O.k., first of all, the cover to this album says it all…Taylor with full on resting bitch face next to what is clearly a tabloid with her name all over it. You know right away this album will be showing off her DGAF attitude about what people say about her. And omg! How right I was!
There are SO many things I wrote down as I listened to this album and I swear it was hard to keep up sometimes. Lots of pausing so I could write. Before I get to those specific thoughts, I’ll just say that this album was fire! Seriously, not just in the sense that it was amazing, but the theme of burning bridges in some of the songs is very obvious. And as someone who relates very heavily to this quote…
…this album feels like it was personally speaking to me at this exact moment in my life. Whew! The things that happened to me in my 2023-2024 era because of, really, one person, have made me connect in a deep way to a lot of the songs on this. I swept through this album with a quickness because every song was exactly what I wanted to hear…vengeful Taylor using her voice and her platform to fight back. I read all the behind-the-music stories in the book and man! She went through a lot during this era!
Here are my thoughts about each specific song and specific lyrics that stood out to me:
- Ready for It—Literally 10 seconds in and I said, “Oh my” Is she rapping?! What is this sound?! Oh my god I love it! She’s a bad ass now! But also, the difference in music between the chorus and every other part is pretty cool. Then it all blends together at the end, so awesome! Perfect song to kick off the album! “Let the games begin”, “Are you ready for it?”
- End Game (featuring Ed Sheeran and Future)—Starts off innocent sounding, then Hot Topic Taylor comes in, “I got some big reputation”, “You and me would be a big conversation”, knows she would be feeding the media (Ack! I can’t write fast enough!) “I don’t wanna be just another ex-love”, “I know what they all say”. She knows who she is and what she wants. Go Ed Sheeran! (With the rapping). “Drinking on a beach with you all over me”, “Big reputation”, “And I bury hatchets, but I keep maps of where I put ‘em” (Literally gasped at that line). She absolutely knows who she is and is playing into/almost embracing what they say about her.
- I Did Something Bad—“I never trust a narcissist.” Oooh! Calling…them…out! Playing them first before they play her. This is absolutely calling people out. “They say I did something bad”, “They’re burning all the witches…”, “Go ahead and light me up”
(Here’s the selfie I took when I heard that line because I realized what my face was doing and I’m almost certain it was doing that the whole time from song #1:
This is a Taylor that gives no fucks!
4. Don’t Blame Me—“And toyin’ with them older guys”, “Just playthings for me to use”, flippin’ the script on the rhythm! Like an actual bob your head kind of song. Edgy with the “drug”, “usin’”, “I get so high”, “trip”.
5. Delicate—Interesting electronic sound effects with her voice at the beginning. “This ain’t for the best”, “My reputation’s never been worse”. Like a one night stand kind of description, but with some consent behind it too in a way. One night stand or just a casual fling or “friend with benefits” kind of situation? Trying not to be too serious.
6. Look What You Made Me Do—“The role you made me play” Oooh! I have someone who made me do that! “But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time”. At that point I stopped writing lyrics because…all of them! Omg! THIS is the revenge song, “the old Taylor”, “cause she’s dead”. OMG! THIS is the song I’ve been waiting for! Straight to the “inspirational” playlist. Had to listen to it twice without pausing to write. THIS is what I want to say to that person from my past who f’d with me one too many times. On the second listen, I caught the muffled voice and then the clear voice after she says the old Taylor is dead. That means something to me. My voice was stifled/muffled for SO long and I’m in my era of finally using it loud and proud!
Seriously, y’all just don’t even know how much this song is what I needed to hear. This is the song.
7. So It Goes—“You know I’m not a bad girl, but I do bad things with you”. Not really relationship type songs, more about passionate, intimate encounters.
8. Gorgeous—“You should take it as a compliment that I got drunk and made fun of the way you talk”, :head side tilt: Interesting. Like how they used to say if a boy was mean to you it meant they liked you. “…sink and drown and die”—very dramatic lyrics, kind of playful too though. Heart throbs in the 90s, am I right?—Looking at you Devon Sawa. (This song made me think of that).
9. Getaway Car—A relationship doomed from the start. “Well, he was runnin’ after us, I was screamin’, Go, go, go! But with 3 of us honey, it’s a sideshow.” What is that about? “And a circus ain’t a love story” Call back? Interesting carrying the getaway/crime spree metaphor throughout.
10. King of My Heart—“…I’m better off being alone.” I always wondered if she would take time to be by herself at some point. The switch in the sound throughout is pretty cool. Just a regular guy. Was this about anyone in particular or someone she was hoping for? (The book says she was inspired by Khal Drogo and Daenerys in “Game of Thrones”. That’s pretty cool. I loved that show—hated the ending as almost everyone did, by the way).
11. Dancing With Our Hands Tied—“People started talking, putting us through our paces”, every song seems to have at least one reference to people talking about her, I mean, obviously given the name of the album. “…with our hands tied.” Like how people say, “my hands are tied”, like there’s nothing that can be done, so she has a bad feeling but there’s nothing she can do? I like the music, very modern, pop. Not 80s/90s vibes from lots of other songs on other albums.
12. Dress—Keeping a relationship a secret? Is this about Joe Alwyn? The one who was very reserved. “Only bought this dress so you could take it off.” I feel that this is necessary after hearing this lyric for the first time:
Risque’ Taylor in this one! If this is about him, I wonder how he felt about it. Seems very personal, which I thought he wasn’t about. “I woke up just in time”.
13. This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things—I love all the sudden transitions in rhythm and sound in these songs. “And so I took an axe to a mended fence”. I love that! I really like this one! “…I can’t even say it with a straight face.” I LOVE IT! Big smile at that part. (The book said this one was about Kanye).
At this point, I reflected on her album themes. I wrote: So there’s an album for like every mood, huh? This is definitely a good one for my petty/vengeful era. Is that the idea behind the whole Eras tour? These albums represent different eras in her life? Each one is definitely very distinct.
14. Call It What You Want—“I’m doing better than I ever was”, “All my flowers grew back as thorns”—Woah! This a good one for my husband and me. He was the one who knew the truth about what happened to me, nobody else did. He helped me through all of it. This album is like, all me!
15. New Year’s Day—I like the piano, something about it is very appropriate. Is this a transition song to her next album, Lover? This is very sweet. Almost like the angry storm is over. This is the aftermath of the “party”—the intense album.
I feel like this album is one that you shouldn’t put on shuffle when you listen to it. You almost have to go through in order from start to finish. It very much tells a story and the songs show a progression in her…attitude? Maybe that’s not the right word. But you definitely get the sense that she started off angry and spiteful and by the end, she’s grown and changed and calmed down and ready to move on. I kind of feel that way too, lol! Got this out of my system, now let’s move on to Lover.
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