Calm down

and don't step on my gown!

May 31, 2025

Welcome to new subscribers and regular readers! We’re kicking off (starting) Pride month with today’s song, “You Need to Calm Down” by Taylor Swift. If you’d like to hear the song before you read about it, I’ve included a couple of YouTube videos below the article. Below, you’ll find my interpretation of the lyrics which are written in italics.

✳️ Note: The level of this article is for students with a TOEIC of 550+, Eiken Pre-1, CEFR B2. For Japanese students, vocabulary words in bold are provided in Japanese below.

(703 words)
Taylor Swift's "You Need to Calm Down" is a song that celebrates LGBTQ+ pride and calls for acceptance. Swift uses the song to address online bullying and homophobia. She suggests that listeners show more kindness and understanding.

In the opening verse, Swift says that some people online are being mean to her (at all hours of the day), but they don’t know her at all. To “take a shot at someone” means to criticize them. (Patrón is a brand of tequila. People often drink a “shot” of tequila in a small glass.) She’s saying if they want to say mean things, they should be brave enough to say it in person (in the street, in public), not in a Tweet. Saying something that’s not nice about someone else - especially if you don’t use your own name - is a “cop out”. That means you don’t take responsibility for what you’ve said.

You are somebody that I don't know
But you're taking shots at me like it's Patrón
And I'm just like, damn, it's 7 AM
Say it in the street, that's a knock-out
But you say it in a Tweet, that's a cop-out
And I'm just like, "Hey, are you okay?"

She says she’s not trying to (tryna) stop people from talking:
And I ain't tryna mess with your self-expression
However, she is not going to worry about what other people think of her:
But I've learned a lesson that stressing and obsessing about somebody else is no fun / And snakes and stones never broke my bones

In the chorus, she talks to people who easily get upset about people who are members of the LGBT community. They sometimes protest at Pride festivals and other events that support the LGBT community.
You need to calm down / You're being too loud
And I'm just like oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh
You need to just stop

For learners of English, you’ll see that Swift uses the term “like” in the next line. In conversations, young people often use "like" as a filler word, similar to "um" or "uh." It gives them a moment to think or adds a casual feeling to their speech. For example, someone might say, "I was, like, so confused," where "like" doesn’t compare anything but adds emphasis or helps the speaker organize their thoughts. It can also express uncertainty or soften a statement, making it sound less direct or final.

Like, can you just not step on my gown?
You need to calm down

In the next verse, she stands up for her LGBT friends:
You are somebody that we don't know
But you're coming at my friends like a missile
Why are you mad when you could be GLAAD?
GLAAD stands for The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. It’s an organization that fights for the rights of LGBTQ+ people.
Sunshine on the street at the parade
But you would rather be in the dark ages
Here, she’s saying that the people protesting (often with home-made signs) believe things that suit a society of long ago, not today.
Making that sign must've taken all night

You just need to take several seats and then try to restore the peace
And control your urges to scream about all the people you hate
'Cause shade never made anybody less gay Perhaps this means that keeping people in the shadows won’t change the way they are.
…
Like, can you just not step on his gown? might refer to boys who wear dresses or drag queens.
…
According to Clifford Stumme, a writer who analyzes pop music, in the following verse, Swift is talking to fans of all the current female pop stars. These fans constantly compare the stars. Killing it means doing something extremely well or successfully.

And we see you over there on the internet
Comparing all the girls who are killing it
But we figured you out
We all know now we all got crowns
…
Like, can you just not step on our gowns?
Stumme writes, “She went from my to his to ours, so she's really sending this message out about [a] few different groups that she feels like they deserve less hate.”

The world deserves less hate.

Just calm down.

Leaving a comment is a good way to practice your writing skills.

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Vocabulary

mean 意地悪い　
acceptance 受け入れ
homophobia 同性愛嫌悪
cop-out 言い逃れ
to obsess (over) 執着する
the dark ages 暗黒時代
urges 欲求
deserve 値する

Official Music Video:

Sources

Stumme, C. (2019, June 19). What does “You need to calm down” by Taylor Swift Mean? The Pop Song Professor. https://www.popsongprofessor.com/blog/2019/6/17/what-does-you-need-to-calm-down-of-by-taylor-swift-mean. Accessed 23 May 2024.

Dupre, E. (2019, June 15). Taylor Swift’s “You need to calm down” lyrics decoded. E! Online. (2019, June 14). https://www.eonline.com/news/1049604/decoding-taylor-swift-s-you-need-to-calm-down-lyrics. Accessed 23 May 2024.

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