Peak
16
Weeks
2
Score
312
Chart Year
2020
Gothic in both tone and lyricism, "My Tears Ricochet" centers around an acrimonious parting from a former lover/friend of Taylor Swift's. This person mistreated her, a fate she feels she didn't deserve. He continues to make life miserable for her even after she dies by showing up at her wake. According to Swift, the song is about an "embittered tormentor showing up at the funeral of his fallen object of obsession." Taylor Swift is addressing Scott Borchetta's betrayal of Swift after she left Big Machine records for Republic in November 2018. When music manager Scooter Braun bought her former label the following June, it gave him control of her back catalog, meaning Swift lost the rights to all songs on her first six studio albums. The songstress said she planned to re-record all her old records to devalue his purchase. And if I'm dead to you, why are you at the wake? Cursing my name, wishing I stayed Look at how my tears ricochet Speaking in an interview with Entertainment Weekly Swift explained that the breakdown of her relationship with Scott Borchetta because of his actions felt like the end of a marriage. "I think that happens any time you've been in a 15-year relationship and it ends in a messy, upsetting way," she said. As a result, while writing songs for Folklore, she was "very triggered by any stories, movies, or narratives revolving around divorce", despite never going through the process herself. Swift added: "So I wrote 'My Tears Ricochet' and I was using a lot of imagery that I had conjured up while comparing a relationship ending to when people end an actual marriage. All of a sudden this person that you trusted more than anyone in the world is the person that can hurt you the worst." "My Tears Ricochet" was the first song Swift wrote for Folklore, an album created in isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Penned by the country-turned-pop superstar alone, she linked up with Jack Antonoff for this track's production. Antonoff took to Twitter to explain that this song and "August" are his "favorite things we've done together." And that's saying a lot, as the pair are serial collaborators - he co-wrote and co-produced 11 out of the 18 tracks on her previous album, Lover. Antonoff also sang the backing vocals on the song as well as playing percussion, bass, piano and electric guitar. This is the fifth song on Folklore. Swift traditionally places her most vulnerable and personal songs as track 5 on her albums; previous track 5's have been "Cold As You," "White Horse," "Dear John," "All Too Well," "All You Had To Do Was Stay," "Delicate," and "The Archer." Swift revealed to Entertainment Weekly that she wrote some of the first lyrics to "My Tears Ricochet" after watching Noah Baumbach's 2019 film Marriage Story "and hearing about when marriages go wrong and end in such a catastrophic way."
We gather here We line up weeping in a sunlit room And if I'm on fire You'll be made of ashes, too Even on my worst day Did I deserve, babe All the hell you gave me? 'Cause I loved you I swear I loved you 'Til my dying day I didn't have it in myself to go with grace And you're the hero flying around saving face And if I'm dead to you why are you at the wake? Cursing my name Wishing I stayed Look at how my tears ricochet We gather stones Never knowing what they'll mean Some to throw Some to make a diamond ring You know I didn't want to Have to haunt you But what a ghostly scene You wear the same jewels That I gave you As you bury me I didn't have it in myself to go with grace 'Cause when I'd fight, you used to tell me I was brave And if I'm dead to you why are you at the wake? Cursing my name Wishing I stayed Look at how my tears ricochet And I can go anywhere I want Anywhere I want Just not home And you can aim for my heart, go for blood But you would still miss me in your bones And I still talk to you When I'm screaming at the sky And when you can't sleep at night You hear my stolen lullabies I didn't have it in myself to go with grace And so the battleships will sink beneath the waves You had to kill me, but it killed you just the same Cursing my name Wishing I stayed You turned into your worst fears And you're tossing out blame Drunk on this pain Crossing out the good years And you're cursing my name Wishing I stayed Look at how my tears ricochet
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug 8, 2020 | 16 | 110 |
| 2 | Aug 15, 2020 | 69 | 57 |