Songs have the incredible capacity to touch our hearts and to promote identification through the lyrics. From different singers and with different genres, music can make people dive into different universes very far from our reality, which can stimulate our imagination. Currently, it is almost inevitable to think about music and not mention Taylor Swift. This american singer released successful albums throughout her career and last year, during pandemic times, she produced and released two new albums: Folklore (july, 2020) and Evermore (december, 2020). These two albums contain innovations rarely seen in other Taylor Swift songs, such as stories that are not necessarily based on her own life, literary references and also poetic and metaphorical lyrics.
Read now about five songs on Folklore and Evermore that are special due to the detail-oriented work done in the lyrics.
- Cardigan, Taylor Swift (Folklore)
The song Cardigan has many poetic metaphors in its lyrics thoroughly written by Taylor Swift. One example is the line “You drew stars around my scars, but now I’m bleeding”, which communicates in a beautiful way all the pain behind the mixed feelings described in the song. Another excerpt that deserves recognition is the chorus “And when I felt like I was an old cardigan under someone’s bed, you put me on and said I was your favorite”, that shows a metaphor with an old clothing to say how this new love values the narrator. The literary references in many songs of these two albums also show up in Cardigan, specially in the part “Peter losing Wendy”, which is alluding to the famous story of Peter Pan.
- The lakes, Taylor Swift (Folklore)
The lakes is certainly one of the most special songs in Taylor’s latest albums. With sensibility, metaphors and links to poetry, it represents the perfect artistic song that has deep meanings in every single verse. The message conveyed is about the desire to run away from the chaos and the addictions that exist in our technological and judgemental society. One poetic part of the song is “I want to watch wisteria grow right over my bare feet cause I haven’t moved in years”, which shows that the narrator wants to be free and isolated long enough to see flowers growing around them. In the line “Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry”, Taylor references the famous british poet William Wordsworth, that wrote “standing alone, as from a rampart’s edge, i overlooked the bed of windermere, like a vast river, stretching in the sun”. Also it is clear that this song makes a reference to the group of english poets who are known as the lake poets (part of the Romantic movement).
- Exile, Taylor Swift feat. Bon Iver (Folklore)
In Taylor’s words, Exile is about “an exiled man walking the bluffs of a land that isn’t his own, wondering how it all went so terribly wrong”. The duet is about a love story that comes to an end and shows the suffering of the man after the break up. One part that demonstrates all the pain and also the love involved in this moment of his life is “You’re not my homeland anymore, so what am I defendin’ now? You were my town, now I’m in exile seein’ you out”. The biggest metaphor of the song is that the man used to consider his former lover as his town, like a safe haven, but after the end of the relationship, for him it is like being in exile and seeing them leave. So, it is impressive how this lyrics can show with delicacy and a bit of poetry a break up with all the sadness and delusion that this moment usually contains.
- Coney island, Taylor Swift feat. The National (Evermore)
Coney island isn’t just a common song. Its lyrics certainly are far from the shallow problems that frequently are mentioned in other songs about love and breakups. It is hard to put into words the magnitude of this song. Many metaphors are used so as to tell how a beautiful passion, described as “the mall before the internet” for being “the one place to be”, became “the darkest grey sky”, “disappointments” and the cold “when the sun goes down”. The song is also an apology, which is evident in the chorus “Sorry for not making you my centerfold, over and over”. A variety of situations describes something almost indescribable: how can love end so soon? The song shows love, mistakes and regrets in a relationship, and maybe also points out the question: Is it too late to try again?
- Evermore, Taylor Swift feat. Bon Iver (Evermore)
The album “Evermore” was announced and released on the birthday of Emily Dickinson, american poet who wrote “from out the wide night’s numbers-Sue- forevermore!”, in her poem “One sister have I in our house”. The song that ends the album also brings up the “for evermore” idea, mentioned in this poem, with the line “this pain wouldn’t be for evermore”. Basically, this record approaches the hope for better days after a period with instability and sadness. Firstly, we see hard times in “this pain would be for evermore” and “I rewind thе tape but all it does is pause, on thе very moment all was lost”, just as if life has stopped at that terrible period when all you want is “to be tall again”. However, at the last part of the song it is possible to see the awakening of a new era and finally the feeling that this pain would come to an end.
“Folklore” and “Evermore” are two albums full of imagery, scapism, characters and love stories. With deep reflections that mix reality and fantasy, the songs have elements of literature and a poetic language that certainly contribute to the construction of a far universe, but very close at the same time. It is important to highlight that both of the albums were made in lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic and became extremely relevant to many fans who were only able to experience feelings and adventures through listening to these songs, since many couldn’t leave their homes.