeted (see: the infamous âLikes Girlsâ shirt incident).
- the girls were pretty daring/open (see: the late night Meredith photo, the âlittle kitten who needs to nurseâ note and its clear reference in Holy Ground, Dianna being constantly around when Taylor was âdatingâ both Connor and Harry, the Tim Tebow debacle) with their relationship
- Dianna was Taylorâs first serious relationship since Emily (Taymily break up was late 2007, I think? and Swiftgron started around 2010/11, but was pretty casual until at least mid to late 2011)
My personal theory is that Taylor brought up how nice it would be to come out, to not be closeted any longer; and Dianna took that possibility and ran with it. Â Taylor was unable to articulate her anxieties with coming out at that point in time, so she let Dianna believe that it was a mutual goal. Â She âdidnât mean itâ and Dianna âdidnât seeâ that she wasnât serious about it.
The ties were black, the lies were white
In shades of gray and candlelightAt the time, Taylor felt that her lie - saying she genuinely wanted to come out when she wasnât actually sure about it - was a white lie. Â Itâs not like the girls were actually going to do anything about it, right? Â Dianna had her career to think about too, and they kept breaking up, seeing other people - it didnât feel like a big deal to keep up the lie.
I wanted to leave him
I needed a reason
The âhimâ mentioned in the song is pretty ambiguous, but I think thereâs two solid possibilities.
- âhimâ being Taylorâs PR at the time, Paula, who was employed by the label and more concerned with keeping Taylor closeted than keeping her happy
- âhimâ being a general catch all for her beards
Or hell, it could be both, Taylorâs prone to that sort of thing.
[PRE-CHORUS 1]
X marks the spot, where we fell apart
He poisoned the well, I was lying to myself
I knew it from the first old fashioned, we were cursed
We never had a shotgun shot in the dark
âHeâ being Taylorâs PR is most likely in this verse. Â "the well" is Taylorâs mind - her PR made her believe that the only way to keep her career was to stay closeted indefinitely. Â
This pre-chorus is all about hindsight. Â The verses are about how Taylor was thinking and feeling in the moment, the prechorus is her looking back on that and knowing the truth.
âI was lying to myselfâ - contrary to the white lies mentioned in the verse, it wasnât harmless to let Dianna believe in something Taylor had no intention of ever doing
âwe were cursedâ - their relationship was never going to last, based as it was on such shaky foundations and with Taylor torn between Diannaâs wants and needs, her PR/record labelâs machinations, and Taylorâs own desires.
[CHORUS]
You were driving the getaway car
We were flying, but weâd never get far
âhis love was like driving a new Maserati down a dead end streetâ - just saying
There are frequent references to driving and cars in other songs about Dianna, but more importantly, Dianna was âdrivingâ the potential for coming out together.
âwe were flyingâ - we were happy, blissfully so
âbut weâd never get farâ - before we fought, broke up, were separated by our careers, etc etc.
Donât pretend itâs such a mystery
Think about the place where you first met me
I saw one poster not long after Rep came out speculating that âthe place where you first met meâ refers to Nashville itself - Dianna shouldâve known that Taylor would never be able to follow through, coming from/having her career based in a place like that
Weâre riding in a getaway car
There were sirens in the beat of your heart
I love this imagery. Â Referring to the fact that Dianna herself was a danger to Taylor?? who knows this isnât super important for the overall narrative of the song
Shouldâve known Iâd be the first to leave
Think about the place where you first met me
In a getaway car
These lyrics are cleverly placed so that âthe place where you first met meâ is heavily implied to be IN the getaway car, i.e. this relationship was nothing but an escapist fantasy and you shouldâve known that because my PREVIOUS relationship - which I was in when we met - was also an escapist fantasy.
Personally I think she did that so itâs easy to point and say this song is about Hiddleswift when primarily, itâs about Swiftgron.
No, they never get far
No, nothing good starts in a getaway car
The âgetaway carâ can be interpreted as a rebound relationship - thatâs how Taylor writes all of her songs, basically, so that they can be interpreted as being about her heterosexual public persona or about her actual life. Â But really, the âgetaway carâ is about escapism. Â No relationship built on a foundation of âwouldnât it be great if our lives were completely differentâ can last! Â What Taylor has now with Karlie, that was built by the two of them on the lives they were actually living at the time, not on the promise of a hypothetical future.
[VERSE 2]
It was the great escape, the prison break
The light of freedom on my face
Refers to the engagement, Iâm quite sure. Â This was It - this was the moment when Dianna put all her cards on the table and declared she was willing if Taylor was willing.
But you werenât thinking
And I was just drinking
Note that now, several years after that engagement, Dianna is in a lavender marriage. Â "you werenât thinking" about the consequences, about what it really means to come out as a lesbian in this day and age, âand I was just drinkingâ, i.e. refusing to do anything, so paralysed by indecision that all she could do was drink.
Well he was running after us, I was screaming âGo go go!â
âHeâ is once again more likely to be Taylorâs PR, trying to convince her not to come out, to break off the engagement, to ditch Dianna altogether.
But with three of us, honey, itâs a side show
And a circus ainât a love story
And now weâre both sorry (weâre both sorry)
Taylor had to make a choice - her label/PR meddling with the relationship is the âcircusâ, and (as I mentioned before) no relationship could last when Taylor was torn between all three parties (herself, Dianna, and her label).
In the end, of course (spoiler alert!!) Taylor chose to break it off with Dianna, âand now weâre both sorryâ.
[PRE-CHORUS 2]
X marks the spot, where we fell apart
He poisoned the well, every man for himself
Personally I LOVE this particular line. Â "Every man for himself" throws doubt on the gender of every party mentioned in this song! Â Iâm very aware that itâs an idiom, and trying to change it to âevery woman for herselfâ would throw off the beat of the song. Â The thing is, Taylor doesnât do anything without purpose, and always chooses her words very carefully - she couldâve left this line exactly as it is in the first pre chorus, and no one wouldâve known.
But she chose to say âevery man for himselfâ when we all know that at least one party in this situation - Taylor herself - is not a man. Â Which leads to the thought - whom else in this song is being referred to as male when theyâre not?
Hell, whom else on this album is being referred to as male when theyâre not?
I knew it from the first old fashioned, we were cursed
It hit you like a shotgun shot to the heart
Taylor made a decision, and she didnât choose Dianna, and that broke her heart.
[CHORUS]
You were driving the getaway car
We were flying, but weâd never get far
Donât pretend itâs such a mystery
Think about the place where you first met me
Weâre riding in a getaway car
There were sirens in the beat of your heart
Shouldâve known Iâd be the first to leave
Think about the place where you first met me
In a getaway car
No, they never get far
No, nothing good starts in a getaway car
[BRIDGE]
We were jet set Bonnie and Clyde
Until I switched to the other side
âThe other sideâ here being her record label. Â Taylor chose to break up with Dianna and stay closeted rather than live out their dream - after all, sheâd been lying about that dream from the start.
Itâs no surprise, I turned you in
'Cause us traitors never win
This is one of the most telling lines of the whole song, to be frank. Â "Us traitors"; Taylor is the traitor who turned her lover in. Â But in doing so, she lost by her own admission. Â What did she lose? Â Well, obviously her lover. Â But if the songâs about a rebound relationship, i.e. Hiddleswift, and we all know Hiddleswift was fake -
Well. Â Thereâs no way Getaway Car is about a beard, thatâs for sure.
Iâm in a getaway car
I left you in the motel bar
I put the money in a bag and stole the keys
That was the last time you ever saw me
âI put the money in a bagâ - Taylor chose her career, and it paid off for her BIG TIME. Â 1989 was her most popular album yet. Â She skyrocketed up the charts. Â She hired Tree and turned her public image around (for a couple years at least). Â But to do so, she left Dianna behind, and âstole the keysâ to the getaway car - which is now hers to use when she sees fit.
[CHORUS]
Driving the getaway car
We were flying, but weâd never get far
Donât pretend itâs such a mystery
Think about the place where you first met me
Weâre riding in a getaway car
There were sirens in the beat of your heart
Shouldâve known Iâd be the first to leave
Think about the place where you first met me
In a getaway car
No, they never get far
No, nothing good starts in a getaway car
[OUTRO]
I was riding in a getaway car
I was crying in a getaway car
I was dying in a getaway car
Said 'goodbyeâ in a getaway car
I was riding in a getaway car
I was crying in a getaway car
I was dying in a getaway car
Said 'goodbyeâ in a getaway car
How anyone can listen to the emotion in Taylorâs voice when she sings these lines and honestly think itâs about a beard is beyond me.
To be clear - I do not think Taylor is still in love with Dianna, nor Dianna still in love with Taylor. Â I think they had a passionate, not particularly healthy relationship which ended in a way that prevented either one of them from getting closure. Â
I do think this song is the last one that Taylor will write about Dianna. Â This is Taylorâs closure on that relationship. Â Sheâs letting it go. Â And thatâs wonderful.