The Life of a Showgirl initial album analysis
So on my early listens to the album there were a few lyrics and lines that made me my ears perk up so I want to discuss it all here.
Please note: I have not watched any lyric videos or watched the music video or heard her song descriptions from the theater watch party. I’ve watched the Graham Norton interview so far and listened to the album and read the lyric book. So my take could be completely off based on what everyone who watched saw. 🤡
First up this line from Ruin The Friendship:
“Disco ball makes everything look cheap have fun it’s prom”
It made me think about mirrorball. Specifically how she called herself a mirrorball and how she explained that she reflects every version of everyone else watching her back at them. It felt interesting that she said that it makes things look cheap. Like it colored this album as a reflection of those masquerade revelers. Said differently, those who love her masquerade experience a cheapened version of her.
Also, throughout the album there is so much their/ they/them juxtaposed with “you” as well as some he vs you. In Ruin The Friendship.
“Wilted corsage dangles from my wrist over his shoulder I catch a glimpse and see … you looking at me.” - Ruin the Friendship
The friend she only refers to as “you.” (I discuss this part of the song in an additional context below).
For The Life of a Showgirl Taylor sings a layered vocal over the word “wow” in the line “Wow, she came out. I said you’re living my dream.” It makes that lyric stand out more.
And it feels the same as the “Wow” in Wi$h Li$t after the world leaves them the fuck alone. (Discussed further below).
For Wood the way she says “he loves me not. he loves me *pause* not” says soooo much as an opening for that song.
There is also this you vs he/him on Wood that makes the the chorus feel like something completely different.
“…It’s you and me forever dancing in the dark all over me, it’s understood.”
This is a return to the concept of making your own luck after a long stint of bad luck. Moreover the lyrics call back to imagery in Opalite. Opalite which is a man made gem.
Specifically her singing “you were dancing through the lightning strikes sleepless in the onyx night but now the sky is Opalite …oh my Lord never made no one like you before you had to make your own sunshine but now the sky is Opalite.”
Thinking back on her consistent imagery of gray skies and nighttime and an eclipsed sun. She has resorted to creating a new artificial sun that provides the glitz to satisfy those who can’t stand the dark. “This is just a storm inside a teacup but shelter here with me my love…this is just a temporary speed bump.” This use of darkness and wizardry or alchemy, if you will, has come before in rep era “see you in dark your eyes on me my magician.” (So it Goes…). This you she is singing to can see her with the lights out in the darkness.
Then we get Wi$h Li$t where she uses “they” in two different ways juxtaposed by what she wants. The first “they” focuses on other celebs and people chasing fame and their wants. Then she explains her wants using present tense up until “wow” then she explains her dream for the future of this life settling down in one location where she can have that stability while still bossing up.
“…They deserve what they want hope they get what they want. I just want you. Have a couple kids. Got the whole block looking like you. We tell the world to leave us the fuck alone…and they do. wow. got me dreaming ‘bout a driveway with a basketball hoop. Boss up, settle down. Got a wish list I just want you.”
Then she has this other “they” and I think it is the same they from “…and they do”. The ones who leave them alone. The fans who love the personal life she used to share. They want off the grid life for her like the imagery from the lakes running away with a muse or the normal balanced life discussed in the Miss Americana doc. She mentions three dogs but I think she’s talking about her cats and how they say Benjamin button was Joe and Taylor’s child. I think she’s talking about how her fans want it all. Specifically they want all the insight into the relationship like the best best friends video that was taken off Vogue’s YouTube page as well as the Big Sur trip calling it a spring break trip that was lit. She says they (the fans) deserve to hold onto that but all she wants is this person and this current life of “boss up, settle down” as two things running parallel rather than overlapping. But for the last bit of the song she goes into what she wished for saying:
“I made wishes on all of the stars. Please God bring me a best friend who I think is hot, I thought I had it right once, twice but I did not, you caught me off my guard I hope I get what I want cause I know what I want.”
This section feels like a direct call back to Call it what you want “at least I did one thing right. I did one thing right.” The “once twice” feels like she’s saying the phrase like in CIWYW. The entire song Wi$h Li$t feels like a play on CIWYW where she’s telling “them” I hope you (the fans) get what you want but I’m calling out my wants right now and it has changed a bit. Something about best friend who is hot and you caught me off my guard feels like “I hate accidents except when we went from friends to this.” (Paper Rings). It feels like she’s saying that the wish was wrong because she was fighting for that public life described in the second “they’s” want and it missed the bigger picture of wanting more. It wasn’t just the shallow I want a hot best friend. You gave me more.
Also Wi$h Li$t sounding like Gorgeous both track 8s makes the hot best friend bit more interesting to me.
I also wanted to point out the interesting way she sings certain words in the song Honey that feel like a call back to Question..? From Midnights during the bridge. “That’s what’s suitable and riiiiight but toniiiiight” In Honey she uses that same inflection in a few places:
“What’s the plaaaan? What’s the plaaaan? You could be my forever one night stand”
“And I cried the whole way hoooome but you touch my face redefine all of those blues”
“buy the paint in the color of your eyyyyess, of your eyyyyyesss”
Also in Honey she says “talk” in a very familiar way. It feels like Gorgeous “got drunk and made fun of the way you talk”
Something else that felt really out of place was the “Keep it one hundred on the land the sea the sky.” in The Fate of Ophelia. It felt weird on first listen and then there were a couple songs where she mentions 50 and I was like hold on let me see if this is a connection.
In Ruin the Friendship (track 6) she says “Over his shoulder I catch a glimpse and see …you looking at me. And it was not an invitation but as the 50 cent song played should’ve kissed you anyway.”
In The Life of a Showgirl (track 12) “50 in the cast zero missteps looking back I guess it was kismet.”
Something about her saying keep it one hundred which is a colloquial phrase for the truth and it felt like the 50/50 references should tie in.
Other songs I liked but didn’t discuss here in depth:
Eldest Daughter and Father Figure
Some will say this is me trying to make this make sense for Kaylor but it feels like she’s talking about the public narrative around her public relationships which now includes Karlie and Joe simultaneously in both parts of the fandom at this stage. 🤡
This album is much better with a queer and satirical lens IMO
