The song is about Rebekah Harkness, a wealthy window who lived in the Rhode Island house that Taylor now owns. Taylor said she has been wanting to write a song about Rebekah's life since 2013, but never had a track that felt like it could tell a whole life story until now.[1] To the Rolling Stone, Taylor said: "Her name was Rebekah Harkness and she lived in the house that I ended up buying in Rhode Island. That's how I learned about her. But she was a woman who was very, very talked about, and everything she did was scandalous. I found a connection in that."[2]
Trivia[]
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1]
Rebekah rode up on the afternoon train, it was sunny
Her saltbox house on the coast took her mind off St. Louis
Bill was the heir to the Standard Oil name and money
And the town said, "How did a middle-class divorcée do it?"
The wedding was charming, if a little gauche
There's only so far new money goes
They picked out a home and called it "Holiday House"
Their parties were tasteful, if a little loud
The doctor had told him to settle down
It must have been her fault his heart gave out
And they said
[Chorus]
There goes the last great American dynasty
Who knows, if she never showed up, what could've been
There goes the maddest woman this town has ever seen
She had a marvelous time ruining everything
[Verse 2]
Rebekah gave up on the Rhode Island set forever
Flew in all her Bitch Pack friends from the city
Filled the pool with champagne and swam with the big names
And blew through the money on the boys and the ballet
And losing on card game bets with Dalí
And they said
[Chorus]
There goes the last great American dynasty
Who knows, if she never showed up, what could've been
There goes the most shameless woman this town has ever seen
She had a marvelous time ruining everything
[Bridge]
They say she was seen on occasion
Pacing the rocks, staring out at the midnight sea
And in a feud with her neighbor
She stole his dog and dyed it key lime green
Fifty years is a long time
Holiday House sat quietly on that beach
Free of women with madness, their men and bad habits
And then it was bought by me
[Chorus]
Who knows, if I never showed up, what could've been
There goes the loudest woman this town has ever seen
I had a marvelous time ruining everything
[Outro]
I had a marvelous time ruining everything
A marvelous time ruining everything
A marvelous time
I had a marvelous time
Videos[]
Taylor Swift - the last great american dynasty (Official Lyric Video)
The last great american dynasty (the long pond studio sessions)
