Once upon a time
A few mistakes ago
I was in your sights
You got me alone
You found me
You found me
You found me
I guess you didn't care
And I guess I liked that
And when I fell hard
You took a step back
Without me
Without me
Without me

And he's long gone
When he's next to me
And I realize
The blame is on me

'Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So shame on me now
Flew me to places I'd never been
'Til you put me down, oh
I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So, shame on me now
Flew me to places I'd never been
Now I'm lyin' on the cold hard ground
Oh, oh
Trouble, trouble, trouble
Oh, oh
Trouble, trouble, trouble

No apologies
He'll never see you cry
Pretends he doesn't know
That he's the reason why
You're drowning
You're drowning
You're drowning
And I heard you moved on
From whispers on the street
A new notch in your belt
Is all I'll ever be
And now I see
Now I see
Now I see

He was long gone
When he met me
And I realize
The joke is on me, hey

I knew you were trouble when you walked in (oh)
So shame on me now
Flew me to places I'd never been
'Til you put me down, oh
I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So shame on me now
Flew me to places I'd never been, yeah
Now I'm lyin' on the cold hard ground
Oh, oh (yeah)
Trouble, trouble, trouble
Oh, oh
Trouble, trouble, trouble

And the saddest fear
Comes creepin' in
That you never loved me
Or her
Or anyone
Or anything
Yeah

I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So shame on me now
Flew me to places I'd never been (never been)
'Til you put me down, oh
I knew you were trouble when you walked in (knew it right there)
So shame on me now (knew it right there)
Flew me to places I'd never been
(Ooh) now I'm lyin' on the cold hard ground
Oh, oh
Trouble, trouble, trouble (oh)
Oh, oh
Trouble, trouble, trouble
I knew you were trouble when you walked in
Trouble, trouble, trouble
I knew you were trouble when you walked in
Trouble, trouble, trouble


Lyrics submitted by jhgx3, edited by sydneyrox4, drakesgirl

I Knew You Were Trouble Lyrics as written by Johan Karl Schuster Martin Max Sandberg

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

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I Knew You Were Trouble song meanings
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20 Comments

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  • +5
    Memory

    I relate this song to a personal experience of mine...

    When I was in high school there was this guy, where the moment I met him he entranced me. He was different and had this air about him that said he didn't care what anyone thought about him, which really attracted me. I knew he "was trouble when he walked in", yet I still pursued him. I wanted to know who he was, what he thought, what happened in his life and in the process he brought me down with him into the darkness. He "flew me to places I've never been", introducing me to new things I never thought I'd experience. In the end he left me "laying on the cold hard ground" meaning alone, with addiction problems, and depression. Throughout all this chasing and stringing me along, he got with my best friend several times. I still waited around for him to notice me, but when he was finally gone for good I realized "he never loved me, or her, or anyone, or anything" and that I wasted all those years for nothing.

    LacyLandon January 26, 2013   Link
  • +4
    My Interpretation

    This is about a guy who apparently has a lot of attitude and ego and he didn't care Taylor at first but that got Taylor more attracted to him and she fell hard for him and she found herself a bit low towards herself (because everyone knows when we don't get attention from someone we give so much attention to, we all feel a bit lowered). The next para, she describes the guy saying how heartless he is and he always pretends the girl he is with is crying not for him but for anything else. Then she says how every girl he is hooked up with will be nothing in his eyes but just a companion. She finds herself being fooled for being in love with the wrong guy. then she finally realizes that he doesn't really have anything called a heart and that he could never love anyone. SO though, he is much superior to her, she finds herself lucky cuz' she knows how to love and she has also realized that there was something in her mind that said "Don't go to him, he is trouble..."

    Most probably this song is about her relationship with womanizer John Mayer.

    mimzimuzikon October 15, 2012   Link
  • +4
    General Comment

    Wow I'm surprised this song doesn't have more comments. Anyways, I think everyone is right so far, but after seeing the music video I think the meaning goes a lot deeper.

    I think it's about a classic "good girl falls for the bad boy" scenario. She knows he is "trouble" - messed up, dangerous, and just doesn't care - and she ignores the flags because he's exciting and new. She changes herself entirely to keep up with him, but in the end all she ends up doing is losing herself and him. I think this song is more about the tragedy of losing yourself for someone else, and realizing that she changed herself completely for someone who didn't even end up caring or loving her.

    tulipsareblueon January 22, 2013   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    The song title says it all. This song is about knowing someone is trouble, but you tried anyway cause if you never try you'll never know

    Vegancocoon October 31, 2012   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    Its about liking or falling for someone you know is only going to break your heart. You know that they're a heartbreaker, and theyre trouble, but you fall for all of it anyway and end up getting hurt.

    smooreeeeon December 18, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Thanks for that mimzimuzik I recently fell for a boy like this now im ripped apart this song makes me really emitonal I still have a BIIIGGG crush on him he hates me now because I did some stupid thongs and said he was a man hore and he wont let it go. But when he asked me to kiss him i was so happy and did it in the spur of the moment then the next thing I know hes got a gilfreind then hes got a new one again like a few weeks later from it x

    MaisieTomoon October 25, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Swift previewed this upbeat track on the October 8, 2012 episode of ABC's Good Morning America. The Country-Pop songstress penned the tune with the Swedish hitmaking duo of Shellback and Max Martin, the same pair that she collaborated with on her hit single "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together."

    Taylor explained the backstory to the tune before playing it to Good Morning America viewers. "It's a song that is one of my favorites on the album, because it sounds just as chaotic as the feeling was when I wrote it," she said. "It's a song about being frustrated with yourself because here you are heartbroken and you knew when you first saw this person, you saw all these red flags and you went for it anyway. So, shame on me."

    Max Martin is one of several songsmiths that Swift reached out to write with her on Red. "I have always been so fascinated by how Max Martin can just land a chorus, "she told Billboard magazine. "He comes at you and hits you and it's a chorus - all caps, with exclamation points."

    The song features some dubstep elements but Swift admitted to Spin magazine that she was unaware that she was dipping her toe in the EDM genre when she recorded this tune. "I've written some with Ed Sheeran, and he's become a good friend of mine, and he always plays me really interesting stuff from the U.K. whenever he comes over and hangs out," she explained. "But I never really thought, 'Hey, I want to download some dubstep music!' " "What ended up happening was, I wrote this melody for this chorus on the piano [for "Trouble"], and I brought it to Max Martin and Shellback, and I said, 'At the end of the chorus, I just want this to go crazy. I want it to be really chaotic.' I want the bass line to do this, like [makes loud GUH GUH GUH sound]."

    Swift went on to explain that it was the Swedish producers who put a name – dubstep – to her description. "I don't really know what to call it, but I just kind of sing it how I want it to sound," she explained. And they're like, 'Oh, sort of like a dubstep thing.' And I'm like, 'I guess, I don't know? Whatever that is, whatever that ridiculous sound that I made with my mouth when I was trying to figure out what to say,' " she recalled. "You end up doing a lot of that when you're recording and writing, being like, 'It kinda sounds like this!' [Does a laser-y SCHOOM sound]. I wanted the song to sound as chaotic as the emotion felt. I wanted it to be loud and out of control."

    The song was Swift's 50th Billboard Hot 100 entry. The singer reached the landmark sum just six years and one month after the arrival of her debut entry, "Tim McGraw," the week of Sept. 23, 2006. In doing so, Swift overtook Aretha Franklin to become the fastest female performer to her 50th Hot 100 hit.

    musicrocks13on November 11, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Is it just me or does Taylor seem to incorporate slut-shaming in a lot of her music?

    Maybe it's just me, but it sounds to me like it's yet another song about how she was stupid to lose some of her 'purity' to some guy. That's one of the main things that gets me incredibly angry about her and her music... not to mention that video for You Belong To Me!

    selbydate16on June 13, 2013   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    People who say this is about Harry Styles have obviously not done any research or have no concept of time. This song was on the Red Album, which came out in late October, 2012. Styles and Swift did not start dating until December 2012 so how could it possibly be about him? Just saying.

    I think the song is probably about John Mayer. She had heard of the rumors about him and knew his past history, but she went for it anyways.

    vstutzon September 18, 2013   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning

    It's 100% about her times with Harry from One Direction.

    BobbyAon February 22, 2013   Link

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