Ok here is my interpretation of the Cardigan video; buckle up I’m going deep...
So, it starts off when Taylor gets a little inspiration and is writing music alone
The she suddenly stops singing while her voice continues in the background; she’s gotten pulled into the story and her imagination.
She follows it into the piano, literally leaving our world and escaping inside of her music.
I also think the gold represents her real love and relationship; it’s constantly there in the music inspiring things, just like there are lines about Joe thrown into the love triangle songs.
So now she’s in this beautiful imaginary world, lost in the fantasy.
The piano turns into a waterfall because she’s so inspired the music is flowing freely and abundantly.
She goes even deeper into the story and climbs into the piano bench.
Side note, this could symbolize someone in a love triangle going to far or letting themselves get in too deep.
Then her fantasy world turns dark, just as her real world was turning dark in late May/early June. I imagine Taylor was feeling like most of us have been, and that’s represented by her being stranded in the ocean.
She finds the music again (represented by the piano) and hangs on tight. The music saves her (just like folklore is now saving many of us mentally).
Then Taylor sings along with the song, while struggling in the water, for ONE LINE ONLY. She says “when you are young they assume you know nothing.”
I think this is a nod to what’s happening in the United States and how the younger generation is getting pushback while trying to revolutionize things for the better. This moment in the video made me feel seen and I teared up.
Then the gold appears again, showing Taylor the way out. She climbs inside the piano.
Music was the way out, but her golden love was what really brought her back to reality.
Once she’s out, we see Taylor getting reoriented and she notices the cardigan—the outcome of all her daydreaming and creating. And the memory of where she went.
And then she sees someone. This is very much like the ending of the Delicate video and I assume she’s seeing Joe.
She has a look of relief and recognition on her face, but she still looks shaken and scared. Because the real world she’s just come back to is still scary and dark. But she’s there with her lover and her music.
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