"This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things" Is Clearly About Beef With Taylor's Squad
Taylor Swift's Reputation dropped on Nov. 10 at midnight, and people are obsessed with it. Swift released the full tracklist on Nov. 7, just three days before the album's highly anticipated release. And right off the bat, fans started creating theories about what the song titles meant. Lots believed Reputation was split into two parts based on the ellipses preceding and following "...Ready For It?" and "So It Goes...," and it turns out, they were right. There are definitely two separate narratives in Reputation, but let's talk about the second one, shall we? Taylor Swift's "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things" lyrics on the "second half" of the album have fans talking.
Just looking at the title, it seems like it would fit into the first, more petty (please don't deny that half of the songs on Reputation are petty as hell) half of the album, but it has an entirely different meaning. Instead of being about her drama with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West (or even Katy Perry), Swift seems to be singing to an ex-member of her famous "squad." Yup, "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things" is all about an ended friendship, and surprise, surprise, Swift is blaming that friend for ruining their friendship. Think "Bad Blood," except she's being even more detailed about whatever beef she had with whomever she's referring to.
What's more, she's singing about a friendship that ended, was mended, and then ended again. The "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things" lyrics prove Taylor Swift really freaking hates whoever this song is about.
The lyrics open with:
It was so nice throwing big parties
Jumping in the pool from the balcony
Everyone swimming in a champagne sea
And there are no rules when you show up here
Bass beat rattling the chandelier
Feeling so Gatsby for that whole year
Then the pre-chorus reads:
So why’d you have to rain on my parade?
I’m shaking my head
I’m locking the gates
Then the chorus really gets shady AF. Just read these words and try not to freak out:
This is why we can’t have nice things, darling
Because you break them
I had to take them away
This is why we can’t have nice things, honey
Did you think I wouldn’t hear all the things you said about me?
This is why we can’t have nice things
The second verse addresses someone Taylor used to be friends with:
It was so nice being friends again
There I was giving you a second chance
But then you stabbed my back while shaking my hand
And therein lies the issue
Friends don’t try to trick you
Get you on the phone and mind-twist you
And so I took an ax to a mended fence
Then we go back to the pre-chorus:
But I’m not the only friend you’ve lost lately
If only you weren’t
So shady
TIME FOR THAT SAVAGE AF CHORUS AGAIN:
This is why we can’t have nice things, darling
Because you break them
I had to take them away
This is why we can’t have nice things, honey
Did you think I wouldn’t hear all the things you said about me?
This is why we can’t have
But Taylor gets real and has a "toast" for her "real friends" in the bridge:
Here’s a toast to my real friends
They don’t care about that he said, she said
And here’s to my baby
He ain’t reading what they call me lately
And here’s to my momma
Had to listen to all this drama
And here’s to you
’Cause forgiveness is a nice thing to do
Haha, I can’t even say it with a straight face
Then she ends the song with an extended chorus and it's everything:
This is why we can’t have nice things, darling (darling)
Because you break them
I had to take them away
This is why we can’t have nice things, honey
Did you think I wouldn’t hear all the things you said about me?
This is why we can’t have nice things, darling
(And here’s to my real friends)
Because you break them
I had to take them away
(And here’s to my baby)
This is why we can’t have nice things, darling
(He didn’t care about that he said, she said)
Did you think I wouldn’t hear all the things you said about me?
This is why we can’t have nice things
It's not totally clear yet who she's singing about, but fans are already obsessed with the song. You can listen to the full song on iTunes here.
Hm, cheers to more speculation on Taylor's recent song beefs!
