“You’re On Your Own, Kid” by Taylor Swift

As poetic as they may be, Taylor Swift’s songs don’t usually fall into the category of actually being difficult to understand. But it has been noted for instance that on this piece (“You’re On Your Own, Kid”), the lyrics to the pre-chorus are amongst “the most-cryptic” found on the “Midnights” album. 

With that in mind, yes, this piece does require more dot connecting on the part of the listener than many other Tay Tay tracks.

That said, as we have noted before Swift is an expert songwriter – one who is able to get her points across even amidst all types of personal references and unexplained symbols. And by the time all is said and done, the wording of this piece does give the impression that the titular “kid” would be the vocalist herself. 

So basically, what the title is indicative of is her having come to the conclusion that life is something that she has to face on her own. Indeed by the time the song itself concludes, Taylor also realizes that it ‘has always been’ like this.

Now we know based on previous Tay Tay research that her parents were supportive of her musical ambitions. And the lyrics also indicate that when she does sing of being ‘on her own’, it is not from a familial standpoint. Rather, what the songstress is more specifically alluding to is romantic interests as well as, to a lesser degree, standard friends.

The Issue of Romance

In the case of the former, it reads as if there was at least one guy the vocalist was interested in during her youth who, all lyrics considered, did not feel the same about her. 

Indeed, it can be said that she was in love, since said unreciprocating is still on Taylor’s mind to this day. And it may be that this individual did her dirty, though such is never specified. But going back to the wording of the pre-chorus, in connection with the similar lyricism found at the beginning of the bridge, no disrespect to Joe Alwyn, but it may be that Swift is also expressing that even ’til now, she has yet to find that special someone. 

Or viewed from a different angle, the vocalist has come to understand that she no longer bases her prospect for future happiness on Prince Charming one day magically materializing, so to speak.

The Issue of Friends

Then as far as her friends go, they’re only explicitly mentioned in the bridge, where a focus on such relationships actually take up most of that extended passage. 

What it seems Taylor is getting at is that somewhere along the line, she had to leave her homeys behind in the name of pursuing her dreams. Indeed, her dedication to becoming a star and earning the “money” attached to achieving this goal may have even shocked some of her buddies. 

And perhaps for a time being so cold-hearted, if you will, negatively affected the songstress, i.e. being faced with the possibility of having to face life without those she has grown to know and trust. 

However, as time has progressed, she learned to just take it like that, i.e. cherishing “the moment” they were together more so than harping on the future. And the further implication, considering the nature of the entire song, is that maybe such individuals weren’t her true friends anyway.

Final Thoughts on “You’re on Your Own, Kid”

So again, there may be more to unpack in “You’re on Your Own, Kid” than we would find in the average Taylor Swift outing. But even after going through the song only one or two times, it is quite ascertainable that this piece is based on the themes of romantic frustration and the vocalist feeling as if life itself has made her emotionally self-reliant, even though she doesn’t particularly harp on that latter topic.

Release of “You’re on Your Own, Kid”

This is another song from Taylor Swift’s album “Midnights” that she and Jack Antonoff wrote and produced. This track was released, courtesy of Republic Records, on 21 October 2022 as the fifth song on the playlist of that LP.

Track makes Headlines

This track made headlines due to many listeners entertaining the speculation that the “Daisy May” mentioned in the second verse is the name of actress Blake Lively’s unborn child via Hollywood A lister Ryan Reynolds. 

The evidence supporting such a theory is suspect, such as the world being privy to the fact that Lively and Swift are concurrently homeys. But it has been pointed out that Reynolds and Lively already have three children, and Tay Tay namedropped the trio on a track she dropped in 2020 named “Betty“. Moreover, she used said track to actually reveal the name of their child, Betty Reynolds, who was born less than a year before that song was dropped.