Anti-Hero – English Lyrics

• By: Taylor Swift
• Album: Midnights

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the lyrical depth of Taylor Swift's "Anti-Hero," a song celebrated for its candid and vivid portrayal of self-doubt and internal struggles. Its introspective lyrics, rich in metaphors and honest admissions of vulnerability, offer a unique opportunity for language learners to grasp advanced vocabulary, idioms, and nuanced expressions in English. The song's direct and relatable language makes it an excellent tool for understanding authentic emotional expression.

[English]

I have this thing where I get older, but just never wiser

Midnights become my afternoons

When my depression works the graveyard shift

All of the people I've ghosted stand there in the room

I should not be left to my own devices

They come with prices and vices

I end up in crises

Tale as old as time

I wake up screaming from dreaming

One day I'll watch as you're leaving

'Cause you got tired of my scheming

For the last time

It's me

Hi!

I'm the problem, it's me

At teatime

Everybody agrees

I'll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror

It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero

...

Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby

And I'm a monster on the hill

Too big to hang out

Slowly lurching toward your favorite city

Pierced through the heart but never killed

Did you hear my covert narcissism

I disguise as altruism?

Like some kind of congressman

Tale as old as time

I wake up screaming from dreaming

One day, I'll watch as you're leaving

And life will lose all its meaning

For the last time

It's me

Hi!

I'm the problem, it's me (I'm the problem, it's me)

At teatime

Everybody agrees

I'll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror

It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero

...

I have this dream my daughter-in-law kills me for the money

She thinks I left them in the will

The family gathers 'round and reads it

And then someone screams out

"She's laughing up at us from hell!"

It's me

Hi!

I'm the problem, it's me

It's me

Hi!

I'm the problem, it's me

It's me

Hi!

Everybody agrees

Everybody agrees

It's me

Hi! (Hi!)

I'm the problem, it's me (I'm the problem, it's me)

At teatime

Everybody agrees (everybody agrees)

I'll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror

It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
older /ˈoʊldər/ A1	adjective - having lived for a relatively long time.
wiser /ˈwaɪzər/ A2	adjective - having or showing experience, knowledge, and good judgement.
depression /dɪˈpreʃən/ B2	noun - a mental condition characterized by feelings of severe despondency and dejection, typically also with feelings of inadequacy and guilt, often accompanied by lack of energy and disturbance of appetite and sleep.
ghosted /ˈɡoʊstɪd/ B1	verb - to suddenly cut off all contact with someone (as by stopping to answer their texts and calls) without explanation
devices /dɪˈvaɪsɪz/ B1	noun - a thing made or adapted for a particular purpose.
prices /praɪsɪz/ A1	noun - the amount of money expected, required, or given in payment for something.
vices /ˈvaɪsɪz/ B2	noun - immoral or wicked behaviour.
crises /ˈkraɪsiːz/ C1	noun - a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger.
tale /teɪl/ B1	noun - a fictitious or true narrative or story, especially one that is imaginatively recounted.
screaming /ˈskriːmɪŋ/ B1	verb - to give a loud, piercing cry.
dreaming /ˈdriːmɪŋ/ A2	verb - experience a series of thoughts, images, or emotions occurring during sleep.
tired /ˈtaɪərd/ A2	adjective - in need of sleep or rest; weary.
scheming /ˈskiːmɪŋ/ B2	verb - make plans, especially in a devious way or with a secret or selfish goal.
problem /ˈprɒbləm/ A2	noun - a matter or situation regarded as unwelcome or harmful and needing to be dealt with and overcome.
mirror /ˈmɪrər/ A2	noun - a reflective surface, now typically of glass coated with a metallic substance behind it.
exhausting /ɪɡˈzɔːstɪŋ/ B2	adjective - making someone feel very tired.
rooting /ˈruːtɪŋ/ B2	verb - expressing strong support for someone or something.
anti-hero /ˌæntiˈhɪərəʊ/ C1	noun - a central character in a story, film, etc., who lacks conventional heroic qualities.
monster /ˈmɒnstər/ A2	noun - a creature, usually imaginary, that is large, ugly, and frightening.
killed /kɪld/ A2	verb - cause the death of (a person, animal, or other living thing).
dream /driːm/ A1	noun - a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep

Key Grammar Structures

• I have this thing where I get older, but just never wiser

  ➔ Relative Clause with 'where'

  ➔ The use of "where" introduces a relative clause modifying "this thing." It implies a situation or circumstance. The phrase "just never wiser" uses "just" as an intensifier.

• When my depression works the graveyard shift

  ➔ Use of 'when' to introduce a clause indicating time or condition. Subject + verb + object.

  ➔ "When" here introduces a temporal clause, showing when the described situation happens. The sentence follows a simple Subject-Verb-Object structure: "depression" (subject), "works" (verb), "graveyard shift" (object).

• All of the people I've ghosted stand there in the room

  ➔ Present Perfect (I've ghosted), Relative Clause (that I've ghosted)

  ➔ "I've ghosted" uses the present perfect tense to describe an action completed at an unspecified time in the past that is relevant to the present. "That I've ghosted" is a reduced relative clause modifying "people."

• I should not be left to my own devices

  ➔ Modal Verb 'should' + Passive Voice ('be left')

  ➔ "Should" expresses advice or a recommendation. "Be left" is the passive form of the verb "to leave," indicating that the subject (I) is acted upon, rather than acting.

• I end up in crises

  ➔ Phrasal Verb 'end up' + preposition 'in'

  ➔ "End up" means to eventually arrive at a particular place or state. Here, it means the speaker eventually finds themselves in crises. The preposition "in" is necessary to specify the location or state.

• It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero

  ➔ Modal verb "must" (deduction), gerund phrase as subject (rooting for the anti-hero)

  ➔ "Must" expresses a strong deduction or conclusion. "Rooting for the anti-hero" is a gerund phrase acting as the subject of the sentence. The whole phrase means that consistently supporting the anti-hero is likely to be exhausting.

• Sometimes I feel like everybody is a sexy baby

  ➔ Expression "feel like" + clause using the verb 'to be'

  ➔ "Feel like" expresses a feeling or impression. Here, it's followed by a clause stating the nature of that feeling. The verb "is" connects the subject "everybody" with the descriptor "a sexy baby." Note the figurative language, where 'everybody' is likened to 'sexy baby'.

• Did you hear my covert narcissism I disguise as altruism?

  ➔ Past Simple Question (Did you hear), Relative Clause introduced by implied "that/which" (narcissism I disguise as altruism)

  ➔ "Did you hear" forms a simple past question. The phrase "narcissism I disguise as altruism" is a relative clause modifying "my covert narcissism", with the relative pronoun (that or which) omitted. It shows a characteristic of B2-C1 English to omit relative pronouns when they are the object of the clause.