Once the last drop of rain has dried off the pavement
Shouldn't I find a stain, but I never do
The way the tires turn stones, on old county roads
They leave 'em muddy underneath
Reminds me of you
You find graffiti on the walls of old bathroom stalls
You know, you can scratch it right off
It's how it used to be
But like the dollar in your pocket, it's been spent and traded in
You can't change where it's been
Reminds me of me
I lived, and I learned
Had you, got burned
Held out, and held on
God knows, too long
And wasted time, lost tears
Swore that I'd get out of here
But no amount of freedom gets you clean
I've still got you all over me
The best and worst day of June
Was the one that I met you
With your hands in your pockets
And your 'don't you wish you had me' grin
But I did, so I smiled, and I melted like a child
Now every breath of air I breathe reminds me of then
The rain could symbolise a fan’s experience of how often she transforms into new versions of her - “all of me changed like midnight rain.” In the aftermath of a new era, we have continuously not found “stains” that are permanent enough to significantly alter our experience of her or make us want to indefinitely walk away from her art. This could speak to feeling naive and foolish as a fan.
The stones could symbolise us as her fans - how she leaves us muddied. This could either represent how it leaves us muddy because we are covered in her mess as fans, or the alternative definition of muddy which is to confuse, to leave us confused as to why she has made the choices she has. If the stones represent Taylor, it could represent her duplicity - how she is presenting herself as “keeping her side of the street clean” whilst trying to hide her “mud,” or her problemative choices, underneath. This lyric could symbolise that, in other instances, we have had interests that are temporary or have not deeply affected our brain - they have been easy to “scratch right off”, surface level
In terms of finances, we can’t change how much money we have spent on her music, merch and tickets. Also could represent how, psychologically, we can’t change that we have been “in her pocket” and we can’t change the fact that people know we have spent considerable time supporting her.
And I lived, and I learned
Had you, got burned
Held out, and held on
God knows, too long
And wasted time, lost tears
Swore that I'd get out of here
But no amount of freedom gets you clean
I've still got you all over me
I lived, and I learned
And found out what it was to turn around
And see, that we
Were never really meant to be
So I lied, and I cried
And I watched a part of myself die
'Cause no amount of freedom gets you clean
I've still got you all over me
I've still got you all over me