…I’m so in love that I might stop breathing/Drew a map on your bedroom ceiling/No, I didn’t see the news/‘Cause we were somewhere else/Stumbled down pretend alleyways/Cheap wine, make believe it’s champagne/I was taken by the view/Like we were in Paris/Like we were somewhere else/Privacy sign on the door/And on my page and on the whole world/Romance is not dead if you keep it just yours/Levitate above all the messes made/Sip quiet by my side in the shade/And not the kind that’s thrown/I mean, the kind under where a tree has grown…/…I wanna transport you/To somewhere the culture’s clever/Confess my truth/In swooping, sloping, cursive letters/Let the only flashing lights be the tower at midnight/In my mind
I’m going to try to chunk this one into very small bites so you can get to the end 🙂
The connection between the song and my research snippets will become more and more apparent with each post.
Paris
…I’m so in love that I might stop breathing/Drew a map on your bedroom ceiling/No, I didn’t see the news/‘Cause we were somewhere else/Stumbled down pretend alleyways/Cheap wine, make believe it’s champagne/I was taken by the view/Like we were in Paris/Like we were somewhere else/Privacy sign on the door/And on my page and on the whole world/Romance is not dead if you keep it just yours/Levitate above all the messes made/Sip quiet by my side in the shade/And not the kind that’s thrown/I mean, the kind under where a tree has grown…/…I wanna transport you/To somewhere the culture’s clever/Confess my truth/In swooping, sloping, cursive letters/Let the only flashing lights be the tower at midnight/In my mind
I know that last post was LONG. I might break it into smaller pieces later. So I’m going to try to chunk this one into very small bites so you can get to the end 🙂
The connection between the song and my research snippets will become more and more apparent with each post.
Paris
…I’m so in love that I might stop breathing/Drew a map on your bedroom ceiling/No, I didn’t see the news/‘Cause we were somewhere else/Stumbled down pretend alleyways/Cheap wine, make believe it’s champagne/I was taken by the view/Like we were in Paris/Like we were somewhere else/Privacy sign on the door/And on my page and on the whole world/Romance is not dead if you keep it just yours/Levitate above all the messes made/Sip quiet by my side in the shade/And not the kind that’s thrown/I mean, the kind under where a tree has grown…/…I wanna transport you/To somewhere the culture’s clever/Confess my truth/In swooping, sloping, cursive letters/Let the only flashing lights be the tower at midnight/In my mind
This line heavily implies cocaine use. But I couldn’t find any gossip, articles, or arrests pertaining to drugs for any of our liars. But also, we might not know–it could absolutely be happening behind the scenes.
I then tried to think of the many ways to use “line” that wasn’t drug-associated. Stand in line, run lines as an actor, line your pockets, line of credit, boundary line, line your eyes, telephone line…
And crossing all of mine
Honestly, I don’t think Taylor intended any of the following uses of the word “line” that I found pertaining to Ku$hner misdeeds. But it turned out really apt, and kinda cool, so I wish she had intended to write about him in the following ways:
Lines of credit for Ku$ner businesses that are completely unethical-
Check out this entire article for the conflict of interest of the Ku$ner clan:
President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, denied in a statement Monday that he suggested setting up a “back channel” communication line to the Kremlin that would bypass US intelligence agencies and persist after Trump was inaugurated.
But Kushner acknowledged in the statement, which came ahead of a closed-door appearance before the Senate Intelligence Committee, that he asked Russia’s ambassador to the US in December whether the Trump transition team could use Russia’s embassy to communicate privately with Moscow about Syria. The meeting with the ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, “occurred in Trump Tower, where we had our transition office, and lasted twenty [to] thirty minutes,” Kushner wrote in an 11-page statement detailing his contacts with Russian nationals during the election and transition period. “Lt. General Michael Flynn (Ret.), who became the President’s National Security Advisor, also attended … I stated our desire for a fresh start in relations.” Kushner said Kislyak, whose tenure in the US ended this past weekend, asked whether there was “a secure line in the transition office to conduct a conversation” about the US’s Syria policy.
“General Flynn or I explained that there were no such lines,” Kushner wrote. But he said he went on to ask whether the Russian Embassy “had an existing communications channel … we could use where they would be comfortable transmitting the information they wanted to relay to General Flynn.” Kislyak said they didn’t, according to Kushner, and “nothing else occurred.”
“I did not suggest a ‘secret back channel,’” he wrote. “I did not suggest an on-going secret form of communication for then or for when the administration took office. I did not raise the possibility of using the embassy or any other Russian facility for any purpose other than this one possible conversation in the transition period. We did not discuss sanctions.”
Kushner’s statement appears consistent with a Washington Post report published in May that said he had floated the possibility of setting up a secure line of communication between the Trump transition team and Russia — and having those talks take place in Russian diplomatic facilities in the US, essentially concealing their interactions from US government scrutiny.
According to The Post, Kislyak was “taken aback” by Kushner’s request because it posed significant risks for both the Trump team and the Kremlin. But he passed along that request to Moscow anyway. Kushner did not previously disclose the December meetings with Kislyak and the CEO of a Russian bank, Sergey Gorkov, on his security clearance form. He said in his statement that the form was submitted prematurely.
‘A staggering lack of common sense’
Experts have said that if the Kushner-Kislyak meeting and reported discussion were an isolated incident, then it could be spun as normal back-channel communication arrangements among states.
But Kislyak and the Trump campaign interacted extensively, and Trump associates either kept those interactions secret from US officials or misrepresented them, as was the case with Flynn, who was forced to resign in February for similar reasons.
Scott Olson, a recently retired FBI agent who ran counterintelligence operations and spent more than 20 years at the bureau, told Business Insider in May that it was not unusual for low-level staffers to work between governments and bypass bureaucracy to exchange views and build consensus in advance of higher-level negotiations. But what Kushner appears to have done is “substantially different, in two ways,” he said. “First, he is not seeking a back channel for a low-level staff exchange,” Olson said. “He wants high-level direct-contact communication. This is extremely dangerous because it results in verbal (and therefore undocumented and unwitnessed) agreements, which are binding on governments. Free governments do not work this way. They can’t. If they do, they are no longer free.”
He added: “Second, he asked to use a foreign government’s communication facilities. This is way beyond a private server. This is doing US government diplomatic business over a foreign government’s communication system. It’s not an off-the-record conversation. It’s a conversation recorded by the opposing party. This shows a staggering lack of understanding of the US and its place in the world. Actually, it shows a staggering lack of common sense. When he negotiates a business deal does he use the other guy’s notes?”
It also struck many experts as odd that Flynn, Kushner, and Kislyak would want to conceal discussions about Syria from the US’s national security and intelligence communities. “Why in God’s name would they want to conceal plans on Syria strategy from the US military?” asked Susan Hennessey, a former attorney for the National Security Agency. “Even accepting their Syria spin, what Kushner tried to do was blind the US government on incredibly important national security matters. That’s not how it works. That’s not the behavior of someone who recognizes America is still, at its core, a common endeavor.”
Egregious disregard drawing up boundary lines between Israel and Palestine-
Alas, I don’t think it is actually what the song is about because Jo$h’s brother Jared isn’t crossing boundaries of Taylor’s as far as I know. He’s a criminal POS, but at most his politics are disagreeable to Taylor, and his brother “stole” the love of Taylor’s life. But that line worked out pretty well with many of the Ku$hner crimes.
I
Someone told his white collar crimes to the FBI
Closest thing to Michelle Pfeiffer that you’ve ever seen, oh
So that could be who she’s talking about in this particular line…
Stars in eyes speaks to a desire for fame or a drive to be something more. What do all the other stars in Taylor’s catalog mean?
Taylor compares the 9 year old to stars.
Something special, untouchable, and unattainable. Beautiful and magical, but out of reach.
She confirms how stars are something unattainable in Untouchable. Taylor doesn’t know why she’s so caught up in this girl. But she uses words like diamond sky, sun, and a million stars spelling this person’s name to show how they are shiny, bright, sparkling, but inconceivable. This girl makes Taylor feel like she’s coming undone because she has this strong attraction, but knows she shouldn’t act on it, that it wouldn’t be reciprocated, or it would be forbidden. Taylor appraises the girl as precious and impossible to get near like the pretty stars in the sky. And the adults notice the love between the two.
Stars aligning signify perfection and idealistic happiness. Which did not occur in this particular situation.
This other person saw Taylor’s past hurts, traumas… scars. And they surrounded that pain with something beautiful and otherworldly. Taylor is incredulous this person cares for her (stars are distant and out of reach) because this type of relationship was previously unthinkable. She is invigorated by the improbable magic (it’s impossible to touch stars) that happens when this person is close. This love is healing and is all Taylor needs. Except after the person left, Taylor is without the salve on her scars and suffers a new fresh wound.
…’Cause karma is my boyfriend…/…Sweet like honey, karma is a cat/Purring in my lap ’cause it loves me/Flexing like a goddamn acrobat/Me and karma vibe like that…/…Sweet like justice, karma is a queen
…Laughing with my feet in your lap/Like you were my closest friend/”How’d we end up on the floor anyway?” You say/”Your roommate’s cheap-ass screw-top rosé, that’s how”…/…And how the blood rushed into my cheeks, so scarlet, it was…/…The lips I used to call home, so scarlet, it was maroon…/…Sobbin’ with your head in your hands
The poetry nearly killed me. So I understand this song is closely related to Emily Dickenson’s life and sapphic lover, but you’ve probably heard it. And I just… Can’t. I went in a different direction, of which I’m not certain if it was Taylor’s intent or Emily’s. But there is a lot of language that had me thinking of the Gnostic Gospels. Disclaimer: I’m not a theologist. This is a very surface-level gathering of information pertaining to the song.
I did this one in several segments so you can see the connection between lyric and Gnoticism better.
Ivy
How’s one to know?/I’d meet you where the spirit meets the bones/In a faith forgotten land/In from the snow/Your touch brought forth an incandescent glow/Tarnished but so grand
Where the Spirit meets the bones:
Faith Forgotten:
Incandescent Glow:
Tarnished but so Grand:
Oh, goddamn/My pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand/Taking mine, but it’s been promised to another/Oh, I can’t/Stop you putting roots in my dreamland/My house of stone, your ivy grows/And now I’m covered in you
Hand…Promised to Another:
Dreamland:
House of Stone:
Your ivy grows and now I’m covered in you:
I wish to know/The fatal flaw that makes you long to be/Magnificently cursed/He’s in the room/Your opal eyes are all I wish to see/He wants what’s only yours
Fatal Flaw… Magnificently Cursed:
Opal:
He wants what’s only yours:
My house of stone, your ivy grows/And now I’m covered/Clover blooms in the fields/Spring breaks loose, the time is near/What would he do if he found us out?
House of Stone:
Clover Blooms in the Fields:
The Shamrock Principle: Mystery, biblical Trinitarian Monotheism and resolving the Problem of the One and the Many
What would he do if he found us out:
The parable of the weeds (Matthew 13: 24–30, 36–43)
In this allegory, the sower is Jesus and the enemy is the Devil. The good seed represents people who listen to and respond to God’s word. These are the people who belong to the Kingdom of God and who will go to Heaven at the end of time. The weeds represent those people who do not listen to God’s word, they are “sons of the evil one” who will go to the fiery furnace of hell at the end of time. The harvest workers are the angels and harvest time is the end of the age.
This means that on Earth, good and bad people will grow and live together. The Kingdom of God will be present amongst the evil of the world. At the end of time people will be separated into their eternal destiny.
How’s one to know?/I’d live and die for moments that we stole/On begged and borrowed time/So tell me to run/Or dare to sit and watch what we’ll become/And drink my husband’s wine
So yeah, it’s a fire/It’s a goddamn blaze in the dark/And you started it/You started it/So yeah, it’s a war/It’s the goddamn fight of my life/And you started it/You started it
Goddamn blaze in the dark:
You started it
It’s a war, it’s the goddamn fight of my life:
Oh, I can’t/Stop you putting roots in my dreamland/My house of stone, your ivy grows/And now I’m covered/In you/In you/Now I’m covered in you/In you
–> if you made it this far, good for you! But don’t worry after my Gay Moments series I’ll publish this in smaller pieces and maybe put together a TLDR
I’m about to finish up the evermore album for my series Taylor Swift’s Gay Moments. Followed by Midnights Gay Moments. The last song is Ivy.
You might be wondering how Taylor Swift’s Ivy relates to Gnosticism relates to queerness. In my main post I’ll show the many connections between Ivy’s lyrics and Gnostic tennants.
Here, I’ll try to convey how Gnosticism, at the very least, can be interpreted through a queer lens.
Gnosticism through a queer lens [III]
-Sophia begets the demiurge who creates the world & humanity
-Sophia tricks Yaldabaoth into passing wisdom to Adam
-Wisdom is Eve and she wakes Adam from his stupor
-Balancing the masculine and feminine within ourselves is required for divine illumination
-Gnostics reject binary, black & white thinking and encourage questioning authority and the status-quo
-The Gnostics gave women a place, where they were sidelined by the orthodoxy
Sophia gives birth to a bunch of bad boys, demigods called archons, including the worst of them all, the demiurge who becomes the creator of this world, infecting it with pride, ignorance, fear, and his lust for power and pleasure.
Finally, Sophia breaks free and ascends back up to the true light of life. Back up in the celestial realm of spiritual light, Sophia rediscovers Gnosis by joining her twin brother in a “marriage” of reunification, balancing the masculine ego of unrealized potential, and uniting it with the sacred feminine – made ever more powerful by adversity – into an androgynous whole. A complete person, full with the knowledge of the transcendent, unified light.
But she refuses to abandon the sad world of humans. She remains present, and in her resurgent power she brings great beauty and spiritual potential to the Earthly realm and its inhabitants.
Witnessing the irresponsible creation of the world by her errant offspring, she divides herself, keeping a part below, ever present and available for the enlightenment of all. Sophia conceals Consciousness in the body of the demiurge’s first man, “Adam,” and then brings it into the world as “Eve.”
For it’s only in the feminine–the channel of creation into the world–that humanity finds the power and compassion necessary to overcome the darkness of ignorance.
Here’s part II (2.5 hours after I initially tried to post it). WordPress pulled a Myspace on me and erased everything when I pressed “schedule” and it was NOT cool. So I don’t know if it’s all here, but I’m tired of messing with it.
Gnostic Creation Story [II]
-The True God
-Aeons
-demiurge (Yaldabaoth/Ialdabaoth)
-archons/rulers
-Adam, then Eve
-the material world, then humanity
Disclaimer/Trigger Warning:
There will be discussion about religion. I am simply reporting facts and history as I found them (through very cursory online searches) so please don’t @me with theological debate or complaints.
The deficiency of the demiurge is that he lives in ignorance of this fact. He created the world and formed all matter under the presupposition that he was doing it of his own accord. He did not perceive the invisible forefather working through him. Truly we all work with these archangels as at our core we are the invisible forefather and all of our thoughts stem from a higher angelic power. Higher as to say that they are from higher plane than the matter that we perceive ourselves to be. But truly we are not the body, we are the spirit that has been manifested into the bodies that we occupy. And we have a soul that is the mediator between the two. The Soul is our field for planting the seeds which we wish to grow in our kingdom and the archangels that we wish to have serve us are what we choose to grow. So be a farmer in the service of the good and the fruits that your kingdom will bear will be of the good.
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