Taylor Swift once wrote, ‘now you hang from my lips like the gardens of Babylon’. Last month, she released the lyric, ‘you only have to find one person in this entire world who doesn’t find you completely insufferable’. Why is it that the relationship Swift should bethe most certain of and passionate about – her actual marriage – has produced the shallowest of songs?
We all know that Taylor Swift – the writer of Lover – is more than capable of writing some great love songs, detailing her romantic feelings since high school, but The Life of a Showgirl and its Encore release are significantly lacking compared to her other albums. Perhaps this impression is amplified by something as simple as her choice to use synth music instead of her classic acoustic style, or perhaps it’s the more romantic issue of her lack of a muse. The emotional depth that Joe Alwyn brought into Taylor’s lyricism during their six-year relationship was truly monumental, with Taylor describing Joe as a ‘magnetic force of a man’ with ‘a dazzling haze’ and ‘a mysterious way’ about him so intense she would have married him with paper rings! The songs regarding her previous relationships – before they turned sour – where connection was compared to magnetic fields and hands were squeezed three times in the back of a taxi appear much more passionate. Whereas previously Taylor Swift has lingered on the character of her muse and metaphorised the complex feelings that her lovers evoke in her, she doesn’thave much to say about Travis Kelce. After the release of this new album in comparison to her others, I can’t help but wonder if Taylor began to resonate with Greta Gerwig’s depiction of Jo March, who poetically articulated how she ‘care[s] more to be loved’.
In Taylor’s marriage, the stability and comfort of her relationship seem to override the importance of a deep and meaningful connection for her. The Life of a Showgirl is fixated on public perception and gives greater attention to how others judge both her and her marriage, rather than to her new husband. Of course, Taylor Swift is not obligated to write about her marriage or to explain her (hopefully) loved-up feelings through song, but if she has finally found the person she is planning to be with forever, then all outside noise should ‘fade to nothing’, as it did with Joe Alwyn. Rather, this album seems to orbit around convincing her listeners that she is truly happy, regardless of what people think and say. Having marriage dangled in front of her has been a repeated offence in Taylor Swift’s past relationships, shown by lyrics such as ‘you shit talked me under the table, talking rings and talking cradles’, so it’s no wonder she views marriage as an accomplishment. After years of being fed empty promises of marriage and carrying the mental toll that comes with that, it is very understandable that she feels pride over finding somebody who actually went through with getting down on one knee for her. Particularly with a history of such intense public scrutiny of her love life, settling down with a partner who values her without any shame feels like something she has a right to show off. Here is somebody who doesn’t find her completely insufferable!
For Taylor Swift, having somebody who is willing to love her loudly is important. Dating somebody so high-profile can create an intense desire for privacy, but that privacy can easily begin to feel like shame. Travis Kelce has publicly declared his interest in Taylor Swift from the very beginning of their relationship; as her song Pink Clouding shows, Taylor is clearly high on feeling wanted. After so many years of dark, melancholic relationships, she has found somebody who seems to offer her only light, which is clearly more valuable than passion and emotional depth to her now.
Editor: Ila Stephenson