They said the end is coming/Everyone’s up to something/I find myself running home to your sweet nothings/Outside, they’re push and shoving/You’re in the kitchen humming/All that you ever wanted from me was sweet nothing/On the way home/I wrote a poem/You say, “What a mind”/This happens all the time…/…To you, I can admit that I’m just too soft for all of it…/…You’re in the kitchen humming (you’re in the kitchen humming)/… All that you ever wanted from me was sweet nothing
We were supposed to be just friends…/…Depending on what kind of mood and situation-ship I’m in/And what’s in my system/I think there’s been a glitch, oh, yeah…/…And I’m not even sorry/Nights are so starry, blood moonlit/It must be counterfeit…/…A brief interruption, a slight malfunction/I’d go back to wanting dudes who give nothing/I thought we had no chance/And that’s romance, let’s dance
Because I dropped your hand while dancing/Left you out there standing/Crestfallen on the landing/Champagne problems/Your mom’s ring in your pocket/My picture in your wallet/Your heart was glass, I dropped it/Champagne problems/You told your family for a reason/You couldn’t keep it in/Your sister splashed out on the bottle/Now no one’s celebrating/Dom Pérignon, you brought it/No crowd of friends applauded/Your hometown skeptics called it/Champagne problems/You had a speech, you’re speechless/Love slipped beyond your reaches/And I couldn’t give a reason/Champagne problems…/…”This dorm was once a madhouse”/I made a joke, “Well, it’s made for me”…/…I never was ready, so I watch you go/Sometimes you just don’t know the answer/’Til someone’s on their knees and asks you/“She would’ve made such a lovely bride/What a shame she’s fucked in the head, “ they said
I interpret this song as Taylor rejecting a marriage proposal from a woman (Dianna and/or Karlie?) in favor of living a single, straight life (even though she’s sapphic):
I’m writing this under the assumption you’ve researched the origins of Pride, and have also seen a current day Pride. If you haven’t, you have homework before reading this.
2023 brings many far-right political attacks targeting Pride Parades (and a litany of other anti-LGBTQ issues).
Combine that with the Rainbow Capitalism and corporatization of Pride that the community is wary of.
This presents us a perfect opportunity: This year Pride should forgo the rainbows, flags, and money-spending. Do something really radical- This year Pride is all black and white. It would be a stark contrast to the rainbow events of late. We treat Pride as more of a remembrance and protest. No random corporate parade entries or merch. Everyone in the Pride Parade is there representing their LGBTQQA organization, or showing up as evidence of their existence, since the community is still largely invisible to straights. The LGBTQQAA community still appears in droves and gets a day to be with like-minded people, is visible to larger society. But we show them Pride is for a purpose not just a party or spending.
Instead of the gold hotpants, the gay boys just toe the line and go black/white bicycle shorts. The drag queens still make an appearance, but in only black and/or white. PFLAG, the bears, leather daddies, dykes on bikes–all there. Everyone in black and white. Somber in our demands for equal treatment. Nobody gets arrested, but make their point anyway. We don’t need an ostentatious party (every year) to demand rights and provide representation. We show the straights, it’s not all fun and games we are the same people we have always been even when the rainbows are turned to mournful attire. It’s not giving up and adhering to social norms–it’s proving that we’re celebrating Pride for a reason.
It would be impactful to do an all black & white Pride for one year. Like talking softly in a screaming match, it would garner attention and show that we exist, we want equal rights, and we mean business–whatever color we’re wearing.
Time, curious time/Gave me no compasses, gave me no signs/Were there clues I didn’t see?/And isn’t it just so pretty to think/All along there was some/Invisible string/Tying you to me?/…On your first trip to LA/You ate at my favorite spot for dinner…/…Time, mystical time/Cuttin’ me open, then healin’ me fine…/…A string that pulled me/Out of all the wrong arms right into that dive bar/Something wrapped all of my past mistakes in barbed wire/Chains around my demons, wool to brave the seasons/One single thread of gold tied me to you…/…Cold was the steel of my axe to grind/For the boys who broke my heart/Now I send their babies presents/Gold was the color of the leaves/When I showed you around Centennial Park/Hell was the journey but it brought me heaven/Time, wondrous time/Gave me the blues and then purple pink skies/And it’s cool, baby, with me/And isn’t it just so pretty to think/All along there was some/Invisible string/Tying you to me?
***Trigger Warning***
Conversion Therapy, Religious trauma, Reparative therapy
Make sure nobody sees you leave…/…You’ll be flushed when you return/Take the road less traveled by/Tell yourself you can always stop…/…And that’s the thing about illicit affairs/And clandestine meetings and longing stares/It’s born from just one single glance/But it dies, and it dies, and it dies/A million little times/Leave the perfume on the shelf/That you picked out just for him/So you leave no trace behind/Like you don’t even exist…/…A drug that only worked/The first few hundred times…/…And clandestine meetings and stolen stares/They show their truth one single time/But they lie, and they lie, and they lie/A million little times…/…Look at this godforsaken mess that you made me/You showed me colors/You know I can’t see with anyone else…/…You taught me a secret language/I can’t speak with anyone else/And you know damn well/For you, I would ruin myself/A million little times
I split the songs up on the Lover album as well so we can delve into each one a bit more.
False God
We were crazy to think/Crazy to think that this could work/Remember how I said I’d die for you?/We were stupid to jump/In the ocean separating us/Remember how I’d fly to you?/…They all warned us about times like this/They say the road gets hard and you get lost when you’re led by blind faith…/…But we might just get away with it/Religion’s in your lips/Even if it’s a false god/We’d still worship/We might just get away with it/The altar is my hips/Even if it’s a false god/We’d still worship this love…/…I know heaven’s a thing/I go there when you touch me/Honey hell is when I fight with you/But we can patch it up good/Make confessions and we’re begging for forgiveness/Got the wine for you/And you can’t talk to me when I’m like this/Daring you to leave me just so I can try and scare you
There were some even cooler designs but WordPress is a Bit(H and nothing would fit the banner without cutting out practically everything.
930 x 198 Pixels is a @$%$# Nightmare!
While we’re talking about logistics I also changed up the topics above the header. In keeping with the animal theme, I tried to do some wordplay, but they translate to:
Animals
Places
(Anti) Valentines
School/College/Education
Work/Career
Sexuality/LGBTQQAA
Music
Exercise/Diet
Current Events/News
Analysis of Media/Vocabulary
Just click any of those to filter posts by category.
Also, don’t forget about the “search” function in the top right for specific posts or key words. In combination with CTRL F you can find anything you want.
The current popular posts are listed on the right.
Under that is a word cloud to look at posts with a specific tag.
Then there is a list of my few last posts under that.
And finally, there’s a calendar of what I posted by date.
Walkin’ through a crowd, the village is aglow/Kaleidoscope of loud heartbeats under coats/Everybody here wanted somethin’ more/Searchin’ for a sound we hadn’t heard before…/…When we first dropped our bags on apartment floors/Took our broken hearts, put them in a drawer/Everybody here was someone else before/And you can want who you want/Boys and boys and girls and girls…/…Like any great love, it keeps you guessing/Like any real love, it’s ever-changing/Like any true love, it drives you crazy/But you know you wouldn’t change anything, anything, anything
Blank Space
Magic, madness, heaven, sin…/…You look like my next mistake/Love’s a game, wanna play?” Ay…/…New money, suit and tie…/…Ain’t it funny? Rumors fly/And I know you heard about me/So hey, let’s be friends/I’m dying to see how this one ends…/…I can make the bad guys good for a weekend…/…You can tell me when it’s over, mm…/…Got a long list of ex-lovers…/…And you love the game/’Cause we’re young, and we’re reckless/We’ll take this way too far/It’ll leave you breathless, mm/Or with a nasty scar…/…But I’ve got a blank space, baby/And I’ll write your name…/…Stolen kisses, pretty lies/You’re the King, baby, I’m your Queen/Find out what you want/Be that girl for a month/Wait, the worst is yet to come, oh, no/Screaming, crying, perfect storms/I can make all the tables turn…/…Don’t say I didn’t, say I didn’t warn ya/THEY’LL tell you I’m insane (I’m insane)/’Cause YOU know I love the players…
Style
Midnight/You come and pick me up, no headlights…/…Could end in burning flames or paradise…/…And I should just tell you to leave ’cause I/Know exactly where it leads…/…And I got that good girl faith and a tight little skirt/And when we go crashing down, we come back every time…/…Oh, you got that James Dean daydream look in your eye/And I got that red lip classic thing that you like
Out of the Woods
Then discovered…/…The rest of the world was black and white/But we were in screaming color…/…Are we out of the woods?/Are we in the clear yet?…/…The night we couldn’t quite forget/When we decided, we decided/To move the furniture so we could dance/Baby, like we stood a chance/Two paper airplanes flying, flying, flying…/…Remember when we couldn’t take the heat?/I walked out, I said “I’m setting you free”/But the monsters turned out to be just trees/When the sun came up you were looking at me
All You Had to Do Was Stay
People like you always want back the love they gave away/And people like me wanna believe you when you say you’ve changed/The more I think about it now, the less I know…/…Then why’d you have to go and lock me out when I let you in?
Shake It Off
I go on too many dates [chuckle]/But I can’t make ’em stay/At least that’s what people say, mmm-mmm…/…And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate…/…I shake it off, I shake it off…/…I never miss a beat/I’m lightning on my feet/And that’s what they don’t see…/…I’m dancing on my own (dancing on my own)/I make the moves up as I go (moves up as I go)
More examples:
These had too many pics to post a concise list on this post, but check out the websites. It shows a lot of relationships, marriages, babies, cheating, fights, etc, etc… are orchestrated to generate buzz and ultimately sell a product:
You think I’m gonna hate you now/’Cause you still don’t know what I never said…/…I wish you knew that/I’d never forget you as long as I’d live…/…We’re a crooked love/In a straight line down/Makes you wanna run and hide/Then it makes you turn right back around…/…And remember what we were fighting for…/…This mad, mad love makes you come rushing
Exp 2:
Bad Blood
You know it used to be mad love…/…Now we got problems/And I don’t think we can solve ’em/You made a really deep cut…/…I was thinking that you could be trusted/Did you have to ruin/What was shining? Now it’s all rusted/Did you have to hit me/Where I’m weak? Baby, I couldn’t breathe/And rub it in so deep/Salt in the wound like you’re laughing right at me…/…Did you think we’d be fine?/Still got scars on my back from your knife/So don’t think it’s in the past/These kind of wounds they last and they last/Now did you think it all through?/All these things will catch up to you…/…If you live like that, you live with ghosts (ghosts, ghosts)/Band-aids don’t fix bullet holes (hey!)/You say sorry just for show …/…Hm, if you love like that, blood runs cold/’Cause baby, now we got bad blood
Wildest Dreams
…”Let’s get out of this town/Drive out of the city, away from the crowds“/I thought Heaven can’t help me now/Nothing lasts forever/But this is gonna take me down…/…I said, “No one has to know what we do”/His hands are in my hair, his clothes are in my room…/…You’ll see me in hindsight/Tangled up with you all night/Burning it down/Someday when you leave me/I bet these memories/Follow you around…/…Say you’ll see me again/Even if it’s just (pretend, just pretend) in your wildest dreams/In your wildest dreams/Even if it’s just stayed in your wildest dreams
How You Get the Girl
Stand there like a ghost/Shaking come the rain, rain/She’ll open up the door/And say, are you insane…/…And you were too afraid to tell her what you want, want…/…And then you say/I want you for worse or for better…/…Tell her how you must’ve lost your mind/When you left her all alone and never told her why, why/And that’s how it works/That’s how you lost the girl…/…Broke your heart, I’ll put it back together…/…And you could know, oh/That I don’t want you to go
This Love
High tide came and brought you in…/…Skies grew darker/Currents swept you out again…/…In silent screams/In wildest dreams/I never dreamed of this/This love is good/This love is bad…/…In losing grip/On sinking ships…/…This love left a permanent mark/This love is glowing in the dark…/…I watched you leave/Your smile, my ghost/I fell to my knees/When you’re young, you just run/But you come back to what you need
I Know Places
It’s a scene, and we’re out here in plain sight/I can hear them whisper as we pass by/It’s a bad sign, bad sign/Something happens when everybody finds out/See the vultures circling, dark clouds/Love’s a fragile little flame, it could burn out…/…’Cause they got the cages, they got the boxes/And guns/They are the hunters, we are the foxes/And we run/Baby, I know places we won’t be found and/They’ll be chasing their tails trying to track us down…/…Lights flash and we’ll run for the fences/Let them say what they want, we won’t hear it/Loose lips sink ships all the damn time/Not this time…/…they take their shots, but we’re bulletproof
You’re still all over me/Like a wine-stained dress I can’t wear anymore/Hung my head as I lost the war/And the sky turned black like a perfect storm/Rain came pouring down/When I was drowning, that’s when I could finally breathe/And by morning/Gone was any trace of you, I think I am finally clean…/…There was nothing left to do…/…So I punched a hole in the roof/Let the flood carry away all my pictures of you/The water filled my lungs, I screamed so loud/But no one heard a thing…/…Ten months sober, I must admit/Just because you’re clean, don’t mean you don’t miss it/Ten months older, I won’t give in/Now that I’m clean, I’m never gonna risk it
Flashing lights and we/Took a wrong turn and we/Fell down a rabbit hole…/…’Cause nothing’s as it seems/And spinning out of control…/…Haven’t you heard what becomes of curious minds?/Ooh, didn’t it all seem new and exciting?/I felt your arms twisting around me/I should’ve slept with one eye open at night…/…We found Wonderland/You and I got lost in it/And life was never worse but never better…/…Too in love to think straight/All alone, or so it seemed/But there were strangers watching/And whispers turned to talking/And talking turned to screams, oh…/…It’s all fun and games ’til somebody loses their mind…/…I knew I had to go back home/You search the world for something else/To make you feel like what we had/And in the end, in Wonderland, we both went mad
One look, dark room/Meant just for you…/…No proof, one touch/But you felt enough…/…You can hear it in the silence, silence, you/You can feel it on the way home, way home, you/You can see it with the lights out, lights out/You are in love, true love…/…He keeps his word/And for once, you let go/Of your fears and your ghosts/One step, not much/But it said enough…/…One night he wakes/Strange look on his face/Pauses, then says/You’re my best friend/And you knew what it was/He is in love…/…And you understand now why they lost their minds and fought the wars/And why I’ve spent my whole life tryin’ to put it into words
New Romantics
We’re all bored/We’re all so tired of everything/We wait for trains that just aren’t coming/We show off our different scarlet letters/Trust me, mine is better/We’re so young/But we’re on the road to ruin/We play dumb but we know exactly what we’re doin’…/…I could build a castle/Out of all the bricks they threw at me/And every day is like a battle/But every night with us is like a dream…/…Heartbreak is the national anthem/We sing it proudly/We are too busy dancing/To get knocked off our feet/Baby, we’re the new romantics/The best people in life are free…/…We’re all here/The lights and noise are blinding/We hang back/It’s all in the timing/It’s poker/He can’t see it in my face/But I’m about to play my Ace (ah)/We need love/But all we want is danger/We team up/Then switch sides like a record changer/The rumors are terrible and cruel/But honey, most of them are true
Taylor has been alluding to her sexuality the whole time, we just weren’t paying attention. Given the lyrics I think she is Lesbian w/major comp-het: I have interspersed Taylor’s early Myspace post and sus song lyrics:
Fearless:
The entirety of:
Haunted
This song will get its own post.
Fearless-
Well you stood there with me in the doorway/My hands shake/I’m not usually this way but/You pull me in and I’m a little more brave/It’s the first kiss, it’s flawless, really something, it’s fearless/Cause I don’t know how it gets better than this/You take my hand and drag me head first/Fearless/And I don’t know why/But with you I’d dance in a storm/In my best dress/Fearless
Fifteen-
Feeling like there’s nothing to figure out…/…This is life before you know who you’re gonna be…/…When all you wanted/Was to be wanted/Wish you could go back/And tell yourself what you know now
Love Story-
So I sneak out to the garden to see you/We keep quiet, ’cause we’re dead if they knew…/…’Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter/And my daddy said, “Stay away from Juliet”…/….Romeo, save me, they’re tryna tell me how to feel/This love is difficult, but it’s real/Don’t be afraid, we’ll make it out of this mess…/…Is this in my head? I don’t know what to think
Hey Stephen-
Hey Stephen, I’ve been holding back this feeling/So I’ve got some things to say to you (ha)…/…But I never seen nobody shine the way you do/The way you walk, way you talk, way you say my name/It’s beautiful, wonderful, don’t you ever change/Hey Stephen, why are people always leaving?/I think you and I should stay the same…/…So come on and come out…/…And shine, shine, shine
You Belong with Me-
That what you’re looking for has been here the whole time/If you could see that I’m the one/Who understands you/Been here all along/So, why can’t you see?/You belong with me/Standing by and waiting at your backdoor/All this time how could you not know, baby?
The Way I Loved You-
He says everything I need to hear, and it’s like…/…I feel perfectly fine…/…He respects my space/And never makes me wait/And he calls exactly when he says he will/He’s close to my mother/Talks business with my father/He’s charming and endearing/And I’m comfortable…/…I couldn’t ask for anything better/He can’t see the smile I’m faking/And my heart’s not breaking/‘Cause I’mnot feeling anything at all/And you were wild and crazy/Just so frustrating, intoxicating, complicated/Got away by some mistake and now/I miss screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain/It’s 2 a.m. and I’m cursing your name/I’m so in love thatI acted insane/And that’s the way I loved you/Breaking down and coming undone/It’s a roller coaster kind of rush/And I never knew I could feel that much/And that’s the way I loved you
Untouchable-
Untouchable like a distant diamond sky/I’m reaching out and I just can’t tell you why/I’m caught up in you…/…Untouchable, burning brighter than the sun/And when you’re close, I feel like coming undone
Forever and Always-
Was I out of line?/Did I say something way too honest, made you run and hide…/…Thought I knew you for a minute, now I’m not so sure…/…Here’s to silence, that cuts me to the core/Where is this going?/Thought I knew for a minute, but I don’t anymore
I said, “Leave“, but all I really want is you/To stand outside my window, throwin’ pebbles/Screamin’, “I’m in love with you”…/…And don’t you leave, ’cause I know/All I need is on the other side of the door/Me and my stupid pride are sittin’ here alone…/…I keep goin’ back over things we both said/And I remember the slamming door/And all the things that I misread/Oh, babe, if you know everything/Tell me why you couldn’t see/When I left, I wanted you to chase after me, yeah/I said, “Leave”, but all I really want is you…/…And the conversation with the little white lies…/…And I broke down crying, was she worth this mess?/After everything and that little black dress/After everything I must confess, I need you
Today was a Fairytale-
All that I can say/Is now it’s getting so much clearer/Nothing made sense ’til the time I saw your face/Today was a fairytale
You All Over Me-
I lived, and I learned/And found out what it was to turn around/And see, that we/Were never really meant to be/So I lied, and I cried/And I watched a part of myself die/’Cause no amount of freedom gets you clean
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Catty Remarks