Home » Albums » evermore » Songs on evermore » it’s time to go

it's time to go

Bonus Track | evermore (2020)

“it’s time to go” apperas on the deluxe version of Taylor’s ninth album, evermore (2020). It is the final song on the record and the second “ending” to the project, after the titular song evermore closes out the standard version of the album. Taylor sings about reaching a point in a relationship when you feel it’s time to separate yourself from the other person involved.
Table of Contents

Background and Lyrical Theme

On January 8, 2021, Taylor announced that the deluxe edition of her new album would be made available to stream, featuring two new bonus tracks: “right where you left me” and “it’s time to go.” In her post, she addressed the meaning of the song:

«'it’s time to go' is about listening to your gut when it tells you to leave. How you always know before you know, you know?»

To illustrate this point, Taylor mentions a number of different types of relationships, all of which have, in her eyes, run their course. Moreover analysts believe that featured illustrations are all based on her personal life.

She depicts situations where relationships have turned sour, notably mentioning her highly-publicized legal battle with her former label, Big Machine Records, for the ownership rights to the masters of her first six studio albums. She also references the fallout with her former best friend, model Karlie Kloss: “When the words of a sister come back in whispers / That prove she was not in fact who she seemed / Not a twin from your dreams / She’s a crook who was caught.”

Live Performances

“it’s time to go” received its first live performance acoustically on piano on November 26, 2023, in São Paulo (Brazil) during one of Taylor’s shows on “The Eras Tour” (2023-2024). It was the second surprise song of the night. On July 19, 2024, she mashed it up with “Better Man” (2021) in Gelsenkirchen.

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
When the dinner is cold and the chatter gets old you ask for the tab
Or that moment again he’s insisting that friends look at each other like that
When the words of a sister come back in whispers that prove she was not
In fact what she seemed, not a twin from your dreams
She’s a crook who was caught

[Chorus 1]
That old familiar body ache
The snaps from the same little breaks
In your soul
You know
When it’s time to go

[Verse 2]
Twenty years at your job
Then the son of the boss
Gets the spot that was yours
Or trying to stay for the kids
When keeping it how it was will only break their heart worse

[Chorus 1]
That old familiar body ache
The snaps from the same little breaks
In your soul
You know
When it’s time to go

[Post-Chorus]
Sometimes giving up is the strong thing
Sometimes to run is the brave thing
Sometimes walking out is the one thing
That will find you the right thing
Sometimes giving up is the strong thing
Sometimes to run is the brave thing
Sometimes walking out is the one thing
That will find you the right thing

[Verse 3]
Fifteen years
Fifteen million tears
Begging ’til my knees bleed
I gave it my all, he gave me nothing at all
Then wondered why I left
Now he sits on his throne
In his palace of bones
Praying to his greed
He’s got my past
Frozen behind glass
But I’ve got me

[Chorus 2]
That old familiar body ache
The snaps from the same little breaks
In my soul
I know
When it’s time to go

[Post-Chorus]
Sometimes giving up is the strong thing
Sometimes to run is the brave thing
Sometimes walking out is the one thing
That will find you the right thing
Sometimes giving up is the strong thing
Sometimes to run is the brave thing
Sometimes walking out is the one thing
That will find you the right thing
That will find you the right thing

[Outro]
And you know
In your soul
And you know
In your soul
When it’s time go
You know
You know
You know
You know
When it’s time go
So then you go
Then you go
You just go

General Information
ArtistTaylor Swift
Albumevermore
ReleasedDecember 18, 2020
Written2020
StudioLong Pond (Hudson Valley, NY)
GenreAlternative
Length4:15
LabelRepublic Records
SongwritersTaylor Swift
Aaron Dessner
ProducerAaron Dessner
EVERMORE CHRONOLOGY
right where you left meit’s time to go
Song Artwork
Live Performance
Lyric Video
Official Audio