Glitch
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
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.
Don’t worry, I’m still working on the gay moments for each track on evermore. I’m at Ivy and it’s very research heavy, so enjoy another snippet while I compile everything.
champagne problems
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):
Now we start the folklore songs!
the 1
You know the greatest films of all time were never made…/…We never painted by the numbers, baby/But we were making it count…/…Rosé flowing with your chosen family
I split the songs up on the Lover album as well so we can delve into each one a bit more.
Cornelia Street
We were a fresh page on the desk/Filling in the blanks as we go…/…We bless the rains on Cornelia Street/Memorize the creaks in the floor/Back when we were card sharks, playing games/I thought you were leading me on/I packed my bags, left Cornelia Street/Before you even knew I was gone/But then you called, showed your hand
UGH, can researchers stop lumping gay men and lesbians into the same category as if we’re some homogeneous group?! I’d like to see many more categories of bi people too-they are certainly not a monolith.
https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/how-many-people-lgbt/
I split the songs up on the Lover album as well so we can delve into each one a bit more.
The Archer
In order to show the gay moments of The Archer it’s beneficial to split the song up according to intended audience/subject.
Part 1
Taylor’s internal struggle:
Combat, I’m ready for combat/I say I don’t want that, but what if I do?/…I jump from the train, I ride off alone/I never grew up, it’s getting so old…/…I’ve been the archer/I’ve been the prey/Who could ever leave me, darling?/But who could stay?/…And I cut off my nose just to spite my face/Then I hate my reflection for years and years/I wake in the night, I pace like a ghost/The room is on fire, invisible smoke…/…I’ve been the archer,/I’ve been the prey/Screaming, who could ever leave me, darling?/But who could stay?/(I see right through me, I see right through me)…/…I see right through me/I see right through me…/…I’ve been the archer/I’ve been the prey/Who could ever leave me, darling?/But who could stay?/(I see right through me, I see right through me)…/…Combat, I’m ready for combat
Part 2
Cons of coming out: media/public/betrayers/enemies/historical evidence it doesn’t end well
‘Cause cruelty wins in the movies…/…But what if I’m alright, right, right, right here?[Lavender Haze]/…And all of my heroes die all alone…/…’Cause they see right through me/They see right through me/They see right through…/…They see right through/They see right through me…/…All the king’s horses, all the king’s men/Couldn’t put me together again…/…’Cause all of my enemies started out friends
Part 3
To the fans
I’ve got a hundred thrown-out speeches I almost said to you/Easy they come, easy they go…/…Help me hold onto you…/…Dark side, I search for your dark side…/…Help me hold onto you…/…Can you see right through me?/…Help me hold onto you…/…Who could stay?/Who could stay?/Who could stay?/You could stay/You could stay/You
The songs on Reputation are packed with meaning, and there are many rabbit holes to go down. As such, this post would be too long if I included each song as I did with Debut, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, and 1989. Pretty much every track on Reputation has queer content. There could probably be an argument made for LWYMMD and TIWWCHNT, especially the video and live performances, but neither really have lyrics conducive to this particular analysis. All the rest of the songs are included. Here are the links to each gay Reputation moment:
…Ready For it?
Golden age of Hollywood and bearding
Heterosexual marriage with frequent same sex interactions outside of the marriage
I didn’t include End Game because having features muddies the water about who contributed what. It’s probably Taylor being gay on main again, but I can’t rule out that Ed or Future added to the lyrics.
I Did Something Bad
Navigating LGBTQ Rumors
Media + Closeting
Don’t Blame Me
Internalized homophobia
LGBT have higher incidence of drug abuse and addiction
Delicate
Polyamory
So It Goes…
Femme invisibility
Gorgeous
To be her or be with her?
Gendered terms for beautiful
https://kit10phish.wordpress.com/2023/02/26/taylor-swifts-gay-moments-reputation
Getaway Car
No Strings Attached/Friends with Benefits but someone falls in love
King Of My Heart
The American Dream privileges (White, cis, middle to upper-class) Male Heterosexuals
Dancing With Our Hands Tied
Deep dive
Dress
The pronoun game
Pining and yearning
Call it What you Want
I didn’t do a whole thing on this one, because Karlie’s whole-a$$ name is repeated throughout the song–that’s pretty obviously sapphic.
But also, it’s about personal labels and internalized homophobia and anxiety.
New Year’s Day
Decision to come out in public or keep it on the down-low
The songs on Reputation are packed with meaning, and there are many rabbit holes to go down. As such, this post would be too long if I included each song as I did with Debut, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, and 1989. I’ll release these song by song.
New Year’s Day
There’s glitter on the floor after the party/Girls carrying their shoes down in the lobby…/…You and me from the night before but/Don’t read the last page/But I stay when you’re lost and I’m scared and you’re turning away/I want your midnights/But I’ll be cleaning up bottles with you on New Year’s Day/You squeeze my hand three times in the back of the taxi/I can tell that it’s going to be a long road…/…But I stay when it’s hard or it’s wrong or you’re making mistakes/Please don’t ever become a stranger whose laugh I could recognize anywhere…/…You and me forevermore
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8011357/
The songs on Reputation are packed with meaning, and there are many rabbit holes to go down. As such, this post would be too long if I included each song as I did with Debut, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, and 1989. I’ll release these song by song.
Getaway Car
It was the best of times, the worst of crimes/I struck a match and blew your mind/But I didn’t mean it, and you didn’t see it/The ties were black, the lies were white/In shades of gray in candlelight/I wanted to leave him, I needed a reason/”X” marks the spot where we fell apart/He poisoned the well, I was lyin’ to myself/I knew it from the first Old Fashioned, we were cursed/We never had a shotgun shot in the dark (oh!)…/…There were sirens in the beat of your heart/Should’ve known I’d be the first to leave…/…It was the great escape, the prison break/The light of freedom on my face/But you weren’t thinkin’ and I was just drinkin’/While he was runnin’ after us, I was screamin’, “Go, go, go!”/But with three of us, honey, it’s a sideshow/And a circus ain’t a love story, and now we’re both sorry (we’re both sorry)…/…It hit you like a shotgun shot to the heart (oh!)…/…We were jet-set, Bonnie and Clyde (oh-oh)/Until I switched to the other side, to the other side/It’s no surprise I turned you in (oh-oh)/’Cause us traitors never win…/…I was ridin’ in a getaway car/I was cryin’ in a getaway car/I was dyin’ in a getaway car/Said goodbye in a getaway car
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Catty Remarks