Edited by: Mihir Khanna
A short snippet of an unreleased song by one of the greatest artists of the time trending on Instagram reels tempted me greatly to listen to it on repeat any which way I could. Resorting to illegally downloading it from twitter, I realized that this 4 minute masterpiece by Taylor Swift – “You’re Losing Me” is packed with emotional confessions.
Every t-swift song undoubtedly has the capability to make the listener feel emotions they never thought they had but the candidly harsh reality that this song managed to bring about sets it a mile apart from the rest. This song has sparked a debate as to if this was hinting at the end of the six year long relationship between Taylor- and Joe. Despite all this pop-culture controversy, taylor managed to give to us a piece of art many in this generation can unquestionably relate to
The breakdown of a long term relationship and the emotional turmoil it brings about makes us actually question whether this type of pain is talked about much.
More than the pain, it’s the hopelessness.
“Remember looking’ at this room, we loved it ’cause of the light
Now, I just sit in the dark and wonder if it’s time.”
It’s the uncertainty.
“How long could we be a sad song
‘Til we were too far gone to bring back to life“
It’s the battle of a person who is fighting to hold onto what they once had while the other is oblivious.
“Lose something, babe, risk something” (you’re losing’ me)
“Choose something, babe, I got nothing (got nothing)”
It’s the lack of understanding and communication.
You say, “I don’t understand, ” and I say, “I know you don’t”
The sharp exhale at the beginning, capturing the exhaustion that comes about with “saving” something that is simply not meant to be saved- that is meant to let go of, is truly heart wrenching.
The mourning of a slowly dying love hits too close to home for many.
We almost physically feel the indecision of whether to leave someone because things are bad or to stick it out and hope it works as is captured in the song. This is yet another example of how listening to it feels as if sad poetry has come to life as throughout the song, there are parallels drawn between physical pain and the emotional anguishes after a breakup.
It is truly a masterpiece of understated heartache and brings to life the complexities that come along with long term relationships.
“A pathological people pleaser,” Swift describes herself as someone who lost their identity in holding on to a relationship and making things work because sometimes there simply isn’t a solution. A relationship just ends.