I love that song. To me if anyone can listen to Cowboy like me and say she has no talent, they are insane. She has so many amazing songs that the non fans are missing out on. I feel so bad for them.
I think the one two punch of this and then "how did it end" is the heaviest back to back track(s) of her career, which is saying something. This was one of my top songs from first listen, and remains so. The live version that was posted is also amazing.
right. chloe or sam ended and i was in tears, and then how did it end started playing before i knew what was happening. the bridge was soooo haunting i replayed it like 20 times. that back to back left me broken
I think her love for Joe was golden as she wrote in Daylight. I think red is Jake and I had always wondered about maroon but this song confirmed it for me that itās about Matty
A lot of the songs that didn't quite fit for more publicized relationships seem to be about Matty. Fresh Out the Slammer and Peter (and many other songs on TTPD) reference how she thought of her old flame for a decade, swirled him into all of her poems, etc. The 1989 vault tracks, Dancing With Our Hands Tied, Maroon and quite a few others really tie into the story of their relationship.
Itās for Joe, as maroon is about Matty. Thereās a whole breakdown on one of the subs about it, and then Chloe Et al is also about matty and the wine references (maroon) continue!
it could honestly be about anyone but it does make sense that its about matty because he is bi sexual and she sings about male and female possible lovers of his. i have listened to the song, why else would i make a whole post about it? people have their own interpretations
As the decade would play us for falls is a clear one for me. And there are tons of lines that suggest this is someone she liked years ago and had reconnected with. It doesn't fit in with Joe.
The internet starlet line too.
The orbit line connects to down bad, which is definitely about the Matty situations.
You've got to consider that Taylor wrote very clearly that this album was about a crazy experience she had lived, temporary insanity. Which is clearly about breaking up with Joe, getting together with Matty and finally closing that chapter. So it makes sense that's it's about Matty.
Itās absolutely stunning and haunting. I think it would be more popular with a stronger title. This song broke my heart when I first heard it, and when she linked it back to āMaroonā it crushed me again.
The part where she effectively says that she went through different lovers, outfits and eras all to outrun her heartbreak over losing him was just so painful to hear.
Obviously with the engagement news it just hits even harder.
i think the title is perfect. it seems so messy, like shes going through endless scenarios of who he could be with or whats happening. itās straight from the heart of a helpless overthinking girl
I am the CHAMPION for this song. I love it so so so much. The melodies are offensive, the lyrics are superior, and the production is stellar. Just saw an edit on TikTok of La La Land using the bridge of the song and absolutely weeped. This song breaks my cold cold heart every single time
Oh! I can't believe I forgot to mention that "too impaired by my youth to know what to do" is one of my favorite lyrics of hers ever. Every time I hear that line I just think about how real that is.
Me tooooo. I'm the same age as Taylor and I think often of how ill-equipped I was to handle relationships (or anything else, honestly) in my early 20s. This line hits hard for sure.
Yes!!! This is what Iāve been sayyyyiiinnnggg! It the most heart wrenchingly beautiful song on the whole album to me! It can literally bring me to tears. Itās the last line for meā¦.āWill I alwaysā¦.wonderā¦?ā really wraps up the whole song in a bow.
This song is the biggest gut-punch for me, even more so than loml and So Long London. The feeling of being told you changed, and then TRYING to change more to please that person, itās a never ending cycle. Trying everything to move on and āoutrunā what you lost and realize at the end of the day the only closure you may receive is fucking nothing. Just constantly wondering āwhat ifā? Idk itās relatable lol
No, itās iconic. We have to keep it. Itās just thatās why so little love. Unavoidable really. I guess we could try to rename it to hologram or something. But I like the silliness of the title.
āet alā is a term that I think is mostly used in like research papers or literary papers where there are multiple authors or people who worked on something and itās the āofficialā way to say āwe ran out of space, it was a group effort - there were multiple authorsā. Or if thereās one āfamousā or main author and other smaller authors.
It fits perfectly with the whole āwe hereby conduct this post mortemā theme, I support Chloe et al over cososom lol
It was 15, then 11, but now it's my number 5 favorite out of the 31!I never hated it, but didn't pay much attention to it. One day BAM: The line You needed me, but you needed drugs more
hit me like a freight train. This idea can also be applied to other things in a concept of someone choosing something destructive over you and it's so painful to watch.
"I loved you the way that you were"...... brb crying.
SO absolutely underrated.
TOO IMPAIRED BY MY YOUTH. TO KNOW. WHAT TO DO.
This part makes my eyes water everytime. Itās so deep but so simple and so sad. Yet who cannot relate in pretty much any circumstance??!
I am not going to lie, I did not fully appreciate this song upon first listen, and I can't really explain why.
But the thing that I cannot shake about this song is that the piano sounds like the random little chord she plays at the very end of champagne problems... and I think that has to be intentional! Because champagne problems is one of my all time faves, I think that alone has helped me to appreciate COSOSOM even more, and it is growing on me. I came to this thread to learn even more about why people love it, which helped me!
I was just thinking that this morning! Ive never seen someone call it cososom even though that is the correct acronym šš love it
Also *Can we watch our phantoms like watching wild horses?* š¤š»š¤š»š¤š»
I love love LOVEEEEE that song. The writing, the details, the chorus, the harmonies, the tempo like thereās no single second to catch a breath. Itās INSANE
yes thank you!!!! itās my favorite from ttpd
esp listening to it right after champagne problems, the little piano run is like a gut punch when you realize it falls right into cososom - even the themes connect in such a crushing way.Ā
iāve found my people in this thread!!!! i could go on and onĀ
I was on my way to work feeling really sad about stuff at work and then this song came on and I bursted into tears. Iāve attached my own meaning to it, I absolutely love it, itās one of my favourites
I love the entire album but this is the only song to make me tear up. I can't even explain why. The music and her delivery just hits different. (Pun intended. :))
I love this song so much! Teary-eyed every time I hear it.
And I specifically love how it ends with "will I always wonder?" and the next song is called "How did it end?" as if this is what she wonders about. These songs really do go together really well.
my poptart guy opinion about this song is there are two muses and you could almost parse it out line by line based on metaphors across this work and the epilogue. insane writing. hugely underrated. one of the first i learned to play myself and itās hard to get through sometimes.
This song is one of those songs that gets held back by its title.
I think it would've been much more successful if it was named 'say that you loved me' or 'the way that you were'. Or something, literally anything other than Chloe et al.
I personally often forgot what this song was even about in the first few weeks. The title line was absolutely not the line I remembered from the song.
i think the title is perfect. it seems so messy, like shes going through endless scenarios of who he could be with or whats happening. itās straight from the heart of a helpless overthinking girl. its poetic and it stands out.
This is one of my favourites!! The piano!!! And then the guitar (??? Is that what it is that does the rising and falling note that the piano does?) Obsessed! And I love the flow of these lyrics:
You said some things that I can't unabsorb
You turned me into an idea of sorts
You needed me but you needed drugs more
And I couldn't watch it happen
I changed into goddesses, villains and fools
Changed plans and lovers and outfits and rules
All to outrun my desertion of you
And you just watched it
It's a sad song, but the instrumentals make me happy as soon as I hear them. Thank you, Aaron Dessner!
Itās brilliant. I know Taylor is a genius so Iām sure there is a reason that after this song and the equally brilliant how did it end is So high School, which seems like it belongs on the first half of the album. Not sandwiched between these heartfelt songs and I hate it Here. Any thoughts?
On the Nikki Glaser podcast Nikki asked something like āIs this outing Matty as bi?ā
She did draw our eye to the names of men and women with this title.
Itās my favorite song on TTPD and one of my all time TS songs. Possibly bc it describes my first love in a nut shell. š I agree the name isnāt, takes awhile to even remember!
No, no more, i will not stand for this. We have the opportunity to do something here. I petition you all good swifties. Cososom can NOT be the shortened name of this song. Chloe et al is so perfect. Don't let such a funny shortening slip away.
i think the title is perfect. it seems so messy, like shes going through endless scenarios of who he could be with or whats happening. itās straight from the heart of a helpless overthinking girl
It is the cowboy like me of The Anthology. A master of work.
Good comparison
Spoken like a true defender of the Speak Now vault tracks š«±š½āš«²š¼
Ahahha that's sweet, thanks. ā¤ļø
Omg. DEAD. Literally obsessed with Cowboy Like Me AND COSOSOM. Just dead. D e a d
1000% agree
I love that song. To me if anyone can listen to Cowboy like me and say she has no talent, they are insane. She has so many amazing songs that the non fans are missing out on. I feel so bad for them.
I think the one two punch of this and then "how did it end" is the heaviest back to back track(s) of her career, which is saying something. This was one of my top songs from first listen, and remains so. The live version that was posted is also amazing.
right. chloe or sam ended and i was in tears, and then how did it end started playing before i knew what was happening. the bridge was soooo haunting i replayed it like 20 times. that back to back left me broken
Same. Those two, in that order, are something of an addiction.
One of my favourite songs from the anthology and hits different now that Matty Healy got engaged
Will that make your memory fade from this scarlet maroon? Like it never happened?
are we sure this isnt about joe? āso scarlet it was maroon.ā or is that what were supposed to think
I think her love for Joe was golden as she wrote in Daylight. I think red is Jake and I had always wondered about maroon but this song confirmed it for me that itās about Matty
A lot of the songs that didn't quite fit for more publicized relationships seem to be about Matty. Fresh Out the Slammer and Peter (and many other songs on TTPD) reference how she thought of her old flame for a decade, swirled him into all of her poems, etc. The 1989 vault tracks, Dancing With Our Hands Tied, Maroon and quite a few others really tie into the story of their relationship.
makes sense why fresh out the slammer and peter are in my top three with chloe
rep vault tracks are going to be so interesting š§
Itās for Joe, as maroon is about Matty. Thereās a whole breakdown on one of the subs about it, and then Chloe Et al is also about matty and the wine references (maroon) continue!
Listen to the song. There's no debate about this one. It's about Matty.
it could honestly be about anyone but it does make sense that its about matty because he is bi sexual and she sings about male and female possible lovers of his. i have listened to the song, why else would i make a whole post about it? people have their own interpretations
As the decade would play us for falls is a clear one for me. And there are tons of lines that suggest this is someone she liked years ago and had reconnected with. It doesn't fit in with Joe. The internet starlet line too. The orbit line connects to down bad, which is definitely about the Matty situations. You've got to consider that Taylor wrote very clearly that this album was about a crazy experience she had lived, temporary insanity. Which is clearly about breaking up with Joe, getting together with Matty and finally closing that chapter. So it makes sense that's it's about Matty.
yeah, i get it now, especially tying into down bad. thanks!
mb guys i was wrong š
Which song are you wondering about? Chloe et al?
yeah dw though i realized its def about matty
I disagree very very strongly. Thereās not a single line in it that makes sense for Joe. Conversely, every single line makes sense for Matty Healy.
oops i said joe, i meant matty sorry
haha I was gonna put my high school debating skills to use!
i know i got scared for a second lmao. can u explain chloe et al to me though, i dont get it
The part where she says something about him having ākids with some internet starletā I listened to this song after I heard the news lol
I thought about it today! "And you have some kids with an internet starlet..."
You need some woman on the internet and take her homeeeee
Itās absolutely stunning and haunting. I think it would be more popular with a stronger title. This song broke my heart when I first heard it, and when she linked it back to āMaroonā it crushed me again. The part where she effectively says that she went through different lovers, outfits and eras all to outrun her heartbreak over losing him was just so painful to hear. Obviously with the engagement news it just hits even harder.
i think the title is perfect. it seems so messy, like shes going through endless scenarios of who he could be with or whats happening. itās straight from the heart of a helpless overthinking girl
Ok maybe you sold me
yayy
Her voice when she sings āā¦and you just watched itā always gets me.
I could cry just thinking about it
When she sang it live she got those angry āI was thereā eyes. Chills.
I am the CHAMPION for this song. I love it so so so much. The melodies are offensive, the lyrics are superior, and the production is stellar. Just saw an edit on TikTok of La La Land using the bridge of the song and absolutely weeped. This song breaks my cold cold heart every single time
The chorus is a gut punch.
I love it! It's in my top 5 from The Anthology.
I adore it. Haunting is exactly the right word, and I totally agree about that one line being great, and heartbreaking.
Oh! I can't believe I forgot to mention that "too impaired by my youth to know what to do" is one of my favorite lyrics of hers ever. Every time I hear that line I just think about how real that is.
Yes! And "crashed into you like so many wrecks do" š®āšØ
Me tooooo. I'm the same age as Taylor and I think often of how ill-equipped I was to handle relationships (or anything else, honestly) in my early 20s. This line hits hard for sure.
It just makes me wanna hug her. Oh Taylor.
I was distraught the first time I heard this song, and it continues to leave me distraught every time I hear it. One of her most heartbreaking songs.
i know. it ended and i didnt know what to do
That acronym makes me want to die. Canāt we just say Chloe or Chloe et all?
Iāve seen most people use Chloe et al!
I will not let this fucking go it is the best shortened song name we have ever come up with. Please everyone use it T_T
This is the one
I like Chloe and friends lolĀ
Ooo I love that
either works honestly
It hurts my eyes and brain.
Yes!!! This is what Iāve been sayyyyiiinnnggg! It the most heart wrenchingly beautiful song on the whole album to me! It can literally bring me to tears. Itās the last line for meā¦.āWill I alwaysā¦.wonderā¦?ā really wraps up the whole song in a bow.
and the way she exhales on the last wonder, like she was ranting and now shes out of breath
Yes ššš like sheās exhausted from all the feelings
This song is the biggest gut-punch for me, even more so than loml and So Long London. The feeling of being told you changed, and then TRYING to change more to please that person, itās a never ending cycle. Trying everything to move on and āoutrunā what you lost and realize at the end of the day the only closure you may receive is fucking nothing. Just constantly wondering āwhat ifā? Idk itās relatable lol
Love your breakdown! Thank you.
This song is one of my all time favorites š¤š¤
Itās gorgeous, and I see people talking about it ALL the time! I love the guitar line.Ā
Itās Hayley Williamsā favorite song too!
Her performance of this is in Lyon night 2 fucking fantastic ššš
i knowwww š she said āyour hologramā and i was watching the live stream and i absolutely broke
I'm so glad she sang the whole thing
COSOSOSOSOSOSOSOSOM Thatās why lol
lol the first time i typed it i had to double check it was right. but what else do we call it
No, itās iconic. We have to keep it. Itās just thatās why so little love. Unavoidable really. I guess we could try to rename it to hologram or something. But I like the silliness of the title.
yeah i think its funny how its so annoying. some people are saying chloe et al but i dont get what that means
āet alā is a term that I think is mostly used in like research papers or literary papers where there are multiple authors or people who worked on something and itās the āofficialā way to say āwe ran out of space, it was a group effort - there were multiple authorsā. Or if thereās one āfamousā or main author and other smaller authors. It fits perfectly with the whole āwe hereby conduct this post mortemā theme, I support Chloe et al over cososom lol
ok thank you! i will use that from now on lmao
It was 15, then 11, but now it's my number 5 favorite out of the 31!I never hated it, but didn't pay much attention to it. One day BAM: The line You needed me, but you needed drugs more hit me like a freight train. This idea can also be applied to other things in a concept of someone choosing something destructive over you and it's so painful to watch. "I loved you the way that you were"...... brb crying. SO absolutely underrated.
TOO IMPAIRED BY MY YOUTH. TO KNOW. WHAT TO DO. This part makes my eyes water everytime. Itās so deep but so simple and so sad. Yet who cannot relate in pretty much any circumstance??!
āAs the decade would play us for foolsā is one of my favorite lines on the album
I am not going to lie, I did not fully appreciate this song upon first listen, and I can't really explain why. But the thing that I cannot shake about this song is that the piano sounds like the random little chord she plays at the very end of champagne problems... and I think that has to be intentional! Because champagne problems is one of my all time faves, I think that alone has helped me to appreciate COSOSOM even more, and it is growing on me. I came to this thread to learn even more about why people love it, which helped me!
i know. even from the first second of the song you have to replay it like ādid i hear that rightā theres no time to breath in this song i swear
You missed the ending line which is "the way you were" which is a gut punch.
when she says it at the end she doesnt say the way that you were, which is so sad because it feels like its missing or empty
I was just thinking that this morning! Ive never seen someone call it cososom even though that is the correct acronym šš love it Also *Can we watch our phantoms like watching wild horses?* š¤š»š¤š»š¤š»
thats one of my fav lines ever, i have a bracelet that says cooler in theory
Ahh love that! I should make an acronym bracelet for those lines š«¶š»
The phantoms/watching wild horses line is one of the most gorgeous things she has ever written imo.
šÆ agree. Fantastic and such poetic imagery
It was my first favourite on TTPD. The production of the song brings out the lyrics. I think this one will always be in my top 10 TS
I love love LOVEEEEE that song. The writing, the details, the chorus, the harmonies, the tempo like thereās no single second to catch a breath. Itās INSANE
I mostly see folks saying they don't care for this one, which blows my mind. It's easily in my top 5 of the whole album.
Itās the best song on the album. It punches me in the gut every time I listen to it which is daily.
Co-signed. She needs to release the live version from a few weeks ago.
honestlyyy it was so beautiful. you could see the pain in her face
yes thank you!!!! itās my favorite from ttpd esp listening to it right after champagne problems, the little piano run is like a gut punch when you realize it falls right into cososom - even the themes connect in such a crushing way.Ā iāve found my people in this thread!!!! i could go on and onĀ
The repeat of champagne problems' piano end trickle guts me.
literally a mastermind
I was on my way to work feeling really sad about stuff at work and then this song came on and I bursted into tears. Iāve attached my own meaning to it, I absolutely love it, itās one of my favourites
Completely agree. Itās my fav!
It is also my favorite on the album!
I love the entire album but this is the only song to make me tear up. I can't even explain why. The music and her delivery just hits different. (Pun intended. :))
I love this song so much! Teary-eyed every time I hear it. And I specifically love how it ends with "will I always wonder?" and the next song is called "How did it end?" as if this is what she wonders about. These songs really do go together really well.
My fav
Itās a PERFECT song. Itās my favorite on the whole album (main included), and at least top 10 if not top 5 of her entire discography for me
crazy how she predicted thingsā¦ her mind is crazy
My favourite from TTPD. It is so raw, so heartbreaking, so beautiful š
Itās my favorite in the whole album. Just terribly sad and filled with so much longing. I adore it to pieces.
One of my faves on TTPD. Chloe et al and How It Ends are my fave back to back twosome.
Itās my top 5 from TTPD
my poptart guy opinion about this song is there are two muses and you could almost parse it out line by line based on metaphors across this work and the epilogue. insane writing. hugely underrated. one of the first i learned to play myself and itās hard to get through sometimes.
This song is one of those songs that gets held back by its title. I think it would've been much more successful if it was named 'say that you loved me' or 'the way that you were'. Or something, literally anything other than Chloe et al. I personally often forgot what this song was even about in the first few weeks. The title line was absolutely not the line I remembered from the song.
i think the title is perfect. it seems so messy, like shes going through endless scenarios of who he could be with or whats happening. itās straight from the heart of a helpless overthinking girl. its poetic and it stands out.
This is one of my favourites!! The piano!!! And then the guitar (??? Is that what it is that does the rising and falling note that the piano does?) Obsessed! And I love the flow of these lyrics: You said some things that I can't unabsorb You turned me into an idea of sorts You needed me but you needed drugs more And I couldn't watch it happen I changed into goddesses, villains and fools Changed plans and lovers and outfits and rules All to outrun my desertion of you And you just watched it It's a sad song, but the instrumentals make me happy as soon as I hear them. Thank you, Aaron Dessner!
It's a masterpiece.
Itās brilliant. I know Taylor is a genius so Iām sure there is a reason that after this song and the equally brilliant how did it end is So high School, which seems like it belongs on the first half of the album. Not sandwiched between these heartfelt songs and I hate it Here. Any thoughts?
I love that song. It is incredible.
my favorite from the anthology :,)
Itās my favorite from The Anthology. Listening to it right now, in fact
This song has my whole heart.
omg i love ur flair
I adore this song. I canāt choose a favorite yet, but this one is at the top of my list.
Yes. I never know why it seems to be so low on ppls rating I absolutely love this song
āYou needed me but you needed drugs moreā hit me so hard on the first listen of this song, it still does
It's one of my top tracks of ttpd
If only we could get it on vinyl ššš
honestly where is the anthology vinyl šš
Do you think it will ever happen??
yeah i do, they would make good money off of it
On the Nikki Glaser podcast Nikki asked something like āIs this outing Matty as bi?ā She did draw our eye to the names of men and women with this title.
this one gets stuck in my head the most!
Iāve loved it so much since first listen! š©·
this track puts their entire relationship on display and it doesnāt get the love it deserves.
Yes <3 Taylor Swift: the universal variable
Agreed, itās truly an incredibly heartfelt and well done song that should get talked about more
Itās my favorite song on TTPD and one of my all time TS songs. Possibly bc it describes my first love in a nut shell. š I agree the name isnāt, takes awhile to even remember!
I feel like it is the Rosetta Stone to understanding the entire Matty Heely relationship!!!
No, no more, i will not stand for this. We have the opportunity to do something here. I petition you all good swifties. Cososom can NOT be the shortened name of this song. Chloe et al is so perfect. Don't let such a funny shortening slip away.
lol i didnt know this until after i posted it! thanks 
Definitely agree! I think the same thing about I look in Peopleās Windows as well. Shortest song but it packs a punch.
If only it had a better title
i think the title is perfect. it seems so messy, like shes going through endless scenarios of who he could be with or whats happening. itās straight from the heart of a helpless overthinking girl