Posted by Taylor Swift returned in July 2023 with a surprise: the re-release of her third album, Speak Now, released in 2010 and published again 13 years later in its “Taylor’s version.” The American singer took the opportunity to add several bonus tracks to this release, and When Emma Falls In Love is one of them: a poetic descent in a young girl’s love story. Let’s explore the song’s meaning in this article. You will also find the complete lyrics at the end.
You can listen to Taylor Swift’s When Emma Falls In Love below.
When Emma Falls In Love: the lyrics & meaning
In the lyrics of When Emma Falls In Love, Taylor Swift tells the story of this young girl, Emma, and what happens to her when she’s in love. It’s a poetic track with many beautiful images of what a young, authentic love looks like. Emma is a fictional character described by the American singer. Still, at some point, Taylor Swift explicitly says, “sometimes she wishes she was her.”
Love, in When Emma Falls In Love, is described as a life-changing experience. Emma faces it with great caution: she’s perfectly aware of all the things that can go wrong, so she suddenly faces all her insecurities now that the feelings are so strong. The first verse introduces Emma while talking with her mom about it. And a beautiful line explains her fears with the metaphor of “Little Miss Sunshine thinking about the rain.”
When Emma falls in love, she paces the floor
Closes the blinds and locks the door
When Emma falls in love, she calls up her mom
Jokes about the ways that this one could go wrong
She waits and takes her time
‘Cause Little Miss Sunshine always thinks it’s gonna rain
When Emma falls in love, I know
That boy will never be the same
However, the boy is destined to change as well. Love is a transformative feeling for everyone involved, implying that this form of love is the pure, authentic attraction that makes us grow in our emotional awareness. The sentiment is so strong that it can alter our judgment, and that’s the reason why Emma is afraid she’s not seeing things as they are.
And all the bad boys would be good boys
If they only had a chance to love her
We do not always fall in love with the right person, that’s clear. Therefore, when we feel such an intense sensation, we cautiously question ourselves, wondering if the object of our love is the right match for such an attraction. The lyrics of When Emma Falls In Love keep us on our toes until the final verse, when the song reveals something about the boy Emma is in love with:
Emma met a boy with eyes like a man
Turns out her heart fits right in the palm of his hand
Now he’ll be her shelter when it rains
Little does he know, his whole world’s about to change
With this conclusion, the song reveals its happy ending. Both Emma and this boy will experience a transformation because of what they feel, proving that this love is precisely what we all aim for, especially at our young age. Indeed, the song ends again with Taylor Swift’s wish to feel what Emma is experiencing, and that reveals the real meaning of the lyrics inside When Emma Falls In Love: after the initial uncertainty, true love always reveals itself, and it’s the purest experience we can live in our lives.
Yeah, between me and you, sometimes I wish I was her
Read other popular song lyrics and their meaning on Auralcrave
The complete lyrics
When Emma falls in love, she paces the floor
Closes the blinds and locks the door
When Emma falls in love, she calls up her mom
Jokes about the ways that this one could go wrong
She waits and takes her time
‘Cause Little Miss Sunshine always thinks it’s gonna rain
When Emma falls in love, I know
That boy will never be the same
‘Cause she’s the kind of book that you can’t put down
Like if Cleopatra grew up in a small town
And all the bad boys would be good boys
If they only had a chance to love her
And to tell you the truth, sometimes I wish I was her
When Emma falls in love, it’s all on her face
Hangs in the air like stars in outer space
When Emma falls in love, she disappears
And we all just laugh after seein’ it all these years
When Emma falls apart, it’s when she’s alone
She takes on the pain and bears it on her own
‘Cause when Emma falls in love, she’s in it for keeps
She won’t walk away unless she knows she absolutely has to leave
And she’s the kind of book that you can’t put down
Like if Cleopatra grew up in a small town
And all the bad boys would be good boys
If they only had a chance to love her
And to tell you the truth, sometimes I wish I was her
Well, she’s so New York when she’s in L.A
She won’t lose herself in love the way that I did
‘Cause she’ll call you out, she’ll put you in your place
When Emma falls in love, I’m learning
Emma met a boy with eyes like a man
Turns out her heart fits right in the palm of his hand
Now he’ll be her shelter when it rains
Little does he know, his whole world’s about to change
‘Cause she’s the kind of book that you can’t put down
Like if Cleopatra grew up in a small town
And all the bad boys would be good boys
If they only had a chance to love her
And to tell you the truth, sometimes I wish I was her
Yeah, between me and you, sometimes I wish I was her
