Getaway Car

**Getaway Car** is the ninth track on Reputation. It was co-written and co-produced by Taylor Swift and Jack Antonoff. The song is rumored to be about her rebound relationship with actor Tom Hiddleston after leaving DJ Calvin Harris.

## Lyrics

[Intro]

*No, nothing good starts in a getaway car*

[Verse 1]

It was the best of times, the worst of crimes

I struck a match and blew your mind

But I didn't mean it and you didn't see it

The ties were black, the lies were white

In shades of gray in candlelight

I wanted to leave him, I needed a reason

[Pre-Chorus]

"X" marks the spot where we fell apart

He poisoned the well, I was lyin' to myself

I knew it from the first Old Fashioned, we were cursed

We never had a shotgun shot in the dark (Oh!)

[Chorus]

You were drivin' the getaway car

We were flyin', but we'd never get far

Don't pretend it's such a mystery

Think about the place where you first met me

Ridin' in a getaway car

There were sirens in the beat of your heart

Should've known I'd be the first to leave

Think about the place where you first met me

In a getaway car, oh-oh-oh

No, they never get far, oh-oh-ah

No, nothing good starts in a getaway car

[Verse 2]

It was the great escape, the prison break

The light of freedom on my face

But you weren't thinkin' and I was just drinkin'

While he was runnin' after us, I was screamin', "Go, go, go!"

But with three of us, honey, it's a sideshow

And a circus ain't a love story and now we're both sorry

(We're both sorry)

[Pre-Chorus]

"X" marks the spot where we fell apart

He poisoned the well, every man for himself

I knew it from the first Old Fashioned, we were cursed

It hit you like a shotgun shot to the heart (Oh!)

[Chorus]

You were drivin' the getaway car

We were flyin', but we'd never get far

Don't pretend it's such a mystery

Think about the place where you first met me

Ridin' in a getaway car

There were sirens in the beat of your heart

Should've known I'd be the first to leave

Think about the place where you first met me

In a getaway car, oh-oh-oh

No, they never get far, oh-oh-ah

No, nothing good starts in a getaway car

[Bridge]

We were jet-set, Bonnie and Clyde (Oh-oh)

Until I switched to the other side, to the other side

It's no surprise I turned you in (Oh-oh)

'Cause us traitors never win

[Breakdown]

I'm in a getaway car

I left you in a motel bar

Put the money in a bag and I stole the keys

That was the last time you ever saw me (Oh!)

[Chorus]

Drivin' the getaway car

We were flyin', but we'd never get far (Don't pretend)

Don't pretend it's such a mystery

Think about the place where you first met me

Ridin' in a getaway car

There were sirens in the beat of your heart (Should've known)

Should've known I'd be the first to leave

Think about the place where you first met me

In a getaway car, oh-oh-oh

No, they never get far, oh-oh-ah

No, nothing good starts in a getaway car

[Outro]

I was ridin' in a getaway car

I was cryin' in a getaway car

I was dyin' in a getaway car

Said goodbye in a getaway car

Ridin' in a getaway car

I was cryin' in a getaway car

I was dyin' in a getaway car

Said goodbye in a getaway car

## Commentary

* Laura Sisk, in an interview with *Forbes*: "I called Jack while I was editing the track, and was like, ‘This is about a rebound relationship, right?’ Every single line is so smart and interesting. There’s such a natural key change, and the distorted horns sound like synths."
* Jack Antonoff, to *Rolling Stone*: “It’s the only time in my life that a lightning-in-a-bottle moment, a pure moment of crazy writing, was caught on film. It’s rare that you just, like, blurt out a whole song. But there’s pieces, like that bridge, where we’re just going back and forth and yelling things. It’s sort of like, ‘Whoa! Oh, my God, what happened? It can happen like that?’ That’s when it feels like a movie.”

## Notes

* "It was the best of times, the worst of crimes" is a play on a famous Charles Dickens quote from A Tale of Two Cities that goes, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair."

## Themes & Motifs

###### "Met Me" (at the 2016 Met Gala)

* "Dress:" Flashback when you met me, your buzzcut and my hair bleached
* "Getaway Car:" Think about the place where you first met me

###### Money

* "Getaway Car:" Put the money in a bag and I stole the keys, that was the last time you ever saw me
* "Don't Take the Money:" Your hand forever's all I want, don't take the money

###### Shotgun

* "Getaway Car:" I knew it from the first Old Fashioned we were cursed / we never had a shotgun shot in the dark
* "Getaway Car:" I knew it from the first Old Fashioned we were cursed / it hit you like a shotgun shot to the heart!
* "Wild Heart:" So put the shotgun back in the glove
* "Rollercoaster:" We were shotgun lovers, I'm a shotgun running away