The Fate of Ophelia – English Lyrics

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

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the literary world of Taylor Swift through her song 'The Fate of Ophelia.' This track offers a unique opportunity to explore themes from Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' in a modern pop context. By delving into the lyrics, you can learn about the story of Ophelia and how Swift creatively reimagines her fate, making it a special song that bridges classic literature with contemporary music.

[English]

I heard you calling on the megaphone

You wanna see me all alone

As legend has it, you

Are quite the pyro

You light the match to watch it blow

And if you'd never come for me

I might've drowned in the melancholy

I swore my loyalty to me, myself, and I

(Me, myself, I)

Right before you lit my sky up

All that time, I sat alone in my tower

You were just honing your powers

Now I can see it all

(See it all)

Late one night, you dug me out of my grave and

Saved my heart from the fate of

Ophelia

(Ophelia)

Keep it one hundred

On the land, the sea, the sky

(Land, the sea)

Pledge allegiance to your hands

Your team, your vibes

Don't care where the hell you been

(Been)

'Cause now, you're mine

(Now)

It's 'bout to be the sleepless night

You've been dreaming of

The fate of Ophelia

The eldest daughter of a nobleman

Ophelia lived in fantasy

But love was a cold bed full of scorpions

The venom stole her sanity

And if you'd never come for me

(Come for me)

I might've lingered in purgatory

You wrap around me like a chain, a crown, a vine

(Chain, crown, vine)

Pulling me into the fire

All that time, I sat alone in my tower

You were just honing your powers

Now I can see it all

(See it all)

Late one night, you dug me out of my grave and

Saved my heart from the fate of

Ophelia

(Ophelia)

Keep it one hundred

On the land, the sea, the sky

(Land, the sea)

Pledge allegiance to your hands

Your team, your vibes

Don't care where the hell you been

(Been)

'Cause now, you're mine

(Now)

It's 'bout to be the sleepless night

You've been dreaming of

The fate of Ophelia

'Tis locked inside my memory

And only you possess the key

No longer drowning and deceived

All because you came for me

Locked inside my memory

And only you possess the key

No longer drowning and deceived

All because you came for me

All that time, I sat alone in my tower

You were just honing your powers

Now I can see it all

(I can see it all)

Late one night, you dug me out of my grave and

Saved my heart from the fate of

Ophelia

(Ophelia)

Keep it one hundred

On the land, the sea, the sky

(Land, the sea)

Pledge allegiance to your hands

(Your hands)

Your team, your vibes

Don't care where the hell you been

(Been)

'Cause now, you're mine

(Now)

It's 'bout to be the sleepless night

You've been dreaming of

The fate of Ophelia

You saved my heart from the fate of

Ophelia

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
calling /ˈkɔːlɪŋ/ A2	verb - to speak loudly; to summon noun - a strong urge toward a particular way of life or career
legend /ˈledʒənd/ B1	noun - a traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as historical but not authenticated
pyro /ˈpaɪroʊ/ B2	noun - a pyromaniac; a person with a morbid compulsion to set things on fire
match /mætʃ/ A1	noun - a short, thin piece of wood or cardboard covered with a special chemical at one end that produces fire when rubbed against a rough surface verb - be equal to (something specified)
blow /bloʊ/ A2	verb - to expel air from the mouth verb - to burst or explode
drowned /draʊnd/ B1	verb - to die through submersion in and inhalation of water
melancholy /ˈmelənkɒli/ B2	noun - a feeling of pensive sadness, typically with no obvious cause adjective - having a feeling of pensive sadness
loyalty /ˈlɔɪəlti/ B1	noun - the quality of being loyal
sky /skaɪ/ A1	noun - the region of the atmosphere and outer space seen from the earth
tower /ˈtaʊər/ A2	noun - a tall, narrow building or structure, often part of a church or castle
powers /ˈpaʊərz/ B1	noun - ability to do something or act in a particular way
grave /ɡreɪv/ B1	noun - a hole dug in the ground to receive a coffin or dead body adjective - giving cause for alarm; serious.
fate /feɪt/ B2	noun - the development of events beyond a person's control, regarded as predetermined by a supernatural power
land /lænd/ A1	noun - the part of the earth's surface that is not permanently covered by water verb - to put down or bring to shore
sea /siː/ A1	noun - the expanse of salt water that covers most of the earth's surface and surrounds its landmasses
hands /hændz/ A1	noun - The end part of the arm beyond the wrist, including the fingers and thumb.
sleepless /ˈsliːpləs/ B2	adjective - having trouble sleeping
fantasy /ˈfæntəsi/ B1	noun - the faculty or activity of imagining things, especially things that are impossible or improbable
cold /koʊld/ A1	adjective - of or at a low or relatively low temperature
love /lʌv/ A1	noun - an intense feeling of deep affection
memory /ˈmeməri/ A2	noun - The faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information.
key /kiː/ A1	noun - a small piece of shaped metal with incisions cut to fit the wards of a particular lock, which it is used to open or close.
drowning /ˈdraʊnɪŋ/ B1	verb - To die through submersion in and inhalation of water.

Key Grammar Structures

• If you'd never come for me

  ➔ Conditional clause with contraction

  ➔ "you'd" can mean 'you would' or 'you had'. In this line it's part of a hypothetical past condition (the main clause is omitted).

• I swore my loyalty to me, myself, and I

  ➔ Intensive pronoun (emphasis) with 'myself'

  ➔ "myself" is an intensive pronoun used for emphasis, repeating the subject to stress the speaker.

• Right before you lit my sky up

  ➔ Past simple with irregular verb 'lit'

  ➔ "lit" is the irregular past tense of "light".

• All that time, I sat alone in my tower

  ➔ Past simple with 'sat' (irregular verb)

  ➔ 'sat' is the past tense of 'sit'.

• You were just honing your powers

  ➔ Past continuous 'were honing'

  ➔ 'were honing' shows an action in progress in the past.

• Now I can see it all

  ➔ Modal can + base verb; present ability

  ➔ "can" expresses present ability, with the verb in base form: 'see'.

• Late one night, you dug me out of my grave

  ➔ Past simple 'dug' (irregular) + prepositional phrase 'out of'

  ➔ 'dug' is the irregular past tense of 'dig'; 'out of' indicates movement from inside to outside.

• Keep it one hundred

  ➔ Imperative mood + idiomatic expression

  ➔ "Keep" is an imperative verb giving a command; 'one hundred' is an idiom meaning ' totally / completely'.

• It's 'bout to be the sleepless night you've been dreaming of

  ➔ Colloquial 'it's about to be' + present perfect continuous 'you've been dreaming'

  ➔ "it's about to be" signals imminent future; "you've been dreaming of" uses present perfect continuous to show a past action continuing up to now.

• Don't care where the hell you've been

  ➔ Negative imperative + contracted present perfect in subordinate clause

  ➔ "Don't care" is an informal imperative; "you've been" is the contracted form of 'you have been' in a relative clause.