Taylor Swift – Treacherous

My InterpretationIt's kinda funny actually how i understand the lyrics a lot different than most of you guys but here is my opinion; She thinks this love is a temptation - she simply can't help being in love with this guy but she also knows from previous relationships/crush that the chances of love ending happily ever after are very very small. She knows that this will end with her getting hurt but she is so in love that she chooses not to listen to herself. This explains for example the line; "I hear the sound of my own voice, Asking you to stay" - she knows its not good if he stays because then she will fall in love - and then get hurt someday - but she simply cant help herself asking him anyway to stay. The lines "that nothing safe is worth the drive, i will follow you follow you home" means at she doesn't want to drive home because she wants to take the walk with him alone in the dark. She thinks that what they have is not "safe" and is actually kind of a danger since they both know that if they continue like this they will fall in love with each other (if its not already too late - his name has echoed through her mind)

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  @Klegni

My InterpretationTo me, it sounds like she has a purely physical relationship with this guy - a booty call, if you will. She knows that there is no room for advancement with him, but she enjoys what they have together even if it's all that she will get.

"I'd be smart to walk away, but you're quicksand." - she knows that she would be better off with someone else that will actually give her the time of day, but there is something so addicting about this guy that she can't walk away from

"I can't decide if it's a choice, getting swept away." - in some ways, she got herself into this situation, she made the choice to continue it, but it feels beyond her control to keep it going, it's just natural to her.

"Two headlights shine through the sleepless nice, and I will, get you, get you alone." - she will drop everything to be with this guy, leave in the middle of the night if it means fulfilling what they can get from each other.

Everything culminating into one situation is pretty treacherous. She knows it's dangerous, there's the risk of her falling head over heels for this guy, but it's not something that is very easy for her to give up.

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  @mallory08
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  Love your interpretation! Makes complete sense.

  Flag xojessicaon November 29, 2012  

General CommentThis song and I Knew You Were Trouble are a pair. This song talks about seeing the warning signs but going along with the relationship anyway, whereas I Knew You Were Trouble is about wishing you'd stopped when you saw the warning signs.

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  @AllTooWell

My InterpretationOverall, i believe this song is about taylor falling for someone she shouldn't. It's someone shes close with, that she doesnt want to lose, but she feels at some point gravity and fate will bring them together. For now, she lives in a daydream that she knows she shouldnt be living in, and overall the desire for this guy she knows she shouldnt have is "treacherous".

"Put your lips close to mine, as long as they dont touch," is taylor's way of saying that she's falling for a guy she knows she shouldnt fall for. she wants him to come close to her, without their lips touching she cant say that she did anything wrong.
"Out of focus eye to eye, til the gravity's too much" is talking about the struggle to avoid falling for this person even know eventually gravity, or "fate" will bring them together.
"i'd be smart to walk away, but you're quick sand," is saying that as good of an idea as it would be to walk away from him and try not to fall in love, she can't help it.
"i cant decide if its a choice, getting swept away," is taylor expressing that even though she's saying she doesnt want to fall for him, something deep inside her wants to and wants the chase of it all.
"i hear the sound of my own voice, asking you to stay" - she hears herself on the inside screaming dont go, but she knows she cant say it out loud because she shouldnt be feeling this way.
"two headlights shine through the sleepless night, and i will get you alone" being in love with this guy keeps her up all night, driving home from his house or being with him just makes her want him more, and she knows she's going to be up all night thinking about it. she wants to get him alone so that maybe without the opinion of everyone else around them, she can show her true feelings for him. "nothing safe is worth the drive" - a relationship that can be so beautiful and "safe" shouldnt be ruined and torn apart by all the critics in their lives. that initial step to confessing her feelings for him isnt worth losing him in her life.
"Ill follow you home" sounds to me like an act of love for their safety and knowing that they're safe and happy.
"This hope is treacherous" - she knows that the hope of him loving her too is a bad thought and she shouldnt be feeling this way.
"This day dream is dangerous, this hope is treacherous, this path is reckless" taylor thinks about this guy all the time, but knows she shouldnt because if anyone else knew about this daydream, it would be dangerous. keeping it to herself and not sharing her feelings with anyone about this guy is ripping her apart.

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  @musicloverxoxo

My InterpretationOkay, so here's what l think this one is about. It really sounds like the story of someone who seems to have gotten themself into a fling (or almost-fling) with someone who is not available - or while they are not available. Knowing full well that this is not a safe or smart idea and if they got caught it would be disastrous. "Put your lips close to mine, as long as they don't touch" basically screams to me "it's not cheating if we don't *really* kiss".

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  @thepuppydog26

My InterpretationThis song is about her falling for someone when she knows how difficult it is going to be together. Maybe he is moving away, or they're considered "too young," but she knows she can't stop how she feels for him.
"Put your lips close to mine as long as they don't touch" is her saying that she knows if she lets him kiss her, it's all over and she's going to make this work between them no matter how hard it is.
She says "I'll follow you home" meaning that he has become her home and wherever he is, is where she wants to be even if that means some really scary sacrifices. The road is treacherous because its not typical.

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  @danidear
  +1

  I agree with this interpretation! Although most everyone else is saying it's about problems with physicality in a relationship, I definitely think this works too. In fact, this is how I also first interpreted it, and I can also very easily relate to it.

  Flag music.loveon March 02, 2013  

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  @danidear I agree. This describes me and my ex perfectly

  Flag kelseyp07on July 11, 2015  

My InterpretationI think this song really depends on your personal interpretation of it, rather than just a general interpretation.
For me, this song reminds me of my best guy friend of seven years. Something changed between us in the last few years and we have our intense moments. "Put your lips close to mine as long as they don't touch" is like saying, we can have these weird moments as long as we don't act.
"I'd be smart to walk away, but your quicksand", I should walk away because I know nothing is ever going to happen, and I'm only hurting myself more, but I can't walk away because I need his friendship. There's no way out of the "quicksand", I'm just sinking deeper into it.
"I can't decide if it's a choice, getting swept away", I try to tell myself it's my choice if I love him or not, and that I can resist it, but then I realise it's out of my hands, I'm in too deep.
"I hear the sound of my own voice asking you to stay", I try to distance myself from him but I can't, I always go back to him.
"This slope is treacherous", there's no way out of this mess. I can't escape it now, the more I try to escape it the steeper the slope gets.
By and large the song is about falling for someone you shouldn't fall for, but you can't stop yourself. This is just my personal interpretation relating to issues in my life. :)

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  @conger1

My InterpretationI think this song is about loving someone who you know is bad for you in the long run, but you can't get over them. The guy might be a "bad boy", whereas Taylor is a "good girl", so she feels like it's wrong to be liking him but she likes the rush this relationship brings. It feels different than lying a "good guy", and she really likes the relationship. the line "nothing safe is worth the drive" kind of confuses me, but she says she will follow him home - I think this means that she will keep loving him, she won't leave, and I think the drive refers to the relationship or experience they are both getting with each other... she is saying nothing good is worth losing her relationship with this guy. Unlike most of Swift's songs, this one isn't as straightforward, so it was hard to decipher the meaning. Sorry if this was confusing...

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  @PinkInk

My InterpretationI think this song is about loving someone who you know is bad for you in the long run, but you can't get over them. The guy might be a "bad boy", whereas Taylor is a "good girl", so she feels like it's wrong to be liking him but she likes the rush this relationship brings. It feels different than lying a "good guy", and she really likes the relationship. the line "nothing safe is worth the drive" kind of confuses me, but she says she will follow him home - I think this means that she will keep loving him, she won't leave, and I think the drive refers to the relationship or experience they are both getting with each other... she is saying nothing good is worth losing her relationship with this guy. Unlike most of Swift's songs, this one isn't as straightforward, so it was hard to decipher the meaning. Sorry if this was confusing...

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  @PinkInk

My InterpretationI think this song is about loving someone who you know is bad for you in the long run, but you can't get over them. The guy might be a "bad boy", whereas Taylor is a "good girl", so she feels like it's wrong to be liking him but she likes the rush this relationship brings. It feels different than lying a "good guy", and she really likes the relationship. the line "nothing safe is worth the drive" kind of confuses me, but she says she will follow him home - I think this means that she will keep loving him, she won't leave, and I think the drive refers to the relationship or experience they are both getting with each other... she is saying nothing good is worth losing her relationship with this guy. Unlike most of Swift's songs, this one isn't as straightforward, so it was hard to decipher the meaning. Sorry if this was confusing...

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  @PinkInk