This isn’t my favorite album and I have only listened to it once, but I figured I’d take a shot at it.
Disclaimer: Just my opinion. All is alleged.
“Kitty” is a stage name, not the showgirl’s real name. It’s the identity she adopted and that the public knows. Just like Taylor Swift™️ is not Taylor Swift. The showgirl is not a Vegas showgirl. It’s someone who is a star.
For example—Chely Wright and The Chicks were “Kitty” to Taylor. When Taylor was a rising country music artist, Chely and The Chicks were living the dream she wanted. Until Chely came out as a lesbian and The Chicks spoke out against President Bush.
In the aftermath, both Chely and The Chicks lost fans and record sales. The Chicks even had their albums burned, and radio stations stopped playing their music. Sounds like a familiar argument in a certain documentary, right? See, you can have the life of a showgirl, but it comes at a cost. Are you willing to foot the bill?
I think what happened to Chely and The Chicks helped lay the foundation of the belief system Taylor said she had to deconstruct. Young Taylor saw this happen — she was 14 when The Chicks spoke out in 2003 and 20 when Chely came out in 2010. The moment they stepped out of the sequins and washed off the makeup, the audience rejected it because they could only see the performance. The side chosen for them to see.
So Taylor stayed in costume and moved to pop. Her confessional songwriting diluted with plausible deniability — her truth dripping out just enough to keep the show going. The (alleged) queer undertones becoming louder with each album.
Now, Taylor is “Kitty” — warning the Sabrinas coming after her about what this life costs. Chely and The Chicks chose to come out (personally and politically) despite knowing what it would take from them. At the same time, Taylor is the monster on the hill — the antihero of her own story, building the brand and now having to navigate and survive it.
“50 in the cast, zero missteps”
There are so many moving parts to a performance/show. Think about it. It’s not just Taylor. It’s everyone — the dancers, the band, the backup singers, personal assistants, publicists, security, arena workers, photographers, collaborators, the fans, the sound and lighting people, the stage crew, the industry, the persona. All performing. Zero missteps allowed. The curtain call is just another scene. The sequins stay on. The goodbye is part of the show. Also important—it’s a machine of sorts. The same show is performed over and over in different cities and countries.
So I think, when she says “I’ll never know another,” we can ask whether the stage door is closed for Taylor. Kitty, Chely and The Chicks came out of the stage door despite the cost. When flowers are thrown on a stag—it’s a form of praise and/or adoration — you are alive, you are brilliant, the performance was everything. However, when you throw flowers on someone’s casket at a graveside service, it’s like a final goodbye — you lived, we witnessed it, it’s over now. Kitty’s flowers were adoration. Chely and The Chicks received theirs as a farewell because the country music industry kicked them out.
We don’t know what Taylor’s flowers are for — but she’s receiving and accepting them either way.
