’tis the damn season – English Lyrics

• By: Taylor Swift
• Album: evermore

Lyrics & Translation

Explore themes of nostalgia and rekindled romance with Taylor Swift's 'tis the damn season.' This poignant track from Evermore offers a unique perspective on holiday homecomings, teaching listeners about longing, regret, and the complexities of past relationships through vivid storytelling and evocative lyrics.

[English]

If I wanted to know who you were hanging with

While I was gone I would have asked you

It's the kind of cold, fogs up windshield glass

But I felt it when I passed you

There's an ache in you put there by the ache in me

But if it's all the same to you

It's the same to me

So we could call it even

You could call me babe for the weekend

'Tis the damn season, write this down

I'm stayin' at my parents' house

And the road not taken looks real good now

And it always leads to you in my hometown

...

I parkеd my car right between the Methodist

And thе school that used to be ours

The holidays linger like bad perfume

You can run, but only so far

I escaped it too, remember how you watched me leave

But if it's okay with you, it's okay with me

We could call it even

You could call me babe for the weekend

'Tis the damn season, write this down

I'm stayin' at my parents' house

And the road not taken looks real good now

Time flies, messy as the mud on your truck tires

Now I'm missing your smile, hear me out

We could just ride around

And the road not taken looks real good now

And it always leads to you in my hometown

...

Sleep in half the day just for old times' sake

I won't ask you to wait if you don't ask me to stay

So I'll go back to L.A. and the so-called friends

Who'll write books about me, if I ever make it

And wonder about the only soul who can tell which smiles I'm fakin'

And the heart I know I'm breakin' is my own

To leave the warmest bed I've ever known

We could call it even

...

Even though I'm leavin'

And I'll be yours for the weekend

'Tis the damn season

We could call it even

You could call me babe for the weekend

'Tis the damn season, write this down

I'm stayin' at my parents' house

And the road not taken looks real good now

Time flies, messy as the mud on your truck tires

Now I'm missing your smile, hear me out

We could just ride around

And the road not taken looks real good now

And it always leads to you in my hometown

It always leads to you in my hometown

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
ache /eɪk/ B2	noun - a continuous or prolonged dull pain in a part of one's body. verb - to suffer from a continuous dull pain.
season /ˈsiːzən/ A2	noun - a period of the year distinguished by particular conditions of weather, temperature, etc.
parents /ˈperənts/ A1	noun - a father or mother.
road /roʊd/ A1	noun - a wide way leading from one place to another, especially one with a specially prepared surface which vehicles can use.
hometown /ˈhoʊmtaʊn/ A2	noun - the town or city where one was born or grew up.
holidays /ˈhɑləˌdeɪz/ A2	noun - a day of festivity or recreation when no work is done.
perfume /ˈpɜːrfjuːm/ B1	noun - a fragrant liquid typically made from essential oils or aroma compounds and used to impart a pleasant scent to one's body.
car /kɑːr/ A1	noun - a road vehicle, typically with four wheels, powered by an internal combustion engine or electric motor and able to carry a small number of people.
school /skuːl/ A1	noun - an institution for educating children.
time /taɪm/ A1	noun - the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole.
mud /mʌd/ B1	noun - soft, wet earth.
truck /trʌk/ A2	noun - a large, heavy motor vehicle used for transporting goods, materials, or troops.
smile /smaɪl/ A1	noun - a facial expression indicating pleasure or amusement, typically with the corners of the mouth turned up and the front teeth exposed.
friends /frendz/ A1	noun - a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically exclusive of sexual or family relations.
soul /soʊl/ B2	noun - the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal.
heart /hɑːrt/ A1	noun - a hollow muscular organ that pumps the blood through the circulatory system by rhythmic contraction and dilation.

Key Grammar Structures

• If I wanted to know who you were hanging with, While I was gone I would have asked you

  ➔ Third Conditional

  ➔ This uses the third conditional ('If + past perfect, would have + past participle') to talk about a hypothetical situation in the past that did not happen. Here, "If I *wanted* to know... I *would have asked*" indicates she didn't want to know, so she didn't ask.

• It's the kind of cold, fogs up windshield glass, But I felt it when I passed you

  ➔ Simple Past Tense

  ➔ The use of the simple past tense "felt" expresses a completed action in the past. "I *felt* it when I passed you" shows a single event that happened and finished at a specific time in the past.

• And the road not taken looks real good now

  ➔ Present Simple Tense (with 'looks')

  ➔ The present simple with the sensory verb "looks" describes a current state or appearance. The road *looks* good suggests that it's appealing to her in the present moment, regardless of its past.

• I escaped it too, remember how you watched me leave

  ➔ Imperative (remember)

  ➔ "Remember" is used as an imperative, a direct command or request to the listener to recall a specific event.

• Now I'm missing your smile, hear me out

  ➔ Present Continuous Tense (I'm missing)

  ➔ The present continuous tense "I'm missing" is used to express a current feeling or longing that is ongoing. It's not just a fact, but something actively happening right now.

• I won't ask you to wait if you don't ask me to stay

  ➔ First Conditional

  ➔ This uses the first conditional ('If + present simple, will + infinitive') to talk about a possible future situation and its consequence. Here, if 'you don't ask me to stay', then 'I won't ask you to wait'.

• Who'll write books about me, if I ever make it

  ➔ Future Simple (will)

  ➔ The future simple "will write" expresses a future action. "Who *will write* books about me" speculates on a future event depending on a condition (if I ever make it).

• And wonder about the only soul who can tell which smiles I'm fakin'

  ➔ Relative Clause (who can tell)

  ➔ "who can tell which smiles I'm faking'" is a relative clause modifying "the only soul." It identifies and provides additional information about the soul.