[iftye]

smart people pls talk to me about tis the damn season

[katyandcal]

it’s going back to your hometown for the holidays and being tempted to get back with your ex. you are each hurting, the “ache in you put there by the ache in me,” and you know you shouldn’t want to get back with them, but “the road not taken looks real good now.” you are the one who left (the road you did take) but now you can’t help it, even if it’s not a good idea. your hometown and everything in it reminds you of them, “the school that used to be ours.” you try to explain yourself, “time flies, messy as the mud on your truck tires, now i’m missing your smile, hear me out.” you know you didn’t leave on good terms and it’s all a mess so you’re trying to convince your ex that it’s ok but you’re also trying to convince that to yourself. you know you made a mistake by leaving in the first place, “the heart I know I’m breaking is my own, to leave the warmest bed I’ve ever known.” you say, “we could call it even, even though I’m leaving,” because you know you hurt them by leaving as much as it hurt you, and you’re about to do it again. tis the damn season because it’s taking place during the holidays but also because it’s the season of longing for what used to be, “it always leads to you in my hometown.”

[to-runawayy]

Yes yes and also it is from Dorothea’s perspective a few years later after she’s been in LA and famous and she goes back home for the holidays and remembers the love she left for fame

[carlylala]

‪listening to folklore starter pack‬

[dhaaruni]

I tweeted about Taylor Swift like I do

[just-cant-prove-it]

The thing that I love most about the swearing in Folklore is that it’s just used how people talk. She didn’t feel the need to make this massive statement where the music all cuts out and she yells FUCK, she just quietly put it in where it naturally fits. It makes her songs feel authentic, as if they came straight from a woman who has emotionally matured and is telling an authentic story with her authentic voice.

[whocaresaboutmyurl]

Blank space and The man had a kid, is called mad woman. And the god mother is i did something bad. Thank for coming to my ted talk

[ihopeyouliketaylorswift]

A THEORY ABOUT TAYLOR SWIFT'S "CARDIGAN" MUSIC VIDEO

Hi… So, hmmm. I have been a Swiftie for 10 years now and I must admit that I suck at finding out clues about her songs, music videos, etc. But as I watched the “cardigan” music video I couldn’t help but notice… It does tells a story that goes beyond the song and the album… So I thought I could share it with my few followers and then maybe with the world? 

P.S.: Even though I’m fluent in English, it’s not my first language, so please forgive me for any mistakes!

1,2,3 LET’S GO BITCH!

1. The first scene shows Taylor comfortably playing piano in this cozy little cabin. We can see her curls, her barefeet and even a picture of her grandpa. It makes me think that this could be an allusion about Taylor’s life and love for music before she became the powerhouse that she is today. She sees this magic, golden dust coming out of her piano and is 

immediately fascinated by it, so she decides to look inside her piano and discover what this is all about. A little over 14 years ago, this magic golden dust appeared in Taylor’s life in the form of a music deal, everything a little singer, musician and songwriter from Nashville could ever want. She saw this opportunity to have her big break and dived right into it. 

“When you are young they assume you know nothing…”

2. And then she comes out of her piano and is mesmerized by this beautiful       view, opportunities to showcase her talent, creativity and singularity. She is living her dream. What else could she ask for? She has the money, fans, fame, friends and even boys… The young Taylor would be proud. But she feels alone. Somehow, she can’t 100% be herself, do her own stuff the way she wants to. Emptiness kicks in. She sinks into the pressure of portraying herself as America’s Sweetheart, every little kid role model, a pop-country diva. But all she wants is to be her old self again. Will she ever find it? By displaying vulnerability and kindness, characteristics that I truly admire in Taylor, some mean people have taken advantage of her and will do anything and everything to tear her down. The worst part of it was losing herself.

“A friend to all is a friend to none…”

3. The magic golden dust appears again and it sucks Taylor into this dark place she would wish it upon her worst enemy. She doesn’t even know herself anymore. “Did I let my fans down? Will I ever make music again?”. Little did she know that the thing that led her here is the thing that will save her and make millions of people fall in love with again: music. When she had no one to talk to, nowhere to hide, no one she could trust, she had music. And she had a special someone in her life too… The “Love Story” she has only dreamt of. And that someone makes her feel like she’s his favorite cardigan. What else can I say? Her one and only kissed her scars and helped her stand up again and helped her find the magic golden dust back home to the Taylor we always knew, looked up to and has and will love forever. 

“You drew stars around my scars…”

I hope you guys liked my post and remember it’s just and interpretation of this masterpiece Taylor made. Please feel free to comment and help me get this to Taylor! 

@taylorswift @taylornation

[damndorothea]

MY TEARS RICOCHET ABOUT BIG MACHINE AND SC*TT BRUSHSTICK IS HURTING ME SO MUCH... the layers??? how did taylor do this

"i didnt have it in myself to go with grace" her public post

"you're the hero flying around saving face, if im dead to you why are you at the wake, cursing my name, WISHING I STAYED" omfg wishing taylor stayed

"you know i didnt want to have to haunt you, what a ghostly scene." big machine is flopping

"cause when i fight you used to tell me i was brave" taylor used to fight about album concepts and singles and sc*tt wouldnt approve... but she ended up being successful

"when you cant sleep at night, you hear my stolen lullabies" HER RECORDS AND MASTERS OH MY GOSH TAYLOR 😭

"you had to kill me but it killed you just the same" 💀💀💀 "tossing out blame, drunk in this pain, CROSSING OUT THE GOOD YEARS" she really loved her relationship with him, but he's a rat so anyway!! stream folklore

[to-runawayy]

I think there’s another story line going on

okay hoax, illicit affairs, exile, this is me trying, and the 1 I think are all about the same relationship

Okay so in hoax she talks about a faithless love that's the only hoax she believes in. The relationship clearly is difficult for her because she stands on the cliff “screaming give me a reason”. She wants him though, “no other shade of blue”, and “no other sadness in the world would do”. Now, “you know the hero died so what’s the movie for” connects to movie lyrics in all the other songs. She talks about how much he hurt her, “what you did was just as dark”. 

Illicit Affairs- she’s realizing that she doesn’t matter to him and when the love is an affair it dies a million times. It started in beautiful rooms which connects to the 1 where she talks about the roaring 20′s (big parties). 

Exile- the breakup, lyrics like “you were my town, now I'm in exile seeing you out” and “I think I’ve seen this film before” connect to lyrics in this is me trying. At the end of the song it’s seemingly a fight in the relationship with him saying “you never gave a warning sign” maybe never gave a warning sign that she loved him since it was an affair? and she says “I gave so many signs”. He also says he never heard her out or learned to read her mind. Seeming like he never tried or put in effort which would make sense if this was his affair.

This is me trying- she’s trying to adjust to not having him around anymore.She says its hard to be at a party, like the beautiful rooms where they met. She says “you’re a flashback in a film reel on the one screen in my town”. Connects to exile because he was her town but she knows this film now and she knows how it ends.

The 1- years later she thinks back to their relationship. she talks about films that were never made that he knows about. He should’ve showed up for her if he wanted her but he didn't and she’s okay with that now. She’s thinking back saying “but we were something dont you think so” and “and if my wishes came true it would've been you” and “it would've been fun if you would've been the one” she talks about how he met a woman on the internet and took her home, maybe her that he met? she resists the temptation to ask if maybe they met differently if it could've been her as the 1. 

I dont know it makes sense to me maybe I’m wrong 

@taylorswift

[path-of-my-childhood]

“Folklore is out today. Working with Taylor is a full connection to all of the wonder of making music. Knowing her and making work with her gives me faith in the ability for people to grow. To actual grow. It has been a one of the most deeply important personal and creative relationships in my life. Thank God I met you at that bizarre show in Germany all those years ago. Thank you for listening and believing in what I was doing before I had produced a single record. Damn Taylor. There is a protective layer on the process with her that lets in zero cynicism. Zero. Songs are sacred and the way they sound have to hold the writing in the right home forever. Finding that with her is magic. Running forward on every album is magic. Thank you for not letting up. Feels almost a shock that this all was even real. Sending tracks back and forth. Laura recording Taylor’s vocals in another room in CA - me patched in from NY. Maybe it was conditions that we had to make it under but I’ve never heard Taylor sing better in my life / write better. All of it. Recorded these songs in just a few takes. Most of them full takes and not comped. Sending her tracks for august and mirrorball and hearing what she would send back are moments that are mind blowing to me thinking back to the first time we did this on out of the woods - the feeling is the same, heaven. Four together at this point. Jesus Taylor. Can’t believe I got to type that. Love you. Thank you to the best living engineer Laura Sisk, Aaron Dessner who has been inspiring me long before I’ve gotten to know him, Evan Smith for sax, flutes and clarinet. Gorgeous. Mikey Tapes for pedal steel, harmonica and key work. Again, gorgeous. Jonathan Low and Serban for the mixes. Randy for perfect master. Folklore forever. P.S. august forever :) Taylor Swift forever.”

— Jack Antonoff on his Instagram about creating “folklore” with Taylor (July 24th 2020)

[swiftchill]

i have not seen a single mention of this is me trying on my dash get it together swifties

[contrarianshit-89]

The last 24 hours: a summary

[tayloraswift]

all of us after listening to folklore in its entirety:

[tshifty]

Favorite thing about this album is that I woke up this morning think it was all a dream

ok but lowkey yes i woke up and was kinda like “....did that happen??”

[followsthesparks]

okay here is my analysis of folklore, just to get it all in one place… this is just my interpretation!! i could’ve totally missed the mark with some of these so feel free to add on if you want!!

1) the 1: about an alternate universe in which the narrator and their ex-lover ended up together. “it would’ve been fun if you would’ve been the one” “if one thing had been different, would everything be different today?”

2) cardigan: betty’s POV of the love triangle. reflecting on a young, naive love.

3) the last great american dynasty: about the woman who owned taylor’s RI house before her, who threw massive parties just like here. the song is all the folklore about how this woman was a “mad woman,” then in the bridge taylor says “then it was bought by me” and sings about how the house was bought by her and now she’s the mad woman who lives there and throws parties. “she had a marvelous time ruining everything” // “i had a marvelous time ruining everything”

4) exile: a man and a woman reflecting on their breakup from different perspectives. the man thinks she left without a warning, but the woman swears there were so many signs he should’ve picked up on. he says “you were my town” because she was his whole world, but she sings “you were my crown” because she already had a whole world and he was just an accessory. major getaway car vibes.

Keep reading

[afeathertakenbythewind]

Okay my thoughts so far (again but expanded)

One of this albums more prominent layers and themes is the life of Rebekah Harkness and its parallel's to Taylor's life and emotions.

1. The 1 is a song I think that is mostly written from Rebekah's pov about her childhood friend Potter Stewart but I think the reflection is definitely something Taylor drew from her own experience and emotions.

2. Cardigan is the 1st song of the love triangle, I think we all agree on that, and is from "Betty's" pov. Rebekah Harkness was also referred to as Betty. I imagine this is largely a fictional story about Rebekah's childhood but I maintain that the girl in this love triangle being named Betty is fully intentional. Again, TS definitely drew from her own emotions and experiences for the songwriting.

3. Tlgad is 100% what ties this whole theme together. She draws that parallel out for us with no room to speculate for this song. It's fantastic btw.

4. Exile is something I think written about fictional characters that can be about both Taylor and Betty so I'll say it is because it fits

5. My tears ricochet I think is Rebekah's pov again, I believe she died of cancer but she's talking to her husbands and I think that's a big fear of taylor's, getting trapped in a relationship that kills you both

6. Mirrorball is taylor's pov and it's sadder than I initially realized and I think it's about taylor's fear of being similar to Rebekah in the worst ways

7. Seven is primarily taylor's pov but I think it can also be Rebekah's and it's just so universal in the feeling of nostalgia and sorrow over knowing so clearly who you are and what you love at 7 and being unafraid and being brokenhearted over losing that quality because life got too complex

8. August is the pov of the other lover that James (who i believe is also a girl) cheated with/left betty for but I do think this love triangle story is based in taylor's reality. So I think this was an opportunity for TS to use a "fictional story" to slip in a story about her past.

9. This is me trying is again a combination of taylor and Rebekah's pov and Taylor's fear of how she burned too bright as a child and has now alienated those around her and fallen short (which is completely incorrect, taylor you are breaaaking my heart)

10. Illicit affairs...this one is tricky for me tbh I think this is taylor's pov but also kind of ties into the mad woman and betty love triangle story. Infidelity is a huge theme in this album as well which I'm not usually a fan of but I love the way she wrote about it, it's not quite as "this is an ugly but necessary fact of life" which is how it often goes but more "things got complicated but we should be better than this" and it's a much more responsible way to convey this theme

11. Invisible string is definitely taylor's pov, I love everything about this song, it's so beautiful and it makes me cry and I also think this is the ending taylor wanted for betty

12. Mad woman is a combination of taylor and Rebekah's pov and it's just again taylor leaning into her fears of her becoming slave to her vindictive and angry side

13. Epiphany is about her grandfather but also the line about dreaming of an epiphany to make sense of your trauma is very poignant and universal and can be applied to betty & taylor & everyone

14. Betty is the third song for the love triangle from the pov of Betty's s/o James (who is a girl) and again, I think this story is based in taylor's reality and sooo lovely

15. Peace is mostly taylor's pov but can also be applied to Rebekah, I think, and it's so haunting and beautiful, I feel like its a continuation of the archer because she's owning up to all of her fears and the madness that surrounds her and asks her lover to accept her and ugh, so beautiful

16. Hoax is Taylor, I think, ending on a note of heavy complexity indicating that relationships are not black and white. There's trauma and hurt and mistreatments and forgiveness and anger and pain and love and acceptance and i think it's really important to pay attention to the grayness of this song. I think it speaks to what this album is trying to say in regards to how reality gets twisted when stories get passed on, yes, but it's already twisted and complicated enough on its own.

The album being titled folklore is also super brilliant and again, points to how taylor wanted to show how reality and fiction gets blurred together and all that remains pure are the emotions that are felt through it all.

I got the idea of this breakdown style from @speaknow because i loved the idea of breaking it into povs.

Also some of these opinions co-mingle with those of @oldnapkinned because we were talking about it

[cages-boxes-hunters-foxes]

“The only thing she said to me initially was that she didn’t want me to worry about anything that she’d done before and that I should just be myself — just inhabit the emotional space that you’re feeling or your musical and emotional space. And so I really didn’t endeavor to become Max Martin or whoever. I was just sort of being myself. And so was she. I think she’s incredibly versatile, obviously. A lot of these songs, they sound to me as though she could have been doing this all along in her career, this kind of sound or something. It’s not at all unnatural. In fact, it sounds incredible. This is all complete. It’s finished. It feels produced, but I think it will feel fairly organic or raw compared to past things. At some point, Taylor did articulate her vision for folklore. Other songs came after that. I was very inspired by her and what she’d been writing, and then I wrote more music, and she responded to that. We just started to push ahead…She’s just an absolutely brilliant artist. Allowing her to flourish like that, there was no pressure. She wasn’t trying to make something for anyone else except for herself in this time. I don’t think even her label knew. We were just working. That’s maybe the liberating. When you put something in the pipeline of the music industry and it takes months of prep — not to take anything away from that because it’s important, especially if you’re coming up and you don’t have an audience. But once you do, I think it’s nice to play around the form of it. The world is a different place right now, and nobody really knows. All the rules are being rewritten. Live music is not happening. And in a way, it’s nice to make something and just put it out because people are stuck at home and being able to hear something. This will be a really positive gift for her fans.”

— Aaron Dessner on folklore (x)

[to-runawayy]

Taylor really said “there’s 3 songs of a love triangle” but did not say WHICH songs just to watch us scramble

Taylor said good luck bitches have fun

@taylorswift