I didn't know what I would find
When I went lookin' for a reason I know
I didn't read between the lines
And, baby, I've got nowhere to go
I tried to take the road less traveled by
But nothin' seems to work the first few times
Am I right?

So how can I ever try to be better?
Nobody ever lets me in
And I can still see you; this ain't the best view
On the outside, lookin' in
I've been a lot of lonely places
I've never been on the outside

You saw me there, but never knew
That I would give it all up to be
A part of this, a part of you
And now it's all too late, so you see
You could have helped if you had wanted to
But no one notices until it's too late to do anything

How could I ever try to be better?
Nobody ever lets me in
And I can still see you; this ain't the best view
On the outside, lookin' in
I've been a lot of lonely places
I've never been on the outside

Oh, yeah

How can I ever try to be better?
Nobody ever lets me in
And I can still see you; this ain't the best view
On the outside, lookin' in
I've been a lot of lonely places
I've never been on the outside

Oh, oh
Oh, oh,
Oh, oh
Oh, oh
Oh, oh



Lyrics submitted by queenvictoria_14

Track duration: 03:27

"The Outside" as written by Swift

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


The Outside song meanings
Add your thoughts

22 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    General Comment:the hidden song Taylor wrote for this song was: You're Not Alone.
    I wonder if she reads my diary or something
    Flag 60squeenon November 16, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:Taylor Swift wrote this song about loneliness at the age of 12 soon after she'd received her first guitar.


    Taylor Swift in Entertainment Weekly: ''I wrote that about the scariest feeling I've ever felt: going to school, walking down the hall, looking at all those faces, and not knowing who you're gonna talk to that day. People always ask, How did you have the courage to walk up to record labels when you were 12 or 13? It's because I could never feel the kind of rejection in the music industry that I felt in middle school.''


    Swift expanded on the loneliness she felt at the age of 12, which prompted her to write this song: "This is one of the first songs I ever wrote, and it talks about the very reason I ever started to write songs. It was when I was twelve years old, and a complete outcast at school. I was a lot different than all the other kids, and I never really knew why. I was taller, and sang country music at karaoke bars and festivals on weekends while other girls went to sleepovers. Some days I woke up not knowing if anyone was going to talk to me that day. I think every person comes to a point in their life when you have a long string of bad days. You can choose to let it drag you down, or you can find ways to rise above it. I came to the conclusion that even though people hadn't always been there for me, music had. It's strange to think how different my life would be right now if I had been one of the cool kids."
    Flag musicrocks13on November 11, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this part in the song dosnt make sense
    - ive never been on the outside
    -how can i ever try to be better nobody ever lets me in.

    it dosent make sense when she says: ( ive never been on the outside)
    when she saying ive never been on the outside she saying she used to be on the inside
    so she was in the in crowd once. But then she saying ( how can i ever try to be better nobody ever lets me in) so this part is saying she has never been in the inside she saying in that line that shes always been on the outside. she saying none ever gave her a chance.
    Flag elizabethAnntowneron May 06, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this part in the song dosnt make sense
    - ive never been on the outside
    -how can i ever try to be better nobody ever lets me in.

    it dosent make sense when she says: ( ive never been on the outside)
    when she saying ive never been on the outside she saying she used to be on the inside
    so she was in the in crowd once. But then she saying ( how can i ever try to be better nobody ever lets me in) that noone has evr let her in the incrowd.
    Flag elizabethAnntowneron May 06, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this song is my life before i was kind of an outcast but now i have a reall big group of friends
    Flag musicgirl9507on December 31, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think that this was about how she had a pretty good group of friends and even though they might not have been the "in crowd" they were cooler than her. Soon after, however, she was let down and really seriously became something of an outcast at thats why she says, "i've been alot of places i've never been on the outside." refering to the fact that while she had been put down and gotten really lonely, she had never truely been on the outside until now.
    Flag Crazyinluv90on December 13, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Apparently her concert in Ottawa sold out in 2 minutes, but mom calls a week or two later, and now there are no concerts to go to "Nice job mom"
    Flag CaityCatRoxson November 15, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I love the song, but sometimes I hate how it used to relate to me, all thanx to a bitch, but she's gone now
    Flag CaityCatRoxson November 15, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Taylor says that when she was 13 her friends betrayed her. She wrote this song about it. She says she's never been on the outside before. Inside as we know means "in" or "part of" and outside "lonely" and "different". She was always on the inside until her friends left her and she was now on the outside. She says she's never been on the outside.
    Flag gracedannetteon September 25, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I could really relate to this song because i'm not that popular and when I try to ''hang out'' with them they say no love you taylor!!!!!!!!!!!!
    Flag taylorswiftloveron June 27, 2009   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

Back to top
explain