Say you're sorry
That face of an angel
Comes out just when you need it to
As I paced back and forth all this time
'Cause I honestly believed in you
Holding on
The days drag on
Stupid girl,
I should have known, I should have known

That I'm not a princess, this ain't a fairy tale
I'm not the one you'll sweep off her feet,
Lead her up the stairwell
This ain't Hollywood, this is a small town,
I was a dreamer before you went and let me down
Now it's too late for you
And your white horse, to come around

Baby I was naive,
Got lost in your eyes
And never really had a chance
My mistake I didn't know to be in love
You had to fight to have the upper hand
I had so many dreams
About you and me
Happy endings
Now I know

I'm not a princess, this ain't a fairy tale
I'm not the one you'll sweep off her feet,
Lead her up the stairwell
This ain't Hollywood, this is a small town,
I was a dreamer before you went and let me down
Now it's too late for you
And your white horse, to come around

And there you are on your knees,
Begging for forgiveness, begging for me
Just like I always wanted but I'm so sorry

'Cause I'm not your princess, this ain't a fairytale
I'm gonna find someone someday who might actually treat me well
This is a big world, that was a small town
There in my rear view mirror disappearing now
And its too late for you and your white horse
Now its too late for you and your white horse, to catch me now

Oh, whoa, whoa, whoa
Try and catch me now
Oh, it's too late
To catch me now



Lyrics submitted by lilwad1323

Track duration: 03:54

"White Horse" as written by Liz Rose, Taylor Swift

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


White Horse song meanings
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87 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:She loved him, and she really wanted to hold on, but she just couldn't after a while. She's saying that she wanted to have a bright future with him, because she 'loved' him. She mistakes him for something other that he was and she talks about how she wasn't a princess with a happily ever after ending and she shouldn't have made the assumption he was going to stay, and then says that she's long past staying and loving him. "Its too late for you and your white horse to come around" means she isn't going back to loving him and breaking again.
    Flag ellebellon May 31, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:The girl real likes the guy. "Say you're sorry. That face of an angel. Comes out just when you need it to" Just a sorry, just a smile, maybe she'll forget everything and want him back. But she will finally realize that she can't do this any more. She was naive, and didn't even fight to lose the battle. So maybe it's time to move on. Now even he was prince charming riding a white horse and bragging her to stay. "But it's too late for you and your white horse to come around."
    Flag mrcallenyon January 11, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Swift told Billboard magazine: "It's one of the songs that I am really proud of on the record because it's so sparse - it's guitar, piano and cello. It talks about falling in love and the fairy tales that you are going to have with this person, and then there is that moment where you realize that it is not going to happen. That moment is the most earth shattering moment."


    This song was featured in the two-hour season premiere of ABC's Grey's Anatomy on September 25, 2008. Swift told Billboard: "You should've seen tears streaming down my face when I got the phone call that they were going to use that song, I have never been that excited. This is my life's goal, to have a song on Grey's Anatomy. My love of Grey's Anatomy has never wavered. It's my longest relationship to date."


    Taylor Swift told CMT that this song was an example of her fascination with fairy tales. She explained: "I am completely fascinated by the differences and comparisons between real life and fairy tales because we're raised as little girls to think that we're a princess and that Prince Charming is going to sweep us off our feet. And that we're going to ride off into the sunset on a white horse. We're not really expecting to get blown off or ignored or broken up with or cheated on. I think it's really interesting when you come to terms with that reality: 'Maybe that's not gonna happen with this guy because this guy's a jerk.' But there's still that core of us that believes that it's true and that if you find the right person, you can have that love story and it can work out. So there are different examples of fairy tales, and sometimes I believe in them and sometimes I don't. And moments on the record like in "White Horse," it's a song about, 'Wow, this is not a fairy tale, is it? Awesome. Great.' It's (about how) I'm coming to this realization that this is not a fairy tale at all -- this is real life."


    Swift explained to That's Country that this sobering realization that romantic fantasy doesn't always pan out was originally not going to be included on Fearless. Said Swift: "I actually wasn't going to put this song on the album. I was going to wait for the third album because I really felt like we had the 'sadness' represented on this record. Then my agency out in LA set up a meeting with executive producers Betsy Beers and Shonda Rhimes at Grey's Anatomy because that's my favorite show. It would just be a dream come true to have a song on it. So, I played them 'White Horse.' It was just me and my guitar and they freaked out. They loved it. They said, 'We'll get back to you as soon as possible.' For a while, we didn't know if we were going to put it on the record because if it wasn't going to be on the show, then we weren't going to put it on the album. Then they called and said they were very interested in the song. We recorded it right away, sent it off to them, and they put it in!"


    This song debuted at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Taylor Swift her sixth top 20 debut of 2008. This broke the record set only three months previously by the Jonas Brothers of five top 20 debuts in a calendar year. The brothers achieved this feat when "A Little Bit Longer" arrived at #11 in August 2008.


    Taylor Swift told MTV News about the song's promo: "This video is a lot different than the other videos that we've made, 'cause usually we've gone for bright colors and me looking straight to camera and singing. [This video is] a little more introspective."
    Also starring in the video is Stephen Colletti (Laguna Beach, One Tree Hill). Taylor told MTV News: "I watched Laguna Beach on and off, but I saw him on One Tree Hill and thought he was really awesome on that. He had sort of the look we were going for... because the guy in the video is supposed to look really sweet and someone who just looks like he would never lie to you. But in the video, he does. So I thought he would be perfect for it and, actually, he did an amazing job."
    In the video there is an emotional scene where Swift cries her eyes out over Colletti's character. She told MTV News: "There's an emotional scene in there where I had to cry for, like, three hours... bawl my eyes out for three hours. It was really interesting and sort of a new thing for me."


    This track won Best Country Song and Best Female Country Vocal Performance at the 2010 Grammys. Swift won two other awards at the ceremony including Best Album of the Year for Fearless.
    Flag musicrocks13on November 11, 2012   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:There are many interpretations but this is mine:
    A girl likes a guy (A LOT) and she thought she had a chance with him, daydreamed about him a lot, and he could basically tell she liked him, and he took advantage of it and made it seem like she had a chance. But all the while when she was liking him he liked her too but never admitted it. So she stopped liking him and now he wants a chance.
    Flag liljojo204on April 19, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:sad song but love it <3
    Flag HannahF19on January 11, 2012   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:I don't think this is just a song about breaking up and all that. I think it's also about life, about something bigger. Because in real life, we all aren't princesses. Our lives aren't fairy tales. You see stories and pictures of all the girls in their pretty dresses and glamorous lives, but that isn't you. A fairy grandmother can't wave her wand and all will be well. And, if you're lucky, you can still go to the ball, but the prince isn't going to dance with you. So when life comes knocking again with their blasted glass slipper in your shoe size, you aren't going to stick your foot in and run away with a dream that passed you by the first time, because you aren't a dream. And that's why I liked this song - I'm not going to kiss the perfect guy and live a perfect life happily ever after. I'm not a princess. I'm not Cinderella. I don't possess inhuman beauty. I'm just an ordinary girl and I'm fine with that. But I'm not a princess, so don't act like I'm one when you've threw me onto the doorstep and left me out to dry. Yeah, the whole thing with the girl/guy relationship is true. But I think the words mean more. Sometimes your whole life slams you down and laughs as you cry. It's not right to let it lead you up in a dream of dreams to slam you down again.
    Flag eskofquirmon October 12, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:TRIED IT, DIDN'T WORK.
    Flag alicat2502on October 05, 2011   Link
  • -1
    General Comment:"PLEASE DON'T READ THIS, YOU WILL GET KISSED BY THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE ON SATURDAY, TOMORROW WILL BE THE BEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE BUT ONLY YOU HAVE TO REPOST THIS, IF YOU REPOST THIS IN 2 SONGS YOU WILL DIE IN 2 HOURS, BUT IF YOU REPOST THIS TO 5 SONGS IT WILL TRUELY BE THE BEST DAY OF YOUR LIFE, WHEN YOU'RE DONE, PUSH F6 ON YOUR KEYBOARD AND THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE WILL APPEAR IN BIG LETTERS...IT'S SCARY BUT IT WORKS>C
    Flagged alicat2502on October 05, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:This has happened to me and if it wasn't for this song I would have never got over it. I was dating a guy who I thought was perfect, he just had something that made you feel special. I felt like I was his princess but later on I caught him with another girl and it tore my heart. I wouldn't speak to him or anything. He's still going out with the girl and they aren't nice to me. This song has given me some good advice. if he ever comes crawling to me, I'll just walk away. Because 'it's too late, to catch me now.'
    Flag alicat2502on October 05, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I love the illusion to love story "I ain't a princess, and this ain't a fairy-tale."
    For all of you ladies that say you are going through this now, don't worry, it gets better
    Flag katybella18on July 15, 2011   Link

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