"Holy Ground" Song Analysis

Hello, everybody!

In the past, I have done several song analyses and even more short stories based on Taylor songs. Typically, I do not like to let the songs selected overlap—if I write a short story about it, I don’t like to do a lyrical analysis of it. However, I have broken that rule before, and I’m about to break it again. As this is for round two of #SwiftieSavers2k19, I am going to focus more than usual about the potential inspiration and roots of this song. And as I am on a pretty limited time crunch—two days is far less time than I usually devote to an analysis—I won’t be delving into why I like every lyric of the song. I’ll delve into some, but not all. Because of the aforementioned time crunch, I don’t know that I gave this song its full due. Some parts of this are definitely rushed, but I tried to put thought and effort into each lyric analyzed.

“Holy Ground” is special to me. As I’ve said many times, it was the surprise song for my Rep Tour show, and it was the moment I was physically closest to her. Even before that, it was a certified bop. But that memory has made it firmly cemented in a tie for my favorite Taylor song. (In case you can’t tell by my custom title, my other stan song is “Haunted.”)

This song is widely assumed to be about Joe Jonas. Joe attended the Speak Now Tour show on October 20, 2011 in San Diego, and the secret message for this song is “when you came to the show in SD”. This song completes the trinity of songs popularly thought to be about Joe, ing “Forever and Always” and “Last Kiss”. Taylor seems to be writing with a much more optimistic, happy lens on the relationship, which makes sense—this is long after the relationship has ended, and after the devastation of the end fades away, it’s easier to the good times with a smile on your face. As the song seems to be written about a romantic relationship, I will be analyzing it under this lens. And as always, this is my own interpretation; it is completely subjective, and other interpretations are equally valid.

I was reminiscing just the other day,

While having coffee all alone* and Lord, it took me away

This pair of lines sets the scene for the rest of the song quite concisely, and yet it creates a vivid picture in my mind. This is one of my favorite things about Taylor’s writing in general: the ability to create clear scenes in a few words.

Back to a first glance feeling on New York time,

Back when you fit my poems like a perfect rhyme

Specifically citing “New York time” indicates that at least their initial meeting took place in New York. This also is wordplay centered on one of the most famous newspapers in America, the New York Times. The phrase “perfect rhyme” is noteworthy here. While many lines throughout the song are perfect rhymes, including “time” and “rhyme”, the song also employs some imperfect or slant rhymes, like “way” and “page”. The use of slant rhyme at various points throughout the song reinforces the idea that while this person used to fit perfectly into the poetry of their life, this is no longer the case—it has become an imperfect fit.

Took off faster than a green light, go,

Yeah, you skip the conversation when you already know

This relationship started fast—there was not a long build-up to asking the other person out or having a “define the relationship” conversation. They didn’t need to define the relationship because they knew immediately it was going to be a romance. Taking off at a green light is a great metaphor for this: as soon as the light turns green, you hit the gas and move forward. You don’t take your time moving your foot toward the pedal. This couple hit the gas immediately because they never needed to pull out the GPS and figure out the route they wanted to take.

I left a note on the door with a joke we’d made,

And that was the first day

Making inside jokes is a great way to fortify a bond with a person, and having an inside joke that makes you both laugh on the first day shows a strong connection. Leaving a note for someone is often meant to make someone smile—the lyrics setting up the second chorus in “Our Song” show the happiness that the note and flowers brought. Leaving the note on the door ensures that the other person will see it and it will hopefully bring them a smile.

Chorus

And darling, it was good,

Never looking down,

And right there where we stood

Was holy ground

This might be one of my favorite Taylor choruses—I don’t think I ever posted about it here, but I painted a bowl with the lyrics of the chorus written on the rim. The sentiment in this chorus is pretty explicit—the memories of this relationship are good and happy and valuable. This relationship didn’t have her constantly concerned with what the fallout or collapse might be; instead, the focus was on enjoying the present moment without panic of what might be coming next. This sensation is rare in relationships, making the memories of it so valuable that they could be considered holy. Those memories of happiness cannot and should not be tarnished by anything.

Spinning like a girl in a brand new dress,

We had this big wide city all to ourselves

This is honestly one of my favorite lyrics in the song, and I think it’s because it evokes a pretty clear image and feeling. There’s a feeling of glee and freedom when spinning around in a new dress, watching the skirt pouf out a bit and feeling the air on your legs. (I have more dresses than pants, so I am speaking from personal experience here) That feeling of freedom is echoed in the idea of having a city all to yourself—free to explore anywhere you want without fear, never needing to look down.

Interestingly, this is the only couplet in the song that has neither perfect nor slant rhyme. This verse is also the only section of the song without a single perfect rhyme—all the rhymes are slant.

We blocked the noise with the sound of ‘I need you’,

And for the first time I had something to lose

“Noise” has two meanings here. There is the loud noise of the “big wide city” they are spending their time in, and the noise of others who might be talking and gossiping about them. The latter seems to be the bigger threat—annoying as city traffic may be, it is not likely to ruin a relationship. They needed to block out the noise to keep their relationship intact, and, as Taylor makes clear, the relationship is not something she wants to lose, so it’s worth the effort of blocking out extraneous noise and focusing on their love for one another.

[CI]And I guess we fell apart in the usual way,

And the story’s got dust on every page

This relationship is far into the past: it takes some time for dust to collect on the cover of a book, let alone every page. The fact that the song doesn’t delve into why the relationship fell apart or how deep the heartbreak further emphasizes her frame of mind in the song—this is about the happy moments that you when looking back, free of the shades of sadness that may accompany those memories fresh after the relationship falls apart.

But sometimes I wonder how you think about it now,

And I see your face in every crowd

In my experience, once someone pops into my mind, I find myself thinking about them for quite a while before these memories fall back into the recesses of my mind. I think Taylor is talking about this sensation—when you are thinking about someone, it’s easy to feel like they’re omnipresent. This lyric connects to the theory that the song is about Joe Jonas, as he attended the Speak Now show in San Diego referenced in the secret message. She literally saw his face in the crowd.

It is also worth noting that this same sentiment is expressed years later in “I Don’t Want To Live Forever.” In the bridge of that song, she sings, “I see you around in all these empty faces.” I don’t believe these two songs are inspired by the same person; rather, they point to the feeling of seeing someone you used to know in a crowded room and the unique fixation that comes with it.

Chorus

Bridge

Tonight, I’m gonna dance for all that we’ve been through,

But I don’t wanna dance if I’m not dancing with you;

Tonight I’m gonna dance like you were in this room,

But I don’t wanna dance if I’m not dancing with you

Taylor references dancing in many songs throughout her discography. On Red alone, she also includes at least one line about dancing in “All Too Well,” “22,” and “Starlight.” However, this song seems to clearly connect to lyrics in the second verse of “Last Kiss.” In that song, she sings, “I’m not much for dancing, but for you I did.” While not all of references todancing throughout her discography feature this reluctance to dance, this bridge has the same general meaning as the lyrics from “Last Kiss.” This offers to the aforementioned theory that this song is about Joe Jonas.

Chorus

Bridge

It’s about four hours before the deadline for this, and it’s midnight for me. So while I don’t have time to do an extended closer, I am genuinely curious to know what you guys think! Do you agree with my analysis? What’s your interpretation of the song? Let’s chat in the comments!

#butterflies

*After publishing this post, Kate pointed out that the lyric was “coffee all alone” instead of, as I previously thought, “coffee on the lawn”. So I’ve been singing lyrics to one of my favorite songs incorrectly for almost seven years now. This doesn’t change the meaning of anything I said in the analysis, but it deserved the correction.