"Down Bad" is the fourth track from Taylor Swift's eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, released on April 19, 2024.
Background[]
This song leaked on April 17, two days prior to the scheduled release.
Composition[]
"Down Bad" is a downtempo synth-pop song with R&B inflections. Swift's vocals feature syncopated syllables layered over a mellow electronic backdrop, highlighted by a synth bassline. The song is in the key of B Major with a tempo of 80 BPM.
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1]
Did you really beam me up?
In a cloud of sparkling dust
Just to do experiments on
Tell me I was the chosen one
Showed me that this world is bigger than us
Then sent me back where I came from
[Pre-Chorus]
For a moment I knew cosmic love
[Chorus]
Now I'm down bad, crying at the gym
Everything comes out teenage petulance
"Fuck it if I can't have him"
"I might just die, it would make no difference"
Down bad, waking up in blood
Staring at the sky, come back and pick me up
Fuck it if I can't have us
I might just not get up
I might stay down bad
Fuck it if I can't have him
Down bad
Fuck it if I can't have him
[Verse 2]
Did you take all my old clothes?
Just to leave me here naked and alone
In a field in my same old town
That somehow seems so hollow now
They'll say I'm nuts if I talk about
The existence of you
[Pre-Chorus]
For a moment, I was heavenstruck
[Chorus]
Now I'm down bad, crying at the gym
Everything comes out teenage petulance
"Fuck it if I can't have him"
"I might just die, it would make no difference"
Down bad, waking up in blood
Staring at the sky, come back and pick me up
Fuck it if I can't have us
I might just not get up
I might stay down bad (Like I lost my twin)
Fuck it if I can't have him (Down bad)
Down bad (Waving at the ship)
Fuck it if I can't have him
[Bridge]
I loved your hostile take-overs
Encounters closer and closer
All your indecent exposures
How dare you say that it's–
I'll build you a fort on some planet
Where they can all understand it
How dare you think it's romantic
Leaving me safe and stranded?
Cause fuck it, I was in love
So fuck you if I can't have us
Cause fuck it, I was in love
[Chorus]
Now I'm down bad, crying at the gym
Everything comes out teenage petulance
"Fuck it if I can't have him"
"I might just die, it would make no difference"
Down bad, waking up in blood
Staring at the sky, come back and pick me up
Fuck it if I can't have us
I might just not get up
I might stay down bad (Like I lost my twin)
Fuck it if I can't have him (Down bad)
Down bad (Waving at the ship)
Fuck it if I can't have him
[Outro]
Like I lost my twin
Fuck it if I can't have him
Down bad (Waving at the ship)
Fuck it if I can't have him
Lyric video[]
Audio[]
Live performances[]
A shortened version of "Down Bad" was added to the Eras Tour setlist starting on May 9, 2024.
| 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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