Mirrorball by Taylor Swift
This is my own interpretation of the song
It-mirrorball as an object
They- the mirrorball personified
You- the observer
Mirrorball is a metaphor for a type of person. The 'mirrorball' is the one who when the dust has settled and the battle is won, keeps going. Stays on the battlefield long after everyone has left. They're afraid that if they stop and they look around they'll actually have to face the trauma, face the consequences and they don't know if they'll survive that. It's easy to make entertainment out of the misgivings of their life. It's harder to actually admit that it wasn't okay and that they're not okay. They'd rather keep performing, keep the smile and keep going and surviving their day-to-day life. Surviving isn't living. How long will they be able to hold onto their broken pieces before they succumb to their darkest desire, the desire to just turn off the lights, turn off the music, close the doors and stop spinning? The mirrorball has cracks and breakage all over that can be seen by everyone but no one is looking.
I want you to know
I'm a mirrorball
A mirrorball hangs above the crowd for all to see its shimmering and shining parts. Its light cascades down for all below. The mirrorball as a person takes on the persona of all who look upon them. Showing every side of you in their reflected glass. Happy, sad, anxious, angry, hurt, playful, carefree, serious, stressed; every side of you that emerges based on these emotions and more are reflected in the mirrorball as you move below their light. They will adjust their personality to fit you. They will change physically, emotionally, and mentally to adjust to your moods. You will see yourself in them because that's what they think you want.
I'll get you out on the floor
Shimmering beautiful
And when I break it's in a million pieces
When a mirrorball breaks it starts with cracks in the glass that go unnoticed as it spins. When it shatters, it can not be fixed. You will have to get a new one to string up. The mirrorball persona is very similar in that way. They give the performance of a lifetime, day in and day out. Put on a show just for you. Just to see you smile, to see you enjoy yourself. They will showcase the best parts of themselves just to see you, the person they care about, be happy and carefree, and not worry about them. Due to the mask they wear, you don't even notice at first as the cracks start seeping in, not too far from breaking into a million pieces. As the pieces fall to the ground you continue to dance amongst their broken shards.
Hush
When no one is around, my dear
You'll find me on my tallest tiptoes
Spinning in my highest heels, love
Shining just for you
In the quiet of the night, when all have come and gone the mirrorball is still spinning. Still performing. The show must go on even when it's just the mirrorball and the music. And it's all for the audience, itself included. It's all for an audience that doesn't pay attention, that isn't even around to watch. If the mirrorball stops spinning, let's go, they can't go back. They will break and they're scared they won't be able to put the pieces of themselves back together after the breakdown, so its easier and more beneficial to them and to you and to the people in their lives to keep the mask on, to keep spinning even when no ones around. Just for you. They can't afford to slip and fall. They may not be able to string themselves back up.
Hush
I know they said the end is near
But I'm still on my tallest tiptoes
Spinning in my highest heels, love
Shining just for you
In the soundless ballroom, the mirrorball still spins. They still put on a show even as they're breaking. The cracks are showing the longer it goes on, as their performance comes to an unexpected end. All you'd have to do is look up. Look at them, look into their reflection and you'll see the breakage reflected back at you. If only you'd just look. Despite the breakage, for now, they keep spinning. They're not shattered yet, so the show goes on into the sleepless night.
I want you to know I'm a mirrorball
I can change everything about me to fit in
As said before, the mirrorball as a person will morph themselves into the people they interact with. Much like a physical mirrorball will reflect everyone who looks up to it. Even through the cracks, you will still see your reflection shown back at you. They are insecure and don't feel as if they alone are enough. In order to keep you, they change to fit you. To keep you happy with them. To fit in with you.
You are not like the regulars
The masquerade revelers
Drunk as they watch my shattered edges glisten
Masquerade: To pretend
Revelers: To enjoy obnoxiously
The mirrorball is constantly surrounded by people who pretend to care and want them around. Who pretends they, the audience, aren't annoyed by their(the mirrorball) constant glow when directed at the audience alone. These same people are the people who dance and laugh as the mirrorball spins and shines for their entertainment. Never taking the time to look up, to see past the lights and notice the cracks, the cracks that have only gotten bigger. The edges have shattered, never to return. But not you. You used to be like the audience. Not anymore. You've looked up you're different. You've learned to appreciate the beauty in their broken parts. You know you can't fix them, they're too high up, too far gone. But you can be there. You can watch their performance in awe. It's why they focus on you, they do it for you most of all. They want you to be proud. proud of them for continuing on despite the pain. Because you care. While the crowd ignores the breaking centerpiece in their drunken haze you see the damage and still love them. It stops the breakage for a while and shines through. For a while, it hurts a little less to keep spinning.
Hush
When no one is around, my dear
You'll find me on my tallest tiptoes
Spinning in my highest heels, love
Shining just for you
Hush
I know they said the end is near
But I'm still on my tallest tiptoes
Spinning in my highest heels, love
Shining just for you
On one hand, they're trying so hard to be seen now, wanting someone to notice that it's all a performance. To not only notice but to call them out on it. It's too tiring to keep going. On the other hand, they do keep going, cause you're still watching, they still have an audience. They still want the appreciation and the recognition that their performance gives them no matter how little it actually helps the,. You're too scared to call them out. You love them but can you handle the fallout? Can you handle the shattered glass ricocheting around you? You can't can you?
And they called off the circus
Burned the disco down
When they sent home the horses
And the rodeo clowns
I'm still on that tightrope**
Everyone's left. The facade has been destroyed. The mirrorball finally shattered and burned down. and so did all around them. Through the smoke, everyone ran. Trampling over the shattered pieces of the mirrorball to the next big thing. The new shiny toy. Everyone else couldn't handle the fallout. The mirrorball though? They may have finally broken down but they picked up their shattered pieces and moved on to the next performance. The show must go on, no matter how broken.
**They've changed the show, a new performance to bring you and the audience back. To pretend they aren't broken.
I'm still trying everything to get you laughing at me
I'm still a believer but I don't know why
Despite the destruction, despite everyone leaving. You came back. Giving them hope. You wander back in, expecting to see destruction. They have hope that you'll once again not see how broken they are and pretend with them, laugh with them again. Give them that normalcy back. Despite the fact that no one has ever stayed, they still have hope someone will. That someone will come back. And you did.
I've never been a natural
All I do is try, try, try*
I'm still on that trapeze**
I'm still trying everything
To keep you looking at me
A jack of all trades, master of none. They have to try so hard at everything they do at the expense of themselves. In the trying, they lose their light. They dim little by little in desperation to be okay, to keep you. They're trying, will it ever be enough?
*Repetition of 'try': They're exhausted, they're still trying in desperation. They're never gonna stop trying to be enough, to be okay, to keep you.
Because I'm a mirrorball
I'm a mirrorball
I'll show you every version of yourself
Tonight
No matter the shape they take, they will always at their core be that shattered Mirrorball.
