ARTIST/SONG: Taylor Swift, “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” (2024)
This is a Survivor’s Song, for certain! In the song, her screaming “who’s afraid of little old me?” followed by the quieter answer, “you should be.” I think this is, by far, my favorite song of her newest album, The Tortured Poets Department. WOWZA! It’s just too new to have a history, but is on her fifth album she’s released since 2019.
LYRICS (Courtesy of LyricFind)
“Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?”
… The who’s who of who’s that?
Is poised for the attack
But my bare hands paved their paths
You don’t get to tell me about sad
… If you wanted me dead, you should’ve just said
Nothing makes me feel more alive
… So I leap from the gallows and I levitate down your street
Crash the party like a record scratch as I scream
Who’s afraid of little old me?
You should be
… The scandal was contained
The bullet had just grazed
At all costs, keep your good name
You don’t get to tell me you feel bad
… Is it a wonder I broke? Let’s hear one more joke
Then we could all just laugh until I cry
… So I leap from the gallows and I levitate down your street
Crash the party like a record scratch as I scream
Who’s afraid of little old me?
I was tame, I was gentle ’til the circus life made me mean
Don’t you worry folks, we took out all her teeth
Who’s afraid of little old me?
… Well, you should be (you should be)
You should be (you should be)
You should be
You should be (you should be)
You should be (you should be)
You should be
… So tell me everything is not about me
But what if it is?
Then say they didn’t do it to hurt me
But what if they did?
… I wanna snarl and show you just how disturbed this has made me
You wouldn’t last an hour in the asylum where they raised me
So all you kids can sneak into my house with all the cobwebs
I’m always drunk on my own tears, isn’t that what they all say?
… That I’ll sue you if you step on my lawn
That I’m fearsome and I’m wretched and I’m wrong
Putting narcotics into all of my songs
And that’s why you’re still singing along
… So I leap from the gallows and I levitate down your street
Crash the party like a record scratch as I scream
Who’s afraid of little old me?
I was tame, I was gentle ’til the circus life made me mean
Don’t you worry folks, we took out all her teeth
Who’s afraid of little old me?
… Well, you should be (you should be)
You should be (you should be)
You should be
‘Cause you lured me (you should be)
And you hurt me (you should be)
And you taught me
… You caged me and then you called me crazy
I am what I am ’cause you trained me
So who’s afraid of me?
Who’s afraid of little old me?
Who’s afraid of little old me?
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