When you hear the abbreviation “loml” you assume it means “love of my life.” Taylor Swift’s song provides an alternate idea— “loss of my life.” On Swift’s album, The Tortured Poets Department, the song is placed on the twelfth track, and it holds your hand as you listen to the demise of a relationship.
Below, you can find a lyrical analysis of “loml” by Taylor Swift.
[Verse 1]
Who’s gonna stop us from waltzing back into rekindled flames
If we know the steps anyway?
The narrator is revisiting their past relationship. This is familiar territory to them. They’ve seen this film before. It’s saying, “Why don’t we try this again? We know how we are, and we know how to start this again. Who’s going to stop us from being together again? We already know each other so well and we know better now.”
We embroidered the memories of the time I was away
Stitching, “We were just kids, babe”
Two lovers are rekindling their flame and telling each other what they’ve missed in each other’s lives while they were apart. They’re creating an excuse as to why they were apart. Claiming they were just kids in love and exploring their own lives while apart. Implying that it was no one’s fault that they were separated.
I said, “I don’t mind, it takes time”
I thought I was better safe than starry-eyed
“I don’t mind that it’ll take time for us to put each other back together. If anything, taking time is better because I would rather be safe in our relationship than be a hopeless romantic who will only get let down.”
I felt aglow like this
Never before and never since
The narrator has never felt this feeling before. This love is compared to a ‘glow’ because the narrator feels that this is the first time they’ve ever felt this way. At the time of writing this song, it’s obvious the narrator and the muse have broken up. That’s why the narrator hasn’t felt this glow-like love since the end of their relationship.
[Chorus]
If you know it in one glimpse, it’s legendary
The storyteller is explaining the existence of love is legendary. With just one look, you can tell whether two people love each other or whether you can tell that someone loves you. This lyric could also correlate with “Haunted by the look in my eyes/That would’ve loved you for a lifetime.” from Swift’s song “Happiness” off the evermore album.
You and I go from one kiss to getting married
Because of their extensive history, they go from one kiss to preparing for the rest of their lives together.
Still alivе, killing time at the cemеtery
Never quite buried
Their love never quite stopped, it just went dormant. It was biding time or ‘killing’ time at the cemetery of all their other loves, just waiting to be rekindled.
In your suit and tie, in the nick of time
You low-down boy, you stand-up guy
The narrator claims that the significant other arrived at the perfect time in their life. These lyrics are a use of sarcasm. A ‘low-down boy’ is used to describe a person or action that is very dishonest and unfair. This is also an oxymoron because a ‘stand-up guy’ is a person of integrity, loyalty, and reliability.
You Holy Ghost, you told me I’m the love of your life
The storyteller’s lover is a dedicated ghost from their past. They’ve come back from the dead and back into their life. All while claiming the narrator is the love of their life.
Holy: dedicated or consecrated to God or a religious purpose; sacred:
Ghost: an apparition of a dead person which is believed to appear or become manifest to the living
You said I’m the love of your life
About a million times
This lyric could parallel Swift’s song “illicit affairs” from the folklore album. “They show their truth one single time/But they lie and they lie and they lie/A million little times”
[Verse 2]
Who’s gonna tell me the truth when you blew in with the winds of fate
And told me I reformed you?
The narrator questions their past partner: “Who was going to tell me the truth about you?” This lyric aligns with “In your suit and tie, in the nick of time.” Their partner came in at the right time, so perfect that it seemed like fate. All while claiming to have been reformed and better than who they used to be.
When your impressionist paintings of heaven turned out to be fakes
Well, you took me to hell too
An impression is something you leave on someone or an imitation of something. Based on Tate Kids, “Impressionist paintings are characterized by visible brushstrokes, bright colors, and an emphasis on light. Impressionist artists often painted outdoors and captured their impression of a scene, rather than trying to depict reality.”
This lyric seems to suggest that the way they painted their future took the storyteller to heaven, but when it was revealed to be fake, they were dragged to hell, too. He laid out their future, only for it to boil down to nothing and end in affliction.
And all at once, the ink bleeds
A con man sells a fool a get-love-quick scheme
A con man is a man who cheats or tricks someone by gaining their trust and persuading them to believe something that is not true. All at once, everything falls apart, the ink from the impressionist paintings bleeds. The writer is describing themself as a fool for falling for a “get-love-quick scheme.”
But I’ve felt a hole like this
Never before and ever since
The narrator has an empty feeling in them that they had never felt before until this break-up. They’ve been feeling this loss ever since the separation.
[Chorus]
If you know it in one glimpse, it’s legendary
What we thought was for all time was momentary
What was assumed to last forever had ended in the blink of an eye.
Still alive, killing time at the cemetery
Never quite buried
You cinephile in black and white
It felt like their love had never died and was just loitering in a cemetery, never fully buried.
Cinephile: a person who is fond of motion pictures: black and white films.
All those plot twists and dynamite
Plot Twist: an unexpected development in a book, film, television program, etc.
Dynamite: a high explosive consisting of nitroglycerine mixed with an absorbent material and typically molded into sticks.
Multiple plot twists occurred in this relationship, along with explosive actions.
Mr. Steal Your Girl, then make her cry
You said I’m the love of your life
“Mr. Steal Your Girl” implies that the man in question is a player who often intrudes on relationships and “steals” the girl. This line implies that he had swooped in and “stole” the narrator, only to end up breaking their heart and making them cry.
[Bridge]
You shit-talked me under the table
Talkin’ rings and talkin’ cradles
The ex-partner talked badly about the writer while also talking about marriage and a future family.
I wish I could un-recall
How we almost had it all
The storyteller wishes that they could forget how close they were to having a future with this person who had meant everything to them.
Dancing phantoms on the terrace
This follows the lines about killing time at the cemetery. Though they were once in love and dancing romantically on the terrace, it is now just their phantoms. Their love has turned cold and left in the past.
Are they second-hand embarrassed
That I can’t get out of bed
‘Cause something counterfeit’s dead?
Counterfeit: made in exact imitation of something valuable or important with the intention to deceive or defraud.
The writer is referring to those who had witnessed their relationship fall apart. After realizing the truth about the nature of the relationship, it all seemed like a scheme. The break-up is debilitating them with the grief of what-ifs.
It was legendary
It was momentary
It was unnecessary
Legendary: remarkable enough to be famous; very well-known.
Momentary: lasting for a very short time; brief.
Unnecessary: not needed.
The death of a revisited relationship is described in these three words.
Should’ve let it stay buried
The writer wishes they had never pursued this rekindling relationship.
[Chorus]
Oh, what a valiant roar
What a bland goodbye
Valiant: possessing or showing courage or determination.
The rekindling felt so beautiful and grand, only to have an underwhelming goodbye.
The coward claimed he was a lion
A lion is an animal described as a fierce and brave protector. The writer is telling us that their ex-lover claimed to be braver than they were.
I’m combing through the braids of lies
“I’ll never leave,” “Never mind”
The storyteller is recalling their relationship and uncovering lies that their ex-significant other told them. Claiming they would never leave the narrator, and then literally leaving.
Our field of dreams engulfed in fire
Your arson’s match, your somber eyes
The future the writer had envisioned is now burnt up by their ex-partner. The somber eyes can be considered as guilt.
And I’ll still see it until I die
You’re the loss of my life
The narrator will remember this relationship for the rest of their life. From being told that they were the love of their partner’s life, to considering their ex-partner to be their greatest loss. The final lyric is what defines the song as “loss of my life.”
