coney island Lyrics
Break my soul in two looking for you
But you're right here
If I can't relate to you anymore
Then who am I related to?
And if this is the long haul
How'd we get here so soon?
Did I close my fist around something delicate?
Did I shatter you?
[Chorus: Taylor Swift]
And I'm sitting on a bench in Coney Island
Wondering, where did my baby go?
The fast times, the bright lights, the merry go
Sorry for not making you my centerfold
Over and over
Lost again with no surprises
Disappointments, close your eyes
And it gets colder and colder
When the sun goes down
[Verse 2: Matt Berninger with Taylor Swift]
The question pounds my head
What's a lifetime of achievement
If I pushed you to the edge
But you were too polite to leave me?
And do you miss the rogue
Who coaxed you into paradise and left you there?
Will you forgive my soul
When you're too wise to trust me and too old to care?
'Cause we were like the mall before the internet
It was the one place to be
The mischief, the gift-wrapped suburban dreams
Sorry for not winning you an arcade ring
Over and over
Lost again with no surprises
Disappointments, close your eyes
And it gets colder and colder
When the sun goes down
[Bridge: Taylor Swift, Matt Berninger, Both]
Were you waiting at our old spot
In the tree line by the gold clock
Did I leave you hanging every single day?
Were you standing in the hallway
With a big cake, happy birthday
Did I paint your bluest skies the darkest grey?
A universe away
And when I got into the accident
The sight that flashed before me was your face
But when I walked up to the podium
I think that I forgot to say your name
[Chorus: Taylor Swift & Matt Berninger]
I'm on a bench in Coney Island
Wondering, where did my baby go?
The fast times, the bright lights, the merry go
Sorry for not making you my centerfold
Over and over
Lost again with no surprises
Disappointments, close your eyes
And it gets colder and colder
When the sun goes down
When the sun goes down
The sight that flashed before me was your face
When the sun goes down
But I think that I forgot to say your name
Over and over
Sorry for not making you my, making you my
Making you my centerfold
About
“coney island” marks Swift’s first collaboration with The National after working heavily with band member Aaron Dessner on both the writing and production of evermore and folklore.
Like much of The National’s extensive catalogue, the track is subdued and melancholic sonically. Through the use of back-and-forth conversational lyrics littered with imagery that is rich with bygone experiences, it evokes a heavy feeling of loss and nostalgia for a past relationship where effort was not equal from both sides.
The lyrics contrast with the title location itself–Coney Island–a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York that is famous as a tourist destination for its lively carnival park setting. Additionally, the community district is Brooklyn 13, a number that is particularly special to Swift.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
Co-writer, co-producer, and The National member Aaron Dessner explained to Rolling Stone:
I had been working on a bunch of music with my brother [Bryce Dessner], some of which we were sending to Taylor also. At that stage, ‘coney island’ was all the music except the drums. And as I was writing it, I don’t think I was ever thinking, ‘This sounds like The National or this sounds like Big Red Machine or this sounds like something totally different.’ But Taylor and [Joe Alwyn] wrote this incredible song, and we first recorded it with just her vocals. It has this really beautiful arc to the story, and I think it’s one of the strongest, lyrically and musically. But listening to the words, we all collectively realized that this does feel like the most related to the National — it almost feels like a story Matt [Berninger] might tell, or I could hear Bryan [Devendorf] playing the drum part.
So we started talking about how it would be cool to get the band, and I called Matt and he was excited for it. We got Bryan to play drums and we got Scott [Devendorf] to play bass and a pocket piano, and Bryce helped produce it. It’s weird, because it does really feel like Taylor, obviously, since she and [Joe Alwyn] wrote all the words, but it also feels like a National song in a good way. I love how Matt and Taylor sound together.
This song debuted #63 on Billboard’s Hot 100, being the tenth-highest charting song off the album.
- 1.willow
- 3.gold rush
- 5.tolerate it
- 7.happiness
- 8.dorothea
- 9.coney island
- 10.ivy
- 11.cowboy like me
- 13.marjorie
- 14.closure
- 15.evermore
- 17.it’s time to go
