I just finished song #20…I swear these songs are so addicting! I keep saying, just one more song and then I’ll stop for the night. I started saying that around song #14. However, I am going to stop for at least right now so I can post my thoughts on the first 15 songs. If I did all 30 in one post it would be super long, so I’m going to do this in two parts.
These songs though… Let me tell ya’, these are peak lyrics. This is her at the top of her song writing game I think. No wonder there are college classes dedicated to analyzing her songs! Also, sadly, I went back to Barnes & Noble today to get that book from my last post and I was not the only Swiftie interested in it. Someone bought it before I did. I’ll look it up on Amazon though because after hearing these songs, I really do want to see how other poets respond to her songs.
And speaking of responding, here are my thoughts and stand-out lyrics:
1: Fortnight (feat. Post Malone)—“…but what about your quiet treason?”, “I wanna kill her”. Oh my. A lot of suffering. Short-lived romance. She’s miserable, he’s happy. His voice blends really well with hers.
2: The Tortured Poets Department— The typewriter reminds me of Frank from the movie “You’ve Got Mail”. “I think some things I never say”. Girl, me too! “Like a tattooed golden retriever” ? Huh. That’s an interesting lyric. A little too melodic with the “no-fuckin-body”, I would have spit that out with emphasis. A lot of specific details about the “you” she’s singing to/about.
3: My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys—Comparing herself to a toy, playful sound but also very bitter, is she making excuses for him? “Once I fix me, he’s gonna miss me”, really feel the hurt at the end.
4: Down Bad—Feeling extremes with the down feeling. “Everything comes out teenage petulance”. Sometimes you just want to wallow a little bit when you feel so bad. “So fuck you if I can’t have us”—I feel like that’s very relatable for a lot of people. Kind of the perfect break up song.
5: So Long, London—The book had a tiny bit about this—about Joe Alwyn, companion to “London Boy”. “Two graves, one gun”. Wow! Strong emotion in that, lot of metaphors and descriptions of it ending, sounds like she hung on and tried for a long time. “You sacrificed us to the gods of your bluest days”.
6: But Daddy I Love Him—Reminds me of “Papa Don’t Preach” by Madonna. “It’s mine alone to disgrace”, “judgmental creeps”. You know what, I had a grandma like that. We called her Grandma Satan, so holy, and yet so hateful. Her parents came around in the song, Grandma didn’t. My mom tried to tell her that my boyfriend wasn’t going anywhere and for her to get used to it. That boyfriend became my husband. “…and it’s my choice”, love who you want, forget everybody else, I like this one.
7: Fresh Out the Slammer—What is the slammer a metaphor for? Did she feel locked up in a different relationship that didn’t work? Wanting a fresh start, rhythm changes in the middle.
8: Florida!!! (feat. Florence & the Machine)—The book mentioned a Thelma & Louise vibe to this one. I like Florence’s voice. There’s an edge to it. Never heard her music before. I’ve been to Florida a bunch of times and it really is a whole different place, very different from anywhere else I’ve been.
9: Guilty as Sin?—“Am I allowed to cry?”, “…into the hedge maze”, “locked in lowercase, inside a vault”—folklore and evermore songs didn’t have capital letters in their titles, vault tracks are a thing, so… “My bedsheets are ablaze…” Wow! Powerful imagery, “long-suffering propriety”, definitely poetic.
10: Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?—“You don’t get to tell me about ‘sad’”, definitely a Reputation vibe to this. “You should be”—powerful. Be afraid. “You don’t get to tell me you feel bad”, “Is it a wonder I broke?”, “I was tame, I was gentle till the circus life made me mean” Damn! I really like this one. Still very vengeful. “How disturbed this has made me”, Say what you want but “you’re still singing along”. Added to the “inspirational” playlist. Got tired of writing lyrics, it’s all of them, lol! Would have written the whole song.
11: I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)—Sounds like she’s describing a rough cowboy. Can women ever really fix men though? “Whoa, maybe I can’t”. LOL!
12: loml—“…better safe than starry eyed”, “You took me to hell too”. Really strong lyrics, lots of references and metaphors, totally poetic, “…something counterfeit’s dead”, “You’re the loss of my life”
13: I Can Do It With a Broken Heart—“There in her glittering prime”, “Lights, camera, bitch, smile”. Ok I really like this. Keeping up appearances, do what you gotta do. That chorus is amazing! I had to do this! Had a very front-facing career, couldn’t show or let on what I was going through. I LOVE the end! Amazing! Also added to the “inspirational” playlist.
14: The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived—“If rusting my sparkling summer was the goal”. The deep breath in the middle. “…treat her like an also-ran”? What does that mean? This is really powerful! The crescendo and the drums. Is the other one about John Mayer? (**Google says no. It’s about Matty Healy).
15: The Alchemy—“But I’m coming back so strong”, “It’s heroin but this time with an E”. Wait, this has to be about Travis. Too many football references. (**Google says yes, it is. But that some references don’t fit Travis so it’s also about Matty Healy).
I’ll finish the last 10 songs tomorrow and post my thoughts. Honestly though, this album makes me understand why her engagement announcement said our p.e. teacher and English teacher are getting married. I legit was an English teacher and could never write poetry as good as this. And especially what I’ve read her say about the meaning of her lyrics.
Once again, no reaction selfies this time, but here’s my late night listening friend, my best girl Faye.
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