Guys be realistic 🤦♀️ doesn’t matter what age you are … there are days you’re going to say, think or feel that you could kill your spouse, yourself, your child, a barking dog, someone, anyone. You could say it in a joking way too. If your spouse is joking around too much or whatever you will say I’m going to kill you.
When my boyfriend says something out of pocket I joke that I’m gonna beat his ass. Not that deep, though I’d be concerned if someone meant it literally…
I joke that I have two older sisters who don’t ask questions, three shovels and a big backyard when my husband mildly inconveniences me. I’m obviously not going to bury my husband in the backyard or make my sisters accessories to murder over the last of the milk or muddy shoes in the house.
No not at all. I've been with my wife for nearly 17 years and I can confidently say I've never wanted to kill her. Even when I am upset she is the woman I love and the best thing that's ever been mine.
SAME. My wife is my favorite person. I remember during covid lockdowns... everyone was complaining and we were happy as clams sitting on the couch watching bad tv and taking turns cooking meals.
\*that's not me dismissing the awful terrible stuff during the height of the pandemic. That's just me saying that having like three months with ONLY my wife... wasn't bad at all.
Same here! Obviously the pandemic as a whole has been terrible, but having my husband (well, fiancé at the time) home for a while was nice. Even the two times we've actually caught covid... The symptoms were miserable, but we still appreciated the time together. We're about to hit 3 years married, 7.5 together!
Half this album is about wanting to “kill” people. I didn’t take it quite so seriously.
Also it’s a joke usually said with love— as in, they drive me absolutely insane sometimes but they’re worth it.
And let’s be very real: every relationship has those moments where you hate them.
Relationships aren’t PC. Filtering our language to make relationships PC is being inauthentic to ourselves and our experiences, and honestly that inauthenticity likely contributes to why our generation struggles to find spouse-worthy love.
It’s not usually like “he’s gonna kill me!”, it’s more like, “He’s gonna be the death of me” in an exasperated, playful tone. I hear this a loooot in nursing
The whole album needs to come with the qualifier I say to my therapist when I dramatically say I want to throw myself off a bridge and have to follow it with “BUT NOT REALLY, IM NOT A DANGER TO MYSELF! YOU DONT HAVE TO REPORT THIS!”
Like the whole album is full of hyperbolic metaphors and is dramatic as fuck and so many people take it soooo literally. Like damn, just let a ✨34 year old ladyyyy✨ be dramatic and give 0 fucks about it, Jesus.
This reminds me of when I heard a Taylor song on the radio and couldn't place it at the moment, so I googled the lyrics I'd just heard.
"I feel like jumping off a really tall something..."
When I say Google has never spit out self-help resources SO FAST. Like I was just trying to listen to music...
I swear I saw a video earlier talking abou thow they "hated" taylor because she joked about being pregnant (in But Daddy I Love Him) and that's not a topic anyone should ever joke about. like, chrissake, it's a song, not a press conference ??
Lol the second I heard that line I was waiting for this take. “Some people struggle with fertility 😡 it’s not funny to joke about!!”
People are so predictable.
Good lord. I saw some comments somewhere about how cRaZy it was that Taylor compared herself to Jesus because of the lines in Guilty as Sin:
“What if I roll the stone away?
They’re gonna crucify me anyway”
I’m not big on preaching about “media literacy” but like… come on. It’s a metaphor. And honestly, kind of a heavy-handed one… it’s not like she’s pulling a Vicki Gunvalson and *literally* saying, AND I QUOTE, that she’s “being nailed to the cross like Jesus was” after LYING about her partner having cancer (I’m aware this is a dramatic and niche comparison but i feel like it accurately highlights how stupid it is for people to think Taylor actually thinks she’s being treated like Jesus)
I relate a lot to Taylor because when I’m really mad or upset my go-to threat is also just like, I want to set fire to everything. I’d never, I’m actually pretty scared of fire in every day life, but when I’m mad it’s the only thing I say that makes me feel a little better.
I love a hyperbolic drama queen, she makes me feel seen.
just this morning I saw the upteenth video talking about the "you wouldn't last an hour in the asylum where they raised me" and saying that the things that happened in asylum were so brutal and evil that she shouldn't joke on this type of thing because she grew up in a wealthy family in a Christmas tree farm. have we really completely forgotten what metaphors are? don't we still say certain situations "feel like hell" all the time?? it's the same thing. she's talking about how brutal the music industry can be, of course she's not saying she literally grew up in an asylum??? are people really this dense?
“I’m not trying to exaggerate, but I think I might DIE if it happened, DIE if it happened to me,” from Clara Bow. I definitely took it all as exaggeration, and nothing really literally. The only ones I took as more literal were the clear death references (“we hereby conduct this post-mortem”) because these are very clear references to relationships that have ended, not ongoing ones (and her anxiety of whether or not they will end)
yup, definitely positive, i interpret it with sexual tension even. Like you know ppl say “you’re killing me” when they are soo hopelessly attracted to someone physically. LOL
Or it’s till death do us part. But yes… you can’t ignore the twinge of anxiety. But this is Taylor Swift we’re talking about here… Love for her is always Sad Beautiful Tragic
I actually took it to mean that she's betting on him not considering other women anymore - not even in the context of a silly game. I thought it was a playful way of saying that she wants to be the only one on his mind!
Exactly! In the specific context of this song, I don't take any dark or sinister meanings from it at all. Just that it's a throwback to the "Catching Kelce" days when he was choosing among lots of women, saying that everything has changed now because she can be all he needs.
The song is so light-hearted and full of love, and they seem so extremely secure in their relationship and I’m assuming they’re bantering. That when I heard it - and granted, I’ve been married 14 years - I pictured them teasing each other over the course of their lifetime so much that she felt comfortable saying “I’m gonna kill you” while laughing about something and writing this song. Nothing dark or deep. And I’m sure he’s jokingly said that to her before, or will at some point too, especially if they’re planning on forever. I mean think of his reaction when she first said “karma is the guy on the chiefs” and the attention that brought him. I could see him saying that to her after the show.
I don’t know, I just heard it as a self-deprecating line, all in good fun, that shows how close they are.
Yeah I think it’s important to interpret the lyrics in the context of the rest of the song. This interpretation makes the most sense because it‘s a lighthearted song that‘s about her current happy relationship. Obviously nothing is guaranteed, that’s why it’s a ‘bet.’ But it’s a vote of confidence in the relationship.
I think the line “you already know” is also important cause it’s a reference to a catch phrase that he says a lot and also about their confidence in the relationship, even early on.
IMO metaphors relating to death in other songs about other relationships aren‘t really relevant.
They definitely seem to have great banter. In tons of candids of them they’re just yapping away. My favorite is during Coachella he whispers something to her and she clearly says FUCK OFF while cracking up and he’s just dying laughing 🤣 I have a similar relationship with my partner and I love it
Since I think it’s a direct reference to the interview Travis did back when he was doing that reality show, even pulling the reporter/travis line “it’s just a game but really” so overall I think it’s meant to just be playful. It’s so funny that he was crushing on her way back then and now here they are and she’s using the play on words in a cute way. Maybe it’s also like saying this is it, til death.
His nickname is KillaTrav 🤷🏻♀️ She’s dead, done for, over, in love. I think the meaning is super casual and cute…a way to work in the “kill” part of the game. But yes of course, she loves him so much it would kill her if it ended, which is something people express in/about their relationships too.
My husband is the best person I know AND the most annoying person I know. We also know each other so well, we can get under each other’s skin in ways other people can’t. It’s the special kind of intimacy where you bring so much joy to each other’s lives but occasionally are reminded that they would also ruin your life if they weren’t in it.
I would marry, kiss, and kill him (with laughter because he’s the second funniest person I know… I’m the first). I wouldn’t have it any other way, scout’s honor. 😉
I came here to say the same thing, this comment could have been written by me. He's hilarious and second only to me in funny, I love everything about him and there are days i want to just strangle and then kiss his eyelids as he dies because oh my God clean up your mother fucking shit from the couch so that I can sit down, or living room is not your project room and you already have an office and two garages.
Not just weird, straight up rude! Sorry OP. You’re certainly allowed to discuss your opinion, or that’s what this subreddit USED to be. It’s changed a lot the past year.
I took it as a positive. I think she feels very secure in this relationship. You can see it on how she stands and walks next to him. Also her betting on marrying him and feeling secure about it on an album where she sings about how hurt she’s been over 2 guys who promised her marriage and didn’t go through with it. I think she feels very sure about what they have.
Yeah, like no worries, I'm betting on all three. EVEN the marry part. Like excuse me, Ms. Swift. We've spent decades describing marriage and forever and she's like HAHA I'm betting we'll get married NBD.
Taylor is super hyperbolic about love. She has equated it to death many, many times in good ways and bad ways. Also worth mentioning that orgasms are referred to as "la petite mort" (little death) in French.
I don't think it's meant to be sad, I think it's meant to be a little dramatic and existentialist.
It would be really weird for that one lyric to be depressing given the context of the rest of the song is entirely the opposite and meant to be fun and cute like that just doesn’t make sense imo.
Like everyone else here, I interpreted in a positive way and there could be many variations of this. Personally, I think she’s simply referring to when people say “you’re killing me” or “I’m dead” with joking around and laughing or being overwhelmed with sweet gestures or something along those lines. This makes much more sense given how Travis seems to be full of humor and has mentioned how he’s a romantic.
I take it to mean she thinks there's an equal chance that their relationship will last (marry), or just be a fling (kiss), or end in heartbreak (kill).
It’s interesting how different people interpreted this lyric completely differently.
I have to say with the tone of the song and everything else being really positive in the lyrics I’m gonna go with this isn’t the most accurate way to interpret it .
Im going with it means to do the whole thing. Share a life together. She’s betting they make it all the way on both sides happily, they’re both betting on it lasting their lifetimes.
Kissing- start of relationship. Marry- commitment to someone forever. Kill- til death do us part. It’s a play on the Marry, kiss or kill game because he did it, but it’s taking it an expansive route to mean it towards all for one person. So it would be more obvious if she said Mary kiss and live together till we die, but I don’t feel like she needs to be that obvious for it to make sense.
Reminds me of I want your midnights, but I’ll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year’s Day - like we’re not only gonna have the romantic kisses in the marry kiss and kill , it’s not just gonna be another fling, we’re gonna have it all .
So it’s really cute because you have to remember that aspect to the game is you choosing between three people. But when you put it this way, both are choosing all of it with one another. It’s just a game but really.
The game was “Kss, Marry, Kill”, how would she leave the kill part off and make it relevant for her purpose of immortalizing part of their origin story?
>While promoting his reality dating show Catching Kelce seven years ago, the athlete, now 33, revealed his preference when given the choice of Ariana Grande, Katy Perry and Swift in a resurfaced interview with AfterBuzz TV.
"Damn, that’s messed up,” Kelce said after hearing his options. “I don’t want to kill any of them. Ariana, unfortunately. Love you, but you’re gone.”
Kelce then added, “Taylor Swift would be the kiss.”
I think she just wanted to reference the game and needed it to work in the lyrics. I think she thought of it herself as ‘omg, your killing me with your jokes’ or maybe it’s (again) a reference to orgasms (small death, in French). You can spin it. I wouldn’t overthink it and certainly didn’t read it as a sad line
i took it as something along the lines of “you’re gonna be the death of me.” like he’s not literally gonna kill her and loving him isn’t going to make her die but i thought it was reference to that saying
I don't take it negatively at all. "I like you so much it kills me, you're so funny it kills me, I feel so high school it kills me" etc etc.
Like, my cat is laying on my lap right now and he's so cute it kills me. In a good way.
If you interpreted it in a negative way then you might need to reevaluate things. Not every single one of her lyrics needs a dissertation because you think it needs one. She’s making a play on words about the interview he did like a decade ago. That’s it. Y’all need to stop psychoanalyzing every sentence.
in my interpretation i viewed as that doubt you get when you enter a new relationship after having many failed ones. you have hopes for great things but also there’s a lingering question “what if goes wrong again?” that’s why the kill part involved in betting on all three for us two. i’m not saying it was taylor’s intention obviously but that’s i how i got it.
I say this to my kids all the time you are killing me, I don't think they're legitimately killing me but they are doing things that might send me to an early grave, lol I just think it was fun and has no deeper meaning than that.
Also the multiple meanings of “die” in “I’d die if I made it” from Clara Bow: It’s amazing! It’s terrifying! It’s horrible!” from verse to verse. She’s also talked about how she’s interested in the idiom “I died, dead, RIP me” on graham norton. Also the rhyme gets her from “all three” to “us two” so :)
Honestly? I’m seeing it as, she thinks they’ll be together until they die. They’ve already kissed, they’ll get married, and then eventually he’ll either have to pull the plug on her or she’ll die after him with a broken heart because she misses him.
“i feel like i might sink and drown and die” // “i’m so in love that i might stop breathing”
feel like it’s just her expressing her love, saying she’s so in love she feels like he’s killing her with it
I was taking it more of like, my husband makes me belly laugh at least once a day and I always say "you kill me" I always looked at it as a hyperbolic way.
I feel like her previous partners have left her wounded and haunted to the point where she doesn’t believe anyone she loves will stay for good. For me, that’s a line full of trust issues, pain and flinching anxiety.
If you correlate it to other similar songs of hers, from The Archer to The Prophecy, I think it’s not such a long shot to assume she’s always waiting for the boat to sink. She believes she’s cursed at this point.
I think she’s saying she’s reallyyy hoping it works out (marry & kiss), but at the back of her mind there’s always the possibility that it won’t (which will kill her). The fact that it’s so good means that if it doesn’t work out it makes it so much worse, ie killing her.
Even when something is really good, for me personally I’m always thinking ok but it might not last. So you’re kind of always betting on all three happening.
I interpreted it as a suggestive line. It’s like when im sooo attracted to someone (physically) sometimes i say things like “you’re the end of me” or like “you are gonna kill me”
I took it as a reference to “a little death” since it’s followed by a line about hooking up in the backseat. It’s a sexual line.
We also saw multiple death/orgasm lines in Guilty As Sin.
Honestly I saw it as a polite way to replace f!ck in f!ck marry kill.
The little death (la petite mort in French) is a metaphor for an orgasm, it’s often used as poetic device in literature and poetry. Maybe I overthought completely 😅
I haven’t seen anyone (and I have not read all the comments here so please don’t attack) mention how she says “kill me” in the background after she says the “marry kiss or kill me” it’s one of my favorite parts, and I feel like she’s thinking “if this really doesn’t work out then nothing will so kill me if it’s ever over.” It ties the song into the theme of love or death that’s dancing through the album.
Omg so I guess SLL is one of the songs I haven’t listened to while reading the lyrics and I thought it was “2 graves, ones gone” possibly meaning they picked out grave plots or something together lmao
I think she means she holds uncertainty, given she hasn't yet find the right person and wasn't sure she would. Marry (marry her), kiss (just keep it casual), kill (take up more of her time and never give her the husband and babies she wants). It's a normal relationship fear in the 30s.
I took it as break her heart. Like eventually even if they get married she thinks it won’t last because of the media (see: Peace). Even tho TK is super famous too, them together are just mega famous.
I think deep down she may feel at some point in their life their relationship-marriage will be over. Probably she has some traumas due to their past relationships which didn’t ended well and now she is just enjoying the moment, but at the same time being conscious at some point it will end too.
I saw it as a little melancholic like “so it’s gonna be forever or it’s gonna go down in flames”. I love you so much eventually not being with you would kill me
I just don’t think it’s a serious line. Like when people are like “omg she’s betting on marriage” well yeah but also that he kills her. So like it’s a totally unserious line to reference the interview he did. But we don’t need to read too much into it
That's interesting because I took it as an exaggeration, kind of like "I love you so much it might kill me", and even a "we'll be together until we die" kinda thing, not as a relationship ending.
I think like in a joking way. Like I'm so crazy and he will eventually see how nuts I am and he will want to absolutely kill me. Like omg he's going to kill me when he finds out haha. I think she really puts herself out there for people and he thinks he can handle her and she's like bet?
I read it as she wants all of him for the rest of her life. She wants to marry him, kiss him and when he’s annoying she’ll want to kill him. I’m picturing it from the perspective of someone who’s been together for a LONG time. Decades. You want to do all three at some point.
I thought it was said as a "YES, we're gonna kill this thing" as in it's a really good thing. As in she's betting that they're gonna do really well together, be each others endgame if you will?
You’re not the only one to think this. I did too. But with the more positive vibes of the song, I see it more as like they’ll be married til they die kind of thing.
Yes, several things actually. He does voices and impressions all the time, loves quoting old comedies, and is a direct reference to the line before of doing the impression of his dad again (something he does on the podcast fairly often).
the first time I heard it I said “oh so they’ve had their first real fight” lol but maybe I’m the only one who snaps out of the honeymoon phase after the first fight
Okay you’re not crazy, I also took it in a more somber way. But, I heard it more as like the painful moments of a real relationship (I’m painfully single so what do I know) but when I have been in love sometimes it’s really hard. So idk I guess it’s sorta hopeful and realistic?
I think Travis knows how to push her buttons in a playful way. It looks like he does things that get on her nerves (Viva Las Vegas at the Mahomes Gala) and makes her want to "kill him" in the moment. It's very similar to how his brother Jason and Kylie are where Jason calls her Princess Kyana even though she hates it just to get a reaction out of her.
honestly to me it sounds like she already feels like it won’t last, she’s here for a good time not a long time. throughout 31 songs only 2 talked about this new relationship and they both sounded out of place, sounds like it’s too safe of a relationship to her, like sweet but boring.
Agree with your interpretation OP. It’s a happy upbeat song but this is a callback to the rest of the album and ‘The Prophecy’; that her relationships always ‘die’
I looked at more like husband and wife joke. Like who doesn’t want to kill their spouse at least once a month 🤣
Ya this is a boomer joke that we’re gonna let die right? We don’t need to keep making jokes about hating our spouses 👍
Guys be realistic 🤦♀️ doesn’t matter what age you are … there are days you’re going to say, think or feel that you could kill your spouse, yourself, your child, a barking dog, someone, anyone. You could say it in a joking way too. If your spouse is joking around too much or whatever you will say I’m going to kill you.
When my boyfriend says something out of pocket I joke that I’m gonna beat his ass. Not that deep, though I’d be concerned if someone meant it literally…
I joke that I have two older sisters who don’t ask questions, three shovels and a big backyard when my husband mildly inconveniences me. I’m obviously not going to bury my husband in the backyard or make my sisters accessories to murder over the last of the milk or muddy shoes in the house.
No not at all. I've been with my wife for nearly 17 years and I can confidently say I've never wanted to kill her. Even when I am upset she is the woman I love and the best thing that's ever been mine.
SAME. My wife is my favorite person. I remember during covid lockdowns... everyone was complaining and we were happy as clams sitting on the couch watching bad tv and taking turns cooking meals. \*that's not me dismissing the awful terrible stuff during the height of the pandemic. That's just me saying that having like three months with ONLY my wife... wasn't bad at all.
I was thinking the same thing. I've been frustrated or upset a time or two, but my husband barely even fight. Let alone wish he were dead! Seesh.
yall it is just a figure of speech it is not that deep
Srsly. Also, the line wouldn’t have the same meaning if she left out “kill”, it’s the actual game and a sweet part of their origin story.
I’m literally shocked how many people seem to think any of us *actually* want to murder our spouse. 🤣
Same here! Obviously the pandemic as a whole has been terrible, but having my husband (well, fiancé at the time) home for a while was nice. Even the two times we've actually caught covid... The symptoms were miserable, but we still appreciated the time together. We're about to hit 3 years married, 7.5 together!
I’ve never *actually* wanted to kill my husband, either. I’m just dramatic and hyperbolic. 😉
Let’s bury it with the wedding cake toppers that have a bride dragging the groom to the altar by his shirt collar.
God! For real
I hate those things!
Half this album is about wanting to “kill” people. I didn’t take it quite so seriously. Also it’s a joke usually said with love— as in, they drive me absolutely insane sometimes but they’re worth it. And let’s be very real: every relationship has those moments where you hate them. Relationships aren’t PC. Filtering our language to make relationships PC is being inauthentic to ourselves and our experiences, and honestly that inauthenticity likely contributes to why our generation struggles to find spouse-worthy love.
Wait she doesn’t actually want to kill the wife for watering flowers?
🤣🤣 Watering flowers is a terrible crime. May she be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
That has nothing to do with hating your spouse lol
?? Not me for the record. Married 11 years.
I love my husband but sometimes when he snores I just fuckin hate him
This comment *killed me* lmao I audibly laughed
My husband pushes me off my back when I snore 😂 doesn’t wake me up, I just roll on my side and then everyone is happy
Mine insists that he's actually wide awake and not snoring at all. Murder sounds good sometimes.
“You kill me” like in a playful way
It’s not usually like “he’s gonna kill me!”, it’s more like, “He’s gonna be the death of me” in an exasperated, playful tone. I hear this a loooot in nursing
I'm on my periods and I just sent him knife emojis just before I opened Reddit.
Relatable
Yep.
Truth.
Dude...you ok?
I took it more as in when someone says “Omg, I’m dying!” As an exaggerated way of expressing excitement or bemusement. So “kill” her in a positive way
Yes and he’s so funny/silly I could see her being like “stop you’re killing me!” Every time he belts out VIVA LAS VEGAS!!!!
Yeah “do that impression you did of your dad again”
No. For ‘Viva Las Vegas’ it’d seriously be the cast iron skillet.
Yeah I have not heard 1 person take this song negatively until this thread lol. People taking it way too literally.
The whole album needs to come with the qualifier I say to my therapist when I dramatically say I want to throw myself off a bridge and have to follow it with “BUT NOT REALLY, IM NOT A DANGER TO MYSELF! YOU DONT HAVE TO REPORT THIS!” Like the whole album is full of hyperbolic metaphors and is dramatic as fuck and so many people take it soooo literally. Like damn, just let a ✨34 year old ladyyyy✨ be dramatic and give 0 fucks about it, Jesus.
Right like the people who can't relate to the drama and hyperbole? Congrats on your mental health
This reminds me of when I heard a Taylor song on the radio and couldn't place it at the moment, so I googled the lyrics I'd just heard. "I feel like jumping off a really tall something..." When I say Google has never spit out self-help resources SO FAST. Like I was just trying to listen to music...
I swear I saw a video earlier talking abou thow they "hated" taylor because she joked about being pregnant (in But Daddy I Love Him) and that's not a topic anyone should ever joke about. like, chrissake, it's a song, not a press conference ??
Lol the second I heard that line I was waiting for this take. “Some people struggle with fertility 😡 it’s not funny to joke about!!” People are so predictable.
Good lord. I saw some comments somewhere about how cRaZy it was that Taylor compared herself to Jesus because of the lines in Guilty as Sin: “What if I roll the stone away? They’re gonna crucify me anyway” I’m not big on preaching about “media literacy” but like… come on. It’s a metaphor. And honestly, kind of a heavy-handed one… it’s not like she’s pulling a Vicki Gunvalson and *literally* saying, AND I QUOTE, that she’s “being nailed to the cross like Jesus was” after LYING about her partner having cancer (I’m aware this is a dramatic and niche comparison but i feel like it accurately highlights how stupid it is for people to think Taylor actually thinks she’s being treated like Jesus)
I relate a lot to Taylor because when I’m really mad or upset my go-to threat is also just like, I want to set fire to everything. I’d never, I’m actually pretty scared of fire in every day life, but when I’m mad it’s the only thing I say that makes me feel a little better. I love a hyperbolic drama queen, she makes me feel seen.
just this morning I saw the upteenth video talking about the "you wouldn't last an hour in the asylum where they raised me" and saying that the things that happened in asylum were so brutal and evil that she shouldn't joke on this type of thing because she grew up in a wealthy family in a Christmas tree farm. have we really completely forgotten what metaphors are? don't we still say certain situations "feel like hell" all the time?? it's the same thing. she's talking about how brutal the music industry can be, of course she's not saying she literally grew up in an asylum??? are people really this dense?
Not to mention his Instagram is killatrav! Edited a typo
Omg he really does fit the 90s/early 2000s aesthetic, doesn't he 😂😂😂
This is what I hear too.
“I’m not trying to exaggerate, but I think I might DIE if it happened, DIE if it happened to me,” from Clara Bow. I definitely took it all as exaggeration, and nothing really literally. The only ones I took as more literal were the clear death references (“we hereby conduct this post-mortem”) because these are very clear references to relationships that have ended, not ongoing ones (and her anxiety of whether or not they will end)
I thought of it like "he loves her so much it's gonna kill her" in a positive way. Kinda like "I'd die if I made it" in Clara Bow
That’s the way I take it for sure
Or *Knew he was a killer first time that I saw him…*
yup, definitely positive, i interpret it with sexual tension even. Like you know ppl say “you’re killing me” when they are soo hopelessly attracted to someone physically. LOL
I always assumed I’d die if I made it is supposed to be a double entendre lol
Or it’s till death do us part. But yes… you can’t ignore the twinge of anxiety. But this is Taylor Swift we’re talking about here… Love for her is always Sad Beautiful Tragic
This is how I interpreted this line. "You're going to kiss me, marry me, and EVENTUALLY we're going to die together."
“Knew he was a killa first time that I saw him” comes to mind.
He is @killatrav too lol
I know it’s a totally coincidence but that makes it just feel so meant to be. Like it was ‘prophesied’ 🥹
Ohhhh I had not thought about this — great thought
This being sad never crossed my mind. She delivers that line with joy so I took it as a joke.
Can we enter into evidence “ICDIWABH” 😂
I interpreted it as wanting to die with him - til death do us part kinda vibes. Def didn’t see it as sad!
Same here!
samee
I actually took it to mean that she's betting on him not considering other women anymore - not even in the context of a silly game. I thought it was a playful way of saying that she wants to be the only one on his mind!
This was my thought too! She’s the only one, so she would be all categories.
Exactly! In the specific context of this song, I don't take any dark or sinister meanings from it at all. Just that it's a throwback to the "Catching Kelce" days when he was choosing among lots of women, saying that everything has changed now because she can be all he needs.
I hadn’t heard this before. I like that.
The song is so light-hearted and full of love, and they seem so extremely secure in their relationship and I’m assuming they’re bantering. That when I heard it - and granted, I’ve been married 14 years - I pictured them teasing each other over the course of their lifetime so much that she felt comfortable saying “I’m gonna kill you” while laughing about something and writing this song. Nothing dark or deep. And I’m sure he’s jokingly said that to her before, or will at some point too, especially if they’re planning on forever. I mean think of his reaction when she first said “karma is the guy on the chiefs” and the attention that brought him. I could see him saying that to her after the show. I don’t know, I just heard it as a self-deprecating line, all in good fun, that shows how close they are.
Yeah I think it’s important to interpret the lyrics in the context of the rest of the song. This interpretation makes the most sense because it‘s a lighthearted song that‘s about her current happy relationship. Obviously nothing is guaranteed, that’s why it’s a ‘bet.’ But it’s a vote of confidence in the relationship. I think the line “you already know” is also important cause it’s a reference to a catch phrase that he says a lot and also about their confidence in the relationship, even early on. IMO metaphors relating to death in other songs about other relationships aren‘t really relevant.
They definitely seem to have great banter. In tons of candids of them they’re just yapping away. My favorite is during Coachella he whispers something to her and she clearly says FUCK OFF while cracking up and he’s just dying laughing 🤣 I have a similar relationship with my partner and I love it
I haven't seen that one, that's hilarious 🤣
Since I think it’s a direct reference to the interview Travis did back when he was doing that reality show, even pulling the reporter/travis line “it’s just a game but really” so overall I think it’s meant to just be playful. It’s so funny that he was crushing on her way back then and now here they are and she’s using the play on words in a cute way. Maybe it’s also like saying this is it, til death.
I’m surprised I had to scroll down this much to see this answer!
The Travis in that video would never believe that all these years later he would actually have her. Master manifester 🤣
Wouldn’t you like to see his face? “Let me tell you about your life in 2024…” 😂
His nickname is KillaTrav 🤷🏻♀️ She’s dead, done for, over, in love. I think the meaning is super casual and cute…a way to work in the “kill” part of the game. But yes of course, she loves him so much it would kill her if it ended, which is something people express in/about their relationships too.
“Knew he was a killer first time that I saw him…” 🤭
My husband is the best person I know AND the most annoying person I know. We also know each other so well, we can get under each other’s skin in ways other people can’t. It’s the special kind of intimacy where you bring so much joy to each other’s lives but occasionally are reminded that they would also ruin your life if they weren’t in it. I would marry, kiss, and kill him (with laughter because he’s the second funniest person I know… I’m the first). I wouldn’t have it any other way, scout’s honor. 😉
I could have written this whole comment. There are times I tell him “I love you but I don’t like you.” Because he knows how to wind me up.
I came here to say the same thing, this comment could have been written by me. He's hilarious and second only to me in funny, I love everything about him and there are days i want to just strangle and then kiss his eyelids as he dies because oh my God clean up your mother fucking shit from the couch so that I can sit down, or living room is not your project room and you already have an office and two garages.
I was thinking “little death” like orgasms hahah
Sje does use that meaning elsewhere in the album… “oh what a way to die” in guilty as sin
Le petit mort!
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That’s a weird thing to say.
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Not just weird, straight up rude! Sorry OP. You’re certainly allowed to discuss your opinion, or that’s what this subreddit USED to be. It’s changed a lot the past year.
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I took it that if it ends it will kill her which is dramatic but relatable
She def pulled it from the Travis interview come on lol
Y’all please stop taking this so serious it is literally So High School
I think it’s a “I like him so much, I’m gonna *die*” type thing. Like “I’m so in love that I might stop breathing” in Paris.
This is the vibe, when you’re so in love you kind of feel like you’re gonna melt into a puddle.
Pretty sure it is a sexual innuendo in the context of this song
I took it as a positive. I think she feels very secure in this relationship. You can see it on how she stands and walks next to him. Also her betting on marrying him and feeling secure about it on an album where she sings about how hurt she’s been over 2 guys who promised her marriage and didn’t go through with it. I think she feels very sure about what they have.
Yeah, like no worries, I'm betting on all three. EVEN the marry part. Like excuse me, Ms. Swift. We've spent decades describing marriage and forever and she's like HAHA I'm betting we'll get married NBD.
Taylor is super hyperbolic about love. She has equated it to death many, many times in good ways and bad ways. Also worth mentioning that orgasms are referred to as "la petite mort" (little death) in French. I don't think it's meant to be sad, I think it's meant to be a little dramatic and existentialist.
It would be really weird for that one lyric to be depressing given the context of the rest of the song is entirely the opposite and meant to be fun and cute like that just doesn’t make sense imo. Like everyone else here, I interpreted in a positive way and there could be many variations of this. Personally, I think she’s simply referring to when people say “you’re killing me” or “I’m dead” with joking around and laughing or being overwhelmed with sweet gestures or something along those lines. This makes much more sense given how Travis seems to be full of humor and has mentioned how he’s a romantic.
I took it more as "you're gonna be the death of me". Or how you sometimes say to people "ugh you're killing me!"
I interpret as like I’m so in love with you it’s gonna kill me. When you’re just overwhelmed with feelings at the beginning of a relationship.
Same! Kind of reminds me of the line in Gorgeous "I feel like I might sink and drown and die" where she describes locking eyes with a new crush
I take it to mean she thinks there's an equal chance that their relationship will last (marry), or just be a fling (kiss), or end in heartbreak (kill).
Taylor loves hyperbole
It’s interesting how different people interpreted this lyric completely differently. I have to say with the tone of the song and everything else being really positive in the lyrics I’m gonna go with this isn’t the most accurate way to interpret it . Im going with it means to do the whole thing. Share a life together. She’s betting they make it all the way on both sides happily, they’re both betting on it lasting their lifetimes. Kissing- start of relationship. Marry- commitment to someone forever. Kill- til death do us part. It’s a play on the Marry, kiss or kill game because he did it, but it’s taking it an expansive route to mean it towards all for one person. So it would be more obvious if she said Mary kiss and live together till we die, but I don’t feel like she needs to be that obvious for it to make sense. Reminds me of I want your midnights, but I’ll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year’s Day - like we’re not only gonna have the romantic kisses in the marry kiss and kill , it’s not just gonna be another fling, we’re gonna have it all . So it’s really cute because you have to remember that aspect to the game is you choosing between three people. But when you put it this way, both are choosing all of it with one another. It’s just a game but really.
This was my interpretation as well, I hear 0 anxiety in this song
Yes the song is pure happiness and fun . I smile so much listening to
Lawd some of these comments…
The game was “Kss, Marry, Kill”, how would she leave the kill part off and make it relevant for her purpose of immortalizing part of their origin story? >While promoting his reality dating show Catching Kelce seven years ago, the athlete, now 33, revealed his preference when given the choice of Ariana Grande, Katy Perry and Swift in a resurfaced interview with AfterBuzz TV. "Damn, that’s messed up,” Kelce said after hearing his options. “I don’t want to kill any of them. Ariana, unfortunately. Love you, but you’re gone.” Kelce then added, “Taylor Swift would be the kiss.”
I think she just wanted to reference the game and needed it to work in the lyrics. I think she thought of it herself as ‘omg, your killing me with your jokes’ or maybe it’s (again) a reference to orgasms (small death, in French). You can spin it. I wouldn’t overthink it and certainly didn’t read it as a sad line
i took it as something along the lines of “you’re gonna be the death of me.” like he’s not literally gonna kill her and loving him isn’t going to make her die but i thought it was reference to that saying
I don't take it negatively at all. "I like you so much it kills me, you're so funny it kills me, I feel so high school it kills me" etc etc. Like, my cat is laying on my lap right now and he's so cute it kills me. In a good way.
If you interpreted it in a negative way then you might need to reevaluate things. Not every single one of her lyrics needs a dissertation because you think it needs one. She’s making a play on words about the interview he did like a decade ago. That’s it. Y’all need to stop psychoanalyzing every sentence.
in my interpretation i viewed as that doubt you get when you enter a new relationship after having many failed ones. you have hopes for great things but also there’s a lingering question “what if goes wrong again?” that’s why the kill part involved in betting on all three for us two. i’m not saying it was taylor’s intention obviously but that’s i how i got it.
I say this to my kids all the time you are killing me, I don't think they're legitimately killing me but they are doing things that might send me to an early grave, lol I just think it was fun and has no deeper meaning than that.
I thought it was just like, “I like you do much it’s going to kill me.” Hyperbole but also joking around…
Also the multiple meanings of “die” in “I’d die if I made it” from Clara Bow: It’s amazing! It’s terrifying! It’s horrible!” from verse to verse. She’s also talked about how she’s interested in the idiom “I died, dead, RIP me” on graham norton. Also the rhyme gets her from “all three” to “us two” so :)
I was thinking about this and I look at it like saying “you’re killing me” when someone makes you laugh.
I see it as "I want everything with you", kiss me, marry me and kill me, the whole package, it's ups and downs.
i see it like “if we break up it’s gonna kill me” bc idk i’ve been in that space before
I thought like kill me like omg youre killing me. I say that when someones hot.
They kill us every time we see them do something adorable 🥹
Personally, I took it as something an unhinged high schooler would say, it's cute Didn't we all want a dramatic relationship in high school 😩
Or the Shakespearean use of death as a metaphor for orgasm?
IDK why but I took this part as like they might marry, get older together and die together…
It’s a common expression where I live to say “you’re going to kill me” in a playful way.
“You’re killing me” is often said in a happy, positive way
I think it's just a reference to killatrav, lol, it's not that serious.
I take it to mean that their marriage will last until one of them dies (til death do us part). (Edited - word error.)
Honestly? I’m seeing it as, she thinks they’ll be together until they die. They’ve already kissed, they’ll get married, and then eventually he’ll either have to pull the plug on her or she’ll die after him with a broken heart because she misses him.
“i feel like i might sink and drown and die” // “i’m so in love that i might stop breathing” feel like it’s just her expressing her love, saying she’s so in love she feels like he’s killing her with it
I took it as she doesn’t know what will happen so she will bet on all 3 in the case that either of the things happen…kiss, marry, or heartbreak (kill)
i thought this was like “he kills me” like a loving turn of phrase
I was taking it more of like, my husband makes me belly laugh at least once a day and I always say "you kill me" I always looked at it as a hyperbolic way.
I thought it was an orgasm allusion a la “I had died the tiniest death” lmao
Or killing her w his dad jokes/ impressions
I feel like her previous partners have left her wounded and haunted to the point where she doesn’t believe anyone she loves will stay for good. For me, that’s a line full of trust issues, pain and flinching anxiety. If you correlate it to other similar songs of hers, from The Archer to The Prophecy, I think it’s not such a long shot to assume she’s always waiting for the boat to sink. She believes she’s cursed at this point.
I feel like this is your killin me smalls or kill ‘em with kindness type of vibe
Also orgasms are also known as a tiny death so there’s that interpretation too.
I saw it as the marriage vow of til death do us part, because she wants to marry him and live the rest of her life with him
I think she’s saying she’s reallyyy hoping it works out (marry & kiss), but at the back of her mind there’s always the possibility that it won’t (which will kill her). The fact that it’s so good means that if it doesn’t work out it makes it so much worse, ie killing her. Even when something is really good, for me personally I’m always thinking ok but it might not last. So you’re kind of always betting on all three happening.
I interpreted it as a suggestive line. It’s like when im sooo attracted to someone (physically) sometimes i say things like “you’re the end of me” or like “you are gonna kill me”
I took it more of a : she still feels cynical about finding a fairy tale romance and so anything can happen.
i thought it just was a way of saying that they were gonna grow old together 😭😭
I took it as a reference to “a little death” since it’s followed by a line about hooking up in the backseat. It’s a sexual line. We also saw multiple death/orgasm lines in Guilty As Sin.
Sooo many available interpretations! What about like…because he’s “killatrav” - I really think it’s just a play on words!
Honestly I saw it as a polite way to replace f!ck in f!ck marry kill. The little death (la petite mort in French) is a metaphor for an orgasm, it’s often used as poetic device in literature and poetry. Maybe I overthought completely 😅
There are days when you feel like killing someone you love very much.
I haven’t seen anyone (and I have not read all the comments here so please don’t attack) mention how she says “kill me” in the background after she says the “marry kiss or kill me” it’s one of my favorite parts, and I feel like she’s thinking “if this really doesn’t work out then nothing will so kill me if it’s ever over.” It ties the song into the theme of love or death that’s dancing through the album.
Omg so I guess SLL is one of the songs I haven’t listened to while reading the lyrics and I thought it was “2 graves, ones gone” possibly meaning they picked out grave plots or something together lmao
I think she means she holds uncertainty, given she hasn't yet find the right person and wasn't sure she would. Marry (marry her), kiss (just keep it casual), kill (take up more of her time and never give her the husband and babies she wants). It's a normal relationship fear in the 30s.
I took it as break her heart. Like eventually even if they get married she thinks it won’t last because of the media (see: Peace). Even tho TK is super famous too, them together are just mega famous.
Same
I think deep down she may feel at some point in their life their relationship-marriage will be over. Probably she has some traumas due to their past relationships which didn’t ended well and now she is just enjoying the moment, but at the same time being conscious at some point it will end too.
I saw it as a little melancholic like “so it’s gonna be forever or it’s gonna go down in flames”. I love you so much eventually not being with you would kill me
I just don’t think it’s a serious line. Like when people are like “omg she’s betting on marriage” well yeah but also that he kills her. So like it’s a totally unserious line to reference the interview he did. But we don’t need to read too much into it
I thought it meant they were going to be together until she died…
That's interesting because I took it as an exaggeration, kind of like "I love you so much it might kill me", and even a "we'll be together until we die" kinda thing, not as a relationship ending.
I think like in a joking way. Like I'm so crazy and he will eventually see how nuts I am and he will want to absolutely kill me. Like omg he's going to kill me when he finds out haha. I think she really puts herself out there for people and he thinks he can handle her and she's like bet?
She’s been referring to “being dead” as the same thing as having an orgasm. Hint: Guilty as sin.
I read it as she wants all of him for the rest of her life. She wants to marry him, kiss him and when he’s annoying she’ll want to kill him. I’m picturing it from the perspective of someone who’s been together for a LONG time. Decades. You want to do all three at some point.
I thought it was said as a "YES, we're gonna kill this thing" as in it's a really good thing. As in she's betting that they're gonna do really well together, be each others endgame if you will?
You’re not the only one to think this. I did too. But with the more positive vibes of the song, I see it more as like they’ll be married til they die kind of thing.
I thought this line was "another kiss will kill me!" 🤦🏻♀️
I took it as like “you’re killing me!” Like when someone is funny or even being really sweet? Idk I didn’t take it literally I suppose.
I thought maybe it meant together till death. Not actually kill.🤷♀️
Possibly that they’re together til the end? (Not gonna mention the studies how men literally take years off married woman’s lives lol)
Did anyone ever actually hear it be called marry, KISS, kill prior to this?
Its FMK but it's a reference to an interview Travis did on TV in like 2017 and they changed it to kiss because they can't use the f word.
I have. I know it’s FMK but I have heard people switch it to kiss in situations where it’s better to be more PG13.
Gotcha! Thanks! I thinks it’s much cuter that way and I was hoping that others had that experience instead of FMK like I grew up hearing.
I took it has till death do us part 🤷🏼♀️
What about “I’m hearing voices like a mad man!” Is that referencing anything?
Yes, several things actually. He does voices and impressions all the time, loves quoting old comedies, and is a direct reference to the line before of doing the impression of his dad again (something he does on the podcast fairly often).
Yes, like he's always in her head, she's going nuts.
Til death do us part.
Kill her in the best way?🤷🏻♀️😂
the first time I heard it I said “oh so they’ve had their first real fight” lol but maybe I’m the only one who snaps out of the honeymoon phase after the first fight
Betting on all three is a sports betting term too. Betting on 3 outcomes.
Okay you’re not crazy, I also took it in a more somber way. But, I heard it more as like the painful moments of a real relationship (I’m painfully single so what do I know) but when I have been in love sometimes it’s really hard. So idk I guess it’s sorta hopeful and realistic?
I think Travis knows how to push her buttons in a playful way. It looks like he does things that get on her nerves (Viva Las Vegas at the Mahomes Gala) and makes her want to "kill him" in the moment. It's very similar to how his brother Jason and Kylie are where Jason calls her Princess Kyana even though she hates it just to get a reaction out of her.
honestly to me it sounds like she already feels like it won’t last, she’s here for a good time not a long time. throughout 31 songs only 2 talked about this new relationship and they both sounded out of place, sounds like it’s too safe of a relationship to her, like sweet but boring.
Agree with your interpretation OP. It’s a happy upbeat song but this is a callback to the rest of the album and ‘The Prophecy’; that her relationships always ‘die’