In “Haunted,” Taylor writes about a past relationship in this song which the memory of will not escape her mind. Swift explores losing her partner and fearing their fragile relationship. The boy and the relationship will haunt her for the rest of her life.
She uses ghostly metaphors for the memories that haunt her mind as she pleads the partner to not leave.
Written By: Taylor Swift
Produced By: Christopher Rowe & Taylor Swift
[Verse 1]
You and I walk a fragile line
I have known it all this time
But I never thought I'd live to see it break
It's getting dark and it's all so quiet
And I can't trust anything now
And it's coming over you like it's all a big mistake
[Pre-Chorus]
Oh, holding my breath
Won't lose you again
Something's made your eyes go cold
[Chorus]
Come on, come on, don't leave me like this
I thought I had you figured out
Something's gone terribly wrong
You're all I wanted
Come on, come on, don't leave me like this
I thought I had you figured out
Can't breathe whenever you're gone
Can't turn back now, I'm haunted
[Verse 2]
Stood there and watched you walk away
From everything we had
But I still mean every word I said to you
He will try to take away my pain
And he just might make me smile
But the whole time, I'm wishing he was you instead
[Pre-Chorus]
Oh, holding my breath
Won't see you again
Something keeps me holding onto nothing
[Chorus]
Come on, come on, don't leave me like this
I thought I had you figured out
Something's gone terribly wrong
You're all I wanted
Come on, come on, don't leave me like this
I thought I had you figured out
Can't breathe whenever you're gone
I can't turn back now, I'm haunted
[Bridge]
I know, I know
I just know
You're not gone
You can't be gone, no
[Chorus]
Come on, come on, don't leave me like this
I thought I had you figured out
Something's gone terribly wrong (Terribly wrong)
Won't finish what you started
Come on, come on, don't leave me like this
I thought I had you figured out
Can't breathe whenever you're gone
I can't go back, I'm haunted
[Outro]
Oh
You and I walk a fragile line
I have known it all this time
Never ever thought I'd see it break
Never thought I'd see it
Written By: Taylor Swift
Produced By: Nathan Chapman & Taylor Swift
[Verse 1]
You and I walk a fragile line
I have known it all this time
But I never thought I'd live to see it break
It's getting dark and it's all too quiet
And I can't trust anything now
And it's coming over you like it's all a big mistake
[Pre-Chorus]
Woah, holding my breath
Won't lose you again
Something's made your eyes go cold
[Chorus]
Come on, come on, don't leave me like this
I thought I had you figured out
Something's gone terribly wrong
You're all I wanted
Come on, come on, don't leave me like this
I thought I had you figured out
Can't breathe whenever you're gone
Can't turn back now, I'm haunted
[Verse 2]
Stood there and watched you walk away
From everything we had
But I still mean every word I said to you
He will try to take away my pain
And he just might make me smile
But the whole time, I'm wishing he was you instead
[Pre-Chorus]
Oh, holding my breath
Won't see you again
Something keeps me holding onto nothing
[Chorus]
Come on, come on, don't leave me like this
I thought I had you figured out
Something's gone terribly wrong
You're all I wanted
Come on, come on, don't leave me like this
I thought I had you figured out
Can't breathe whenever you're gone
Can't turn back now, I'm haunted
[Bridge]
I know, I know
I just know
You're not gone
You can't be gone, no
[Chorus]
Come on, come on, don't leave me like this
I thought I had you figured out
Something's gone terribly wrong
Won't finish what you started
Come on, come on, don't leave me like this
I thought I had you figured out
Can't breathe whenever you're gone
I can't go back, I'm haunted
[Outro]
Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh
You and I walk a fragile line
I have known it all this time
Never ever thought I'd see it break
Never thought I'd see it
Taylor explained the meaning of the song on her website:
‘Haunted’ is about the moment that you realize the person you’re in love with is drifting and fading fast. And you don’t know what to do, but in that period of time, in that phase of love, where it’s fading out, time moves so slowly. Everything hinges on what that last text message said, and you’re realizing that he’s kind of falling out of love. That’s a really heartbreaking and tragic thing to go through, because the whole time you’re trying to tell yourself it’s not happening. I went through this, and I ended up waking up in the middle of the night writing this song about it.
She also elaborated on the reason for using a string section in the song:
I wanted the music and the orchestration to reflect the intensity of the emotion the song is about, so we recorded strings with Paul Buckmaster at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles. It was an amazing experience – recording this entire big, live string section that I think in the end really captured the intense, chaotic feeling of confusion I was looking for.
