Taylor Swift’s new album, The Life of a Showgirl, has been in headlines these past few weeks. With many different opinions and misinterpretations, this has been one of the most controversial of her 12 albums. What people are missing is the story and details in each and every one of her songs. If you look closer to the lyrics, you can find the irony and context behind her music.
The Fate Of Ophelia: The Fate of Ophelia is an analogy of the Shakespeare story Hamlet that emphasizes Ophelia’s death. She committed suicide because of a broken heart and Swift uses this piece of literature to explain that she has been saved from the same broken heart Ophelia had. With an upbeat backing track and lyrics with depth, this song sets the mood for the rest of the album.
Elizabeth Taylor: Elizabeth Taylor was an actress that had seven husbands and eight marriages. Swift writes this song as if she was asking Elizabeth for love advice, which proves to be ironic because of the amount of her failed marriages. Swift also uses a lyric that points to Elizabeth’s perfume, White Diamonds, that had generated over one billion dollars in sales and helped set her legacy in stone.
Opalite: Opalite is man-made glass that has blue and orange hues and is supposed to have calming properties. Swift uses this glass to explain how people have to create their own happiness, the same way people have to create the stone. She contrasts this with the dark of an onyx night and lighting, using them as a metaphor for the hardships people go through every day.
Father Figure: Father Figure was inspired by George Michael’s song Father Figure, which was released in 1987. Swift worked with his family to ensure that his work was being honored and not taken. The song talks of a relationship between a person of high power and the person they are mentoring. After the student has betrayed their mentor, they remember the power they hold and the work they put in to earn it.
Eldest Daughter: Eldest Daughter builds on this 21 century idea of the type of women an eldest daughter is forced to become in order to make their family proud. In doing this, they lose part of their own character — it is replaced by this need to take care of everyone around them instead of themselves. Swift conveys this with many metaphors but ultimately repeats the line “I’m never going to leave you now,” showing the loyalty eldest daughters hold for the people they love.
Ruin The Friendship: Ruin the Friendship is a true story from Swift’s high school years. It keeps the memory of a boy, Jeff Lang, who she went to school with who died in 2010 at age 21. She holds many regrets for chances she didn’t take and time she could’ve spent with him, but now that chance is gone. She tells listeners to take the chance while they can because they never know when someone is going to be taken from them.
Actually Romantic: Actually Romantic is speculated to be about Charli XCX and the friendship that had fallen out between them. Swift explains that instead of moving on from this, Charli has chosen to hate on her but it just makes her look like a “fan.” In a lyric, Swift says, “no man has ever loved me like you do,” showing how much effort Charli has put in just to hate on Swift.
Wi$h Li$t: Wish List is about the desire for a simple true love and family. While many people are focused on the materialistic things, like yachts and mansions, Swift expresses deep yearning for a suburban lifestyle. She says she wants “a driveway with a basketball hoop” which, for most people, is quite ordinary to have, but for her seems like the ultimate dream.
Wood: Wood is about the phrases people use to describe luck or lack thereof. Swift uses the phrases “knock on wood” and “he loves me not” to show all the superstitions people believe in. We put our trust in these silly things even though they don’t truly do anything to help us.
CANCELLED!: Cancelled is about how extreme cancel culture has gotten today. Being a celebrity means having eyes on you all the time, and one wrong move can make your fans “cancel” you. Swift has been canceled multiple times for misinterpretations of her songs and rumors spread about her motives with her significant others. She uses this song to express that the best people to be friends with are the people that are canceled because they hold a loyalty others don’t.
Honey: Honey is about the different ways a word can be used. The word “honey” or “sweetheart” can be used in a condescending way to either insult or belittle someone. It can also be used to express love and care for a person, Swift uses this to convey the way these nicknames are becoming something she enjoys hearing rather than being used to hurt her.
The Life of a Showgirl: The Life of a Showgirl demonstrates the challenges women go through when earning their fame. It talks about how many people warn you not to go into this industry because of how difficult the work is and how hard it is to appease everyone. She features Sabrina Carpenter on this track because she relates to how hard Carpenter has worked to make a name for herself in the music industry.
Overall, this album has depth and meaning to each lyric, Swift put in many hidden clues to what her life is like now. Considering the “hot takes” and hate this album has, the meticulous work she put in shows when taking a close look at each song. With the analysis provided, take a listen to the album again and maybe your opinion will change.
