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daisyswift3 · 1 year

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The Alcott Analysis

So now that The Alcott has officially been released I wanted to do an analysis of some of the lyrics and how I think they might relate to Taylor. Disclaimer: I know Aaron said Matt wrote the main parts of the song and Taylor only added the dialogue parts so many of these connections might be a coincidence, but I also think it’s possible Taylor could have had more input on the song than they’re letting on since there are so many themes and motifs that perfectly relate back to Taylor’s music. This is just meant to be a fun clown theory

Like many others pointed out, the whole first verse is very “Help I’m still at the restaurant, still sitting in a corner I haunt, cross legged in the dim light, they say ‘what a sad sight’” and seems like the opposite pov of RWYLM

“It’s the last thing you/I wanted, it’s the first thing I/you do, I tell you that I think I’m falling back in love w/ you” // “I love you ain’t that the worst thing you ever heard” // “Uh oh I’m falling in love, oh no I’m falling in love again”

“I had to do something to break into your golden thinking” // “Lost in the labyrinth of my mind…you would break your back to make me break a smile”— this is directly related to the following ⬇️

“And there you are sitting as usual w/ your golden notebook, writing something about someone who used to be me…I sit there silently waiting for you to look up” // “Did you ever hear about the girl who got frozen, time moved on for everybody else, she won’t know it, she’s still 23 inside her fantasy, how it was supposed to be…and you’re sitting in front of me” -> Taylor is stuck in her own head reminiscing and writing about the past (the golden age) and this person sitting in front of her is trying to break her out of this nostalgic escapist mindset. I think this may be a direct reference to the film Midnight in Paris which is all about nostalgia and escapism--much like the song Paris on the Midnights 3am edition--and specifically to golden age thinking, a phrase used in that film. Here are some tidbits that I think are worth noting

@chickawah23 made a really great post about the possible Midnight in Paris connections. Here’s a screenshot from that post that does a good job summarizing the important parallels

There definitely seems to be a connection between Midnights, the stories of 13 sleepless nights, and the folklore chapters that were released in Aug 2020, specifically the sleepless nights and escapism chapters. I think it’s interesting that exile is the last track of the first chapter and first track of the second chapter--almost like the second chapter is a direct continuation of the first which again links Midnights to this escapism theme. And there’s been a lot of exile references lately (exile ends, doors, 8/3, etc)

Even though the back and forth dialogue between Taylor and Matt at first sounds argumentative, I think it could also be read in a positive way. This person is going to ruin and wreck Taylor’s plans and Taylor is going to gladly let them. She welcomes the curse on their house. “I’m begging for you to take my hand wreck my plans that’s my man” // “For you I would ruin myself a million little times” // “I wish to know the fatal flaw that makes you long to be magnificently cursed...He’s gonna burn this house to the ground...So yeah it’s a fire it’s a goddamn blaze in the dark and you started it” // “Dear reader, burn all the files, desert all your past lives” // Taylor is the one that chooses to burn the lover house down. She’s the one holding the lighter on the Midnights album cover and striking the match in the lavender haze mv (here’s a really great post about what that might signify). Furthermore, the willow performance and description make me think that the curse on Taylor’s house was actually her own doing--she’s not only letting this person wreck her plans but is helping them do so. So the burning, wrecking, ruining, cursing/spell casting are all metaphors for the same thing—destroying Taylor’s closet and possibly her career as a result of that

Honorable mention: The beat almost sounds like a heartbeat no? Wildest Dreams??

#i hope this all made sense lol #sometimes im not the best at articulating my thoughts #im doing this instead of studying for my finals like the responsible student i am #taylor swift #taylorswift #gaylor #gaylor swift #kaylor #midnight in paris #midnights #the alcott #the national #parallels #folklore #evermore #paris #exile #lyric analysis

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youareinlove · 3 months

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I know that it’s probably dull, but can you tell me the topics of each midnights songs? I started following Taylor closely only this year (please don’t judge me for that, I know I’m kinda late to the party) and I missed out on a lot of the lore

also got this ask a while back so i'll answer them both! and dw, you're so good anon, new fans are always welcome here. feel free to ask me any questions you might have in the future as well! this is more talking about themes than who the songs are about so if you want to know that just ask separately

the story of the album is choices she's made throughout her life and how that's influenced who she is today. it's intense self-reflection and trying to figure out who you are after the dust settles from all the tumultuous life events you've gone through. context that helps frame why that self-reflection may have came about (at least part of the reason) is her grappling with potentially ending her 6-year relationship while writing the record

here's my take on how each of the songs are enriched by the others + their meanings (it's long). also not going to discuss you're losing me more than a little bit because if i do this will take me 5 hours to type up (it's about not feeling seen/heard/your partner being indifferent to you and your needs basically):

lavender haze - the song's about wanting to protect your relationship from the outside world and wanting everything to be between the two of you instead of everyone's business, to put it simply. it also has "all they keep asking me is if i'm gonna be your bride" which obviously becomes more interesting after "and i wouldn't marry me either" but even if you don't count ylm as a midnights song, "staring at the ceiling with you" and "you're in the kitchen humming" are the same genre of lyric. i think the picture she paints of her relationship is strengthened and paralleled by the picture painted in sweet nothing. also the parallels to paris (drew a map on your bedroom ceiling). most importantly though, she talks in the song about how he doesn't "read into my melancholia" which basically = not overanalyzing it if she's feeling depressed. that's a pretty strong thematic tie-in to anti-hero, where she worries that her depression will drive away her partner

maroon - maroon tells the story of a relationship that was really good at times and really bad at times, specifically one she was never really able to make sense of and that she thinks about years later. this ties into question really well (i'll get into that more later) but the thematic tie-ins of memory and reflection are all over midnights as a concept.

anti-hero - the main themes here are self-loathing, depression, anxiety, overthinking, (basically her demons) and how she worries they'll ruin her life, friendships, relationship, etc. the thing is that the other songs on midnights exist to prove those worries wrong. lavender haze talks about how her partner isn't deterred by her problems, you're on your own kid talks about how she's always able to build herself back up and be stronger, karma talks about how she deserves good things and gets them. anti-hero isn't strengthened by parallels the way other songs are, but it's a look into a part of herself that's contextualized as self-loathing and not self-awareness because of the other songs on the record.

snow on the beach - a lot of songs on midnights contradict each other because that's the point, and snow on the beach contradicts labyrinth. this song is about the beauty of falling in love and how fun and special it can feel, while labyrinth is about the anxiety surrounding the exact same event. despite these two things seeming contradictory, they're happening at the exact same time. but the cool thing about snow on the beach is that falling in love with someone new is shiny and special, and well, new, despite the relationships in maroon, question, and high infidelity all having the similar theme of making her wonder if she'll ever escape a toxic cycle. snow on the beach answers that question: she can and she does! love feels beautiful and new again!

you're on your own, kid - this one's a doozy. this song is about her career and how that progression affected her life. it's about her building herself back up again a million times. infinitely more interesting as a theme when you combine it with "i'm getting tired even for a phoenix / always rising from the ashes" (ylm). but also just it disproving anti-hero's worry that her career will crumble because of her (this song's message is basically that she made her career so strong, not the other way around) and the first verse is just "he wanted it it comfortable i wanted that pain" from midnight rain expanded. also some connecting themes with bejeweled and karma

midnight rain - so i could write an essay about how this song and you're losing me are connected (this is the main reason why i decided to leave ylm out of this for the most part) but the tldr is that she was in a relationship where a part of the reason why it was crumbling was his refusal/inaction when it came to marrying her, and this song is about running away from a life where the typical "marriage and kids and a dog" was on the table. all of midnights is about choices* but this one is possibly one of the strongest ties to that theme. the entire song is her wondering if she made the right choice when she chose to break up with someone who was definitely willing to settle down with her in favor of the life she has (fame and her career). it's also interesting when you contrast it with high infidelity, where she talks about "your picket fence as sharp as knives." this thing that she ran away from in favor of fame (and wants while writing the record) was also weaponized against her in the past.

question...? - question is about a situationship/short-lived relationship that's essentially a toxic cycle. there's some tie-ins to maroon with it also being about a relationship that was really amazing and really terrible, often at the same time. but the most enriching songs for this one are actually the love songs on the record. songs like lavender haze, paris, and sweet nothing illustrate that she was able to get out of the toxic cycle that she and this person found themselves in, albeit with someone else. so now she's asking this person (in her head) "did you? did you ever escape this? did you ever find someone to stare at the ceiling with or run home to?" which basically adds an entirely new layer to the song.

vigilante shit - this song is fantasizing about revenge against someone who wronged you, and there's a fair bit of gendered elements here about female rage. it's made stronger by anti-hero, because the "cunning revenge-seeking woman" rhetoric used against her is part of where her self-loathing comes from, and here she leans into that and kind of owns it. sort of a "yes i am a person who sometimes dabbles in revenge fantasies. sue me." also, it's somewhat contradictory to karma, because here she's the arbiter of justice, but in karma, it's a universal force that she doesn't have to be in control of.

bejeweled - bejeweled is about finding your power and shine again after being with someone who tried to diminish it. it connects to yoyok and karma because of the "i can come back and be shiny again" thing, but the main connection is with high infidelity, because high infidelity outlines exactly how that power and shine was diminished in the first place.

labyrinth - labyrinth is about the anxiety that comes with falling in love after you've been hurt before. i talked about this a little in the snow on the beach section but these two are contradictory/opposite sides of the same coin. while snow on the beach is about discovering that you can find love again after really shitty heartbreaks and that love can feel good and how magical that is, labyrinth is more "this has only gone wrong for me in the past." it ultimately ends on a triumphant note with her realizing that he's turned the metaphorical plane around, but it's very much the story of what happens when you try to love again after a relationship like maroon or question or high infidelity. anxiety basically!

karma - the song's about the people who wronged her who are going to get knocked down simply for being bad people and that she's on the up because she's reaping the rewards from her years of trusting her gut and doing the right thing. she's basically saying that the dust has settled, she was on the right side of history, and the world knows it now. likewise, the people who weren't are finally experiencing repercussions for their actions because they're flopping. in many ways it's the successor to vigilante shit. there, she wants revenge and justice so badly, and here, it's happened and she didn't even have to break up a marriage or report someone to the FBI, the universe took care of it! also, it disproves the fears in anti-hero and confirms the message in yoyok.

sweet nothing - this is about how the mundane beauty in her relationship is really important to her because it blocks out a lot of the noise from her outside life, which is very hectic and chaotic. it's really similar to lavender haze in that way. also the "industry disruptors and soul deconstructors" are the people in who hurt her vigilante shit, karma, and yoyok.

mastermind - going to resist the urge to write an essay about this song but it's going to be hard. on the surface level, mastermind is about how she planned out her and her partner meeting for the first time even though she made it look like an accident of fate. when you look deeper, it's about her as a person more than it is her relationship: how she feels like she needs to plan things out and be two steps ahead at all times, but it comes from a deep desire to be loved and wanted. the first two lines of the bridge show the main connections: "no one wanted to play with me as a little kid" = the first verse of yoyok, and "so i've been scheming like a criminal ever since" = the scheming she fears will destroy her relationship in anti-hero. which is so interesting by the way, because she worries that her treading the line of manipulation and intense care is going to make her partner stop loving her but it does the opposite! in the song, he tells her that he knew the whole time and finds her "scheming" to be a good thing. (anti-hero gets disproved like a million times lol). also it contradicts glitch but i'll talk about that more in glitch's section because this one is already too long.

3 am tracks (i have less to say about these because they're a lot simpler to comprehend as far as connections and i've already talked about a lot of them):

the great war - so you're losing me's existence makes her motives for writing this song interesting in and of itself, but that is a different post ngl. this song is about a really big fight with her partner and how they came back from that. it's the thing she feared happening in labyrinth but it doesn't disintegrate them like she thought it would, and it's a good example of a moment when she feels like she was "the problem" like in anti-hero, except she doesn't get lost in the self-loathing here and works on it.

bigger than the whole sky - i feel like it would be disrespectful to discuss this too much, so i'll just say that it contributes to the themes of loss and fate vs control. the song is about grief and loss with some hints of religious trauma.

paris - paris is just the picture of love, and a pretty good example of when they were in the "lavender haze." also "i wanna brainwash you into loving me forever" is SO interesting when you pair it with the entirety of mastermind.

high infidelity - this song is about an incredibly toxic relationship where you feel trapped and like your trust is being violated, and meeting someone who gives you the courage to leave. bejeweled is basically the aftermath of this relationship, and how she feels like she's free to reclaim the parts of herself that she was hiding/being made to hide, midnight rain is another song that grapples with the "good wife" vs "career woman" dynamic, and so does lavender haze albeit differently (writing this is making me realize how many marriage themes were on this album. which was a fucking neon sign in hindsight). also this song just provides a lot of context for where she was before the relationship in sotb, labyrinth, etc.

glitch - glitch is about thinking someone is going to be a casual fling and then you trip and fall and they end up your partner of 6 years (she literally says 2190 days in the song lmfao it's so unserious). it's biggest enrichment comes from mastermind, which seems like the total opposite at first glance (contradiction!!!) but then you realize it actually makes total sense. in mastermind, she's planning them meeting up and knows exactly what she wants (him), and in glitch, she's shocked when they actually end up together. but the additional context from high infidelity/sotb/labyrinth tells you that it was complicated af and that both of these things were happening at the same time and it makes no sense and all the sense.

would've, could've, should've - sigh. this song is about having your innocence and girlhood taken from you because of a toxic relationship with someone who's much older and has no business being with someone who was a child yesterday. the hints of religious trauma in bttws? yeah blow that up times a hundred and you get what's going on here. midnights as an album is all about choices and part of that is grappling with the regret surrounding them. in every other song, the verdict is that regret is out and understanding that your past makes you you and that has to be accepted is in. but wcs is blatant regret. its message is strengthened more by the concept of midnights than individual songs, in the sense that it makes a statement through its contrasting values.

dear reader - the song is like, the perfect closer to midnights for a million reasons. it's about a time in her life when she was just not well, and she describes a whole bunch of destructive behaviors in it. it's framed as her giving advice, but then you realize that you're not supposed to take it. "never take advice from someone who's falling apart", "you wouldn't take my word for it if you knew who was talking", "you should find another guiding light, but i shine so bright", etc. in many ways, it's anti-hero's older sister. the stuff she hates about herself in anti-hero is dived into real deep in dear reader. you thought "when my depression works the graveyard shift" was dark? try "my fourth drink in my hand, these desperate prayers of a cursed man." while i wouldn't go so far as to say it recontextualizes anything, it definitely provides another side to a lot of songs on the album by emphasizing where she was in life. the thing about midnights is that one truth doesn't cancel out another, they all exist at the same time and in multitudes. but this song also shines a light on the progress she's made in many areas, because sweet nothing is like, the furthest thing from "to a house not a home all alone cause nobody's there."

good lord this ended up being so long wtf. thank you for coming to my ted talk, sorry for turning your dash into scroll simulator 2000

#*use this tag to see more about that ->#midnights #asks #anon asks #whenitalkalot

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