Here it goes, I’m finally gonna write about what I have been putting aside. Like it or not, Taylor Swift was all of us during this quarantine and she expressed that on her new album, Folklore.
I listen to Taylor’s music since she released Love Story, in 2009, when she was still trying to figure herself as either a country artist or pop. I don’t enjoy country music, but the little banjo cords from Mean, got me dancing. I’m not a music connoisseur either, all I know is about the same as the big masses out there. I either like it or not. This is also not an evaluation of her latest album.
When Taylor released Folklore, at some point in July, I listen to it almost immediately and couldn’t believe it. Is that really her? The album has a dark path, the lyrics are very intense and for a writer like me, who usually looks for inspiration in music, it’s a whole lot of fun to listen to and extract most of it to create a story. This album is not bubbly, colorful with nice engaging beats like Lover. Also not politically correct, she cusses quite a bit. I listen to it and the conclusion I got from it was – Taylor was all of us in at some point in quarantine. Here are some songs that made me realize that.
Exile –
“You’re not my homeland anymore
So what am I defending now?
You were my town, now I’m in exile, seein’ you out
I think I’ve seen this film before”
The piano intro gave the feeling of being hopeless during all this time at home. What is going on outside? Why am being held hostage at home? Am I in some sort of coma, where I can hear things but I can’t move and make things happen? Exile song seems to be an allusion to be trapped at home, without know when we will be able to get out. She wants the virus to go away so we can move on, as she doesn’t recognize herself or her purpose anymore. There is no more security for anything. When can I start living my life again?
Mirrorball –
“I know they said the end is near”
When we got locked up at home, in March, with the promise the quarantine would last a little bit over a month, so we could flatten the curve, there was still hope. When June came, all we were hearing was the number of people dying and how tired people got of staying at home, so they let us out, with some restrictions and some people went all the way. As the curve flatten yet? The music lyrics seems to be saying “If I’m gonna die, at least I would go dancing” That’s exactly what some people did, they lived like there was no tomorrow. They crowded the beaches in Miami, a barbecue with friends, went to pool parties. Living like there is no tomorrow indeed.
Seven –
“Please picture me in the trees
I hit my peak at seven
Feet in the swing over the creek
I was too scared to jump in“
After such a long time at home, she starts to forget everyone’s face. Trying to keep some memories alive, she thinks about her less chaotic and free childhood. We all tend to bring back good memories to keep us going when times get hard. Taylor is trying to keep the magic of her life alive within her memories. That’s why is so important to live your life to the fullest and stop working so damn hard, forgetting what’s real life’s purpose – to live! I’m glad I’ve had enough memories to keep me going during these hard times. I try to live my best life because someday I want to be that crazy old lady seating at the porch telling stories that look way too cooler than it actually was. Like that time me and my best friend were in Miami, at 3 am, in a convenience store, singing Kanye West.
Madwoman-
“And there’s nothing like a mad woman
What a shame she went mad
No one likes a mad woman“
At this point, our dear Taylor already lost her mind. She was probably trapped with her significant other in quarantine for too long when she wrote this song. All of us that had someone with us, inside the house 24/7 during the lockdown months knows the feeling. I love my husband, but I also need space. Same with kids. I don’t have kids, but friends who have it were on a verge of break down. Self-care is important and it usually happens when people give you a break and guess what? Kids are always hungry and you always have to cook. I love to cook, but 3 meals a day plus snacks I can’t take it. Where all the money is going? Well, take out. I’m not cooking again and I need to help local restaurants while keeping my sanity. Also, I’m so sorry for homeschooling.
My tears ricochet
“You know I didn’t want to
Have to haunt you
But what a ghostly scene”
I left this song in the last position because it’s my favorite and by far the saddest one. It was that point of the quarantine when you had a few weird symptoms and you were sure you had Corona. You start to think that you are gonna die, and everything is over on earth for you. “I took care of myself, why does my throat hurt? And why do I have a headache?”. I can’t watch the news much longer. All of that scary feeling was probably one of the reasons for this song, I would like to think. In the lyrics, she looks like she is deceased and she is back to haunt the guy. It’s a whole sad story about how she died and the person was wearing her necklace, while she is being buried. If there is any inspiration for these songs, I would definitely write a horror, suspense movie.
Corona hit all of us in different ways. Taylor made a sick ass album, completely different from what we are used to. Liking her or not, you gotta giver credit, for dropping an entire album in the middle of quarantine.
I have been putting this post away for some time now because I’m a bit scared of looking silly. Why should I care about what others think of me? I shouldn’t. Yet I postponed this for a few weeks, questioning myself. Before I wrote my post, I wanted to ask when did we stopped writing for fun, because we love what we do, having crazy, imaginative ideas, and started writing mostly subjects that other people want to read? I feel like people these days can’t be true to themselves anymore, it’s all about what others will perceive them and how their idea will be received. It’s like Hollywood not being able to create anything new and just producing remakes because they want money guarantee. If I write the same thing as everyone else, what even the point? We need more creatives in the world. Don’t be afraid of looking ridiculous. Take risks! (Not with Corona though, be safe)
Good,
Followed you