“It's with her pen that Swift executes her battle plans [...] She renders this view so intensely that it goes beyond confession and becomes a form of writing that can't be disputed” (Powers). Taylor Swift, many love her, many hate her, there’s nothing she can do to change that. Swift keeps writing music and the public reacts accordingly. Taylor Swift is, in my opinion, a lyrical mastermind. So much so that her music can sound like literature. As a dedicated Taylor Swift fan, I have listened to many of her songs, and I believe that certain albums are lyrically impressive so much so that the lyrics can sound like literature. From themes of betrayal and self loathing to muses and phantoms, all of the songs mentioned lyrically represent literature in some way in my opinion. Key albums include, but are not limited to, folklore, Midnights, and The Tortured Poets Department in terms of lyrics that resemble literature.
Starting with her eighth studio album folklore, Swift explored the musical genre of indie. Before this album, she had always been more country and pop focused, so this album had a completely different sound compared to her other albums. One of the most distinct aspects of this album, however, was her storytelling and the lyricism that came with it. In Swift’s song “my tears ricochet” she writes, “Cause when I'd fight, you used to tell me I was brave / And if I'm dead to you, why are you at the wake?” (lines 19-20) and “And you can aim for my heart, go for blood / But you would still miss me in your bones” (lines 25-26). Both lyrics encapsulate the feelings of betrayal from a good friend but the slight skepticism that they truly despise her. These kinds of dynamics such as betrayal of a friend and false hatred are present in many works of literature. In another song titled “the lakes,” Swift references literature with lyrics such as “Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry / I'm setting off, but not without my muse” (lines 6-7) and “Is it romantic how all my elegies eulogize me?”(line 1). Many poets are known to have resided near the Windermere peaks such as William Wordsworth (“Famous Lake District Writers”). This song’s utilization of the poetic location adds to the characterization of these lyrics as literature. Most of her lyricism in this song I consider literature because of the poetic language she utilizes and the frequent references to her poetic muse, who she is dedicating the song to.
Taylor Swift’s tenth studio album Midnights is as lyrically complex as folklore yet, instead of an indie sound, this album has a more synth-pop sound (Moreland). Moreland elaborates, “On 2020’s Folklore and Evermore, Swift stepped away from autobiographical songwriting and found new depths of feeling in fictional narratives [...] With Midnights, she returns to a diaristic style, addressing the central conflict of Taylor Swift, the individual and the persona” (Moreland). In Swift’s song “Anti-Hero,” she mentions her insecurities and the all too relatable feeling of inferiority. Swift sings, “I'm a monster on the hill / Too big to hang out, slowly lurching toward your favorite city / Pierced through the heart, but never killed” (lines 17-19) and “I'll stare directly at the sun but never in the mirror” (line 14). In the first lyric, she calls back the idea of getting targeted at her heart similar to the symbolism from “my tears ricochet” and the literary idea of a monster attacking a city. When thinking about a main conflict in fairy tales, there is usually some kind of creature that the hero must defeat. This idea of a monster on the hill is reflected in the title of anti-hero. In the second lyric, Swift mentions how she would rather damage her eyes than look at herself. Mirrors are common symbolism in literature and the concept of reflections looking altered than what they really are, possibly why Swift felt the urge to stare at the sun rather than see herself.
Finally, on Taylor Swift’s eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, she combines the intricate lyricism from folklore and the synth-pop sound from Midnights (Moreland). Differing from folklore’s lyricism, Swift returned to writing about her personal experiences. As Ann Powers states, “For years, Swift has been pop's leading writer of autofiction, her work exploring new dimensions of confessional songwriting, making it the foundation of a highly mediated public-private life.” In the song “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me,” within the first few verses, Swift sings, “… So I leap from the gallows and I levitate down your street / Crash the party like a record scratch as I scream / ‘Who's afraid of little old me?’ / You should be” (lines 6-9). This lyric references literature when Swift mentions levitating as in the supernatural. The way Swift used the word levitating to create an image of floating down a street shows her talent in imagery within lyrics. In Swift’s song “loml” the lyric, “Dancing phantoms on the terrace / Are they second-hand embarrassed / That I can't get out of bed / 'Cause something counterfeit's dead?” (lines 41-43). Similar to the verses from “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me,” these lyrics reference the supernatural aspect of phantoms. In this song’s case, the phantoms are used as a metaphor to call back the idea of dance. In the first verse of “loml,” Swift writes, “Who's gonna stop us from waltzing back into rekindled flames / If we know the steps anyway?” (line 1). The lyric mentioning the second hand embarrassment of the phantoms likely refers to how Swift felt so terrible after this suggested break up that even the phantoms of her past relationship pity her. Taylor Swift is, in my opinion, a lyrical mastermind. So much so that her music can sound like literature.
Works Cited
"Famous Lake District Writers." Lake District National Park, www.lakedistrict.gov.uk/learning/ archaeologyhistory/famouswriters. Accessed 25 Sept. 2025.
Moreland, Quinn. "Taylor Swift: Midnights Album Review." Pitchfork, Condé Nast, 24 Oct. 2022, pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/taylor-swift-midnights/. Accessed 25 Sept. 2025.
Powers, Ann. "Taylor Swift's 'Tortured Poets' Is Written in Blood." NPR, 19 Apr. 2024, www.npr.org/2024/04/19/1245630721/taylor-swift-tortured-poets-department-review. Accessed 25 Sept. 2025.
Swift, Taylor. “Anti-Hero.” Midnights, Republic Records, 2022. Genius, https://genius.com/Taylor-swift-anti-hero-lyrics. Accessed 25 Sept. 2025.
Swift, Taylor. “loml.” The Tortured Poets Department, Republic Records, 2024. Genius, https://genius.com/Taylor-swift-loml-lyrics. Accessed 25 Sept. 2025.
Swift, Taylor. “my tears ricochet.” folklore, Republic Records, 2020. Genius, https://genius.com/Taylor-swift-my-tears-ricochet-lyrics. Accessed 25 Sept. 2025.
Swift, Taylor. “the lakes.” folklore, Republic Records, 2020. Genius, https://genius.com/Taylor-swift-the-lakes-lyrics. Accessed 25 Sept. 2025.
Swift, Taylor. “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” The Tortured Poets Department, Republic Records, 2024. Genius, https://genius.com/Taylor-swift-whos-afraid-of-little-old-me-lyrics. Accessed 25 Sept. 2025.
I kind of like the part where she says she'd rather damage her eyes than look at herself. I'm probably interpreting it wrong but it reminds me of the pressure put on people to be perfect, and of people who hate how they look so they constantly try to change it through plastic surgery or eating disorders.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this essay. I have known Taylor Swift as a great musician and singer, but this essay furthermore shows the famous musician is just as talented in literature. This essay is well written. The introduction has a strong claim and the main idea stays concise throughout the entire piece of writing. There is clear evidence that supports this main claim with every paragraph. With the evidence backing up the strong claim, I as a reader also agree with the writer. Yes, Taylor Swift is a lyrical genius.
ReplyDeleteI don't really listen to Taylor Swift, but with this in mind your paragraphs go into great detail about important themes from Taylor Swifts albums. In your second paragraph, you talk about the dynamics of friend betrayal and how Taylor Swift is not the only artist to use this in their song. I liked all the connections you used in your writing. Good job!
ReplyDeleteI really liked this essay as a whole, especially the part where you compared the phantoms to second-hand embarrassment. It was thought-provoking enough to make me to think our memories could be judging us, especially during hard times. This essay reminded me how emotions can store up in our minds and haunt us like ghosts and how we can make up scenarios of people pitying us when we haven't reached the point of self-shame ourselves. I don't think that's what Swift meant, maybe that's just me.
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