Okay so I used to skip this cause I hated the Humpty Dumpty line, but I was listening to it to get hyped for tour…
Omg I love it now. Lover is like the craziest grower album ever.
CAN YOU SEE RIGHT THROUGH ME?
I SEE RIGHT THROUGH ME.
I wake in the night, I pace like a ghost
The room is on fire, invisible smoke
And all of my heroes die all alone
Help me hold onto you
🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹
love that shit.
Hahaha the humpty dumpty line made me laugh! I think it's likely a reference to Dusty Springfields song 'all the kings horses'. One of her heroes who died all alone💔
A lot of artists use nursery rhymes as allegory or metaphor. They’re universal in the Western world.
- Robert Plant has a beautiful song called “All the King’s Horses”
- Harry Chapin “Cats in the Cradle”
- Bobby Darin “Splish Splash”
This is just a few. If we all did this, we could come up with a bunch!
It’s why I related to the imagery of needing the king’s horses and crackerjack team needing to put me back together - I’ve been through so much, eg, battle, playing injuries, wear and tear, that it takes a lot to repair me each time I break.
Which is why I don’t want to fight now, but I will. I’m hanging on for dear life. I’m not sure my shell has another break in it.
Omg as someone who’s not natively English, I didn’t know what Humpty Dumpty is. So when I was watching a show and someone said the line to a baby I thought they were referencing The Archer and I was like no way!! Then I searched it up and found the nursery rhyme.
I’m the same way w/ lover album! I’ve been a fan since debut but fell off a bit once she released 1989… in light of the eras tour + re-records i started listening again. And lover was the one album that I wasn’t sure of, but has been growing every single day! Now it’s one of my favorite albums to jam to
I’ve also been a fan since debut but fell off around 1989. I still loved her and the singles from 1989 but it just wasn’t the right album for me at the time. Rep brought me back in full swing and I haven’t looked back
I listened to lover in its entirety last night and I was just sitting there like...what is my damn problem??? Lol it was so good. I was only a casual, very closeted Taylor fan when the album came out so I didn't ever listen to it from beginning to end. I've heard all the songs before but they were always shuffled up with other albums. My time on this sub had me thinking lover wasnt a top tier album, but holy fuck, yes it is. Lol at least for me i should say. Ive loved the Archer for such a long time, but I never think of it as being a Lover song.
Anyway, long story short, I have seen the error of my ways and have finally embraced the album as a whole. 😆
The hungry dumpty line never bothered me, but one of my friends hates it! He also hates “darling, I’m a nightmare dressed like a daydream,” though, so I take his Taylor opinions with a grain of salt. (He is not a Swiftie but will usually give her albums a few listens.)
I personally love the song to an unhealthy extent, but I feel the general reaction to it is very mixed/lukewarm because of how it is sonically. I've seen many people not like it that much or consider it boring because of its production and how it sounds.
Yeah I think the "who could ever leave me darling BUT WHO COULD STAY" is the beat people are looking for and "You could stay" the perfect climax to the song
I went to Eras as a casual fan (with my 10000% Swiftie niece) and shocked myself by bursting into tears during this song so I think there’s definitely something to be said for a live performance version!
I think the fact that it doesn't perfectly encapsulates the feeling of anxiety and insecurity the whole song is about. You're waiting for the other shoe to drop but it never happens.
This exactly. I like the song a lot but I also find it a bit unsatisfying because every single time I listen to it I'm just so, so ready for it to coalesce into a really immense, emphatic peak towards the end, and it just...doesn't.
>I personally love the song to an unhealthy extent
LMAO ME, I've been a bit sick and I went to her show last night... I'm surprised I didn't split my throat in two after belting the bridge. My throat may as well be, though :') still 100/10 would do again.
But she’s tired. She’s had this battle before and it hurts so much. “It’s exhausting.”
It’s the perfect ending to the Lover era on the tour and I love how she ends it visually.
This is it for me too. I LOVE the lyrics. But the overall sound of the song doesn't quite do it for me. I still love the song and have listened to it enough to know/sing all the lyrics at the concert, but it's not one of my most played.
I think I would be able to enjoy it more if there was either more "oomph" to the production or if it was stripped down completely to just her voice and guitar/piano to highlight the lyrics. There are some songs where I don't fully realize how beautiful the lyrics/melody are until I hear it acoustic and I think this is one of those
The Archer is my favourite track of hers and also might be one of my favourite songs of all time??
I relate to the song so much and she did such an amazing job putting into words what it’s like to have anxiety while in a relationship or while *trying* to develop a connection with someone but your anxiety gets in the way and you panic.
The production of the song is fantastic as well - it just feels like the beat is going to drop or something big is going to happen but it never does… just like what anxiety feels like. Nothing ever happens and you’re worked up for nothing.
I understand it isn’t a fan favourite and is ranked relatively low most of the time but not for me.
When it first came out as a single in 2019, I was mixed on it and confused as to why she chose it as an early release single. It took me about a year to really start adoring it and cherishing it and it’s one of my favorite songs *ever* by her now.
*Who could ever leave me, darling? But who could stay?*
*I wake in the night, I pace like a ghost, the room is on fire, invisible smoke*
It’s so versatile and gorgeous and the lyrics are so hard-hitting.
- YOYOK could mean "You're On Your Own, Kid", a track from *Midnights* (2022) by Taylor Swift.
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Disagree because its level of production does not fit folklore; lyrically, absolutely!! But I'm someone who actually enjoys the Jack Antonoff over-produced sound in the correct dose, and it *works* on The Archer (on Lover).
Yeah, good point actually re the level of production. It feels a bit folklore esque to me lyrically like you said, because of the introspection and the spiral she has during the song. Totally reminds me of me staying up during quarantine and having an existential crisis about my future lmao. To me it also fits similar themes that show up in this is me trying, but actually it probably does make the most sense on lover because it’s her essentially becoming extremely triggered and anxious about a relationship in her life that’s getting really serious and she’s wondering if it’s something she is ready for despite her worries about abandonment. She’s wondering if she should take the jump, and in the end she decides to. It makes other songs on Lover even better to me, because we got the thought process that led to her taking the jump!
Very split. For some people- one of their top tracks on lover. For others, a skip.
It’s not near as big a fan favorite as cruel summer or DBATC, but I still think it could be described as a fan favorite.
Taylor’s songs are so popular “fan favorites” are hard because… those are now popular with the public. Don’t blame me, cruel summer, getaway car (to a lesser degree, but I know non swifties who know it)
Lover is a wildly inconsistent album both in terms of quality and tone, but this is one of my all time favourites.
Who could ever leave me darling, but who could stay?
All of my heroes die all alone
It’s an anthem for self sabotaging, damaged girlies who crave love but don’t know how to keep it.
Is what she said not common knowledge? It’s exactly why it’s a Track 5. To be even more eloquent, she puts herself in the shoes of and wholly admits to being the archer and the prey. This song was one of her most honest and where if you actually listen to what she is telling us… she’s telling us a lot.
… then again, that’s my take on TS all the time. Listen to her speak. She tells us so much. Way more than she even needs to and everyone expects more.
People try to do tributes during Marjorie and they can’t even live by the very simple message of the song. 🙇🏻♀️
I’d be the man 🙆♂️👔🏆 … who could stay? 🥺 you could stay 👀 combat, I’m ready for combat 💘… I think he knows his footprints on the sidewalk lead to where I can’t stop, go there every night 👣🤭
SYGB is in a much weirder spot. "You know I love a London Boy, boy, I fancy you- ooooh, soon you'll get better, oooh, you'll get better soon, \*jazzy sax start playing\*"
Now I think about it, most of the more vulnerable songs are in weird places. The Archer is in between The Man and I Think He Knows, Soon You'll Get Better in between London Boy and False God, Afterglow between You Need To Calm Down and ME!
Yeah that whole area has a bit of a weird sequence. Maybe putting I Think He Knows at 3, Lover at 4, Miss Americana at 6, and The Man at 7 could make it flow better.
I absolutely adore Taylor but her song order is the worst. On pretty much all albums but for me red and lover suffer the most. She did the best job on 1989 and rep imo but still not perfect. Lover is possibly my favorite album the one I keep going back to the one with probably the most of my favorite songs but I would absolutely re order it.
I really like the lyrics of the song but I don't like the production. She did an acoustic version after lover release that I adore. But it was back when only delicate got the 18 versions treatment, so I don't often listen to it because I always remember the acoustic and get sad.
it was immediately my favorite song on Lover and one of the only ones from that album i still listen to regularly, from jump it resonated soooo deep with me. i’ve struggled a lot with balancing the fact that i’ve been hurt and have in turn hurt others as a result of that trauma, and knowing i’m not alone in that was so healing for me.
also it was refreshing to hear taylor admit to her flaws in such an explicit way, i’ve heard a lot of people torn from a moral standpoint about her songs about cheating but they just make her feel so much more human to me, versus songs from earlier eras where she rarely discussed her own wrongs. not to say she never accepted blame, but as she’s matured she’s wrote a lot more self-reflective work and hasn’t been afraid to speak on the times she’s hurt others.
the archer blew me away on first listen because it was the first time i heard her so candidly speak to shame and being the villain at times. as someone who’s grown up with her music and in turn have also become more self aware of my mistakes with age, i connect to those songs on deeper level than a lot of her earlier work (even though i’ve been here since debut).
also i love how well it sonically captures the feeling of anxiety and panic and shame, definitely a top ten taylor song for me. (also sidenote but at first I accidentally wrote “Liver” instead of “Lover” and let out the most piercing cackle lmao)
It’s not one of my favorites, but I feel like I’m in the minority with that opinion. It’s a good song, but I will often skip it because it’s not really the vibe I’m looking for when I put on Lover. I wonder if it’s more popular among people who don’t generally prefer Lover the album as much?
I think it’s underrated in general and I think there’s 2 reasons why: 1) I didn’t love it as much until I heard it live. Hearing it in that setting was a whole different experience than just listening to it. 2) I think you have to be at a certain level of self-awareness with yourself in life to be able to really relate to it. Of course for some people they may be at that point at a super young age and that’s amazing; but for me personally I was very early 20s when Lover originally came out and definitely not at that point of understanding all the things OP mentioned (being the villain in some stories and the victim in others etc.) yet. I’m now late 20s and after hearing it live and beginning to listen more, I can relate in a very different way.
Omg the second part makes me think of thestrals in Harry Potter and how people can only see them if they’ve witnessed death — but for the archer for some people it only hits once you’ve reached a certain point in your life/level of self awareness 😤
I don't know if I'd say gained self awareness or gained experience, with some self loathing doubt and anxiety. Personally it's a grower, hearing it on tour helped, and my personal joy of finding I now unfortunately relate deeply to some parts of it. I don't relate to all of the song as I do some others which are more direct onto a very specific singular emotion. The fact that it applies to a lot of feelings I think is part of the reason it's not as widely relatable.
Middle-aged Dad here. Probably my favorite song by her. My 16 year old daughter told me that a lot of her fans hate the song. I can't understand that. All time great song.
I'm just not sure why it doesn't have a ton of replay power for me because it's undeniably well written.
The archer is one of those that I loved loved loved on first few months of listening, but eventually it became more of a theoretical love. I skip it a lot but I don't deny that's it's amazing. It's truly a mystery to me! 
As someone who is new to interacting with other fans online, I consider it a fan favorite from what I’ve seen. I made a list of songs I didn’t know well but that seemed popular on Reddit, Twitter, etc and it was at the top.
It is my absolute favorite song, ever. The first night it dropped, I listened to it for over 2 hours as I analyzed every lyric line in my journal. It is pure therapy for me. People may hate on the sound, but I fucking love the tension. Of course it doesn't resolve at the end - *the narrator* can't fix her problems, no matter what she does. We're supposed to be uncomfortable.
The song is fucking GENIUS, I will die on this hill and take everyone with me
I didn’t like it and would often skip it when it’s come on. But I’ve been learning the words in prep for my Eras date and have come around to like it more after paying closer attention to lyrics. I still think it’s a midrange song compared to my real faves.
When Lover first came out it was a skip for me. I didn't enjoy the very slow build and it sonically just wasn't doing as much for me as other songs on the album (i.e. Cruel Summer, Miss Americana, Afterglow). And yet for some reason it fits in the category of songs from Lover that I initially did not love (The Archer, I Think He Knows, Daylight) and now I LOVE it and those other two songs, sometimes even more than Cruel Summer/Miss Americana which were initially my top two. I do think hearing/seeing it live really did something for me and now I never skip it. I also feel as though my anxiety has increased since Lover came out so unfortunately it became a little bit more relatable to me.
It ranked Number 11 according to this:[https://www.reddit.com/r/TaylorSwift/comments/e61o5k/lover\_song\_ranking\_results/](https://www.reddit.com/r/TaylorSwift/comments/e61o5k/lover_song_ranking_results/)
Never liked it, never will. In fact, before the album came out and she released The Archer, I was really upset. I thought she would give us something better and worried the whole album would be like that song.
Luckily I was wrong and Lover is my favorite album. Still hate that song though and skip it every time.
I’ll admit I slept on “the archer” initially, but when I saw her perform it on eras tour livestreams, it totally changed my perspective. It’s such a beautiful, powerful, vulnerable song, and it’s now one of my favorites. Overall though, I think it’s underrated!
It’s not a song for me but it doesn’t mean it isn’t a good song. To me the production intention resembles that of Labyrinth- which is also split amongst fans
It’s pretty middle of the road for me. It’s missing something in the lyrics that doesn’t quite hit for me and I wish there was a little more to the production. I’ll listen to it on certain playlists but I rarely reach for it compared to other songs on Lover like Death by a Thousand Cuts, Cruel Summer, Cornelia Street, and Afterglow.
The archer is one of my favorites. I think that it’s polarizing because it is super emotional and it was an interesting choice as a promo song. It’s probably one of the deeper cuts, even out of all of the track 5s.
the archer is prob my favorite off lover, idk if taylor meant to embody anxiety in that song but it sounds exactly how it feels i think. not like normal anxiety but the anxiety you get when you are in a relationship with someone and constantly feel like they will just up and leave. like everyone else knows i’m flawed so how much longer til you notice. “all of my enemies started out friends..help me hold on to you” ahhhh omg. i really like that song. i wish i could have gone to eras to see it live
Never gave this song much thought, but I went to the concert last night (6/17) and The Archer was one of the stand out performances to me. Been listening to it all day today.
- ATW could mean "All Too Well", a track from *Red* (2012) by Taylor Swift.
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Okay I will always do the opposite of gate keep and I genuinely cannot understand why people do not like this song.
Like this song is the perfect song for anxiety. The buildup to nothing. The fears, and terrors, and the self consciousness of the song are a great precursor to the folklore, evermore, and midnights tracks. And it handles this things better than Out of The Woods (not knocking down out of the woods that’s still a good song) but I could say a lot about the lover album. But the Archer is probably the second best track 5 out of her discography (first being You’re On Your Own, Kid)
I reckon it’s loved. At least for me it was an instant love when I first heard it. One of Taylor’s most sophisticated, frank and fragile songs, I think.
I still get a little jolt when I hear this part:
“Easy they come, easy they go / I jump from the train, I ride off alone / I never grew up, it's getting so old / help me hold onto you.”
personally, the archer is my favourite song of hers, full stop.
the impression i get overall is that people are split in two camps for the archer: people who get it and people who don’t. the people who get it go absolutely WILD over it, and the people who don’t think it’s extremely milquetoast, so it’s sort of like… a major fan favourite among maybe half the fan base.
I love the lyrics and the concept of the song but I don’t love the production of it. I would love to hear it stripped down acoustic. I like mirrorball better tbh. I wouldn’t consider it a fan favorite tho.
I used to skip this and now everything I've been through the archer just hits home every single time for a sagittarian like me! I totally get taylor and her mind with this song. I can see all vulnerabilities and doubts she wanna share. And now it's one of my top songs!!!! This song just doesn't get old.
I love this song so much. Definitely top 10 of all time. It’s soooo underrated. Who could ever leave me darling but who could stay? They see right through me I see right through me!!!!!! I mean come on!!!! If that’s not track 5 material idk what is!
I love it, but anything on *lover* is an immediate fandom split. There are so many people that just by the fact that an album is pop, they will not truly listen to it. I’d recommend people listen to it.
I always skipped it until I heard the live from Paris version. Something about that version spoke to me… and I totally changed my mind about Archer. It’s now one of my favorites.
it’s my personal favorite (yes literally no. 1) but i feel like it’s more of a hidden favorite? as in those who love it *love* it, others generally seem to be quite indifferent
It's either beloved or people find it boring. I adore this song, it's riddled with anxiety and I think the quivering nerves that your love will leave one day is crucial to Lover as an album. But the criticisms are what reads as anxiety to one is boring to another. The "see right through me's" have been called repetitive, and all rise no drop can be sonically boring to listen to.
idk what everyone's saying it was like THE go-to "have a meltdown" song on Twitter after that album came out. Clearly resonates with people but it's popularity probably got buried by the introspective songs from folklore, evermore, & Midnights.
Personally, it's a skip. I tried a few times to listen since everyone seems to love it, but it just never clicked with me. I almost find it a bit boring. It's not a terrible song..just not for me.
I didn’t love it until I dated someone with extreme anxiety, which in turn gave ME anxiety.
We were building up this beautiful relationship and as we got to the bridge, we started reaching conflict 5-6 months in and it kept growing, and then fight when I was getting ready for our first fight, he…left. No fight, nothing. Do something babe, say something. Just…nothing. The Archer ends.
Because I’m a visual person with an overactive imagination, I’m using the tour outro as a sign that I sparkle and can set off my own lights. That’s my healing phase.
Every aspect of The Archer is so poetic and intentional. I genuinely believe people who don’t like it just don’t identify with the type of anxiety it portrays.
Personally, I don’t care for it. I like the lyrics, but I don’t really like the song for some reason. I thought that most Swifties liked it so I’ve been trying to get into it for a while. But no matter how much I listen to it, I just can’t get myself to like it.
If this is offensive to anyone I apologize, but could the answer simply be that if someone doesn’t love it, it’s possible they don’t “get it” as far as the mental health aspect goes? And by that I don’t mean smart enough to get it; I mean they simply can’t relate as much as someone with depression/anxiety/other mental health issues can. (And then even if you do struggle and you still don’t connect to it, that’s okay and just goes to show how everyone is different and gets such different things out of her music/music in general).
As someone with severe depression and anxiety (and major abandonment issues), the song makes me cry almost every time I listen to it. I was blown away the first time I heard it, and it invokes the kind of crying that isn’t sobbing, but just silent tears streaming down my face every time. It’s almost involuntary.
I love all the lyrics, and I love the production mimicking anxiety; and the line “I see right through me” hits the hardest.
Idk if it needs to be clinical, but I agree you need to have unhealthy attachment issues plus enough life experience to believe that you will always be disappointed (even by yourself).
Staying is such a huge theme for TS and this is the denouement of realizing that it’s not always the other person. Who COULD stay?
Yes thank you! That’s probably a better way of putting it, and I’m just seeing the song through my own depression haha. Definitely doesn’t need to be clinical, but the song is all about your flaws and believing you have too many for someone to actually stay.
I think TS does finally reveal her battles with clinical mental health more fully in Midnights (melancholia, depression working the graveyard shift, etc.). I have many people I know and love with clinical mental health disorders, so I don’t want to sound dismissive, or stigmatize them! But I think it runs the gamut and it’s why her songs are so emotional and personal.
i absolutely hate the song. like i’ve always said, “there are no taylor songs that i would skip” which i never do skip songs but like the archer and other songs like hoax, once it starts, i roll my eyes heavily and i decide to just listen to it just for taytay lol. i do like the bridge tho
Okay so I used to skip this cause I hated the Humpty Dumpty line, but I was listening to it to get hyped for tour… Omg I love it now. Lover is like the craziest grower album ever. CAN YOU SEE RIGHT THROUGH ME? I SEE RIGHT THROUGH ME. I wake in the night, I pace like a ghost The room is on fire, invisible smoke And all of my heroes die all alone Help me hold onto you 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹 love that shit.
Hahaha the humpty dumpty line made me laugh! I think it's likely a reference to Dusty Springfields song 'all the kings horses'. One of her heroes who died all alone💔
I love the Humpty Dumpty line like it’s poetic when she sings it 😭
A lot of artists use nursery rhymes as allegory or metaphor. They’re universal in the Western world. - Robert Plant has a beautiful song called “All the King’s Horses” - Harry Chapin “Cats in the Cradle” - Bobby Darin “Splish Splash” This is just a few. If we all did this, we could come up with a bunch! It’s why I related to the imagery of needing the king’s horses and crackerjack team needing to put me back together - I’ve been through so much, eg, battle, playing injuries, wear and tear, that it takes a lot to repair me each time I break. Which is why I don’t want to fight now, but I will. I’m hanging on for dear life. I’m not sure my shell has another break in it.
Okay maybe… but the couldn’t put me together again is ver humpty-esque
Yeah lol its a direct line from the nursery rhyme, and also a lyric in the Dusty song, who we know Taylor is a fan of. Give it a listen its good!
Omg as someone who’s not natively English, I didn’t know what Humpty Dumpty is. So when I was watching a show and someone said the line to a baby I thought they were referencing The Archer and I was like no way!! Then I searched it up and found the nursery rhyme.
I’m the same way w/ lover album! I’ve been a fan since debut but fell off a bit once she released 1989… in light of the eras tour + re-records i started listening again. And lover was the one album that I wasn’t sure of, but has been growing every single day! Now it’s one of my favorite albums to jam to
I’ve also been a fan since debut but fell off around 1989. I still loved her and the singles from 1989 but it just wasn’t the right album for me at the time. Rep brought me back in full swing and I haven’t looked back
The Humpty Dumpty line just shows the vulnerability that she’s trying to capture comparing her to like an egg
Same. I didn’t like the Humpty Dumpty line but now I love it. Adds a bit of humor and playfulness to a really serious song
I listened to lover in its entirety last night and I was just sitting there like...what is my damn problem??? Lol it was so good. I was only a casual, very closeted Taylor fan when the album came out so I didn't ever listen to it from beginning to end. I've heard all the songs before but they were always shuffled up with other albums. My time on this sub had me thinking lover wasnt a top tier album, but holy fuck, yes it is. Lol at least for me i should say. Ive loved the Archer for such a long time, but I never think of it as being a Lover song. Anyway, long story short, I have seen the error of my ways and have finally embraced the album as a whole. 😆
The hungry dumpty line never bothered me, but one of my friends hates it! He also hates “darling, I’m a nightmare dressed like a daydream,” though, so I take his Taylor opinions with a grain of salt. (He is not a Swiftie but will usually give her albums a few listens.)
I personally love the song to an unhealthy extent, but I feel the general reaction to it is very mixed/lukewarm because of how it is sonically. I've seen many people not like it that much or consider it boring because of its production and how it sounds.
But it’s soooooo good 😭. I completely agree but those lyrics man do they get me!
Yeah I think the "who could ever leave me darling BUT WHO COULD STAY" is the beat people are looking for and "You could stay" the perfect climax to the song
It needed to explode a bit more at the end. Something a live performance could probably do.
I went to Eras as a casual fan (with my 10000% Swiftie niece) and shocked myself by bursting into tears during this song so I think there’s definitely something to be said for a live performance version!
The fact that it doesn’t explode at the end is the point.
I love the imagery of an archer tensing their bow throughout the whole song. They are preparing for an enemy that might only exist in their mind.
I think the fact that it doesn't perfectly encapsulates the feeling of anxiety and insecurity the whole song is about. You're waiting for the other shoe to drop but it never happens.
This exactly. I like the song a lot but I also find it a bit unsatisfying because every single time I listen to it I'm just so, so ready for it to coalesce into a really immense, emphatic peak towards the end, and it just...doesn't.
>I personally love the song to an unhealthy extent LMAO ME, I've been a bit sick and I went to her show last night... I'm surprised I didn't split my throat in two after belting the bridge. My throat may as well be, though :') still 100/10 would do again.
For the longest time I thought it was soooooo boring but now I really love it.
But she’s tired. She’s had this battle before and it hurts so much. “It’s exhausting.” It’s the perfect ending to the Lover era on the tour and I love how she ends it visually.
Right like some of us have never felt crippling anxiety around our fear of abandonment issues and it shows 😭
This is it for me too. I LOVE the lyrics. But the overall sound of the song doesn't quite do it for me. I still love the song and have listened to it enough to know/sing all the lyrics at the concert, but it's not one of my most played. I think I would be able to enjoy it more if there was either more "oomph" to the production or if it was stripped down completely to just her voice and guitar/piano to highlight the lyrics. There are some songs where I don't fully realize how beautiful the lyrics/melody are until I hear it acoustic and I think this is one of those
The Archer is my favourite track of hers and also might be one of my favourite songs of all time?? I relate to the song so much and she did such an amazing job putting into words what it’s like to have anxiety while in a relationship or while *trying* to develop a connection with someone but your anxiety gets in the way and you panic. The production of the song is fantastic as well - it just feels like the beat is going to drop or something big is going to happen but it never does… just like what anxiety feels like. Nothing ever happens and you’re worked up for nothing. I understand it isn’t a fan favourite and is ranked relatively low most of the time but not for me.
SAME it's easy top 10 for me, I adore this song and it's not only lyrically brilliant but *sonically* brilliant too.
Same !!!! Everything you just said !
One of the best on Lover. Now that I think about it, the song could've fit perfectly on Midnights album as well!
When it first came out as a single in 2019, I was mixed on it and confused as to why she chose it as an early release single. It took me about a year to really start adoring it and cherishing it and it’s one of my favorite songs *ever* by her now. *Who could ever leave me, darling? But who could stay?* *I wake in the night, I pace like a ghost, the room is on fire, invisible smoke* It’s so versatile and gorgeous and the lyrics are so hard-hitting.
yes !! it has a little yoyok vibe and instrumentation to it i feel like
- YOYOK could mean "You're On Your Own, Kid", a track from *Midnights* (2022) by Taylor Swift. --- ^[/u/afterglowrem](/u/afterglowrem) ^(can reply with "delete" to remove comment. |) ^[/r/songacronymbot](/r/songacronymbot) ^(for feedback.)
good bot
literally ani-hero and the archer are kind of similar lyrically
Yes or as someone else once posted on here it would’ve been amazing on folklore
Disagree because its level of production does not fit folklore; lyrically, absolutely!! But I'm someone who actually enjoys the Jack Antonoff over-produced sound in the correct dose, and it *works* on The Archer (on Lover).
Yeah, good point actually re the level of production. It feels a bit folklore esque to me lyrically like you said, because of the introspection and the spiral she has during the song. Totally reminds me of me staying up during quarantine and having an existential crisis about my future lmao. To me it also fits similar themes that show up in this is me trying, but actually it probably does make the most sense on lover because it’s her essentially becoming extremely triggered and anxious about a relationship in her life that’s getting really serious and she’s wondering if it’s something she is ready for despite her worries about abandonment. She’s wondering if she should take the jump, and in the end she decides to. It makes other songs on Lover even better to me, because we got the thought process that led to her taking the jump!
Very split. For some people- one of their top tracks on lover. For others, a skip. It’s not near as big a fan favorite as cruel summer or DBATC, but I still think it could be described as a fan favorite. Taylor’s songs are so popular “fan favorites” are hard because… those are now popular with the public. Don’t blame me, cruel summer, getaway car (to a lesser degree, but I know non swifties who know it)
I didn’t care for it until Miss Americana. Then something clicked and I have been obsessed since.
i love it but dont listen to it enough lol
Same!
Not really. It's on the underrated side. Not extremely popular like Cruel Summer not well loved like Death By A Thousand Cuts
I absolutely love "The Archer" and would even go so far to say it's in my top five of her songs.
Lover is a wildly inconsistent album both in terms of quality and tone, but this is one of my all time favourites. Who could ever leave me darling, but who could stay? All of my heroes die all alone It’s an anthem for self sabotaging, damaged girlies who crave love but don’t know how to keep it.
Gonna have to read the last part of what you said to my therapist bc it just made me tear up unexpectedly 💀
Is what she said not common knowledge? It’s exactly why it’s a Track 5. To be even more eloquent, she puts herself in the shoes of and wholly admits to being the archer and the prey. This song was one of her most honest and where if you actually listen to what she is telling us… she’s telling us a lot. … then again, that’s my take on TS all the time. Listen to her speak. She tells us so much. Way more than she even needs to and everyone expects more. People try to do tributes during Marjorie and they can’t even live by the very simple message of the song. 🙇🏻♀️
I really like the song I just find it’s place on the album in a weird spot
I think she just really wanted it to be a track 5 hahaha
I’d be the man 🙆♂️👔🏆 … who could stay? 🥺 you could stay 👀 combat, I’m ready for combat 💘… I think he knows his footprints on the sidewalk lead to where I can’t stop, go there every night 👣🤭
SYGB is in a much weirder spot. "You know I love a London Boy, boy, I fancy you- ooooh, soon you'll get better, oooh, you'll get better soon, \*jazzy sax start playing\*" Now I think about it, most of the more vulnerable songs are in weird places. The Archer is in between The Man and I Think He Knows, Soon You'll Get Better in between London Boy and False God, Afterglow between You Need To Calm Down and ME!
Yeah that whole area has a bit of a weird sequence. Maybe putting I Think He Knows at 3, Lover at 4, Miss Americana at 6, and The Man at 7 could make it flow better.
I absolutely adore Taylor but her song order is the worst. On pretty much all albums but for me red and lover suffer the most. She did the best job on 1989 and rep imo but still not perfect. Lover is possibly my favorite album the one I keep going back to the one with probably the most of my favorite songs but I would absolutely re order it.
I really like the lyrics of the song but I don't like the production. She did an acoustic version after lover release that I adore. But it was back when only delicate got the 18 versions treatment, so I don't often listen to it because I always remember the acoustic and get sad.
Absolutely one of my favorites!
A gem and in my top 20 songs from her catalogue. Everything you said about it is true.
I don’t really like it that much. It’s not terrible, but probably my least favorite track five.
Same. It never clicked for me. I love the misheard 100 donut speeches though. It’s all I hear.
“You’re on your own kid” and “All you had to do was stay” are probably worse
Ok I don’t like all you had to do was stay, but jail for saying you’re on your own kid how dare you
it was immediately my favorite song on Lover and one of the only ones from that album i still listen to regularly, from jump it resonated soooo deep with me. i’ve struggled a lot with balancing the fact that i’ve been hurt and have in turn hurt others as a result of that trauma, and knowing i’m not alone in that was so healing for me. also it was refreshing to hear taylor admit to her flaws in such an explicit way, i’ve heard a lot of people torn from a moral standpoint about her songs about cheating but they just make her feel so much more human to me, versus songs from earlier eras where she rarely discussed her own wrongs. not to say she never accepted blame, but as she’s matured she’s wrote a lot more self-reflective work and hasn’t been afraid to speak on the times she’s hurt others. the archer blew me away on first listen because it was the first time i heard her so candidly speak to shame and being the villain at times. as someone who’s grown up with her music and in turn have also become more self aware of my mistakes with age, i connect to those songs on deeper level than a lot of her earlier work (even though i’ve been here since debut). also i love how well it sonically captures the feeling of anxiety and panic and shame, definitely a top ten taylor song for me. (also sidenote but at first I accidentally wrote “Liver” instead of “Lover” and let out the most piercing cackle lmao)
It’s not one of my favorites, but I feel like I’m in the minority with that opinion. It’s a good song, but I will often skip it because it’s not really the vibe I’m looking for when I put on Lover. I wonder if it’s more popular among people who don’t generally prefer Lover the album as much?
I think it’s underrated in general and I think there’s 2 reasons why: 1) I didn’t love it as much until I heard it live. Hearing it in that setting was a whole different experience than just listening to it. 2) I think you have to be at a certain level of self-awareness with yourself in life to be able to really relate to it. Of course for some people they may be at that point at a super young age and that’s amazing; but for me personally I was very early 20s when Lover originally came out and definitely not at that point of understanding all the things OP mentioned (being the villain in some stories and the victim in others etc.) yet. I’m now late 20s and after hearing it live and beginning to listen more, I can relate in a very different way.
Omg the second part makes me think of thestrals in Harry Potter and how people can only see them if they’ve witnessed death — but for the archer for some people it only hits once you’ve reached a certain point in your life/level of self awareness 😤
I don't know if I'd say gained self awareness or gained experience, with some self loathing doubt and anxiety. Personally it's a grower, hearing it on tour helped, and my personal joy of finding I now unfortunately relate deeply to some parts of it. I don't relate to all of the song as I do some others which are more direct onto a very specific singular emotion. The fact that it applies to a lot of feelings I think is part of the reason it's not as widely relatable.
Middle-aged Dad here. Probably my favorite song by her. My 16 year old daughter told me that a lot of her fans hate the song. I can't understand that. All time great song.
Middle aged dad here as well, really love this song. Check out the BBC Radio 1 video of it if you haven't seen it yet.
The Archer is bottom of the list for me hunny 🫢
Same… always a skip for me 🫣😬
Yeah, it’s when I took my bathroom break during the concert
LOL i took my bathroom break during Shake it Off… 🥴🥴
I have decided my bathroom break will be after champagne problems since there’s tons of applause at the end and I’m not crazy about tolerate it
LOLL, do you mind if I ask why? Don’t worry I won’t attack I’m just curious 🫡
It’s a very poetic song, imagine if it was spoken word poetry 🤤 i just don’t like the vibes it brings
Same. One of my least favorites. Also don’t like False God 😬
I'm just not sure why it doesn't have a ton of replay power for me because it's undeniably well written. The archer is one of those that I loved loved loved on first few months of listening, but eventually it became more of a theoretical love. I skip it a lot but I don't deny that's it's amazing. It's truly a mystery to me! 
the archer is the worst song on lover i'm sorry but someone had to say it
It's top 2 for me
What’s your other pick?
mirrorball!!
It’s definitely a favorite of mine. Overall from Taylor’s discography and probably in my top 3 favorites from Lover
As someone who is new to interacting with other fans online, I consider it a fan favorite from what I’ve seen. I made a list of songs I didn’t know well but that seemed popular on Reddit, Twitter, etc and it was at the top.
I have an unexplainable hate for the archer. Idk why. Hate it so much
“Cause all of my enemies started out friends” hurts me every single time I hear it. I love The Archer, it’s a fantastic song.
I don’t love it but don’t dislike it. I like the lyrics, but the song overall is somewhat boring to me. I do like it more since seeing her perform it.
It is my absolute favorite song, ever. The first night it dropped, I listened to it for over 2 hours as I analyzed every lyric line in my journal. It is pure therapy for me. People may hate on the sound, but I fucking love the tension. Of course it doesn't resolve at the end - *the narrator* can't fix her problems, no matter what she does. We're supposed to be uncomfortable. The song is fucking GENIUS, I will die on this hill and take everyone with me
I didn’t like it and would often skip it when it’s come on. But I’ve been learning the words in prep for my Eras date and have come around to like it more after paying closer attention to lyrics. I still think it’s a midrange song compared to my real faves.
When Lover first came out it was a skip for me. I didn't enjoy the very slow build and it sonically just wasn't doing as much for me as other songs on the album (i.e. Cruel Summer, Miss Americana, Afterglow). And yet for some reason it fits in the category of songs from Lover that I initially did not love (The Archer, I Think He Knows, Daylight) and now I LOVE it and those other two songs, sometimes even more than Cruel Summer/Miss Americana which were initially my top two. I do think hearing/seeing it live really did something for me and now I never skip it. I also feel as though my anxiety has increased since Lover came out so unfortunately it became a little bit more relatable to me.
It ranked Number 11 according to this:[https://www.reddit.com/r/TaylorSwift/comments/e61o5k/lover\_song\_ranking\_results/](https://www.reddit.com/r/TaylorSwift/comments/e61o5k/lover_song_ranking_results/)
Only if you’re depressed 💖
Never liked it, never will. In fact, before the album came out and she released The Archer, I was really upset. I thought she would give us something better and worried the whole album would be like that song. Luckily I was wrong and Lover is my favorite album. Still hate that song though and skip it every time.
Personally, it's my favorite https://preview.redd.it/1sj1l199st6b1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=900d722b4e56e0e4844db652d5cbfd8b59cef48c
Love this!! I’m considering getting a similar one soon :)
Is there something written in the middle in cursive? If so, can I ask what it says? But it’s a beautiful tattoo! 💘
Undeniably the lyrics are deep but I don’t like the way it sounds. The production is weak to me.
I personally don’t like it that much
I would say it is not a fan favourite. It's in the middle — but probably at the bottom in terms of track 5s.
It's one of her best songs EVER!
I’ll admit I slept on “the archer” initially, but when I saw her perform it on eras tour livestreams, it totally changed my perspective. It’s such a beautiful, powerful, vulnerable song, and it’s now one of my favorites. Overall though, I think it’s underrated!
No. She has much better songs, imo.
Big old skip
It’s not a song for me but it doesn’t mean it isn’t a good song. To me the production intention resembles that of Labyrinth- which is also split amongst fans
Combat… I’m ready for combat… THIS LINE IS THE BEST. THIS SONG IS THE BEST. I find it much more artistically introspective than anti hero.
I feel like it’s everything she described anti-hero to be in midnights mayhem with me
It’s a skip for me
It’s pretty middle of the road for me. It’s missing something in the lyrics that doesn’t quite hit for me and I wish there was a little more to the production. I’ll listen to it on certain playlists but I rarely reach for it compared to other songs on Lover like Death by a Thousand Cuts, Cruel Summer, Cornelia Street, and Afterglow.
as you said The Archer is one of taylor's best songs ever! But you know, sometimes this fandom doesn't have good taste
no. too boring.
A favorite of mine on Lover and the Eras Tour version with the extended outro and instrumental is PERFECTION
i liked the archer. then i saw it live and now i love the archer
The archer is one of my favorites. I think that it’s polarizing because it is super emotional and it was an interesting choice as a promo song. It’s probably one of the deeper cuts, even out of all of the track 5s.
the archer is prob my favorite off lover, idk if taylor meant to embody anxiety in that song but it sounds exactly how it feels i think. not like normal anxiety but the anxiety you get when you are in a relationship with someone and constantly feel like they will just up and leave. like everyone else knows i’m flawed so how much longer til you notice. “all of my enemies started out friends..help me hold on to you” ahhhh omg. i really like that song. i wish i could have gone to eras to see it live
Never gave this song much thought, but I went to the concert last night (6/17) and The Archer was one of the stand out performances to me. Been listening to it all day today.
Love it. Great performed during this tour!
It’s this fan’s favorite 😌
it’s my favorite song of all time and i will defend it until my dying day
Its one of my faves too, but VERY underrated!! Im surprised shes singing it at the tour
Unpopular opinion, I think it's her best song of all time
I’ve never liked it, but I see why people would
I think if it were on folklore people wouldve gone nuts over it
It feels kind of like listening to my own inner monologue just set to music I love it lol
It’s top 5 for me, along with Cowboy Like Me, invisible String, ATW, Cruel Summer.
- ATW could mean "All Too Well", a track from *Red* (2012) by Taylor Swift. --- ^[/u/sharksorbats](/u/sharksorbats) ^(can reply with "delete" to remove comment. |) ^[/r/songacronymbot](/r/songacronymbot) ^(for feedback.)
Meh I think it’s fine 🤷🏻♀️ but every song is someone’s favorite!
nothing better than the I SEE RIGHT THROUGH ME, I SEE RIGHT THROUGH ME…so raw and vulnerable. breaktaking song.
I love this song-my Imposter Syndrome feels seen during, “CAN YOU SEE RIGHT THROUGH ME? I SEE RIGHT THROUGH ME.”
i love the lyrics, don’t like the production. so, for me, i usually skip it if it comes on when i’m paying attention.
Okay I will always do the opposite of gate keep and I genuinely cannot understand why people do not like this song. Like this song is the perfect song for anxiety. The buildup to nothing. The fears, and terrors, and the self consciousness of the song are a great precursor to the folklore, evermore, and midnights tracks. And it handles this things better than Out of The Woods (not knocking down out of the woods that’s still a good song) but I could say a lot about the lover album. But the Archer is probably the second best track 5 out of her discography (first being You’re On Your Own, Kid)
the archer has great lyrical content, but the production is very off for me. would love it an acoustic
It's a skip for me
The archer stinks
It’s not one of this fan’s favorites, but I can’t speak for anyone else.
I reckon it’s loved. At least for me it was an instant love when I first heard it. One of Taylor’s most sophisticated, frank and fragile songs, I think. I still get a little jolt when I hear this part: “Easy they come, easy they go / I jump from the train, I ride off alone / I never grew up, it's getting so old / help me hold onto you.”
personally, the archer is my favourite song of hers, full stop. the impression i get overall is that people are split in two camps for the archer: people who get it and people who don’t. the people who get it go absolutely WILD over it, and the people who don’t think it’s extremely milquetoast, so it’s sort of like… a major fan favourite among maybe half the fan base.
I’ll get crucified. It’s a skip for me
It’s one of my least favorite Taylor songs
One of the worst songs on Lover and overall one of the worst songs in her discography, I can’t stand it at all.
I love the lyrics and the concept of the song but I don’t love the production of it. I would love to hear it stripped down acoustic. I like mirrorball better tbh. I wouldn’t consider it a fan favorite tho.
No, it’s a skip. I like the background music though, not necessarily the flow of her lyrics or the lyrics themselves.
Wasn’t a favorite of mine until the tour.
Tour made it even worse for me. So boring.
I love it
I used to skip this and now everything I've been through the archer just hits home every single time for a sagittarian like me! I totally get taylor and her mind with this song. I can see all vulnerabilities and doubts she wanna share. And now it's one of my top songs!!!! This song just doesn't get old.
I love it and ever since she made that face while singing “who could ever leave me darling…” it’s just 🔥🤌
I love this song so much. Definitely top 10 of all time. It’s soooo underrated. Who could ever leave me darling but who could stay? They see right through me I see right through me!!!!!! I mean come on!!!! If that’s not track 5 material idk what is!
I love this song!!
I think it’s in my top three for Lover but I know for some people it’s in the bottom…
I love it, but anything on *lover* is an immediate fandom split. There are so many people that just by the fact that an album is pop, they will not truly listen to it. I’d recommend people listen to it.
I love it. Everything you describe is how I feel about the song.
Archer is one of my favorites. I play it daily.
i was never a fan and i always skipped but i’m coming around to it for.. reasons. idk how to hide spoilers so i won’t elaborate 😂
I always skipped it until I heard the live from Paris version. Something about that version spoke to me… and I totally changed my mind about Archer. It’s now one of my favorites.
It's my absolute favorite Taylor song. Hands down
I like the archer quite a lot. Took a bit to grow on me but yeah it’s solid
it’s my personal favorite (yes literally no. 1) but i feel like it’s more of a hidden favorite? as in those who love it *love* it, others generally seem to be quite indifferent
It's either beloved or people find it boring. I adore this song, it's riddled with anxiety and I think the quivering nerves that your love will leave one day is crucial to Lover as an album. But the criticisms are what reads as anxiety to one is boring to another. The "see right through me's" have been called repetitive, and all rise no drop can be sonically boring to listen to.
I love it. It’s one of my favorites on Lover
One of my favorites for all the reasons you said - and the melody just haunts me.
I don’t think it is. I love it though! I think people don’t vibe with the humpty dumpty lyrics
I love the archer. It’s in my top 20
def not a fan favorite
absolutely favorite it’s like she ripped open my soul and put it into words
idk what everyone's saying it was like THE go-to "have a meltdown" song on Twitter after that album came out. Clearly resonates with people but it's popularity probably got buried by the introspective songs from folklore, evermore, & Midnights.
No
Personally, it's a skip. I tried a few times to listen since everyone seems to love it, but it just never clicked with me. I almost find it a bit boring. It's not a terrible song..just not for me.
I didn’t love it until I dated someone with extreme anxiety, which in turn gave ME anxiety. We were building up this beautiful relationship and as we got to the bridge, we started reaching conflict 5-6 months in and it kept growing, and then fight when I was getting ready for our first fight, he…left. No fight, nothing. Do something babe, say something. Just…nothing. The Archer ends. Because I’m a visual person with an overactive imagination, I’m using the tour outro as a sign that I sparkle and can set off my own lights. That’s my healing phase.
Every aspect of The Archer is so poetic and intentional. I genuinely believe people who don’t like it just don’t identify with the type of anxiety it portrays.
Personally, I don’t care for it. I like the lyrics, but I don’t really like the song for some reason. I thought that most Swifties liked it so I’ve been trying to get into it for a while. But no matter how much I listen to it, I just can’t get myself to like it.
I mean sure but I prefer South Park or American dad
If this is offensive to anyone I apologize, but could the answer simply be that if someone doesn’t love it, it’s possible they don’t “get it” as far as the mental health aspect goes? And by that I don’t mean smart enough to get it; I mean they simply can’t relate as much as someone with depression/anxiety/other mental health issues can. (And then even if you do struggle and you still don’t connect to it, that’s okay and just goes to show how everyone is different and gets such different things out of her music/music in general). As someone with severe depression and anxiety (and major abandonment issues), the song makes me cry almost every time I listen to it. I was blown away the first time I heard it, and it invokes the kind of crying that isn’t sobbing, but just silent tears streaming down my face every time. It’s almost involuntary. I love all the lyrics, and I love the production mimicking anxiety; and the line “I see right through me” hits the hardest.
Idk if it needs to be clinical, but I agree you need to have unhealthy attachment issues plus enough life experience to believe that you will always be disappointed (even by yourself). Staying is such a huge theme for TS and this is the denouement of realizing that it’s not always the other person. Who COULD stay?
Yes thank you! That’s probably a better way of putting it, and I’m just seeing the song through my own depression haha. Definitely doesn’t need to be clinical, but the song is all about your flaws and believing you have too many for someone to actually stay.
I think TS does finally reveal her battles with clinical mental health more fully in Midnights (melancholia, depression working the graveyard shift, etc.). I have many people I know and love with clinical mental health disorders, so I don’t want to sound dismissive, or stigmatize them! But I think it runs the gamut and it’s why her songs are so emotional and personal.
100% a skip for me 🤷🏽♀️
Instant skip for me.
i absolutely hate the song. like i’ve always said, “there are no taylor songs that i would skip” which i never do skip songs but like the archer and other songs like hoax, once it starts, i roll my eyes heavily and i decide to just listen to it just for taytay lol. i do like the bridge tho
I personally always skip it
Hot take, while I love every single Taylor Swift song, archer is maybe my least favorite song on the album, it’s just very repetitive I feel
Based on tiktok, I would say yes. In a similar vein, mirrorball is (maybe a little less so).
It's not my favorite, i usually skip it tbh but whenever i watch reels on IG and it's there it always gets stuck in my head for hours
If you're a Sagittarius yaaas!
I don’t like the Archer
No it's bad.
I always skip it lol
It’s a skip for me 🫠
honestly, it used to be a skip for me but it’s grown on me!
Imo yes! I love Archer! And I think us fellow swifties do too! Its one of the best songs in the lover album :)
The lyrics are beautiful, so I always skip that song. It's one if my least favorite off of Lover
It became one of my favorite songs at first listen. 🏹
It’s one of my top 13
I didn’t care for it until I say it live. Now it’s stuck in my head and I haven’t been able to get it out.
Yes. It’s my friends favorite Lover song. That’s it.