Taylor Swift expertly blurs the lines between fantasy and reality through 16 tracks in her surprise release, “folklore.”
A direct result of quarantine-culture due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Swift’s eighth studio album has topped the Billboard 200 chart for the seventh consecutive week.
“In isolation, my imagination has run wild and this album is the result. I’ve told these stories to the best of my ability with all the love, wonder, and whimsy they deserve. Now it’s up to you to pass them down,” said Swift on Twitter.
There is so much to be said about Taylor Swift’s artistry, lyricism, and talent, but it is all apparent when giving “folklore” a listen.
Swift makes a gentle return to the basics with her album opener, “the 1,” yet there is nothing ‘basic’ about it. A simple piano track accompanies a song that is reminiscent of the stereotypical breakup songs that made Swift’s career.
Opening with the striking lyrics, “I’m doing good, I’m on some new sh*t,” Swift immediately paints a picture that this is a different album from what her listeners are used to—immersing her audience into a melancholic environment, telling the story of lost love with the aid of profanity. Shocking, I know.
Notable lyrics:
“We never painted by the numbers, baby/But we were making it count/You know the greatest loves of all time are over now”
While Taylor Swift fans are very familiar with the songs she writes about her own relationships, this is not necessarily the case with “folklore.” Swift is rumored to have been dating actor Joe Alwyn for nearly three years but generally keeps their relationship out of the public eye.
“I found myself not only writing about my own stories, but also writing about or from the perspective of people I’ve never met, people I’ve known, or those I wish I hadn’t,” Swift said.
This creativity runs free in a highly-speculated fictional love triangle found with a closer listen to this album, within the tracks “cardigan,” “betty” and “august.”
“cardigan” introduces this love triangle, drawing from the perspective of a hurt ex-lover, perhaps the titular namesake in “betty.” Another example of an acoustic track, “cardigan” perfectly encapsulates the feeling of hopelessness and hurt framed through the narrative of a lost love between two teenagers: “When you are young they assume you know nothing.”
Notable lyrics:
“You drew stars around my scars/But now I’m bleedin'”
“But I knew you’d linger like a tattoo kiss/I knew you’d haunt all of my what-ifs”
In “august” we are introduced to the ‘other woman’ in this relationship, perhaps the reason why betty and her counterpart did not work out. “august” is a haunting ballad that whole-heartedly deserves a million different listens, told from a perspective of a girl who is burdened with the fault of a broken relationship, yet has no other answers other than unrequited love.
“I can see us lost in the memory/august slipped away like a moment in time.”
A clear favorite of the album, “august” definitely resurfaces earlier themes of hopelessness, narrated by Swift with a noticeably softer voice—maybe representative of her character not feeling heard?
This is arguably the most heart-wrenching of the songs on the album, as the feeling of unrequited love is not easily overcome. Swift artfully captures and represents the most tangible of emotions within her music. This is clearly not an easy feat.
Notable lyrics:
“August slipped away into a moment in time/’Cause it was never mine”
“Back when we were still changing for the better/Wanting was enough/For me, it was enough”
“betty” rounds out the triangle, and tells the story of the man at the center of the story. A surprisingly upbeat tune, “betty” introduces the idea of reconciliation between the two lovers: “The worst thing that I ever did/Was what I did to you.”
Swift’s simple performance of this song at the ACM’s ushered in her “folklore” era. It is refreshing for music lovers and critics alike to hear music that is real, unfiltered and unapologetic in an era of overproduction and computer-generated music. Swift’s feat should be celebrated.
Notable lyrics:
“But if I just showed up at your party/Would you have me?/Would you want me?/Would you tell me to go f*ck myself”
“I’m only seventeen/I don’t know anything but I know I miss you”