"Clara Bow" is the sixteenth track from Taylor Swift's eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, released on April 19, 2024.
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1]
You look like Clara Bow in this light
Remarkable all your life
Did you know you'd be picked like a rose?
[Chorus]
I'm not trying to exaggerate
But I think I might die if it happened
Die if it happened to me
No one in my small town thought I'd see the lights of Manhattan
This town is fake but you're the real thing
Breath of fresh air through smoke rings
Take the glory, give everything
Promise to be dazzling
[Verse 2]
You look like Stevie Nicks in '75
The hair and lips
The crowd goes wild at her fingertips
Half moonshine, full eclipse
[Chorus]
I'm not trying to exaggerate
But I might die if I made it, die if I made it
No one in my small town thought I'd meet these suits in LA
They all want to say
"This town is fake but you're the real thing
Breath of fresh air through smoke rings
Take the glory, give everything
Promise to be dazzling"
[Bridge]
The crown is stained
But you're the real queen
Flesh and blood amongst war machines
You're the new God, we're worshipping
Promise to be dazzling
Beauty is a beast that roars down on all fours demanding more
Only when your girlish glow flickers just so
Do they let you know
It’s hell on Earth to be heavenly
Them's the breaks, they don't come gently
[Outro]
You look like Taylor Swift
In this light
We're loving it
You've got edge, she never did
The future's bright
Dazzling
Lyric video[]
Audio[]
Live performances[]
"Clara Bow" was performed as a surprise song on The Eras Tour on June 30, 2024, in Dublin, Ireland, mashed-up with "The Lucky One". It was performed again as a surprise song on August 1, 2024, in Warsaw, Poland, mashed-up with "mirrorball".
Trivia[]
- This is Swift's second song on which she says her own full name.
- The first one is "22", though there it can just be heard in the background.
- She does say her given name "Taylor" in "...Ready For It?", though this is a reference to Elizabeth Taylor and not her specifically.
- She also says her first name ("the old Taylor") in the song, "Look What You Made Me Do", but she has no mention of her last name, Swift.
| THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT | ||
|---|---|---|
| "Fortnight" • "The Tortured Poets Department" • "My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys" • "Down Bad" • "So Long, London" • "But Daddy I Love Him" • "Fresh Out The Slammer" • "Florida!!!" • "Guilty as Sin?" • "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" • "I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)" • "loml" • "I Can Do It With a Broken Heart" • "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" • "The Alchemy" • "Clara Bow" | ||
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