Ours
...my time is theirs
[Taylor is not autonomous. She has her career/business to think about.]
Seems like there's always someone who disapproves
They'll judge it like they know about me and you
And the verdict comes from those with nothing else to do
The jury's out, but my choice is you
[This relationship is not socially acceptable for some reason. Small-minded (nothing else to do) people are judgmental about the paring.]
Side-note: The following line seems like, what? Who throws rocks at things that shine? Is she trying to say skipping stones on water? But that's kind of a peaceful, natural hobby, not a hater's pastime... And before I get into this just
remember a song can have more than one inspiration. There can be subtext. There could be a public narrative and a more private meaning. There could be an A side and a B side to it, so to speak. So if you heard something else, two things can be true!
The word SHINE makes more sense if you look at the lyrics of her song, Hey Stephen, which I think is about her having gay-dar about a male school friend...
Hey Stephen, I know looks can be deceiving
[sometimes gay people are straight-passing]
But I know I saw a light in you
[the "light" being queerness]
Hey Stephen, I've been holding back this feeling
[she's on the DL about her sexuality]
So I've got some things to say to you (ha)
[Taylor finally found someone who has this in common with her]
I've seen it all, so I thought
But I never seen nobody shine the way you do
[shine is her way of saying he pings her gay-dar]
The way you walk, way you talk, way you say my name
[she can tell he's queer by the way he walks and talks]
It's beautiful, wonderful, don't you ever change
[she says there's beauty in his homosexuality-don't change/repress it]
Back to OURS and SHINE:
People throw rocks at things that shine
[These judgmental people are throwing rocks at the gays. Small-minded people figuratively and sometimes actually throw stones at the queers.]
And life makes love look hard
The stakes are high, the water's rough
But this love is ours
[Love is especially hard for same-sex partners. Stakes are high, because it can be life or death. Water's rough because gay marriage wasn't even legal when she penned this song.]
And it's not theirs to speculate if it's wrong and
Your hands are tough, but they are where mine belong and
I'll fight their doubt and give you faith with this song for you
[People are saying this relationship is immoral. Taylor brings up faith, a very loaded word because a lot of churches and religions, in particular, denounce homosexuality…]
And any snide remarks from my father about your tattoos
Will be ignored, 'cause my heart is yours
[And her dad, a conservative, Boomer, Republican doesn't like this person's appearance (and who knows what else). But Taylor discounts all of the other people's opinions because the love is just between the two people.]
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