Browse Songs
Song

Would've, Could've, Should've

Midnights · 2022 · Track 19
Sole author
Written byTaylor Swift, Aaron Dessner
Produced byTaylor Swift, Aaron Dessner
Mash-ups & Live Pairings
  • Would've, Could've, Should've / ivy — Sydney, Night 5, Would've, Could've, Should've / I Know Places — Edinburgh, Night 1
Motifs & symbols
Ghosts
Structural
Supernatural & Gothic

Now that I'm grown, I'm scared of ghosts

Fear of ghosts as a marker of lost innocence — childhood was immune to such hauntings; adulthood is not. The lyric implies that ghosts are real consequences of real choices made when too young to understand them. Growing up means accumulating one's own spectres.

Community comment
Uncle Jerry’s Verdict

94.6

Lyrical Strength
95
Narrative & Structure
93
Production & Atmosphere
91
Lore & Literary References
97
Emotional Impact
97
Total Points473