champagne problems Lyrics
You booked the night train for a reason
So you could sit there in this hurt
Bustling crowds or silent sleepers
You're not sure which is worse
[Chorus]
Because I dropped your hand while dancing
Left you out there standing
Crestfallen on the landing
Champagne problems
Your mom's ring in your pocket
My picture in your wallet
Your heart was glass, I dropped it
Champagne problems
[Verse 2]
You told your family for a reason
You couldn't keep it in
Your sister splashed out on the bottle
Now no one's celebrating
[Chorus]
Dom Pérignon, you brought it
No crowd of friends applauded
Your hometown skeptics called it
Champagne problems
You had a speech, you're speechless
Love slipped beyond your reaches
And I couldn't give a reason
Champagne problems
Your Midas touch on the Chevy door
November flush and your flannel cure
"This dorm was once a madhouse"
I made a joke, "Well, it's made for me"
How evergreen, our group of friends
Don't think we'll say that word again
And soon they'll have the nerve to deck the halls
That we once walked through
One for the money, two for the show
I never was ready so I watch you go
Sometimes you just don't know the answer
'Til someone's on their knees and asks you
"She would've made such a lovely bride
What a shame she's fucked in the head," they said
But you'll find the real thing instead
She'll patch up your tapestry that I shred
[Chorus]
And hold your hand while dancing
Never leave you standing
Crestfallen on the landing
With champagne problems
Your mom's ring in your pocket
Her picture in your wallet
You won't remember all my
Champagne problems
About
“champagne problems” tells the story of a woman who shocks her would-be fiancé and their loved ones by turning down a marriage proposal right before Christmas. In an essay about evermore, Swift stated that the song depicts “longtime college sweethearts [who] had very different plans for the same night, one to end it and one who brought a ring.”
The song implies that the protagonist has a history of mental illness, which the town subsequently stigmatizes in their gossip surrounding the failed proposal. Mental health is a topic especially personal to Swift, who has been transparent publicly about her own struggles. As quoted in an interview with the Zach Sang show:
I definitely don’t feel good all the time, and I don’t think anybody does…there have been times where I needed to take years off because I just felt exhausted, or I felt, like, really low or really bad.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
On an interview with Apple Music, Swift explained:
Well, Joe and I really love sad songs, we’ve always bonded over music. He started that one and came up with the melodic structure of it. I’d say it was a surprise that we started writing together but, in a way, it wasn’t, ‘cause we have always bonded over music and have the same musical taste, and he’s always the person who’s showing me songs by artists, and then they become my favourite songs or whatever. [The “champagne problems” bridge] was one of my favourites to write, I really love a bridge where you tell the full story in a bridge, you really shift gears in that bridge. I’m so excited to, one day, be in front of a crowd when they all sing, 'She would’ve made such a lovely bride, what a shame she’s fucked in the head.’ I know it’s so sad, but it’s those songs like “All Too Well” where performing that song is one of the most joyful experiences I ever go through so, when there’s a song like “champagne problems” where you know it’s so sad, but… I love a sad song, y'know?
This song debuted #21 on Billboard’s Hot 100, being the second-highest charting song off the album.
- 1.willow
- 2.champagne problems
- 3.gold rush
- 5.tolerate it
- 7.happiness
- 8.dorothea
- 10.ivy
- 11.cowboy like me
- 13.marjorie
- 14.closure
- 15.evermore
- 17.it’s time to go
