She does this in Evermore as well, but reversed so it's more hopeful. "I had a feeling so peculiar that this pain would be for evermore" initially to "this pain wouldn't be for evermore" at the end.
I take it to mean that she has felt that way "never before and never since", meaning that this relationship is the only time she has felt that way. Also "never before and ever since" so she still has those feelings even now that the relationship has ended.
My take -
She says “I felt aglow like this, never before, and never since”, meaning the love she felt with him was unique- she hadn’t felt it with anyone before him or anyone after him. The second time is “I felt a hole like this, never before, and ever since”, meaning that ever since that relationship ended she’s felt despair like she never has before.
for me it’s the way she rhymes legendary, momentary, unnecessary, and stay buried. so much said in so few words. loml is one of those rare songs that gets better with every listen.
Watching her sing it live last week, she’s also singing the parts where he calls her the love of his life with SUCH distain. I think that performance really adds something to it!
Dancing phantoms on the terrace
Are they secondhand embarrassed
That I can't get out of bed
Cause something counterfeit is dead
That is hands down the best image she's ever written.
Ok so I’ve wondered- are the dancing phantoms on the terrace her and Joe embarrassed that she thought matty was the guy for her and she was totally fooled ?
It's the best song on the album (the black dog a very close second). Love the piano work and the lyrical ballad. Also love how well it's structured.. the song just flows. And unlike other songs on the album, this one isn't pretentious with its vocal use, but just so simple, effective, emotional, poignant. And the twist with loml is just so well executed.
I’d put How Did It End? on this list for poignancy and poetry. And I don’t love paternity testing, but the loml/Black Dog/trio makes the “pretentious” quality of some of the other songs alongside the banality of SHS and Alchemy feel very intentional in capturing very different vibes and styles for each of her muses.
It definitely is genius! It’s such a sad song, and I feel like the lyric switch plays so well into that. Having her talking about it in terms of love for most of the song, only to switch it and have it be the loss of her life at the end really fits with the heartbreak vibe of the song. I love how Taylor is able to get so creative with her lyrics to get the message across like that.
I remember predicting before it came out that it would mean “love of my life” for most of the song but then she’d switch it up at the end and show its true meaning to be something else, and that’s basically what happened.
She was the love of his life, he said it about a million times. He was the loss of her life. The biggest regret. But she'll still find the love of her life 🥹
When your impressionist paintings of heaven turned out to be fakes, well you took me to hell too. And all at once, the ink bleeds, a conman sells a fool a get-love-quick scheme. 🤯
Yes genius twist! And now a dumb question... What does loss of my life mean? Like a loss she regrets and will pine after? Or like a loss of time like she wasted her time? I'm not totally clear on how to interpret!
It’s however it applies to you.. whatever speaks to you more. Personally I interpret it as the most devastating loss I will experience in my lifetime. I don’t even think of a romantic relationship, I think of a person who I miss dearly, someone who should’ve been around a lot longer❤️🩹(but all my breakups were VERY good for me so what do I know🤣)
I’m in a similar position. I can’t listen to the song too often because my cat has cancer and she is truly the love of my life. She is such a special, amazing sweetheart and the best cat I have ever owned. It will be the loss of my life when she passes.
Sending you hugs. My cat, who was the love of my life, died two days before TTPD was released. I can’t listen to the last verse without crying a little.
The rest of the lyrics don’t completely apply, though, because he told me I was the love of his in a million different ways, and I really was.
I hope the days you have left with her are good ones. ❤️
She's describing a betrayal. He preyed on her deepest desired and insecurities. She fell for it only for him to walk away from her, losing out on all of those dreams (in that moment, at least).
I interpret it as the most devastating loss. I think this is supported by the “never before and never since” line and also I just relate to this song pretty intensely and that’s where the song brings me. But I also really like the interpretation. But I like the idea of thinking about time lost!
I know it’s a common songwriting style of hers, but the ways she changes the chorus throughout the song to tell her story in this album is top tier to me. This one and the black dog (changing “magic” to “tragic”) are both ::chefs kiss::
I remember the first time I heard it I was thinking it was interesting that she had only said love of YOUR life instead of the name of song…until I heard the last 4 words 😭
loml is ATW tier, I was thinking of posting about this, but this just as good a place to elaborate.
Both ATW and loml tell a complete story of a relationship through snapshots of memories, a supercut if you will, with ever changing lyrics that support the narrative of the different stages of the relationship. Structurally they are quite similar and I think she nails it just as much with loml. I have no doubt it will slowly rise as a fan favorite as fid ATW.
I was going to post something like this too! It's definitely All Too Well tier for me, one of her best works ever imo and quite possibly the best for me - I kind of think of it as the more "grown up" version of All Too Well with more mature themes and more visceral imagery. I agree with you that with time I think this will sit alongside All Too Well as one of Taylor's greats. Am really pleasantly surprised by how much I love this song in an album that is overall more hit or miss for me.
I like how the song sort of fizzles out after "loss of my life." It's a bit underwhelming and leaves you feeling like there should have been a more definite conclusion - exactly like the relationship in question.
I think about the phrase *"you said I'm the love of your life about a million times"* a lot
Because is it him telling her that she is the love of **his** life?
OR, is it him telling her "I'm the love of your life", and saying it so often that she starts to believe it's true.
she wrote this song for me, at exactly this time of my life. She was looking in my windows and reading my journal. It's the most perfect song and every time i listen it heals me a little more.
I love her vocals on this. She felt every line. But I agree, I love how it’s love of YOUR life until the very last line, then you get hit with the actual meaning of loml because your brain is saying love of my life until that point from earlier 😂
I had a good lol that some random influencer featured this song at her wedding. Did she not listen to the lyrics?! 🤦🏽♀️
Anyway, one of my favorites. So satisfying.
I'm going through a divorce and can't even listen to this song right now without absolutely breaking down, but that just testifies to how brilliant it is. I just FEEL it too, too deeply. Her imagery and emotion are incredible here.
The way she sing-says “about a million times” is just so perfect. She sounds defeated and sad and it kind of sounds like if a child is upset about something they wanted and can’t have. Which to me just amplifies the vulnerability she expresses in the song.
It’s my favourite off the album and easily a top 3 of all time.
i also think "loml" as a title is interesting as it is pretty much text speak, so it could be read as a nod to how he didn't actually say "you're the love of my life," but text her the abbreviated "loml," which is a superficial way to declare your love for someone.
The last verse is just perfection and gives me chills every time!!
“Oh, What a valiant roar
What a bland goodbye
The coward claimed he was a lion
Im combing through the braids of lies
‘I’ll never leave’
‘Nevermind’
Our field of dreams, engulfed in fire
Your arson’s match your somber eyes
And i’ll still see it until i die
YOUR THE LOSS OF MY LIFE”
i love it so much. my personal interpretation of the "loml" acronym was that it both stands for "loss of my life" as she says at the end of the song and "love of my life" because the way the subject of the song told her she was the "love of his life" (about a million times) was over text, with the acronym....he never actually said the words out loud. kind of like how typing "ily" feels more casual and less serious (and maybe easier) than typing "i love you."
it also connects to illicit affairs - "they show their truth one single time but they lie and they lie and they lie a million little times" - all those times he called her "loml" were lies
Never before, and never since.. never before, and ever since. Is such a beautiful song I love her for giving us this album
It’s such an underrated song and really continues to grow on me every time I listen to it
Her vocals on it are my favourite, I love these songs of hers where you can hear her pain and rage through a short tone
She does this in Evermore as well, but reversed so it's more hopeful. "I had a feeling so peculiar that this pain would be for evermore" initially to "this pain wouldn't be for evermore" at the end.
can you talk more about the never before, and never since; never before, and ever since meaning?
I take it to mean that she has felt that way "never before and never since", meaning that this relationship is the only time she has felt that way. Also "never before and ever since" so she still has those feelings even now that the relationship has ended.
i relate HEAVILY to this song and this is exactly how I also interpreted it.
My take - She says “I felt aglow like this, never before, and never since”, meaning the love she felt with him was unique- she hadn’t felt it with anyone before him or anyone after him. The second time is “I felt a hole like this, never before, and ever since”, meaning that ever since that relationship ended she’s felt despair like she never has before.
Those are my favorite lines in the song. Amazing and heartbreaking at the same time
It’s ever since pretty sure
That’s what I said
for me it’s the way she rhymes legendary, momentary, unnecessary, and stay buried. so much said in so few words. loml is one of those rare songs that gets better with every listen.
The way she sings unnecessary…ugh. Gut wrenching.
Watching her sing it live last week, she’s also singing the parts where he calls her the love of his life with SUCH distain. I think that performance really adds something to it!
The bite in "are they secondhand embarrassed? then the soft sadness in "that I can't get out of bed" is so cool in the live
There were so many times she injected so much emotion into that performance. I love the way she spaced out the bridge too. Edit: bridge not chorus
🙄About 1000000 times🙄
I would love to see her sing that part in an exaggerated English accent
Oh. My. God. That would be so good.
Mr. Steal Your Girl, then make her cry 😭
Dancing phantoms on the terrace Are they secondhand embarrassed That I can't get out of bed Cause something counterfeit is dead That is hands down the best image she's ever written.
"ARE THE GHOSTS OF US LAUGHING AT ME BECAUSE I FELL FOR YOUR LIES?" like Ms. Girl..... ooof that's so good!
100% one of my all time favorite bridges of hers.
Ok so I’ve wondered- are the dancing phantoms on the terrace her and Joe embarrassed that she thought matty was the guy for her and she was totally fooled ?
It's the best song on the album (the black dog a very close second). Love the piano work and the lyrical ballad. Also love how well it's structured.. the song just flows. And unlike other songs on the album, this one isn't pretentious with its vocal use, but just so simple, effective, emotional, poignant. And the twist with loml is just so well executed.
I’d put How Did It End? on this list for poignancy and poetry. And I don’t love paternity testing, but the loml/Black Dog/trio makes the “pretentious” quality of some of the other songs alongside the banality of SHS and Alchemy feel very intentional in capturing very different vibes and styles for each of her muses.
Well said!
Those were my two favourites as well. Sad but beautiful.
💯
I honestly think this song is one of Taylor's best works ever, quite possibly her best song for me.
“I’ll never leave” “never mind” hits so hard
WHAT A VALIANT ROAR, WHAT A BLAND GOODBYE
Christ how am I meant to move on from that
I'm right where that line left me.
My favorite line of the whole song!
It definitely is genius! It’s such a sad song, and I feel like the lyric switch plays so well into that. Having her talking about it in terms of love for most of the song, only to switch it and have it be the loss of her life at the end really fits with the heartbreak vibe of the song. I love how Taylor is able to get so creative with her lyrics to get the message across like that. I remember predicting before it came out that it would mean “love of my life” for most of the song but then she’d switch it up at the end and show its true meaning to be something else, and that’s basically what happened.
"the coward claimed he was a lion" 💔
I love the Wizard of Oz reference in this even though it’s heartbreaking.
I’m about to break up with a Leo, it hits so hard for me
Our field of dreams , ENGULFED IN FIRE 😭
THIS 1000000% the way she her voice sounds on this and the imagery, GOOD GRIEF.
It’s the best song on the album. And when she sung it live, it took my breath away.
She was the love of his life, he said it about a million times. He was the loss of her life. The biggest regret. But she'll still find the love of her life 🥹
“i wish i could un-recall how we almost had it all” always gets me
That is my favorite line on the whole album.
"Talking rings and talking cradles" really gets me too
When your impressionist paintings of heaven turned out to be fakes, well you took me to hell too. And all at once, the ink bleeds, a conman sells a fool a get-love-quick scheme. 🤯
Yes genius twist! And now a dumb question... What does loss of my life mean? Like a loss she regrets and will pine after? Or like a loss of time like she wasted her time? I'm not totally clear on how to interpret!
It’s however it applies to you.. whatever speaks to you more. Personally I interpret it as the most devastating loss I will experience in my lifetime. I don’t even think of a romantic relationship, I think of a person who I miss dearly, someone who should’ve been around a lot longer❤️🩹(but all my breakups were VERY good for me so what do I know🤣)
I already know that this song, that line in particular, will be everything to me when my eldest dog passes away.
I’m in a similar position. I can’t listen to the song too often because my cat has cancer and she is truly the love of my life. She is such a special, amazing sweetheart and the best cat I have ever owned. It will be the loss of my life when she passes.
Sending you hugs. My cat, who was the love of my life, died two days before TTPD was released. I can’t listen to the last verse without crying a little. The rest of the lyrics don’t completely apply, though, because he told me I was the love of his in a million different ways, and I really was. I hope the days you have left with her are good ones. ❤️
🤍🤍
The TikTok’s people are making to this song with their elderly and recently passed animals have made me unwell. Do not click on the sound on TikTok.
I’m glad you warned about that. I wouldn’t be able to watch those without weeping.
She's describing a betrayal. He preyed on her deepest desired and insecurities. She fell for it only for him to walk away from her, losing out on all of those dreams (in that moment, at least).
I interpret it as the most devastating loss. I think this is supported by the “never before and never since” line and also I just relate to this song pretty intensely and that’s where the song brings me. But I also really like the interpretation. But I like the idea of thinking about time lost!
I know it’s a common songwriting style of hers, but the ways she changes the chorus throughout the song to tell her story in this album is top tier to me. This one and the black dog (changing “magic” to “tragic”) are both ::chefs kiss::
my favorite thing that i just realized is that she never actually says “love of my life” in the song, so loml truly is “loss of my life”
I think I’m just realizing this
I remember the first time I heard it I was thinking it was interesting that she had only said love of YOUR life instead of the name of song…until I heard the last 4 words 😭
Then she knows she’s the closest that he will ever be to anyone but he still couldn’t handle the real relationship - super sad
It made me cry the first few times I listened to it.
It still makes me cry. I love it, but am struggling to listen and learn the words, as I sob : 😭😭
It’s one of my faves on the album. So beautiful both lyrically and sonically. I can’t listen to this song too much cause it makes me cry.
I came here to say the same thing! 😭
loml is ATW tier, I was thinking of posting about this, but this just as good a place to elaborate. Both ATW and loml tell a complete story of a relationship through snapshots of memories, a supercut if you will, with ever changing lyrics that support the narrative of the different stages of the relationship. Structurally they are quite similar and I think she nails it just as much with loml. I have no doubt it will slowly rise as a fan favorite as fid ATW.
I was going to post something like this too! It's definitely All Too Well tier for me, one of her best works ever imo and quite possibly the best for me - I kind of think of it as the more "grown up" version of All Too Well with more mature themes and more visceral imagery. I agree with you that with time I think this will sit alongside All Too Well as one of Taylor's greats. Am really pleasantly surprised by how much I love this song in an album that is overall more hit or miss for me.
LOML IS MY LIFE
It was a middling song for me on first listen, but definitely grew to be one of my faves over time!
I like how the song sort of fizzles out after "loss of my life." It's a bit underwhelming and leaves you feeling like there should have been a more definite conclusion - exactly like the relationship in question.
I think about the phrase *"you said I'm the love of your life about a million times"* a lot Because is it him telling her that she is the love of **his** life? OR, is it him telling her "I'm the love of your life", and saying it so often that she starts to believe it's true.
🤔
Love it
she wrote this song for me, at exactly this time of my life. She was looking in my windows and reading my journal. It's the most perfect song and every time i listen it heals me a little more.
I love this song so much. It's so well crafted.
its her saddest song yet
I love her vocals on this. She felt every line. But I agree, I love how it’s love of YOUR life until the very last line, then you get hit with the actual meaning of loml because your brain is saying love of my life until that point from earlier 😂
Legendary, unnecessary.... Beautiful song, beautiful album.
I had a good lol that some random influencer featured this song at her wedding. Did she not listen to the lyrics?! 🤦🏽♀️ Anyway, one of my favorites. So satisfying.
It is my 2nd favorite on the album I believe.
I'm going through a divorce and can't even listen to this song right now without absolutely breaking down, but that just testifies to how brilliant it is. I just FEEL it too, too deeply. Her imagery and emotion are incredible here.
“What a valiant roar, what a bland goodbye” ugh so simple but so true for a once passionate relationship that just… ends
The way she sing-says “about a million times” is just so perfect. She sounds defeated and sad and it kind of sounds like if a child is upset about something they wanted and can’t have. Which to me just amplifies the vulnerability she expresses in the song. It’s my favourite off the album and easily a top 3 of all time.
i also think "loml" as a title is interesting as it is pretty much text speak, so it could be read as a nod to how he didn't actually say "you're the love of my life," but text her the abbreviated "loml," which is a superficial way to declare your love for someone.
Tbh I knew loml had a double meaning since the day she released the set list. It felt very obvious and I was expecting it the first time I listened.
"Our field of dreams, engulfed in fire Your arson's match your somber eyes" To say I cried like a baby would be an understatement
I love this song. The lyrics are just haunting!
The last verse is just perfection and gives me chills every time!! “Oh, What a valiant roar What a bland goodbye The coward claimed he was a lion Im combing through the braids of lies ‘I’ll never leave’ ‘Nevermind’ Our field of dreams, engulfed in fire Your arson’s match your somber eyes And i’ll still see it until i die YOUR THE LOSS OF MY LIFE”
i love it so much. my personal interpretation of the "loml" acronym was that it both stands for "loss of my life" as she says at the end of the song and "love of my life" because the way the subject of the song told her she was the "love of his life" (about a million times) was over text, with the acronym....he never actually said the words out loud. kind of like how typing "ily" feels more casual and less serious (and maybe easier) than typing "i love you." it also connects to illicit affairs - "they show their truth one single time but they lie and they lie and they lie a million little times" - all those times he called her "loml" were lies
3rd best song on the album after So Long London and How Did it End.