Let’s talk about “Cruel Summer” and how “Seven” sets the scene for it.
Disclaimer: This is just my opinion and interpretation of the song. I’m not claiming anything that isn’t fact to be fact.
“Seven” is the prologue of the love story between two friends. It’s also a metaphor for time—seven years ago. Based on folklore’s release in 2020, that takes us back to 2013.
What happened in 2013? The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, where Taylor performed, and Karlie walked the runway in the butterfly wings, which we know later inspired the mural in Nashville when “Me!” was announced.
What happened in 2014? Taylor was spotted going into Karlie’s house through the garden gate. This is also a nice double entendre/metaphor discussed further down.
So, what could Cruel Summer be about?
I think it’s about a girl in a relationship with someone emotionally unavailable and a “relationship” that’s dying. However, she does have secret feelings for someone new and different. These secret feelings are also secret feelings.
Could you read between the lines on that one? *smirk*
**Note: I’ve long said that it’s my opinion Taylor has been giving us the Switftrgon -> Kaylor pipeline/story on her last few albums. So in the sentence above, relationship = Swiftgron and “relationship” = Calvin (aka the bad, bad boy/bearding).**
Fever dream high in the quiet of the night; you know that I caught it. Bad, bad boy shiny toy with a price you know that I bought it. Killing me slow, out the window, I’m always waiting for you to be waiting below.
Fever dreams are intense, while a high is a feeling. The quiet of the night is when most people are sound asleep, but those who are wide awake sit or lie in silence and tend to reflect and honestly think about things on their minds.
During this time, Taylor sits with these feelings for this other person and longs for them secretly while in her current situation. She yearns for something or someone to free her from it. In other words, she’s looking for a way out—which she told us in “Getaway Car” (“I wanted to leave him. I needed a reason.”).
Devils roll the dice; angels roll their eyes. What doesn’t kill me makes me want you more.
Here, the “devil” is a metaphor for Taylor because she is willing to take a risk, express and act on her true feelings (rolling the dice). For example, Taylor took the risk of going from country music to pop and had to convince her label to trust her when releasing 1989. In the end, it all worked out.
The “angel” is a metaphor for Karlie because she is a former Victoria’s Secret angel and, as mentioned earlier, walked the runway at the 2013 VSFS, where Taylor performed. Self-doubt causes Taylor to roll her eyes at the idea of them being more than friends because she thinks it’s farfetched and impossible. Taylor isn’t bold enough to reveal these feelings because she is too scared to jump in.
“It’s cool; that’s what I tell ’em. No rules in breakable heaven.”
There are no rules because Taylor is willing to accept whatever comes from being in this relationship (or “breakable heaven”). What makes the relationship breakable is its fragility and how it can end as quickly as it begins due to the criticisms and pressure placed upon it. And why is that? Because *this* relationship would be looked down upon and heavily scrutinized by society. If this were a straight relationship, wouldn’t it be “unbreakable” heaven because these relationships are considered acceptable in society and not as heavily criticized? In addition, their friendship wouldn’t be the same if the romantic relationship ended or the other person didn’t feel the same way. It could get incredibly awkward.
Hang your head low in the glow of the vending machine. I’m not dying. Say that we’ll just screw it up in these trying times; we’re not trying. So cut the headlights; summer’s a knife. I’m always waiting for you just to cut to the bone. Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes, and if I bleed, you’ll be the last to know.
With vending machines, you walk up and look through the glass at the snacks displayed under bright lights. You are on the outside looking in. Therefore, the “glow of the vending machine” is a metaphor for public perception, and the “lights” are how the relationship would be on display for their consumption. Hanging her head low in this glow represents the shame she may feel from people voicing their opinions about her relationship. While she’s used to people analyzing and picking apart her every move, the scrutiny in this scenario would be even more intense.
Cutting the headlights ignores what people outside may say or think about them and means not telling anyone about them. When you turn the lights off, you’re keeping them in the dark. It reminds me of when Taylor said she and her partner decided together that they wanted their relationship to be private. Even though she said that in Miss Americana, released in 2020, it’s important to note that she mentions “cut the headlights” in this song, released on the Lover album 2019, and that she and Karlie stopped being seen publicly in 2017, so this kinda tracks along that small timeline.
“Summer’s a knife” means it’s a double-edged sword—there are pros and cons. While the possibility of a new relationship can make for a fun and exciting summer, it can also make for a cruel summer because there may be rejection or heartbreak; or it can end up just being a summer fling that doesn’t go past the summer. However, it’s another risk that Taylor is aware of and willing to take.
I’m always waiting for you just to cut to the bone,” is her anxiety about rejection.
“I’m drunk in the back of the car, and I cried like a baby coming home from the bar. Said, “I’m fine,” but it wasn’t true. I don’t wanna keep secrets just to keep you. And I snuck in through the garden gate every night that summer just to seal my fate. And I scream, for whatever it’s worth, “I love you; ain’t that the worst thing you ever heard?”
Being drunk in the back of the car and crying like a baby coming home from the bar isn’t meant to be taken literally--- it’s another metaphor that people tend to say things they wouldn’t confidently say otherwise when drunk. Drunk words = sober thoughts.
Taylor keeps her feelings bottled up throughout the song but ultimately can’t deny them. Notice how she says, “I’m always waiting for you.” She was waiting for the other person to say whether or not they felt anything, but they never did. On the song’s bridge, Taylor decides to be vulnerable and finally admits her feelings about how she’s not “fine” with being just friends even though she said she is.
Sneaking into the garden gate to seal her fate means she’s prepared herself for any outcome from her spilling her guts (the other person’s reaction, i.e., having her feelings not be reciprocated). She also confesses that she is in love with them whether they feel the same way or not (“I scream for whatever it’s worth, “I love you” ain’t that the worst thing you ever heard?”)...but to her surprise, the other person “looks up, grinning like a devil”—> because they also feel the same way and are willing to take the risk…just like the devil.
I’ll end my post with this:
Based on the vending machine metaphor mentioned above, why would she hang her head low in the glow if this song were about a man (as many people assume)?
Ok, back to lurking and working up the nerve to eventually post my “You’re Losing Me” thoughts. 🫣
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