Eldest Daughter – English Lyrics

• By: Taylor Swift
• Album: The Life of a Showgirl

Lyrics & Translation

"Eldest Daughter" offers a poignant and relatable journey into themes of family responsibility, personal growth, and unwavering loyalty. Through its intimate lyrics and contemplative piano, you can explore nuanced English expressions related to familial bonds, self-discovery, and the powerful declarations of steadfast love. This song is special for its raw vulnerability and its connection to a universally understood experience, making it an excellent piece to learn English through its emotional depth.

[English]

[00:00.00] Everybody's so punk on the internet

[00:01.88] Everyone's unbothered til they're not

[00:03.76] Every joke's just trolling and memes

[00:06.68] Sad as it seems, apathy is hot

[00:09.58] Everybody's cutthroat in the comments

[00:12.31] Every single hot take is cold as ice

[00:15.19] When you found me I said I was busy

[00:18.38] That was a lie

[00:21.72] I have been afflicted by a terminal uniqueness

[00:26.12] I've been dying just from trying to seem cool

[00:33.13] But I'm not the baddest

[00:36.07] And this isn't savage

[00:39.02] But I'm never gonna let you down

[00:42.35] I'm never gonna leave you out

[00:45.36] So many traitors

[00:49.04] Smooth operators

[00:51.94] But I'm never gonna break that vow

[00:54.88] I'm never gonna leave you now, now, now

[01:03.27] You know the last time I laughed this hard was

[01:06.53] On the trampoline in somebody's backyard

[01:10.09] I must've been about 8 or 9

[01:13.24] That was the night

[01:15.58] I fell off and broke my arm

[01:18.34] Pretty soon I learned cautious discretion

[01:21.05] When your first crush crushes something kind

[01:24.70] When I said I don't believe in marriage

[01:27.01] That was a lie

[01:30.40] Every eldest daughter

[01:33.29] Was the first lamb to the slaughter

[01:36.88] So we all dressed up as wolves and we looked fire

[01:42.80] But I'm not the baddest

[01:45.65] And this isn't savage

[01:48.68] But I'm never gonna let you down

[01:51.99] I'm never gonna leave you out

[01:54.94] So many traitors

[01:57.85] Smooth operators

[02:01.28] But I'm never gonna break that vow

[02:04.48] I'm never gonna leave you now, now, now

[02:16.63] We lie back

[02:17.86] A beautiful, beautiful time lapse

[02:20.71] Ferris wheels, kisses and lilacs

[02:24.22] And things I said were dumb

[02:27.43] Cause I thought that I'd never find that beautiful, beautiful life that

[02:33.82] Shimmers that innocent light back

[02:36.83] Like when we were young

[02:41.78] Every youngest child felt

[02:44.09] They were raised up in the wild

[02:47.33] But now you're home

[02:50.61] "Cause I'm not the baddest

[02:53.47] And this isn't savage

[02:56.65] And I'm never gonna let you down

[02:59.93] I'm never gonna leave you out

[03:03.37] So many traitors

[03:06.20] Smooth operators

[03:09.32] But I'm never gonna break that vow

[03:12.66] I'm never gonna leave you now, now, now

[03:22.10] Never gonna break that vow

[03:24.92] Never gonna leave you now, now

[03:33.06] I'm never gonna leave you now

[03:36.04]

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
internet /ˈɪn.tə.net/ B1	noun - a global computer network that provides a variety of information and communication facilities
apathy /ˈæp.ə.θi/ C1	noun - lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern
cutthroat /ˈkʌt.θroʊt/ C1	adjective - ruthlessly competitive; having no mercy
lie /laɪ/ A2	noun - a false statement made knowingly verb - to make an untrue statement
terminal /ˈtɜːr.mɪ.nəl/ B2	adjective - relating to or being the end or final stage of something; incurable (as a disease)
uniqueness /juːˈniːk.nəs/ B2	noun - the quality of being one of a kind; distinctiveness
savage /ˈsæv.ɪdʒ/ B2	adjective - ferocious, brutal, or uncivilized
traitor /ˈtreɪ.tɔːr/ B2	noun - a person who betrays a trust, especially a political allegiance
operator /ˈɒp.əˌreɪ.tə/ B1	noun - a person who operates equipment or a system; also a mathematical symbol (+, -, ×, ÷)
vow /vaʊ/ B2	noun - a solemn promise verb - to make a solemn promise
trampoline /ˈtræm.pəl.iːn/ B2	noun - a strong, flexible fabric stretched over a frame and used for jumping
crush /krʌʃ/ B1	noun - a strong but short-lived romantic infatuation verb - to compress or squeeze forcefully
marriage /ˈmærɪdʒ/ B1	noun - the legally or formally recognized union of two people as partners in a personal relationship
eldest /ˈeld.ɪst/ B2	adjective - being the oldest among a group, especially siblings
daughter /ˈdɔː.tər/ A1	noun - a female child in relation to her parents
lamb /læm/ A2	noun - a young sheep; also used metaphorically for innocence
slaughter /ˈslɔː.tər/ B2	noun - the killing of animals for food, or a violent mass killing of people verb - to kill (animals) for food or to kill people violently
wild /waɪld/ A2	adjective - living in a natural state; untamed; uncontrolled

Key Grammar Structures

• Everybody's so punk on the internet

  ➔ Use of contraction and adjective as complement

  ➔ The phrase "Everybody's" is a contraction of "Everybody is", and "so punk" uses the adjective "punk" as a predicate complement.

• That was a lie

  ➔ Simple past tense for stating facts

  ➔ The sentence describes a fact that was true in the past using the simple past form "was".

• I have been afflicted by a terminal uniqueness

  ➔ Present perfect passive voice

  ➔ "Have been afflicted" is the present perfect passive form indicating a past action affecting the present.

• I've been dying just from trying to seem cool

  ➔ Present perfect continuous tense

  ➔ "I've been dying" is the present perfect continuous, showing an action started in the past and still relevant.

• But I'm never gonna let you down

  ➔ Use of future intent with 'gonna' (going to)

  ➔ "Gonna" is an informal contraction of "going to", indicating a determined future action.

• So many traitors

  ➔ Quantifier + plural noun

  ➔ "So many" is a quantifier used with plural countable nouns like "traitors".

• When I said I don't believe in marriage

  ➔ Reported speech in past tense with present tense clause

  ➔ "I said" is past tense, but the subordinate clause "I don't believe" remains in present tense to express current belief.

• Every eldest daughter was the first lamb to the slaughter

  ➔ Simple past tense with a metaphorical expression

  ➔ "Was" is simple past of 'be', used in a metaphor saying the eldest daughters were sacrificial first.