What does "cardigan" by Taylor Swift mean?

“cardigan” Lyrics Meaning

“It started with imagery,” Taylor posted on Instagram about her surprise eighth album, “folklore.” “Visuals that popped into my mind and piqued my curiosity. Stars drawn around scars. A cardigan that still bears the scent of loss twenty years later …”  The young woman in “cardigan” who is haunted by the memory of her first love’s infidelity is not Taylor, but a character named Betty. Taylor’s latest album is not as autobiographical as her previous albums have been. For “Folklore,” she has chosen to primarily tell stories that either belong to others or to characters that she has created. The result is a beautiful and melancholy album that deals with themes of loss, love, regret, death, rage, and growth. 

“When you are young, they assume you know nothing” 

“cardigan” is one of three songs believed to be part of what Taylor calls the “teenage love triangle” trilogy. “cardigan” is the first, written from the perspective of the girlfriend who is cheated on. “august” is the second, and follows the other girl who James (the boyfriend) cheats with. “betty” is the conclusion and tells the story through the eyes of James. “betty” is also the song that tells us the names of the characters. 

Verse 1

Vintage tee, brand new phone
High heels on cobblestones
When you are young, they assume you know nothing
Sequined smile, black lipstick
Sensual politics
When you are young, they assume you know nothing

The first verse sets the mood of teenagehood with vintage T-shirts and excitement over new cell phones, because that freedom of young adulthood is still so new. “Sensual politics” could refer to the freshness of the political world to someone just entering it, or it could be a reference to the complicated social politics of high school. “When you are young, they assume you know nothing” is one of the most repeated lines in the song and is used to highlight how much Betty knows about love and pain (she has unfortunately become very experienced with both.)

Chorus

But I knew you
Dancin' in your Levi's
Drunk under a streetlight, I
I knew you
Hand under my sweatshirt
Baby, kiss it better, I

Betty knows him, truly and deeply. She has an intimate understanding of him through the moments they shared in their relationship. The past tense of knew, however, means that things have changed. “Baby, kiss it better,” could be what he did for her once, at the beginning of their relationship, and what she hopes he will do now to ease the pain he has caused her. 

Refrain

And when I felt like I was an old cardigan
Under someone's bed
You put me on and said I was your favorite

Betty often felt forgotten and like she was second best to those around her. James helped her to feel loved and seen. This feeling is likened to when a long lost item of clothing is found and is treasured once again. 

Verse 2

A friend to all is a friend to none
Chase two girls, lose the one
When you are young, they assume you know nothing

Because this song is connected to “august” and “betty,” we know that she is talking about James’s infidelity with another girl. By trying to have more, he has lost what mattered. Again, Betty shows her insight and her awareness of the situation, defying the cliche of a young person not having an understanding of life. 

Chorus 2 

But I knew you
Playing hide-and-seek and
Giving me your weekends, I
I knew you
Your heartbeat on the High Line
Once in twenty lifetimes, I

There is an innocence in the kinds of moments that Betty recalls in the second chorus. While the first chorus focuses more on a physical aspect of the relationship, the emphasis here is simple and emotional. 

Bridge 

To kiss in cars and downtown bars
Was all we needed
You drew stars around my scars
But now I'm bleedin'

The bridge combines the physical and emotional aspects of their relationship. She highlights that “all [they] needed” to be happy was each other’s company. James was able to give her not only healing, but help in appreciating and being at peace with her scars. Now, she is in more pain from the heartbreak he has caused her. 

Chorus 3

'Cause I knew you
Steppin' on the last train
Marked me like a bloodstain, I
I knew you
Tried to change the ending
Peter losing Wendy, I
I knew you
Leavin' like a father
Running like water, I
And when you are young, they assume you know nothing

In the third chorus, Betty focuses not on the comfort and joy of their time together, but on the tragic end of their romance. Even as he abandoned her for another girl and she watched him “steppin’ on the last train,” she still knew him. “Tried to change the ending” means that, at least in retrospect, their relationship seemed to always be heading towards heartbreak. “Peter losing Wendy” refers to the story of Peter Pan, who takes a girl named Wendy to Neverland: a place where no one ever grows up. Peter asks Wendy to stay with him, but as much as she values their adventures, she wants to go home and grow up. In the context of this song, the reference means that Betty is aware that James is the one lacking in maturity, and he is losing her because he won’t grow up. 

Verse 3

But I knew you'd linger like a tattoo kiss
I knew you'd haunt all of my what-ifs
The smell of smoke would hang around this long
'Cause I knew everything when I was young
I knew I'd curse you for the longest time
Chasin' shadows in the grocery line
I knew you'd miss me once the thrill expired
And you'd be standin' in my front porch light
And I knew you'd come back to me
You'd come back to me
And you'd come back to me
And you'd come back

Far from a child who “know[s] nothing,” Betty is very knowledgeable of the acute betrayal and heartbreak that James has caused her. She muses with bitterness that she did predict the ways the relationship would haunt her after it ended. She knew that it would stay with her and that the memory of their time together would creep up on her when she was doing something as mundane as running errands, she knew that she would be furious for a long time with him, and she knew that one day he would beg her to take him back. She knew all of it. 

And though it’s left to the imagination, by the sound of it, it sounds like she also knew that the day he came back, she wouldn’t want him anymore. 

Deeper Meaning of “cardigan” by Taylor Swift

“cardigan” is about first love, and first heartbreak. The melancholy beauty is found in that gentle and powerful reminder that the pain of losing someone you loved is a heartbreak at any age. I love that this song, written by an adult about teenage love and heartbreak, is so raw and honest. It affirms the severity of a first heartbreak from the perspective of someone who is older and more mature than the narrator, and in doing so, shows respect to that young love and pain. The use of past tense throughout the song is also hopeful. It indicates that while that pain is heart wrenching, it can eventually be left in the past, and become a memory, even if it is a painful one.