"Cold As You" is the fifth track from the standard edition of American singer and songwriter Taylor Swift's self-titled debut studio album, Taylor Swift, released on October 24, 2006, through Big Machine Records.
Background[]
The song details her experience with an emotionally unavailable person. Unlike Shakespeare who compares his lover to a summer’s day,[1] Swift compares her lover to a cold, rainy day. She told Rolling Stone that this is her favorite song on the album. In the interview, she said:
| “ | The hook is ‘I’ve never been anywhere cold as you.’ I love a line in a song where afterward you’re just like ‘burn.’ | ” |
Swift penned this song with her frequent collaborator Liz Rose. She explained it in publicity materials:
| “ | I wrote this song with Liz, and I think the lyrics to this song are some of the best we’ve ever written. It’s about that moment where you realize someone isn’t at all who you thought they were, and that you’ve been trying to make excuses for someone who doesn’t deserve them. And that some people are just never going to love you. We were halfway through writing this when I started singing ‘And now that I’m sitting here thinking it through, I’ve never been anywhere cold as you’. | ” |
Notably, “Cold As You” is responsible for beginning Swift’s track record of the fifth song of each of her albums being “emotional vulnerable” ballads.
Hidden message[]
Hidden message: Time to let go.
Audio[]
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1]
You have a way of coming easily to me
And when you take, you take the very best of me
So, I start a fight, 'cause I need to feel something
And you do what you want, 'cause I'm not what you wanted
[Chorus]
Oh, what a shame, what a rainy ending
Given to a perfect day
Just walk away
Ain't no use defending words that you will never say
And now that I'm sitting here, thinking it through
I've never been anywhere cold as you
[Verse 2]
You put up walls
And paint them all a shade of grey
And I stood there, loving you
And wished them all away
And you come away with a great little story
Of a mess of a dreamer with the nerve to adore you
[Chorus]
Oh, what a shame, what a rainy ending
Given to a perfect day
Just walk away
Ain't no use defending words that you will never say
And now that I'm sitting here, thinking it through
I've never been anywhere cold as you
[Bridge]
You never did give a damn thing, honey
But I cried, cried for you
And I know you wouldn't have told nobody
If I died, died for you, died for you
[Chorus]
Oh, what a shame, what a rainy ending
Given to a perfect day
Oh, every smile you fake is so condescending
Counting all the scars you made
And now that I'm sitting here, thinking it through
I've never been anywhere cold as you
Live performances[]
Swift performed "Cold As You" as a surprise song on the Red Tour on March 19, 2013, in St. Louis, Missouri. It was also performed as a surprise song on The Eras Tour on April 23, 2023, in Houston, Texas, and once on November 1, 2024, in Indianapolis, Indiana, mashed-up with "exile".
References[]
| Taylor Swift | ||
|---|---|---|
| "Tim McGraw" • "Picture To Burn" • "Teardrops On My Guitar" • "A Place in this World" • "Cold As You" • "The Outside" • "Tied Together with a Smile" • "Stay Beautiful" • "Should've Said No" • "Mary's Song (Oh My My My)" • "Our Song" | ||
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