Anti-Hero

Described by Taylor Swift as “one of my favourite songs I have written” but what is it about and why as a youth worker should I be taking notes. Here are the lyrics:

[Verse 1]
I have this thing where I get older, but just never wiser
Midnights become my afternoons
When my depression works the graveyard shift, all of the people
I’ve ghosted stand there in the room

[Pre-Chorus]
I should not be left to my own devices
They come with prices and vices
I end up in crisis
(Tale as old as time)
I wake up screaming from dreaming
One day, I’ll watch as you’re leaving
‘Cause you got tired of my scheming
(For the last time)
[Chorus]
It’s me, hi
I’m the problem, it’s me
At teatime, everybody agrees
I’ll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror
It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero

[Verse 2]
Sometimes, I feel like everybody is a sexy baby
And I’m a monster on the hill
Too big to hang out, slowly lurching toward your favourite city
Pierced through the heart, but never killed

[Pre-Chorus]
Did you hear my covert narcissism I disguise as altruism
Like some kind of congressman?
(A tale as old as time)
I wake up screaming from dreaming
One day, I’ll watch as you’re leaving
And life will lose all its meaning
(For the last time)

[Chorus]
It’s me, hi
I’m the problem, it’s me (I’m the problem, it’s me)
At teatime, everybody agrees
I’ll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror
It must be exhausting always rooting for the anti-hero

Taylor went on to explain: “This song is a real guided tour throughout all the things I tend to hate about myself. We all hate things about ourselves and it’s all of those aspects of the things we dislike and like about ourselves that we have to come to terms with if we’re gonna be this person.

She ended with: “I like ‘Anti-Hero’ a lot because I think it’s really honest.”

I am now 61 and I am largely content with who I have become, there are changes I would make but I am at peace with God and myself. However, as a teenager I struggled with all the usual insecurities around growing up as a lad… being a man (whatever that means) and this song resinates with me as I talk with teenagers and understand the struggles they are going through. The insecurities, the journey of discovery and the painful process of being honest with themselves and seeing themselves as they truly are.

Humility is often characterised as genuine gratitude, a lack of arrogance, and a modest view of one’s self. True humility is seeing ourselves as we truly are. For a Christian this has an added dimension of being helpless without God.

Taylor Swift is asking an important question. We need to come to terms with ourselves (likes and dislikes) if we are going to grow to become the person we are meant to be. Are you the anti-hero of your story? The anti-hero is the notable character in the story (you) who lacks heroic qualities. what heroic qualities, specifically idealism or courage. Taylor Swift is encouraging us to be courageous, be the hero of our own stories and face up to the realities of who we are. Being humble and letting others see who we truly are.