Why Hits Different is about a Woman
For the most part, the song does not have any pronouns or any words that can signal the gender of whom the song is about…until we get to the bridge. One of the most compelling evidence for this song to be about a woman are the lyrics, “bet I could still melt your world argumentative, antithetical dream girl”. The line can be interpreted in two ways: either she refers to herself or another woman. The line structure allows for both interpretation.
“Bet I could still melt your world / argumentative, antithetical dream girl”
With this structure, people would assume that the subject in the second line is the same from the subject of the first. (I, dream girl) Therefore, leading some people to believe that the dream girl herself is Taylor. But the second phrase as a stand alone lacks cohesiveness with the rest of the lyrics. It’s as if it was just put there at random. Why would Taylor insert herself in a bridge where she is clearly talking about someone else? Look at the lyrics prior to the one being discussed:
Dreams of your hair and your
Stare and sense of belief
In the good in the world, you once
Believed in me
And I felt you and I held you
For a while
Adding a description of herself as an argumentative, antithetical dream girl does not fit with the narrative she is trying to convey about the subject of her song. Why would Taylor suddenly just describe herself as argumentative and antithetical dream girl and how does it relate to the rest of the lyrics before this specific line?
The second way it can be interpreted is the one where she is talking about a woman.
“Bet I could still melt your world, argumentative, antithetical dream girl” (as one cohesive sentence)
Let’s inspect this in a grammatical perspective.
There are two subjects in the sentence. I, referring to Taylor, and another woman being referred to as the “dream girl”. But how do we know it’s not the same person, you say?
In the line “Bet I could still melt your world” the direct object of the sentence here is “your world” (which already signals the presence of another person) and in the words following this is the line, “argumentative, antithetical dream girl” and it connects with the direct object as modifiers to whoever this person Taylor Swift talks about. In other words, she is describing the person whose world she can still melt. Adjectives only modify a noun, therefore it doesn’t change the whole sentence structure (in a way that there’s still a subject and a direct object).
If you take away the adjectives, only leaving us with the line “Bet I could still melt your world, girl.” The intended meaning is the same. (Taylor being able to still affect this girl’s world.)
The line “argumentative, antithetical dream girl” is a dependent clause, meaning it cannot stand on its own. Combining it with the line “Bet I could still melt your world” would make this sentence form a complete idea.
Interpreting it by analysing sentence structure, grammar, and overall cohesiveness of the line may clear up the confusion. But you’re free to believe what you want! I hope this explanation can open a new perspective for you! It does make so much sense why this song is more of a bonus/hidden track that is not available in the two versions of midnights if it has the slightest hint of gay vibes in it.
