How ‘Folklore’ became Taylor Swift’s greatest album
On Friday, Taylor Swift released her surprise album Folklore, stylized in all lowercase letters. The album features 16 hard-hitting tracks to which Swift describes as an amalgam of “all of [her] whims, dreams, fears, and musings.” The most profound of her works, Swift crafts a poignant piece delving into stories of love, tragedy, and hope all in an album just over one hour in length.
The album begins with “The 1,” with the liberating opening line, “I’m doing good, I’m on some new shit.” Filled with the same freshness and beauty evident in all her previous albums, Swift shares her heart: “And if my wishes came true/It would’ve been you.” The song emanates images of regret, coupled with nostalgia, to offer an inviting opening track.
“Cardigan,” the first single off of Folklore, follows. Swift’s descriptive nature helps paint the picture in this track of her own fears being pacified by her lover: “And when I felt like I was an old cardigan under someone’s bed/You put me on and said I was your favorite.” Following the nostalgic themes of her previous track, Swift expresses in this song, “I knew you’d haunt all of my what-ifs,” but celebrates with her musings, “And I knew you’d come back to me.” The visuals for the track in its music video also capture the same stunning imagery Swift describes with her lyrics.
Following is the upbeat track, “The Last Great American Dynasty.” A song focusing on a shift in a woman’s life after her husband passes while the town blames and labels her as the “maddest woman this town has ever seen.” Swift concludes the song with her acquisition of the former couple’s house, soon being labeled as the “loudest woman this town has ever seen.” A perfect parallel to the criticisms Swift faces in the media, but despite the constant judgment, she had “A marvelous time/Ruining everything.” Swift reclaims her image with this track to exemplify the constant misrepresentation of the media.
The one collaboration on her album is “Exile,” featuring Grammy-award winning indie band, Bon Iver. Opening with haunting vocals from the band’s lead singer, Justin Vernon, the track slowly builds into one of back and forth concessions: “You never gave a warning sign” Bon Iver swoons, to which Swift responds, “I gave so many signs.” A track dripping with regret, “Exile” asserts itself as the best collaboration in Swift’s discography.
“My Tears Ricochet,” Swift’s solo-written track, opens with mournful coos, leading into her deep-cutting lyrics: “I didn’t have it in myself to go with grace/’Cause when I’d fight, you used to tell me I was brave.” Following “Lover,” the title track from her last LP, Swift demonstrates her versatility as both a profound songwriter and enchanting vocalist.
The mood shifts as the next track, “Mirrorball,” plays. Reminiscent of the themes from “Lover,” Swift emphasizes the fairytale-esque romance she shares with her partner. Singing, “When no one is around, my dear/You’ll find me on my tallest tiptoes/Spinning in my highest heels, love/Shining just for you.” The song matches the caliber of a high school dance staple, coincidentally titled “Mirrorball”, comparable with “Stairway to Heaven.”
Track seven, also titled “Seven,” is a reflective piece on Swift’s youth and reflection on a former love. Though the title of the album never appears in any of her pieces, the closest Swift shares with us is within the seventh track as she sings, “And just like a folk song/Our love will be passed on.” A great track to listen to when thinking about the past and its kindest moments.
The following track, track eight, like the eighth month, is titled “August.” As Swift reflects on a former summer love, she is “Lost in the memory/August slipped away into a moment in time/’Cause it was never mine.” If “August” had a companion in Swift’s catalog of songs, it would be “Back to December.” As a more summery version, “August” is more hopeful and upbeat, yet it shares the same sentiments of loss and reflection.
Delving into the next piece, “This is Me Trying,” soft instrumentals lead into a regretful Swift, confessing her struggles, regrets, and fears acknowledging her own shortcomings to peers and confessing her love so openly: “I was so ahead of the curve, the curve became a sphere/Fell behind all my classmates and I ended up here” accompanied by “And it’s hard to be at a party/When I feel like an open wound.” A very raw track, Swift opens up to a whole new level by letting her listeners in on all aspects of her character.
“Illicit Affairs” offers advice from Swift, seemingly introspective, about dealing with a love that develops itself into something more. She expresses to her lover, “Look at this idiotic fool that you made me/You taught me a secret language I can’t speak with anyone else.” Swift admits that she would “ruin” herself because of her ability to share love so passionately with whom she chooses.
Similar to “Red,” Swift opens “Invisible String” with the same color imagery she uses to beautifully paint the scene and evoke emotions from her listeners. Throughout her and her lover’s lives, there is an “invisible string” that “tied” them together. One of the most powerful lines in the entirety of Folklore comes from this track when Swift acknowledges her former relationships, often scrutinized by the media, noting, “Cold was the steel of my axe to grind for the boys who broke my heart/Now I send their babies presents.” The lyrical shift shares the same contrast as exemplified in the transition from her 2017 work, Reputation, to last summer’s Lover, dropping the tension all for a transformative reconciliation.
“Mad Woman” echoes the same empowerment as “The Man,” yet in a more profound manner. Swift cuts, “No one likes a mad woman/You made her like that/And you’ll poke that bear till her claws come out.” In a strong statement to her male detractors, Swift looks at their success from her suffering: “‘Cause you took everything from me/Watching you climb/Over people like me.” It’s a powerful message to men like Scooter Braun, who owns Swift’s earlier works, because, much to her rightful frustration, double standards and stigmas placed on women who face struggles in their career paths are the impetus for Swift to compose pieces like this. Swift once again explains how a male-dominated industry often paints women to be shrewd and spiteful simply for expressing their own disdain with toxic masculinity in the workplace and in society as a whole.
In “Epiphany,” Swift’s haunting vocals take center stage on this ballad. Centered on the trauma and hardship people experience on the daily, filled with existentialism, this song helps to navigate the confusion of the human experience. The track calms the listener with Swift repeating, “Watch you breathin’/Watch you breathin’ out” and “Just one single glimpse of relief.” Life is hard, but Swift makes it a little more bearable with this soothing track.
Swift reconciles on “Betty” from a relationship of a misunderstood love. Swift sings from the perspective of someone who’s relationship didn’t match the expectation of both parties: “In the garden would you trust me/If I told you it was just a summer thing?/I’m only seventeen/I don’t know anything but I know I miss you.” The song acts as an apology and continues the themes of reflection and introspection Swift crafts well on Folklore.
Serving as the album’s penultimate track, “Peace” is a raw and honest song in which Swift opens her heart to her lover: “And you know that I’d/Swing with you for the fences/Sit with you in the trenches/Give you my wild, give you a child.” She closes the track, asking, “Would it be enough/If I could never give you peace?” As with all other songs on the album, Swift is able to reach a new place of vulnerability more widespread in this album.
Closing out the album is “Hoax,” another piano ballad opening with the struggles and multitudes Swift shares with her listeners, seemingly about her existence and love life. Singing out, “You knew it still hurts underneath my scars/From when they pulled me apart/But what you did was just as dark.” The album ends on the same note it begins: a combination of all the emotions one experiences in life.
Swift allows her listeners to join her on this journey of imagination and introspection as she shares with the world what entered her mind during isolation. Because of it, 2020 has been lightened by Swift’s glow and ability to bend and craft in multiple genres, still able to touch the hearts and souls of people across the globe through music.
Folklore is undeniably her strongest album to date. Swift’s life experience brought her to this spectacular culmination of hopes and fears, both sonically and lyrically. As the first track states, this album of Swift’s is sure to be “the 1” that will leave a greater impact on the lives of everyone who opens their ears and hearts to the songwriting virtuoso that is Taylor Swift.
