#folklore theory

[book666lover]

Ok, so you know the folklore love triangle? (Betty, james and august story)

So I read somewhere a theory that changed my whole perspective on the story and the album in general. I really wish I could give the person who discovered that credit but I have no idea who is it.

So basecly the theory is that the WHOLE album is a story, and the love triangle is just a part of it.

Now I'll go through the songs in the order of them in the story and explain them:

August (august pov): james and august's summer and how it meant a lot to august but nothing to james.

Mirrorball (august pov): august is trying to impress by being something she's not and trying to seem cool.

Betty (james pov): james comes to betty's party and tell her that he want her back and the summer didn't mean anything to him.

Illicit affairs (august pov): august understands how toxic was what she had with james and how wrong was the way he treated her, but she still can't get over him and what they had.

Cardigan (Betty pov): after they graduating, betty realises that james treated her very badly and that he really messed up.

Exile (both james and betty's povs): betty is breaking up with james.

The 1 (Betty pov): betty is starting a new page with herself and although she understands that her relationship with james wasn't right, she still wonders what would it be like if it worked out.

This is me trying (james pov) james is desperately trying to get betty back and to make things right but he can't.

Peace (james pov): james decided that he needs to go away from the city and to join the military so both he and betty could have peace.

Epiphany: james dies in the war.

My tears ricochet (james pov I think): betty attends James's funeral and feeling guilty about not making things right with him before it was too late.

Hoax (betty pov): betty can't get over james death and it turns her insane.

Mad woman (betty's pov): betty is moving to a new town where everyone thinks she's crazy.

Now there's a pause on betty's story and two songs that seem unrelated, but it will be clear in the last song.

Seven: taylor swifts childhood and early life.

Invisible string: taylor swifts adult love life and how all along through her bad relationships and mistakes she was tied to her true lover (aka joe).

Now we're left with one song, the last great America dynasty.

I thing this is the story that beautifully ties it all together.

The song is about rebecah, the last owner of the house taylor swift lives in now. It talks about how she seemed crazy to the rest of the town, and how taylor bought the house 50 years later.

The crazy thing is that rebecah was an actual person, and she went by betty. So the album might tell the story of her life and how it all ties together like an invisible string(!!).

I don't know if this theory is true, but thinking about this story while listening to the album is insane. There are so many connections between the songs and if you'd like I can do another post about where in the lyrics you can see the story.

This is by far my favorite ts theory.

[braveheartswift]

I JUST SAW THIS ON FACEBOOK AND I-

[acoolchickouthere13]

WHY is no one talking about how the secret message in Sad Beautiful Tragic is “while you were on a train” and in Cardigan it talks about the cheater “stepping on a train” AND in the YouTube chat for Cardigan Taylor MENTIONED Sad Beautiful Tragic?!?!

[sarah-theswiftie]

EASTER EGGS

- the connected songs theory

[holdontoswift13]

so i just watched all the lyric videos and what i realized about the backgrounds was that we start off in the water with the 1, then slowly move onto the land and see all these different visuals (roads, clouds, fire, trees), and at the end we wind up back at the water with hoax. water was also shown in the cardigan music video, so this can mean that water is an escape from the land and the people on it, a place to be alone. it also implies that this journey is circular, that many people have experienced it before—hence the title of the album.

[noll-a]

//illicit affairs and ivy theory//

I’m not sure but I’m notice ivy and illicit affair have same things.They’re about same topics.But different perspective.Ivy is about the girl perspective and Illicit affairs is about boy perspective.That girl and the boy meet the grave. “I'd meet you where the spirit meets the bones.” And they loved each other but that girl is married or engaged.One day her husband or fiancé meets the boy. “He's in the room”. “He wants what's only yours.”Maybe the boy wants married with girl.And he wanted replace him as her husband. She getting scared “What would he do if he found us out?”.And maybe she thinks her husband or fiancé gonna burn this house to the ground. “He's gonna burn this house to the ground.”And she asked the boy“ So tell me to run or dare to sit and watch what we’ll become.”

And i think that boy says she should run.“Make sure nobody sees you leave.Hood over your head.Keep your eyes down.”“Leave the perfume on the shelf. That you picked out just for him. So you leave no trace behind. Like you don't even exist.”And she did it.But she tired of everything. “And you wanna scream.Don't call me "kid," don't call me "baby". Look at this godforsaken mess that you made me. You showed me colors you know I can't see with anyone else.”

Perhaps happy ending.And also Taylor using the “my house of stone.” Probably their marriage.Cold like stone.But that boy’s love grows like ivy and she wanted to leave her husband/fiancé and she’s now covered in ivy.“And I’m covered in you.”

{That reminds me Taylor relationship with Tom Hiddleston (2016).She was with him(Tom).And That times Taylor’s reputation wasn’t good She’s not happy with him as his lover.She left him and started date Joe.Now she’s covered in Joe’s love (ivy)}

That’s it. That’s my theory’s for illicit affairs and ivy.But it just theory.🫂🍪🫖

//Let me know you’re like this theory.🧁🌙

[allthistime]

taylor songs I think folklore will emulate for no reason other than I want it to:

mary’s song, cold as you, our song, forever and always (piano version), come in with the rain, white horse, the way I loved you, speak now, haunted, last kiss, ours, story of us, treacherous, sad beautiful tragic, the last time, begin again, I wish you would, wildest dreams, clean, you are in love, new year’s day, call it what you want, lover, the archer, death by a thousand cuts, false god, afterglow, it’s nice to have a friend, and last but not least daylight.

[folklore-musings]

I have a theory:

Joe proposes in the lakes. Hear me out -

In invisible string, the song is basically claiming stake to the fact that her and joe are soulmates. The one -ONE- date she mentions of theirs is a trip to the lakes. And this trip was part of the single thread of gold that ties her to him.

Thread of gold = wedding ring