When Aaron Dessner sent Taylor the instrumental for the song, her first thought was that it sounded like peace because of the bass line. She thought about starting it in a way that goes against the title, namely "I could never give you peace". To the Rolling Stone, Taylor said the following about the meaning of the song: "peace is actually more rooted in my personal life. It comes after carving out a human life within a public life, and how scary that can be when you do fall in love and you meet someone, especially if you’ve met someone who has a very grounded, normal way of living. I, oftentimes, in my anxieties, can control how I am as a person and how normal I act and rationalize things, but I cannot control if there are 20 photographers outside in the bushes and what they do and if they follow our car and if they interrupt our lives. I can’t control if there’s going to be a fake weird headline about us in the news tomorrow. Would it be enough if I could never fully achieve the normalcy that we both crave?"[1]
Trivia[]
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1]
Our coming-of-age has come and gone
Suddenly this summer, it's clear
I never had the courage of my convictions
As long as danger is near
And it's just around the corner, darlin'
'Cause it lives in me
No, I could never give you peace
[Chorus]
But I'm a fire and I'll keep your brittle heart warm
If your cascade, ocean wave blues come
All these people think love's for show
But I would die for you in secret
The devil's in the details, but you got a friend in me
Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?
[Verse 2]
Your integrity makes me seem small
You paint dreamscapes on the wall
I talk shit with my friends, it's like I'm wasting your honor
And you know that I'd swing with you for the fences
Sit with you in the trenches
Give you my wild, give you a child
Give you the silence that only comes when two people understand each other
Family that I chose, now that I see your brother as my brother
Is it enough?
But there's robbers to the east, clowns to the west
I'd give you my sunshine, give you my best
But the rain is always gonna come if you're standin' with me
[Chorus]
But I'm a fire and I'll keep your brittle heart warm
If your cascade, ocean wave blues come
All these people think love's for show
But I would die for you in secret
The devil's in the details, but you got a friend in me
Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?
Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?
Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?
