Anti-Hero – English Lyrics

• By: Taylor Swift
• Album: Midnights

Lyrics & Translation

[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
ghosted /ˈɡoʊstɪd/ B2	verb - to suddenly cut off all communication with someone
depression /dɪˈpreʃən/ B1	noun - a mental health condition characterized by persistent sadness
scheming /ˈskiːmɪŋ/ B2	adjective - making secret plans to achieve something, often in a cunning way
exhausting /ɪkˈzustɪŋ/ B1	adjective - extremely tiring
narcissism /ˈnɑːrsɪsɪzəm/ C1	noun - excessive interest in or admiration of oneself
altruism /ˈæltruɪzəm/ C1	noun - the belief in or practice of selfless concern for the well-being of others
lurching /ˈlɜːrtʃɪŋ/ B2	verb - to move in an awkward, unsteady way
pierced /pɜːrst/ B1	verb - to make a hole in something with a sharp object
covert /ˈkoʊvɜːrt/ C1	adjective - not openly acknowledged or displayed
screaming /ˈskriːmɪŋ/ A2	verb - to shout very loudly
wisdom /ˈwɪzdəm/ B1	noun - the ability to make sensible decisions and give good advice
crises /ˈkraɪsiːz/ B2	noun - a time of great danger or difficulty
vices /ˈvaɪsɪz/ B1	noun - bad habits or immoral behavior
mirror /ˈmɪrər/ A1	noun - a reflective surface that shows an image
tired /ˈtaɪərd/ A1	adjective - feeling a need to rest or sleep
meaning /ˈmiːnɪŋ/ A2	noun - the idea or message that is intended to be conveyed

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.