Courtesy: Billboard
The wait for TS6 is over. Were we ready for it? I definitely wasn’t.
Taylor Swift dropped her most highly anticipated album to date, reputation last Friday, and since then we haven’t been able to stop listening. Back in August, Swift put out her first single of the album “Look What You Made Me Do” which left fans concerned about whether or not the Old Taylor, who perfectly constructed and wrote songs that took the words right out of our hearts, was truly dead. The world thought “reputation” was going to be Swift’s way of checking off all the people who wronged her, but like the true mastermind she is – her album showcases that even though people will say what they want, treat her how they want and misconstrue her every move, she isn’t going to let that determine her happiness anymore.
Maeve McDermott of USA Today, sums it up perfectly with his review, “Over the course of reputation, Swift takes ownership of her narrative in a way listeners haven’t heard before. She’s the predator, the person holding all the control, the gatekeeper to her own heart, flipping the script.”
Let’s take a look at the best lyrics from each of the songs on “reputation.”
1. …Ready For It?
“Wonder how many girls he had loved and left haunted / But if he’s a ghost, then I can be a phantom / Holdin’ him for ransom”
In the opening track, Taylor warns listeners that this is only the beginning.
2. End Game
“And I bury hatchets, but I keep maps of where I put ’em / Reputation precedes me, they told you I’m crazy / I swear I don’t love the drama, it loves me.”
A song that features Ed Sheeran and Future, Swift addresses her reputation that the media has painted of her but is ready for “him” to be her end game.
3. I Did Something Bad
“They’re burning all the witches, even if you aren’t one / They got their pitchforks and proof / Their receipts and reasons”
In this taunting track, it is obvious someone wronged Swift. But who? Kim? Kanye? Calvin Harris? All I know is that I would not want to be on the receiving end of this song.
4. Don’t Blame Me
I’m insane, but I’m your baby (your baby) / Echoes of your name inside my mind / Halo, hiding my obsession / I once was poison ivy, but now I’m your daisy
Taylor kicks out all of the public opinions of her past relationships in this song and wholeheartedly embraces her newfound love.
5. Delicate
“Is it cool that I said all that? / Is it too soon to do this yet? / ‘Cause I know that it’s delicate”
“Delicate” beautifully highlights the cautious beginning stages of a relationship, unsure if this is temporary or if they are ready for the real thing.
6. Look What You Made Me Do
“I’m sorry, the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now / Why? Oh, ’cause she’s dead!”
Only the most #ICONIC lyric ever. We truly did not know what was in store for us.
7. So it Goes…
“I’m yours to keep / And I’m yours to lose /You know I’m not a bad girl, but I / Do bad things with you”
Before this album, Swift had a tendency to shy away from the physical sides of relationships, but in this song, she does not hold back.
8. Gorgeous
“You should take it as a compliment / That I’m talking to everyone here but you / And you should think about the consequence / Of you touching my hand in the darkened room”
In this bop, Taylor Swift perfectly captures how it can be so torturing to want something you can’t have.
9. Getaway Car
“There were sirens in the beat of your heart / I shoulda known I’d be the first to leave / Think about the place where you first met me”
A song that illustrates what finding a distraction in someone can ultimately lead to, destruction.
10. King of My Heart
“Late in the night, the city’s asleep / Your love is a secret I’m hoping, dreaming, dying to keep / Change my priorities / The taste of your lips is my idea of luxury”
Someone has clearly taken Swift’s heart and she’s not afraid of that happening.
11. Dancing With Our Hands Tied
“I, I loved you in spite of / Deep fears that the world would divide us / So, baby, can we dance / Oh, through an avalanche?”
Raw, intimate lyrics that show she is afraid of the media getting their hands her relationship but knows it is bound to happen and hopes they can weather the storm
12. Dress
“Even in my worst times, you could see the best of me / Flashback to my mistakes / My rebounds, my earthquakes / Even in my worst light, you saw the truth in me / And I woke up just in time / Now I wake up by your side”
One of my personal favorites from the album. The lyrics tell us that despite her flaws, there is someone who can see past them and that person came at the perfect time.
13. This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things
“And here’s to you / ‘Cause forgiveness is a nice thing to do / Haha, I can’t even say it with a straight face”
Another taunting track that leaves us trying to put the pieces together. This is more of a “ha-ha” at people who have screwed her over and expect her to take them back with open and forgiving arms.
14. Call It What You Want
“All my flowers grew back as thorns / Windows boarded up after the storm / He built a fire just to keep me warm”
Beautiful lyrics that describe how lovers can find comfort in each other despite what the world has to say.
15. New Year’s Day
“Don’t read the last page / But I stay when it’s hard, or it’s wrong / Or we’re making mistakes / I want your midnights / But I’ll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year’s Day”
To end the album, Swift leaves us with a beautiful track about how at the end of the day, after the party is over, they will still have each other and it’s all they need.