Folklore is the eighth studio album released by Taylor Swift on July 24th of 2020. Absolutely everything about this album was a shock, from the sudden surprise release, not even a year after her previous album Lover was released, to the sudden change in genres from Swift’s usual “endlessly upbeat” pop songs (as described by critic Damon Albarn) to a more indie/folk pop sound. Taylor Swift explores themes such as escapism, romanticism, and nostalgia in a songwriting style that shows a departure from her usual autobiographical style. Instead of using specific details from her own life as inspiration for the songs, in this album, Taylor creates an alternate universe with fictional characters that are a common arc throughout the album. In a Disney+ documentary “Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions” Taylor described how different her songwriting process for this album compared to all of her previous albums. Folklore was created in its entirety through zoom calls and facetime calls due to COVID. Infact, the first time Swift was in a room with her collaborators Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff (producers on this album) was during the Long Pond Studio Sessions where they sang all of the songs live for the first time. I am not going to lie, this album (and its sister album Evermore, which I will be talking about in later posts) got me through lockdown, so if you do not like this album I will take it personally. Just kidding, but if you do not like Swift’s newer albums, I really hope this post changes your mind! I physically cannot bring myself to choose just a few songs on this album to talk about, which I know I say all the time, but this time I really cannot. So, I chose to split this album into a few parts, dedicating posts to different segments of this album. The first half of the album consists of the songs: the 1, cardigan, the last great american dynasty, exile, my tears ricochet, mirrorball, seven and august (long pond studio version because they’re all having so much fun singing together).

 

the 1

the 1 is the first song on the album. In the Long Pond Studio Sessions, Taylor talks about how the beginning line of this song has a double meaning to her. The song starts out by saying “I’m doing good, I’m on some new shit, been saying yes instead of no.” I think this song really captures the essence and sets the tone for this album. She says that this line not only applies to the literal situation that the song is written about, updating a former lover about your life, but it also applies to the situation that she was in while making this album. Taylor made this album under the restrictions of covid and quarantining. However, because of this, she found herself not placing restrictions that she usually placed upon herself while creating an album. For her previous albums, she always thought about how a song might sound when she had to play it live, or how it might sound on the radio before she decided to put it out. With folklore, Taylor said that she decided to not worry about any of those limitations, and just create music that she has always wanted to create, by collaborating with people she has always wanted to collaborate with, such as Aaron Dessner and The National. 

 

cardigan

cardigan is the first out of the trio of songs from this album that Taylor wrote about a fictional teenage love triangle starring Betty, James, and Augusta/Augustine. All three of these songs are from the three different perspectives of Betty, James, and Augusta/Augustine at different points in their life. According to Taylor, cardigan is from the perspective of Betty looking back on her life after James had broken her heart, and still choosing to spend her life with him. The song begins with the lyrics:

“Vintage tee, brand new phone

High heels on cobblestones

When you are young, they assume you know nothing

Sequin smile, black lipstick

Sensual politics

When you are young, they assume you know nothing”

These lyrics conjure up a lot of imagery setting up the plot of the song, but it also serves a double meaning as well. The juxtaposing descriptions and feelings describe teenage love, but also describe her past four albums as well. “Vintage tee, brand new phone” points to the RED era, where Taylor adopted a hipster aesthetic; “High heels on cobblestones” points to the 1989 era, when Taylor used to live in the Tribeca area of New York; “Sequin smile, black lipstick” points to her Reputation era, where she embraced her dark side and often sported all black looks with black lipstick; “Sensual politics” points to her Lover era where Taylor started becoming outspoken about both politics and her current relationship. My favorite part of the song is the bridge leading into the third verse and the outro. Taylor says, “You drew stars around my scars/ But now I’m bleedin’ ” … “I knew you’d miss me once the thrill expired/ And you’d be standin’ in my front porch light/ And I knew you’d come back to me”…“And when I felt like I was an old cardigan/ Under someone’s bed/ You put me on and said I was your favorite”. These lines show how much Betty initially trusted James, especially where she says how he drew stars around her scars. Scars are very personal, and could be the source of shame for many people, no matter whether the scar is physical or mental or emotional. The fact that James drew stars around Betty’s scars shows how he was able to make her feel special for the things that she might have been trying to hide about herself. Because of this, when James left her, she felt like those same scars were bleeding. However, I really like how Taylor was able to create a storyline where Betty was so sure of the love they had that she was willing to wait for James to come back to her. I think cardigans and sweaters can often be associated with feelings of safety and warmth, and in this case, I think Betty was sure that he’d come back to her once the “thrill” of the new girl expired, and that he would make her feel safe again by putting her “back on” like his favorite cardigan.

 

the last great american dynasty

the last great american dynasty is one of my favorite songs on this album, because of the plot twist moment towards the very end of the song. This song was inspired by Rebekah Harkness, a real life philanthropist and one of the most wealthiest women in the history of the United States. This song is written from the perspective of one of the people that inhabits the same town that Rebekah lives in. The song starts out with the lyrics:

“Rebekah rode up on the afternoon train

It was sunny

Her saltbox house on the coast

Took her mind off St. Louis

Bill was the heir to the Standard Oil name and money

And the town said, “How did a middle-class divorcée do it”

Before marrying Bill Harkness, Rebekah was a middle class divorcee from St. Louis, and in the eyes of the townsfolk, Rebekah was not worthy of leading such a life considering her background. The couple bought a house in Rhode Island and nicknamed it “Holiday House” and as most socialites of the time did during those days, they entertained a lot of people in their humongous house. In 1974, Bill died of a heart attack, which everybody blamed Rebekah for. This part can be seen in the songs when Taylor says: “The doctor had told him to settle down/ It must have been her fault his heart gave out.” After Bill died, Rebekah inherited Bill’s wealth and suddenly became one of the wealthiest women in the US. With this money, Rebekah lived her best life, throwing parties and inviting some of the most famous people to her house, while also being a patron for the arts. I think Taylor describes this point in her life the best when she says that after Bill’s death:

“Rebekah gave up on the Rhode Island set

Forever

Flew in all her Bitch Pack friends from the city

Filled the pool with champagne and swam with the big names

And blew through the money on the boys and the ballet

And losin’ on card game bets with Dalí”

However, for every woman living her best life, there will always be a group critiquing er every move, and it was no different for Rebekah. The townsfolk looked at Rebekah in contempt and blamed her for the downfall of the Harkness Family. They said:

“There goes the last great American dynasty”

“Who knows if she never showed up, what could’ve been”

“There goes the most shameless woman this town has ever seen”

“She had a marvelous time ruinin’ everything”

The BEST part of the song comes at the end of the bridge of the song after Taylor describes Harkness spending the rest of her days at Holiday House getting up to several antics such as dying a neighbor’s pet “key-lime green” after getting into a feud, and pacing the rocks in front of the house during midnight just for fun. Taylor says:

“50 years is a long time

Holiday house sat quietly on that beach

Free of women with madness, their men and bad habits

And then it was bought by me”

After Taylor makes the proclamation that she ended up buying Rebekah’s house, she switches to a first person narrative, calling herself “the loudest woman this town has ever seen” and how she “had a marvelous time ruining everything” just like Rebekah did. Taylor has quite literally faced some of the exact same scrutiny that Rebekah did during her time at holiday house. Taylor’s famous July 4th parties were often linked with unfavorable press and many of the town’s residents believed it brought them unfavorable attention. I believe this song showcases Taylor’s storytelling style of songwriting in the best possible way. It is really interesting to see how Taylor effortlessly parallels between a woman that lived in her place over 50 years ago and her own life.

 

exile

exile was written by Taylor Swift and a person named William Bowery. In the Long Pond Studio Sessions, Taylor revealed that William Bowery was in fact her boyfriend, Joe Alwyn. Taylor said that Joe had written the entire piano part and in the beginning along with the first verse himself just out of the blue, and when Taylor heard him sing it, she asked him if they ould keep writing it. Because of how low Joe’s voice is, and how well it blended with Taylor’s, they wanted the song to be produced as a duet. With the help of Aaron Dessner they were able to get Justin Vernon of Bon Iver to not only sing the song with Taylor but also create one of the best bridges in the history of bridges as well. I really like the bridge of exile because of the conversational flow 

“You didn’t even hear me out (You didn’t even hear me out)

You never gave a warning sign (I gave so many signs)

All this time

I never learned to read your mind (Never learned to read my mind)

I couldn’t turn things around (You never turned things around)

‘Cause you never gave a warning sign (I gave so many signs)

So many signs, so many signs

You didn’t even see the signs”

As this song is about two estranged lovers having a dialogue of what went wrong in their relationship, the bridge really brings a new depth to the song, Vernon singing over Swift saying “she never gave any warning signs” and Taylor coming in at the end saying “but I did though” really highlights the entire problem in the relationship. Instead of really listening to each other, they talk over one another, which shows the fundamental problem of their lack of communication in the relationship. 

 

my tears ricochet 

my tears ricochet is my second favorite track five song (first being all too well) of Taylor’s. As I have discussed in previous blogs, Taylor’s fifth song on every album is her most vulnerable song. The song starts out with an almost haunting chorus of layered vocals, but underneath the haunting melody, you can feel the lingering sadness. This feeling sets the tone for the entire song. The song is narrated by the ghost of a dead woman who finds her murderer, who also happened to be someone that she used to love. This entire song is a metaphor for everything that has been going on in Taylor’s life recently with the ownership of her masters, and her having to leave her former label. In the Long Pond Studio Sessions, Taylor talks about how she found herself being triggered by any story or movie that revolved around a divorce, even though she had not directly experienced such an event in her own life. Taylor realizes that it was because she had built a 15 year relationship with her former label company and people from the label, which ultimately ended in an unfortunate way. So she compared her own relationship ended with a group of people that she believed she could trust, with a couple who ended their own relationship. Taylor switches from sadness to anger in every other verse really showing the emotional rollercoaster that someone who experiences a similar event would feel. In the first verse she says 

“​​Even on my worst day, did I deserve, babe

All the hell you gave me?

‘Cause I loved you, I swear I loved you

‘Til my dying day”

These lyrics show how Taylor was genuinely very hurt by the ending of her relationship with her record label, and how even when she knew she needed to leave, she loved the people on her former team. In the chorus Taylor switches to a more anger filled tone where she says:

“And if I’m dead to you, why are you at the wake?

Cursing my name, wishing I stayed

Look at how my tears ricochet”

In the highly publicized split between Taylor and her former label, the current owner of Big Machine spoke unfavorably about Taylor leaving, and Taylor angrily questions his motives behind doing so. 

Like most track fives, my favorite part about this song would definitely have to be the bridge. Taylor says:

“And I can go anywhere I want

Anywhere I want, just not home

And you can aim for my heart, go for blood

But you would still miss me in your bones

And I still talk to you (when I’m screaming at the sky)

And when you can’t sleep at night (you hear my stolen lullabies)”

Through these lyrics she reveals how she now has the freedom to go and do anything she wants, except for continuing the relationship with the people who she believed had her back for the past 15 years of her career. I also LOVE how Taylor calls her songs that her former label would not let her have ownership of the masters to, her “stolen lullabies”. Overall, this song highlights how vulnerable Taylor felt after ending the 15 year relationship she built with her former record label, because she realized that those were the people that knew her best, and because of that, they would also know exactly what would hurt her the worst too. 

 

mirrorball and seven 

mirrorball was one of the tracks that Taylor wrote completely to track, meaning Aaron Dessner sent her a completed version of the backing track, and Taylor wrote lyrics to the track to fit the vibe. Interestingly, Taylor says that sometimes when she listens to a track, she immediately sees an entire scene set before her eyes. This was the case for mirrorball. Taylor said that as soon as she pressed play, she saw “a lonely disco ball, neon signs, a couple of people at the bar drinking by themselves,” giving her an overall lonely feeling from the track. Taylor highlights the qualities of the disco ball, or as she calls it in the song, the mirrorball by describing how it reflects light in a hundred different differections and that they are shiny because they are broken if a hundred different places as well. She continues to talk about how there are people like that in society, who are in the public eye, broken, and still expected to get over their own miseries for the entertainment of the public eye. This song talks a lot about coping with fame, especially through the pandemic, where a lot of entertainers had to cancel their performances and thus stop doing what they loved. 

seven is a song that reminisces on childhood and the loss of innocence. Although this song may seem out of place compared to the rest of the record, the ending of the song shows Taylor looking back on her relationship with her friend and failing to comprehend the emotional and physical abuse that the friend was going through. The song switches back and forth between the perspective of a child and an adult. From the child’s point of view Taylor says, “And I’ve been meaning to tell you / I think your house is haunted / Your dad is always mad and that must be why / “And I think you should come live with me / And we can be pirates.” As an innocent child, the possibility of her friend being based did not even cross her mind. The comparison between the adult’s perspective and the child’s perspective makes listeners ponder when exactly they lost the innocent ability to think like a child without a worry in the world. 

 

august 

august is the final addition to this post, and the eighth song on the album. This song is a part of the fictional teenage love triangle. August is from the perspective of the girl that James had an affair with. Naturally, people want to paint this girl, the “other woman” in the bad light and portray her as a horrible girl, stealing someone else’s partner, however Taylor wanted to show that that is not always the case. Taylor wanted to highlight how the girl was also human, and how she was sensitive and was truly in love with James during their affair. In Taylor’s mind, Augusta/augustine ended up falling for James, but was forced to play it cool and act like she didn’t care when James went back to Betty. Although James and Betty ended up hurting each other, in the end they were able to find their way back to each other as well, leaving Augustine by herself. I also think it was really cool how this entire song was conceived based on the lyrics “meet me behind the mall” a lyric that Taylor had written in her notes years ago, wanting to write it into a song. The way the song is produced, with ethereal sounds and echoes in the background make it seem like a dream, but in reality, the affair did take place. I think the song in its entirety, from the writing to the production reflects how Augustine felt about her affair with James – short lived and almost like a dream, because she knew it was too good to be true.