I thought I’d make use of all these nifty literary analysis tools I’ve learned in school, and apply it to Taylor Swift’s new single, “Look What You Made Me Do.” Because this is definitely what my parents had in mind for my education.

I don't like your little games
Don't like your tilted stage
The role you made me play
Of the fool, no, I don't like you

Right off the bat, we see that Swift is addressing this song to a specific “you.” Either she’s addressing this song to one of the many people she’s had drama with over the years – Kimye, Katy Perry, Spotify – or she’s making use of the literary device known as apostrophe, wherein the writer addresses an imaginary, vague audience. Personally, I think it’s the first one.

I don't like your perfect crime
How you laugh when you lie
You said the gun was mine
Isn't cool, no, I don't like you (oh!)

Swift moves on to a new metaphor, that of a crime being carried out by the "you" she’s addressing. It seems like she feels the “you” got away with something for which Swift took the blame.

She ends this metaphor and the one before it very bluntly by just saying, “I don’t like you.” I thought maybe she’d use more lyrical language for that sentiment, but nah, she’s telling it like it is. Simple enough.

But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time
Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time
I've got a list of names and yours is in red, underlined
I check it once, then I check it twice (oh!)

This section is an interesting mix of metaphor and references. At first, Swift says she “rose up from the dead,” which makes me think of zombies, or people coming back from the dead for vengeance, Kill Bill style.

She then moves on to say that the “you” is on her “list,” which is implied to be an Arya Stark-list of people she wants to, like, murder or something. Then, she ends by using a lyric which brings to mind Christmas, or Santa Claus, who also checks his list once, and then twice. Except he doesn’t murder those people. In my opinion, Swift is muddling her cultural references here.

Ooh, look what you made me do
Look what you made me do
Look what you just made me do
Look what you just made me
Ooh, look what you made me do
Look what you made me do

Look what you just made me do
Look what you just made me do

So, I know the chorus is really just the same sentence eight times, but there’s more to unpack here than you would think. First of all, Swift is making use of the passive voice, or making it seem that she was the receiver of an action, instead of the instigator of an action.

It was Swift who did something, but she said that the “you” made her do it, thus stripping herself of all blame, in a literary sense. She appears to not blame herself for the action at all. In fact, since she repeats this lyric eight times, I’m led to conclude that she blames the “you” very, very much.

I don't like your kingdom keys
They once belonged to me
You asked me for a place to sleep
Locked me out and threw a feast (what?)

Here, it seems Swift feels there’s been an unfair reversal of fortunes between herself and the ‘you.’ I can’t help wonder if this song is directed towards a few different people because each verse or metaphor seems like it’s setting up a different situation from the other ones. In other words, Swift is pissed at a lot of people, potentially.

The world moves on, another day, another drama, drama
But not for me, not for me, all I think about is karma
And then the world moves on, but one thing's for sure
Maybe I got mine, but you'll all get yours

Here is another verse which supports my hypothesis that this song is directed at a few different “you’s.” She says that “you’ll all get yours” which means a few different people are in the wrong here, in her opinion. She says herself, there’s “another day, another drama, drama.” Swift has racked up a lot of dramas, and now she seems to be unhealthily fixated on the karmas.

But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time
Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time
I've got a list of names and yours is in red, underlined
I check it once, then I check it twice, oh!
(Chorus)

I don't trust nobody and nobody trusts me
I'll be the actress starring in your bad dreams
I don't trust nobody and nobody trusts me
I'll be the actress starring in your bad dreams
I don't trust nobody and nobody trusts me
I'll be the actress starring in your bad dreams
I don't trust nobody and nobody trusts me
I'll be the actress starring in your bad dreams

Here, I bring up the theory that this song is being written by an unreliable narrator, or a narrator who cannot wholly be trusted by the audience, to tell the truth. Is it true that she “trusts nobody, and nobody trusts” her?

Are the offenses caused by the “you” really so catastrophic? Unclear. Swift might also be using the literary tool hyperbole, or the extreme exaggeration of things. In that case, she’s using it very heavily.

(Look what you made me do)
(Look what you made me do)
(Look what you just made me do)
(Look what you made me do)
"I'm sorry, the old Taylor can't come to the phone right now."
"Why?"
"Oh, 'cause she's dead!" (ohh!)

Oh man, this part. What a statement.

First of all, this is the part where Swift breaks with the norms of her genre slightly, by speaking a part of her song instead of singing it. Before, she’s used this device for comedic relief, like in “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.”

But here, she’s speaking so that her message gets more of an impact. It might be a homage to that old song, actually.

Also important to note, she says, “Oh, ‘cause she’s dead!” so cheerfully. It strikes a discord with the audience because a somber message is being given in a chipper way, and makes the listener go, wtf. Like, really. Wtf, Taylor.

(Chorus x2)

Here, Swift wraps up the song by repeating the chorus twice, which means that she repeats “Look what you just made me do” around 16 times. Then, if you watch the music video, there is some dialogue at the very end, but honestly, I’ve gone over my word count already trying to decipher Taylor Swift’s cryptic song.

The bottom line? The old Taylor is dead, and the new Taylor just doesn’t give a shit.