Peak
48
Weeks
1
Score
131
Chart Year
2023
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In this ballad, Taylor Swift unearths faded photographs of bygone couples in an antique shop. The singer superimposes herself into their lives as she thinks about how love's memories can be preserved in eternity. Across the ages, Swift envisions countless lovers, their spirits intertwined in a tapestry of romance. I'm gonna love you when our hair is turnin' gray We'll have a cardboard box of photos of the life we've made And you'll say, "Oh my, we really were timeless" Letters, books, and photographs become sacred relics, immortalizing the profound unions that once graced this earthly realm. Swift imagines stumbling upon a book shrouded in cobwebs whose pages whisper a tale of love thwarted by cruel destiny. Centuries ago, two souls intertwine, only to be torn apart by forces beyond their control. It is the story of star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet, who chose death over lives apart. Hundreds of years ago, they fell in love, like we did And I'd die for you in the same way if I first saw your face The pop poetess weaves herself and her paramour into the very fabric of Romeo and Juliet's world. It is an eternal reminder that love's flame burns brightest even in the face of mortal peril. Taylor Swift's 2008 hit song "Love Story" was also inspired by Romeo and Juliet, in which she fantasized about being in the star-crossed lovers' shoes. Swift pictures the fateful events that tore her grandparents apart amid the turmoil of the Second World War. On a crowded street in 1944 And you were headed off to fight in the war You still would've been mine We would have been timeless I would've read your love letters every single night Swift envisions a world where their souls remain forever intertwined. She paints a picture of reading cherished love letters under the moon's gentle glow, every single night. This is not the first time Taylor has paid tribute to her grandparents' legacy. On "Marjorie" from Evermore, she introduced her maternal grandmother, an opera-singing matriarch. And on "Epiphany" from Folklore, she honored her paternal grandfather, Archie Dean, a decorated Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Marine Corps. Archie valiantly fought in the Battle of Guadalcanal during World War II. To honor her lineage, Taylor Swift included precious photos of her four grandparents in the lyric video for "Timeless," bridging the gap between generations. Taylor Swift wrote the song solo and co-produced it with regular collaborator Jack Antonoff. The mixture of organ, acoustic guitar, drums, and flute paints a sentimental and historic soundscape. Taylor Swift performed "Timeless" live for the first time during her concert at Denver's Empower Field at Mile High on July 14, 2023.
Down the block, there's an antique shop And something in my head said, "Stop," so I walked in On the counter was a cardboard box And the sign said, "Photos: twenty-five cents each" Black and white, saw a '30s bride And school lovers laughin' on the porch of their first house The kinda love that you only find once in a lifetime The kind you don't put down And that's when I called you and it's so hard to explain But in those photos, I saw us instead And, somehow, I know that you and I would've found each other In another life, you still would've turned my head even if we'd met On a crowded street in 1944 And you were headed off to fight in the war You still would've been mine We would have been timeless I would've read your love letters every single night And prayed to God you'd be comin' home all right And you would've been fine We would have been timeless 'Cause I believe that we were supposed to find this So, even in a different life, you still would've been mine We would've been timeless I had to smile when it caught my eye There was one of a teenage couple in the driveway Holdin' hands on the way to a dance And the date on the back said 1958 Which brought me back to the first time I saw you Time stood still like somethin' in this old shop I thought about it as I started lookin' 'round At these precious things that time forgot That's when I came upon a book covered in cobwebs Story of a romance torn apart by fate Hundreds of years ago, they fell in love, like we did And I'd die for you in the same way if I first saw your face In the 1500s off in a foreign land And I was forced to marry another man You still would've been mine We would have been timeless I would've read your love letters every single night And run away and left it all behind You still would've been mine We would've been timeless 'Cause I believe that we were supposed to find this So, even in a different life, you still would've been mine We would've been timeless Time breaks down your mind and body Don't you let it touch your soul It was like an age-old classic The first time that you saw me The story started when you said, "Hello" In a crowded room a few short years ago And sometimes there's no proof, you just know You're always gonna be mine We're gonna be I'm gonna love you when our hair is turnin' gray We'll have a cardboard box of photos of the life we've made And you'll say, "Oh my, we really were timeless" We're gonna be timeless, timeless You still would've been mine We would've been Even if we'd met on a crowded street in 1944 You still would've been mine We would've been Down the block, there's an antique shop And somethin' in my head said, "Stop," so I walked in
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jul 22, 2023 | 48 | 78 |