"The Lakes" (stylized as "the lakes") is the seventeenth track and second promotional single from the deluxe edition of American singer and songwriter Taylor Swift's eighth studio album, folklore, released on August 7, 2020, through Republic Records. The original version of the song was released on July 24, 2021, as a promotional single for the album.
Background[]
Swift confirmed the existence of this song through social media on July 23, 2020 through her announcement of folklore.[1]
The song was inspired by the poet districts of the Lake District in England. In Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions, Taylor described how she admired the artists of the time who were able to leave all the things that were hurting their creativity and continue to make art, which she longed to do during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Look, they did this hundreds of years ago. I'm not the first person who's felt this way."[2]
The song was about the overarching theme of the album: trying to escape, having something you want to protect, and trying to protect your own sanity.[2]
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1]
Is it romantic how all my elegies eulogize me?
I'm not cut out for all these cynical clones
These hunters with cell phones
[Chorus]
Take me to the Lakes where all the poets went to die
I don't belong and my beloved, neither do you
Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry
I'm setting off, but not without my muse
[Verse 2]
What should be over burrowed under my skin
In heart-stopping waves of hurt
I've come too far to watch some namedropping sleaze
Tell me what are my words worth
[Chorus]
Take me to the Lakes where all the poets went to die
I don't belong and, my beloved, neither do you
Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry
I'm setting off, but not without my muse
[Bridge]
I want auroras and sad prose
I want to watch wisteria grow right over my bare feet
'Cause I haven't moved in years
And I want you right here
A red rose grew up out of ice frozen ground
With no one around to tweet it
While I bathe in cliffside pools
With my calamitous love and insurmountable grief
[Chorus]
Take me to the Lakes where all the poets went to die
I don't belong and, my beloved, neither do you
Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry
I'm setting off, but not without my muse
No, not without you
Live performances[]
"the lakes" was performed as a surprise song on the Eras Tour on June 2, 2023, in Chicago and on June 18, 2024 in Cardiff, Wales as a mashup with "I Hate It Here."
References[]
| folklore | ||
|---|---|---|
| "the 1" • "cardigan" • "the last great american dynasty" • "exile" • "my tears ricochet" • "mirrorball" • "seven" • "august" • "this is me trying" • "illicit affairs" • "invisible string" • "mad woman" • "epiphany" • "betty" • "peace" • "hoax" | ||
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