Taylor begins the album with the lines, "I'm doing good, I'm on some new shit / been saying "yes" instead of "no." To me this is the perfect way of introducing folklore. She dropped the news of this alternative album in just less than 24 hours before the album was released on July 24th. By doing this Taylor said yes to spontaneity and no to waiting on "the perfect time." Throughout folklore Taylor takes you on a lyrically and musical journey. Each song explores a whole new world and a new side of Taylor. She experiments with different "folk" tales and stories, which is something we have not seen a lot on her previous 7 albums. She tells the stories of a woman marrying a rich man while the town blames her for his death, her on-going battle with Big Machine Records, teen love, and her own lover, Joe. I have a lot of favorites on folklore, however there are two tracks that I find absolutely lyrically beautiful, and that is "exile" and "my tears ricochet." In "my tears ricochet" you do not realize until close the end that this song in my opinion, and to many others, is about how things ended with her former label Big Machine Label Group. The song begins with a woman being buried while her former lover, who seemed to have treated her poorly, is in the room as she is being cremated and mourning her loss. However, this lyric makes me believe the song is about BMLG: "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)" If you do not know the situation on what happened between BMLG and Taylor Swift, here is the short version. Taylor claims Scott Borchetta, who founded BMLG, would not allow Taylor to acquire her first 6 albums. Taylor said the only way she could have earned them back is if she re-signed with Big Machine, and for each new album released she earned one back. So, when you hear the line "And when you can't sleep at night (You hear my stolen lullabies)" It takes you back to the BMLG & Taylor situation. It's as if Taylor is saying their past actions keep them up and night, and all they can hear are the songs they "stole" from her. If you re-listen to this wonderful work of art, you can also connect the dots with these lyrics. "You wear the same jewels that I gave you / As you bury me / I didn't have it in myself to go with grace." This song is so beautifully crafted, that if you were in a previous relationship, where that person made treated you like you were nothing, you feel the pain that radiates through the lyrics. "Exile" begins with acoustic piano then we are introduced to this dark, rough, musky voice of Bon Iver, joined by Taylor. This song captures the essence of two former lovers seeing each other for the first time, as one trying to transition into moving on. However in that moment all they can think about is each other and why it ended: "We always walked a very thin line / You didn't even hear me out (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). I love that Taylor and co-writer William Bowery wrote this song as a duet. This way you can see both sides of what it is like to see an ex, where things did not end on the best terms because you did not actually want it to end. It's desperately trying to make the relationship work, but one person can't see the signs that something needs to change. Another amazing thing Taylor does in this album is relate each song with another, whether they are on folklore, Lover, or her debut album. To find find her Easter eggs, you will have to listen to the album like I did ;-)
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AuthorHey y'all, I'm Jess! I have a Bachelor's Degree in communication and thought blogging would help me through my career! Archives
October 2020
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