#lover is ass and the only good song on that album is cornelia street... | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

bisluthq · 4 years ago

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SS Tily does not lay claim to Lover; a thesis

I thought this would take me longer but y’all, I’m done with Part 2 of my Gaylor analyses. Unfortunately this chapter brings bad news for Tily nation. I honestly don’t think many of the songs on Lover are about that relationship. But I also think it’s not as simple as the mainstream Kaylor narrative would have us believe. Let’s dive into this, shall we?

First things first. I think it’s worth noting that many of the songs on this album are not about romantic relationships at all. Like it’s a bit of a marketing ploy to portray it as an album primarily about romantic love when so many songs explicitly aren’t about that feeling. In fact, there are more themes on Lover than on any of her earlier stuff - it’s something she expands on in folklore.

I Forgot That You Existed, The Man, The Archer (which I firmly believe is about her debating coming out), Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince (very obviously about the political situation generally and supported by the doccie title), London Boy, Soon You’ll Get Better, YNTCD, and ME! are all about explicitly different themes. Obviously there are a couple references within those (like ME! has that line about “I never leave well enough alone�� which reappears on the 1, and The Archer mentions someone “staying” but I still think ME! is about self-love not romantic love and The Archer is about personal anxiety around identity). Fundamentally, they are not love songs.

I don’t think that’s really up for debate. The only one I can see anyone - say Toes or like hardcore Tily fans - debating is London Boy. Unfortunately for my Tily babes, I do think it’s satire that serves as a homage to Joe and the other British beards, and possibly riffs a teeny bit on her time with Lily. Contrary to some gold medalists in Kaylor mental gymnastics, I fully believe Tay does make reference to Joe in her lyrics (I’ve mentioned the fictional verse for Dress and the reference to “keeping him” in Ready for It). This really doesn’t have any of the hallmarks of Tily songs off of Rep. The British references in CIWYW, KOMH and Delicate are subtle and chilled and actually quite cute. London Boy is an onslaught of non-sequiturs about London, the UK and her beards. Also “stories from uni” fits both Joe and Tom H, but it doesn’t fit Lily who never went to university. All her Lily songs are about hiding out in private; London Boy is all about galavanting around town with “his” friends (Lily and Tay had the same friends though?) It’s simply not about the same person or the same relationship.

I do think there’s a chance it could be poking fun (lightly) at Lily/that period she spent in London because as I’ve already said I think Tay is not above shading ex-girlfriends and it seems like the kind of thing Karlie would’ve also found a bit funny. I think when she got back together with Karlie - which almost definitely happened - she would’ve 100% laughed about the “say you fancy me not fancy stuff” era. That would explain the recurrence of both Motown and queen imagery, which first appeared on KOMH. But where KOMH felt very genuine and authentic, this one is obviously meant to be funny.

Right. So. Now that we’ve established 8 songs are about other themes, let’s get the Kaylor songs sorted: Cruel Summer, Cornelia Street, DBATC, False God and Daylight are all undeniably about Karlie fucking Kloss. They all feature the images and tropes and hallmarks that pepper Karlie songs. They all have the same kinds of emotions. And they paint a pretty sad, troubling and complex picture.

Cruel Summer comes first and seems to mostly be about their first breakup, which she first referred to on DWOHT. We have Tay once again begging Karlie to stay and work it out and not being certain for sure about her feelings.

We say that we'll just screw it up in these trying times

We're not trying (Oh yeah, you're right, I want it)

I mean that’s super sad. Tay’s saying they discussed how they’ll fuck it all up, and she’s feeling like they’re not even trying to fix things. You also have that “I want it” which is interesting considering the “we” that preceded it. “We’re” not trying because only “I want it”. Ouch.

Killing me slow, out the window

I'm always waiting for you to be waiting below

Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes

What doesn't kill me makes me want you more

And it's new, the shape of your body

It's blue, the feeling I've got

And it's ooh, whoa oh

It's a cruel summer

It's cool, that's what I tell 'em

No rules in breakable heaven

But ooh, whoa oh

It's a cruel summer

With you

Here we have “I’m always waiting for you” which yet again suggests Tay is the one who’s more invested. Then we have the shape of “your” body (which is a familiar concept from Dress), but the feeling it gives her here is blue here not gold - maybe that’s why the shape is new? In the past Karlie’s body made her feel golden but now it’s a bluer, sadder feeling. Blue starts recurring more frequently on these late era Kaylor songs. There’s a possible alternate reading, which is blue = Swiftgron (“my love had been frozen deep blue”). It’s a nice theory but it just doesn’t gel with the garden gate below. Also, while both relationships seem to have been colored by commitment issues, the premise of unrequitedness doesn’t really feature on the songs about Di. She asks Di to stay, tells her she’s thinking of her, and they’re “too in love to think straight” but Tay never says Karlie loves her back. Ever. It’s never expressly mutual.

I'm drunk in the back of the car

And I cried like a baby coming home from the bar (Oh)

Said, "I'm fine," but it wasn't true

I don't wanna keep secrets just to keep you

And I snuck in through the garden gate

Every night that summer just to seal my fate (Oh)

And I scream, "For whatever it's worth

I love you, ain't that the worst thing you ever heard?"

He looks up, grinning like a devil

Look at that fourth line. It perfectly fits with the Kaylor narrative on Rep and it doesn’t fit the Tily songs at all. She wanted to keep that second relationship private and secret and hidden. And here she’s saying “I don’t want to keep secrets” - this is take two of “I don’t want you like a best friend”. Also the “for whatever it’s worth” reminds me of “here’s the truth” from End Game. It’s the kind of thing you’d say in the midst of a fight.

Then we have her screaming “I love you” and receiving no reply as usual beyond a devilish grin. The more I do these analyses the less I understand how or why Kaylor gets romanticized in the way it does, while Swiftgron gets bashed for toxicity. Like my girl Tay has a thing for chaotic lesbians with commitment issues and Kaylor seems like it was WILD.

Back to the lyrics, this time let’s look at Kaylor anthem Cornelia Street:

We were in the backseat

Drunk on something stronger than the drinks in the bar

"I rent a place on Cornelia Street"

I say casually in the car

We were a fresh page on the desk

Filling in the blanks as we go

As if the street lights pointed in an arrowhead

Leading us home

I find this whole song really interesting because it features one of Tay’s favorite ideas - glamorizing normal people things. It’s like the time with the “motel bar” in Getaway Car. Like she 100% was thrilled to be able to say “I’m renting this apartment” - never mind that it’s basically a whole ass house. I actually think the above verse is really beautiful. I know I give Kaylor a lot of shit but obviously there were beautiful moments and Tay had/has plenty of good memories.

And I hope I never lose you, hope it never ends

I'd never walk Cornelia Street again

That's the kind of heartbreak time could never mend

I'd never walk Cornelia Street again

And baby, I get mystified by how this city screams your name

And baby, I'm so terrified of if you ever walk away

I'd never walk Cornelia Street again

I mean frankly this verse above is super insecure in the standard Kaylor way. Tay’s saying she’s terrified of Karlie walking away and that she “hopes” she never loses her. The tone is sad, forlorn and a little desperate. I also think it’s interesting that she says she’d never walk Cornelia Street again, and that the city screams Karlie’s name and then on hoax she goes ahead and says she left a part of herself back in New York. It’s almost like her fears and anxieties did prove justified. Poor baby.

Windows flung right open, autumn air

Jacket 'round my shoulders is yours

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

I turned around before I hit the tunnel

Sat on the roof, you and I

Those first four lines seem to be about the good again, and I’m happy for them. I really do think they had good times. Those four lines make me think of parts of YAIL and the toast and weekends and stuff.

The rest of this verse though seems to be about the first split and subsequent reunion. “I thought you were leading me on” she says, and I “left Cornelia Street” presumably to go to London. But then Karlie called her back, “showed her hand” and Tay “turned around” before she reached the point of no return and they worked it out. “Sat on the roof, you and I” is similar in content to “up on the roof with a schoolgirl crush” but very different in tone. She’s not peppy here, she’s not positive. It’s a little bit tortured - and then it continues with “hoping it never ends”. The reappearance of the Tily imagery on Kaylor 2.0 songs makes sense to me, again, because discussing exes in the same social circle as you is just blatant lesbian culture. It makes complete sense that these two women are on Taylor’s mind. She has really really deep feelings for Karlie but she enjoyed the more simple and straightforward relationship she had with Lily.

DBATC is the Kaylor 1.0 breakup anthem:

Saying goodbye is death by a thousand cuts

Flashbacks waking me up

I get drunk, but it's not enough

'Cause the morning comes and you're not my baby

I look through the windows of this love

Even though we boarded them up

Chandelier's still flickering here

'Cause I can't pretend it's okay when it's not

It's death by a thousand cuts

We have her getting drunk to forget, trying to say “I’m fine” when it’s not true, and just generally missing Karlie.

I dress to kill my time, I take the long way home

I mean, this is Cornelia Street (“never walk here again”) and Dress all over again. It’s the two ideas from before but now on the other side, because they’re actually broken up.

And what once was ours is no one's now

I see you everywhere, the only thing we share

Is this small town

You said it was a great love, one for the ages

But if the story's over, why am I still writing pages?

“I see you everywhere” is very “this city screams your name” and I think “small town” is a metaphor for their social circle. The last two lines are just Tay being hung up on Karlie. She was writing pages in Cornelia Street as well, so this whole idea of telling a story with Karlie is another recurrent image.

My heart, my hips, my body, my love

Tryna find a part of me that you didn't touch

Gave up on me like I was a bad drug

Now I'm searching for signs in a haunted club

Our songs, our films, united, we stand

Our country, guess it was a lawless land

Quiet my fears with the touch of your hand

Paper cut stings from our paper-thin plans

My time, my wine, my spirit, my trust

Tryna find a part of me you didn't take up

Gave you so much, but it wasn't enough

But I'll be alright, it's just a thousand cuts

I mean this is the usual obsession, desperation and general pining Tay has for Karlie. We also have Karlie touching her briefly, which is something she has spoken about before and is really into. Paper-thin plans is probably about the plans to make it work? We have that image reparations later in hoax so I think it’s most likely about Karlie bailing on Tay’s PR game and doing her own thing and/or Karlie’s (accidental?) involvement in the masters heist.

Also, this whole song is very sad but it’s not on the level of desperation I would expect if Tay wasn’t rebounding hard and if they didn’t reunite. She’s pretty sad about how the whole thing went down but she does say she’ll “be alright” which is the opposite of “that’s the kind of heartbreak time could never mend”. I think she wrote this after the first breakup and Cornelia Street came later, after they were back together. That’s when she really went all in into this relationship. It still wasn’t enough.

False God is about their reunion:

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?

We know Tay ran away to Europe after the mess of 2016 and here she jumps into the ocean separating them and flies back to Karlie. The idea of it being “crazy” that it could work is also a recurrent fear/anxiety she has with regards to Karlie. “I had a bad feeling,” remember?

And I can't talk to you when you're like this

Staring out the window like I'm not your favorite town

I'm New York City, I still do it for you, babe

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, blind faith

They’re figuring things out, and Tay is New York - Karlie’s favorite city. “I still do it for you” is an admission of affection, which rarely happens in Kaylor songs, but it’s so sexual that I don’t find it shocking or out of character.

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 mean sex songs are just peak Kaylor and this is all just so so so gay and I don’t understand how hets can make it make srnse. “We might just get away with it” is the usual Kaylor anxiety by the way.

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

You're the West Village

You still do it for me, babe

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, blind faith

Standard Kaylor imagery with sensual touching, wine and New York and a direct reference to Karlie’s apartment. I think “make confessions and we’re begging for forgiveness” appears to refer to the reunion.

Daylight is a very beautiful love song for Karlie. The “golden”, the bodies intertwining, New York, and the depth of her emotions all fit the Kaylor story and narrative. I think she wrote this when they were back together. It’s also, as is common with the Kaylor songs, squarely from Tay’s perspective. She wrote it alone, and I think specifically for Karlie when they reunited. Very pretty, very nice. I mean they ended up breaking up and that was bound to happen in like every other song but when they were good Tay did create some gems and they were very happy. I love this song and I do like aspects of Kaylor’s time together.

Now we get onto the songs that don’t neatly fit Kaylor.

Afterglow could be a Kaylor song. But it could also be about the breakup with her rebound. It’s not only by Tay, so we’re looking for broad themes rather than specifics necessarily.

Hey, it's all me, in my head

I'm the one who burned us down

But it's not what I meant

Sorry that I hurt you

I don't wanna do, I don't wanna do this to you (Ooh)

I don't wanna lose, I don't wanna lose this with you (Ooh)

I need to say, hey, it's all me, just don't go

Meet me in the afterglow

I don’t know that this sounds like the Kaylor breakup we heard about. It’s a different premise to False God, DBATC and Cornelia Street. In all of those songs it was a mutual breakup/misunderstanding. “I can’t talk to you” and then “you can’t talk to me” in False God is a two-way communication issue. DBATC goes off at Karlie for taking up every part of her and “giving up on me”. Cornelia Street said Tay thought Karlie was “leading her on” but that was resolved. Then Afterglow goes and lays all the blame on Tay.

I lived like an island, punished you with silence

Went off like sirens, just crying

Why'd I have to break what I love so much?

It's on your face, don't walk away, I need to say

Hey, it's all me, in my head

I'm the one who burned us down

I mean this really does sound like it’s Tay fucking up badly. Not wanting to let the other person in, taking it out on them, hurting her lover.

It's so excruciating to see you low

Just wanna lift you up and not let you go

This ultraviolet morning light below

Tells me this love is worth the fight, oh

This really doesn’t sound like the Kaylor fear and stress. It sounds like the cerebral and emotional connection from Rep. “It’s so excruciating to see you low” seems tied up with the heart to hearts and conversations she was having in those secondary songs on Rep.

Tell me that you're still mine

Tell me that we'll be just fine

Even when I lose my mind

I need to say

Tell me that it's not my fault

Tell me that I'm all you want

Even when I break your heart

I need to say

This just seems like a very different plan for fixing things than the one outlined in the Kaylor songs (which is “let’s bone”). Also “I break your heart” is an anxiety that seems to parallel the burgeoning love in Delicate, KOMH and CIWYW. It doesn’t seem like a Kaylor fear because Tay is always the one who wants Karlie more. I believe this is mostly a Tily breakup song.

Then we get the three happy songs on the album: Lover, I Think He Knows and Paper Rings. It’s actually pretty intense that there are only three peppy, romantic songs on an album largely touted by Gaylors and Hetlors alike as being about a happy long term relationship.

You want my controversial explanation for these songs? They’re fictional. All three are extremely vague and lacking in any of the Karlie/other person imagery. They’re like New Year’s Day and some of the early stuff.

I Think He Knows is a very hetro song. It physically pains me to say that, it really does, but nothing about it seems gay to me. I guess “boyish look” is something you could say about some women but that’s really a reach. Also it’s just very much not a relatable lesbian emotion. I’ve never met a queer woman being like “yeah I think she KNOWS, you know?” about her girlfriend. “She’s so obsessed with me and boy I understand” would make no sense. Us sapphics are compulsive overthinkers. And that’s what comes across on all her songs about Karlie and about Di and even those Tily songs from Rep. That’s largely why Tay’s stuff is so damn gay.

Tay’s permanently anxious - even on her love songs, there’s a thread of anxiety running through it all. This song is missing any of that anxiety. This song also has so, so many male pronouns…. And “I am an architect, I'm drawing up the plans” is an objectively weird thing to say about a relationship. It just doesn’t strike me as sapphic, and it definitely doesn’t strike me as being about Karlie lr Lily or Di. Also Nashville is 16th Avenue and I don’t know why any of the women would be associated with Nashville.

That Nashville reference makes me think that maybe the song is inspired by the music industry generally? If you go look at 16th Avenue by Lacy J. Dalton, there’s a clear narrative about the music industry. I think it’s possible that Tay’s song is referencing the love she feels for and from the music industry and her fans. That would tie into the architectural plans, being 17 (she often speaks about being stuck at that age because it’s when she got famous), and “he’s so obsessed with me” makes sense when you’re AOTD. Even the “attitude” line makes sense in this interpretation.

This bit:

Lyrical smile, indigo eyes, hand on my thigh

We can follow the sparks, I'll drive

Lyrical smile, indigo eyes, hand on my thigh

We can follow the sparks, I'll drive

"So where we gonna go?"

I whisper in the dark

"Where we gonna go?"

I think he knows

Is a little harder to make sense of and seems like it could maybe be about Lily or at least inspired by her - there’s the car/driving theme from the secondary Rep relationship and Lily does have indigo eyes (they’re way bluer than Joe’s). So maybe she used images and diaries from that period to add to the story about Nashville? But overall this smugness just doesn’t strike me as very gay and in general the song doesn’t seem to be about any one woman in her history. Also “better lock it down or I won’t stick around” is so very hetro and like… untortured.

Paper Rings is not about Karlie but I also don’t think it’s about Lily.

The moon is high

Like your friends were the night that we first met

Went home and tried to stalk you on the internet

Now I've read all of the books beside your bed

The wine is cold

Like the shoulder that I gave you in the street

Cat and mouse for a month or two or three

Now I wake up in the night and watch you breathe

This is not about Karlie. We’ve heard repeatedly that they fell in love at first sight so “month or two or three” is kinda wild? Like they full on U-Hauled it with the Big Sur trip and Tay moving to New York and Karlie basically moving into her apartment. They were never cat and mouse? Also Karlie was a supermodel by the time they met one another so “trying to stalk you on the internet” seems a bit of an odd way to phrase it. There would’ve been plenty to find. They both had big reputations. Moreover, they had multiple mutual friends so “your friends” is also an odd turn of phrase. How does this verse fit any aspect of the Kaylor love story?

In the winter, in the icy outdoor pool

When you jumped in first, I went in too

I'm with you even if it makes me blue

Which takes me back

To the color that we painted your brother's wall

Honey, without all the exes, fights, and flaws

We wouldn't be standing here so tall, so

This is also very not Kaylor lol except for the tall part. The chilled out hanging out and swimming and wall painting sounds more like the songs about Tily on Rep.

I like shiny things, but I'd marry you with paper rings

Uh huh, that's right

Darling, you're the one I want, and

I hate accidents except when we went from friends to this

Uh huh, that's right

Darling, you're the one I want

In paper rings in picture frames in dirty dreams

Oh, you're the one I want

This seems like it could be Tily because of the “we went from friends to this” (Kaylor were never friends, and had no intention of being friends, they’ve literally only ever dated). But I’m not sure Tay ever wanted to marry Lily? That’s not what comes across in the other Tily songs.

I want to drive away with you

I want your complications too

I want your dreary Mondays

Wrap your arms around me, baby boy

The driving and the chilledness is similar to the Tily songs but I’m still not sold. It really doesn’t feel particularly authentic.

Also, I know I mostly do lyric analysis but I’d like to include this quote from Tay about the song: “This song talks about true love, and if you really find true love, you probably don't really care what the symbolism of that love is. Material things wouldn't matter to you anymore if you found someone that you just wanted to live your life with.” The quote is distinctly hypothetical. “You probably don’t really care” “wouldn’t” “if you found”....

My gut says this is based around positive romantic relationships she has had but is extrapolated to a rosy conclusion. One day, Tay’s gonna want to marry someone with paper rings. But for now it’s a fictional hypothetical. None of the details fit any of her relationships. It’s made up. That’s why it includes the “baby boy” line... because it’s fiction.

And now for the really hot take… Lover is equally made up, although she was - again - inspired by her real relationships.

We could leave the Christmas lights up 'til January

This is our place, we make the rules

And there's a dazzling haze, a mysterious way about you, dear

Have I known you twenty seconds or twenty years?

This is continuing the themes from New Year’s Day which always strikes me as a “what if” rather than an actual ode to one of the muses. That final line seems like it could be about Karlie but the absolute calmness with which she sings makes it seem like it’s not about her. The mysterious way is also a brand new image and considering how much she sings about Karlie you would’ve thought we’d have had that image at least once before?

Can I go where you go?

Can we always be this close forever and ever?

And ah, take me out and take me home

You're my, my, my, my

Lover

I mean this doesn’t sound like Kaylor. Part of the anxiety there is always about going places together and being seen. It does have bits that seem like Tily to me; “take me out and take me home” kind of reminds me of the “meet me in the back” and “can we always be this close” seems similar to “is it chill that you’re in my head?”

We could let our friends crash in the living room

This is our place, we make the call

And I'm highly suspicious that everyone who sees you wants you

I've loved you three summers now, honey, but I want 'em all

The first three lines could be about either Karlie or Lily although I don’t know if Tily had “their place”. Kaylor definitely did.

That last line… is kinda why I think this is mostly fiction. I mean we know it doesn’t make sense for Toe. We know that. And I know about the gymnastics to fit it as a Kaylor song. But the thing is, even if she wrote it around the time that they went away to Wyoming, why wouldn’t she update it when recording it? It literally doesn’t fit the Toe timeline so it can’t be that she wanted it for that. She could’ve made it vague. But no she says “three summers”. Where else have we heard about “three summers”?

September saw a month of tears

And thankin' God that you weren't here

To see me like that

But in a box beneath my bed

Is a letter that you never read

From three summers back

It's hard not to find it all a little bitter sweet

That’s from Tim McGraw.

She just likes that image. It recurs. It’s not about Karlie, and it’s not about Lily, and it’s obviously not about Joe. It’s just a pretty turn of phrase. She loves counting in summers and Cruel Summers and the summer in Betty/august…. It’s not something she associates with one person.

Ladies and gentlemen, will you please stand?

With every guitar string scar on my hand

I take this magnetic force of a man to be my

Lover

My heart's been borrowed and yours has been blue

All's well that ends well to end up with you

Swear to be over-dramatic and true to my

Lover

This whole wedding bit doesn’t make sense for either Kaylor or Tily or Swiftgron. Like she’s constantly questioning Karlie’s commitment to her. And you want me to believe she’s singing vows? Lol no.

And you'll save all your dirtiest jokes for me

And at every table, I'll save you a seat

Lover

Very cute. Very non-specific. Not about any one partner.

So this supposed ode/serenade to Karlie doesn’t feature any of the images associated with her and doesn’t include any details that actively fit their relationship arc as described elsewhere except for jealousy and possibly love at first sight.

These three peppy love songs - which make up the minority of songs on the album - are about Taylor’s manifestations for the future. ITHK could be about the industry more generally. The other two are describing what she wants and what she pictures as ideal for a relationship.

So conclusions: a large chunk of the songs on Lover aren’t about romance. Many, many are about Karlie. Afterglow could be about Lily and some of the regrets Tay had about the split. Paper Rings, I Think He Knows and Lover aren’t about anyone in particular.

Last thought: I agree that It’s Nice To Have a Friend is about lesbians generally. But also possibly about Karlie, in which case the final verse is Karlie choosing the marriage with Josh and in that case the song is fucking devastating and heartbreaking. But tbh a lot about Kaylor is so it’s no surprise 🤷🏻‍♀️

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As usual, I’m up to discuss this. Do you agree? Disagree? Let’s talk! xx

#tily nation where you at #tily #taylorswift #lyric analysis #lover #taylor swift #gaylor swift #kaylor #lover analysis

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bipercabeth · 5 years ago

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So, can we hear your thoughts on TS7? I remember your breakdown for the Ben Platt album and wanted to hear what you have to say about Lover

oh man, i already know this has to go under the cut. i have,,, so many feelings

i forgot that you existed - this song is such a good opener for the album. both the lyrics and production are so light and carefree, which makes it the perfect transition from the intensity of reputation to the softness of lover. she’s not reinventing herself, she’s growing. i love the way she plays with harmonies in the chorus! and i adore how the last line of the verses swells ominously before releasing into the playful staccato of the chorus, i think it’s really indicative of the anxiety surrounding the situation vs the simple and relative ease with which it was all forgotten

cruel summer - tbh i’m glad this wasn’t a single in the place of ME! or yntcd because listening to this was literally a full body experience. it would’ve killed as a lead single, but it definitely hit harder for me hearing for the first time in the context of the album. i read the lyrics of the first five songs when they leaked and genuinely thought i wasn’t going to like this song, but i went absolutely feral at the bridge. (also upon listening i adored the lyrics, so i will no longer be trusting my opinions based on lyrics alone.) if i wasn’t sold on the rest of it, the bridge is what solidified this as one of my favorites on the album. the way the synths build and then cut out for HE LOOKS UP GRINNIN LIKE A DEVIL,,, i lost my shit. astral projected. if this song is playing, i will not turn it off before i get to scream that line. also “i love you, ain’t that the worst thing you ever heard?” is incredible.

lover - words cannot describe my love for this song. my friend veronica described it as the love song of our generation and honestly? she’s not wrong. lover’s lyrics are simple, but hit like a ton of bricks regardless. the key to simple lyricism is finding the words that everyone has always wanted to say (lean on me is a really good example of this but i’m not going to get into songwriting theory on this post) and lover does exactly that. simple descriptions of simple acts are her window to how all-encompassing this love is. the 6/8 timing (a fucking WALTZ y’all) gives it the 2 in the morning kitchen dance feel. it’s a love song in every aspect. i’m never gonna be over it.

the man - a bop. the low notes in this song? incredible, especially in the bridge. those low harmonies took me OUT! the first line of the chorus is so killer as well. and she says bitch twice! taylor said i am 29 i curse and have sex, get over it. there’s less to analyze in this song, but that doesn’t mean i’m not in love with it.

the archer - i am telling you i heard the first goddamn synth note and KNEW jack antonoff was all over this song. i really needed this song to come out when it did, because after those two singles,, i needed some hope for this album. it did not disappoint. the slow build of the synths into one massive crescendo at the bridge instead of the usual rise and fall of most pop music. every single note builds to the bridge, to the anxiety of that repeated they see right through me, to the cause all of my enemies started out friends / help me hold on to you. it swells like the slow draw of a knocked arrow, like an archer taking aim. and then all at once, it fades like the string was released. i adore every single aspect of this song.

i think he knows - my percabeth loving ass needs to take a second to talk about the line i am an architect, i’m drawing up the plans and how it sent me to the fucking moon. but anyway. different post. it is physically impossible for me to stay still when this song plays. the harmonies on that AH in the chorus made me lose it. i want you, bless my soul is so southern and absolutely beautiful. she’s straight up pining in this song, and she knows it. that way she closes the song with that line on loop? sets the tone so well.

miss americana and the heartbreak prince - i have no idea why i didn’t like this song upon first listen, but now i like it! still not my favorite on the album, but the bar is high.

paper rings - god i cannot believe that she said his friends were high at the met gala i’m fucking dead. this whole song is peak old taylor, just grown up. it’s got the same catchiness as stay stay stay, but with a more grown (but still fun) outlook. this one is real experience talking, and it shows. she’s got the love she always wanted to write about! i’m not okay!

cornelia street - her delivery really makes the song for me. you can physically feel how much she loves joe and how real that fear of losing him. that stripped down chorus after the bridge where her voice breaks? she’s so in love. i’m so in love.

death by a thousand cuts - GOD i love this song with everything in me, even more since watching Someone Great. it’s the perfect narrative song for that movie. it also contains the single most Taylor Swift^tm lyric of all time: but if the story’s over, why am i still writing pages? ALSO? WE WANNA TALK ABOUT BRIDGE CITY?? this bridge goes so hard. i can’t convey my love for it unless we’re in the car together so i can scream it properly. ultimate car song.

london boy - so fun! people who are upset over this song gotta calm down, it’s a fun, catchy song. i don’t have much to say about it, but i enjoy it! i won’t go out of my way to queue it, but it’s cute and cheeky and i like it.

soon you’ll get better - i knew from the first goddamn guitar lick that this was going to wreck me, but once i realized what it was about,,, i didn’t stand a chance. i literally went back after my first listen through the whole album and listened to this song on loop for at least half an hour and just. sobbed. it hits home way too hard for me. again with that devastatingly simple songwriting. you’ll get better soon / cause you have to absolutely destroyed me. also, this is a really small detail, but that breath at 2:41 really does me in. it’s so defeated, i can’t. her delivery in this one is an absolute gut punch.

false god - jack antonoff is all over this one and i love it for that. taylor swift said i fuck and i respect that. the sax? get out of here. it’s so perfect. it’s horny, but like,,, emotionally horny. perfect fit for this album. i adore it.

you need to calm down - okay ngl i don’t like this song or ME!, but i’m really glad they were singles because if i heard them on this album for the first time i would’ve been :/ about it. instead we got that right out of the way and now i can appreciate the good parts of them. the oh’s in the chorus are really pretty! i don’t actively dislike this song, but i don’t actively like it either.

afterglow - i love that taylor put a song about fighting on this album. i think this made the album feel so much more real. it’s about love, and fighting is a part of that! we break a little from the picture perfect aspect of songs like paper rings and get a little grittier. people make mistakes, but the love guides the choice to stay, to ask for forgiveness and promise to do better. this makes the entire narrative of lover so much stronger.

ME! - same sentiment as yntcd in terms of it being the lead single, except i’m really not a fan of this song. i can handle it up until the spelling is fun part. i cannot believe “can’t spell awesome without me” is so close to daylight. i appreciate the point of the song and what she sets out to do with it, but i just. can’t get over that damn bridge.

it’s nice to have a friend - i really didn’t like this song at first and i’m still warming up to it, but i definitely am! it’s such a percabeth song. i’m not sure why i didn’t like it, probably because it doesn’t escalate or go anywhere, but i think that steadiness contributes to the meaning of it

daylight - i could literally write an entire essay on this song alone. it’s the perfect closing song for this album. i don’t want to see anything else now that i saw you / i don’t want to think of anything else now that i’ve thought of you are literally the most tender lines i have heard in my whole life. the comparison between this and her notes from red make me openly weep. the bridge of this song literally feels light daylight, it shines and feels warm and god i love love! i once believed love would be burning red, but it’s golden made me cry when i heard it. i can’t stop thinking about that quote that says “lover is the sound of a songwriter getting to write the album she’s always wanted to write”. i could literally cry just thinking about that. she got to write the album about golden love! her whole career is based around singing and writing about love, and now she has exactly what she’s been grasping at all this time. it’s downright poetic. the monologue/outro only did me in more. she’s spent so long being defined by other people, and here she makes that definition for herself on an album that she owns every part of. it’s perfect.

#please do not ask me how long i spent on this #ts #music #anon #iris messages #bless u anon i would die for u #it makes me so happy to know that people want to hear my thoughts on music okay this is my love language #i mean i'm gonna give em either way but its nice to know they're wanted

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cowboylikedean · 5 years ago

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FIRST THOUGHTS

Okay everyone welcome to my Lover first thoughts!!!

Overall: I love this album. It isn’t what I expected at first, I was expecting something stripped an acoustic but it is what I hoped for. If I wasn’t going to have stripped and acoustic, I wanted something Bubblegum in the modern way Carly Rae Jepsen is and guess what? I got an album that sounds like my FAVORITE parts of EMOTION from nearly top to bottom. This album is a lot so it’s gonna take a while fo me to digest, but I adore it. It’s already up there with Speak Now, Red, and reputation in my top tier.

Below is my track by track

I Forgot That You Existed: I’ve seen people skip over this one but honestly? I needed it. I don’t know who she’s talking about, she lost a lot of friends summer 2016. But I am singing about that jackass who up and left my life and took me for several hundred dollars and then laughed as his asshole boyfriend posted a long ass blog post lying about me, misgendering me for sport, and making fun of me all while laughing about how he’s “not nice” (and being proud of that) when even HIS FOLLOWERS called him out for being cruel. I had that moment where I forgot that he existed and it was so freeing. This is gonna be one of my most listened to.

Cruel Summer: This song. Holy wow. Like talk about bridge city I guess lmao! Nah but it’s a vibe. and the chorus is so exciting and like I mentioned Carly Rae Jepsen and like THE CHORUS CAN’T YOU HEAR HER???? I love this theme all over this album about falling into a relationship with someone in the midst of something hard or pushing through something difficult with someone. Cruel Summer is the first instance of this in this album and I’m going to need more time with the lyrics… There’s little things that I’m gonna need more time with… But I adore this vibe where she’s like telling the other side of Getaway Car. In Getaway Car we learned that you can’t run away from your problems, it doesn’t end well. In Cruel Summer we find her release in doing so. We find how that release of running away was what she needed to find herself and stability again. We find that without her past, she could never have arrived so wondrously and brutally, by design or some violent, exquisite happenstance… here.

Lover: Instant fave the second I heard it. Best love song she’s ever written and I 100% understand why she named the album Lover. This track is beautiful and the slower tempo doesn’t in any way detract from the sheer joy and excitement expressed in the song. It’s a public declaration of a private love in the most excited way and I get it. Also I did get some acoustic singer songwriter on this album!!

The Man: DID I HEAR TAYLOR SAY BITCH TWICE?!?!??!? also fuck she’s right. and I GUESSED HOW THE LYRICS WE HAD WOULD SOUND AND I WAS RIGHT i felt like a bomb when that happened. hahah tbh though, not my fave. Don’t get me wrong, far from the worst but just kind middle of the road to me. Also I think it’s the breakdown after the chorus that pushes it towards the middle to me. But again… Bridge city. The bridge is by far the best part of this song.

The Archer: I still think this is my favorite song on the album. It has already helped me so much and I think Taylor and I feel depression, anxiety, and other stuff very similarly. Basically everything she’s released about it has highly resonated with me. I have so much to say about this song and its impact on me but I don’t think if I said all of that it would be much relevant to this post. Basically, I never grew up it’s getting so old. This song helps me grow up.

I Think He Knows: This song is so fucking fun and cute I jive and the chorus again I feel the Carly Rae vibes… I also love “bless my soul” like that’s such a great lyric. This is another one I feel is middle of the road for this album though. Like as a pop song, it’s top rate. As this album, it’s middle of the road. I’m happy to hear the vocoder again though!

Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince: So I love this song. Everyone loves this song but I love this song both as its political commentary and just a commentary on depression in general. Like as a song about the specific depression and disappointment that struck us all after the 2016 election, it’s nearly flawless. As a song about disappointment and depression in general, it’s nearly flawless. I really love both readings but in the later, I really love the line “they whisper in the hallway she’s a bad bad girl” because in this reading, I like to see that about Taylor and how she is Miss Americana and the heartbreak prince. idk I think the fact that this song can work in both contexts’ and have completely separate meanings speaks to the strength of the songwriting. I’m so impressed. She hit it out of the park with this one.

Paper Rings: OKAY SECOND FAVORITE/TIED WITH FAVORITE HAPPY LOVE SONG WOW WOWOWOWOW The Last Kiss reference, the vibe that sounds like a teen movie when the kids break out and are running wild and free, idk why but I love “The moon is high just like your friends when we first met” it’s just so…. vivid. You cannot miss the feeling of freedom. This song is about finding freedom in love. Falling in love is the most exciting and free feeling in the world, whether that is romantic love or not and this song captures that feeling when you get to that ledge and you just….. slip. And the best part is it works for everything. Like idk I’ve always been able to take the feeling a song presents and take it out of its specific context and apply it to another instance of that feeling so I can easily take this song about the freely falling in love and look around and find hundreds of applications. Every time you love something or someone to the point where you don’t need anything else than what they give you to feel whole and complete, this song is there in the background reminding you that you do in fact like shiny things, but you don’t need them. Because this thing or person is all you need. LIKE STOP IT’S SO GOOD also 100% if she sang it with a country accent, it’d be a country hit. It sounds so much like Sam Hunt I cannot even, i have died.

Cornelia Street: The ROOFFKLJDSLKFJKSLDJFKLSDJLKFJLKSDF also like I am here for the storytelling songwriting so much. This is another one I need more time with but I think it’s already a classic. Again, it’s so nice to here something other than “I love you and everything is great” I mean it is like that but it’s the fear of being forced to say goodbye and how that would feel. It’s knowing you’ve gone all in and there’s no turning back. I see this song so beautiful contrasted with All Too Well. All Too Well focuses on a heartbreak that only time could help, but it seemed like time wouldn’t. It takes you through the beginning, middle, and end of that relationship and explains why it hurts so much. Cornelia Street takes us through this relationship, especially the beginning, and explains why this would be a heartbreak time couldn’t fix. It’s so vulnerable and honest in some really beautiful and profound ways.

Death by a Thousand Cuts: Okay so first of all, I would ADORE this song if that very low bass and synths weren’t there. I don’t know why they’re there but it muddles they for me and I can’t focus on anything because it’s like everything else is covered in a thick layer of mud trying to move around. Second I have no idea who or what this song was written about but it’s jarring to hear a breakup song on this album. I love asking the traffic lights if it will be okay and them saying “I don’t know.” Like that’s honestly incredible writing. We’ve all had those times when we’re hurting or scared and we’re in the car and we’re looking for a sign it will be okay but we have nothing. Also I need more time with the second verse. There’s so much there, I haven’t had time yet to process.

London Boy: “But God, I Love the English.” Yep you got a TYPE GIRL!! this song is so fun!! it’s so bragging… I love it! She’s just like “yeah I love a London Boy what OF IT BITCH” and it just feels like a mic drop like she’s like doing that move where you slam your hands at your crotch like a dick??? like idk it’s such a bde to me. Like she’s name dropping all these London things and bragging about how she’s English now because she’s got this guy and bragging about her type and her Anglophile fetish and idk it just feels like “you got something to SAY??!??!?!” I’ve heard that vibe is very London but idk because I do not have a london boy like she does.

Soon You’ll Get Better: Either Taylor played the album in the wrong order for these fans at the secret sessions or something because this 100% is that song she couldn’t listen to. I have heard it once and I am doubtful to listen to it again. I have listed to Ronan 3 times total. Soon You’ll Get Better is up there. I can’t. I’m so lucky my Dad is in remission and has been for 10 years… If his cancer came back, I don’t know what I’d do. It’s my biggest fear. And the Dixie Chicks sound beautiful on this track, so does the plucking country instrumentals. Gorgeous. I just… can’t. I admire Taylor and family for sharing this, but I can’t.

False God: I understand why this comes after Soon You’ll Get Better. She needs that thing to fall into, to give herself over into. The hard times my hurt and might be difficult, but they don’t end a relationship. Soon You’ll Get Better is a really hard time and a sick parent can put a lot of stress on a relationship and False God feels like the perfect way to pick up the main overaching love story and give it a response to Soon You’ll Get Better. It’s hard, but they can get through it. Even if it’s a false god, they’ll be there. That said, this song is far from my favorite. I feel so disconnected from it. It just feels boring. I get sucked in the last few lines of the pre-chours where she rushes through the lyrics and then the chorus is nice, but by the time the chorus ends, I’m bored again. The production gives me almost nothing. It feels like What A Feeling… a perfectly fine song, but boring as fuck and like it’s got a vibe that I don’t really fuck with. Like it feels like a song you get high to… and I don’t get high often, and I only do it ever when I’m going to sleep. So it feels like I’m going to sleep.

You Need to Calm Down: Let me start by prefacing that I ADORE the song. It was really important for her to say and I needed something to respond to the internet’s take down cancel culture and remind me not to get in the middle of the fights. However, this song sticks out like a sore thumb to me. It doesn’t feel like it fits. Coming after False God it feels like a complete outlier and like it doesn’t relate to the rest of the album. I could see an argument that it is about basic human respect and that kind of love and therefore has its place, but is this placement in the tracklist it??? I am thankful for the break when YNTCD comes because Soon You’ll Get Better is so heavy that it caries over to False God, but YNTCD feels completely unnecessary if you skip Soon You’ll Get Better and all of that heartbreak. Again though, it’s a classic and I adore it. Just not sure if I adore it for this album.

Afterglow: It’s so nice to hear a song from Taylor in which she apologizes and makes up after a fight. I don’t know why but I was worried she wouldn’t let us into the fights her and Joe have. That we would be outside. But like Ed said in End Game “you know that good and bad end up in a song.” Having a song from Taylor after 13 years that shows her experiencing conflict with a partner, apologizing, and ends without an end to the relationship…. And in this song it’s different from how she previously portrayed conflict too. Mine, in it’s hypothetical, expresses her “partner” chasing after her in. ME! (which we’ll get to in a second) also shows that kind of conflict resolution. Afterglow shows her taking responsibility and chasing after them. It’s one of my favorites for sure. Never underestimate the value of an apology. I have a lot to say.

ME!: First of all, fuck everyone “Hey kids, spelling is fun!” is hilarious and I cannot BELIEVE she took it out I am pissed. Second, I like this song so much more in the context of the album. Coming after Afterglow, it is important the next song both take responsibility for her negative traits that lead to that conflict and also not dwell on it. Me takes the whole conflict of Afterglow and reframes it from “I fucked up please don’t leave. Love me despite my flaws?” to “I know I’m difficult, but I am also so much more and damnit, I love me so I know you do too.” While the production still feels a bit hokey, I understand it’s purpose. I will forever be bitter about spelling is fun and you all are so mean. I hope you enjoy what you’ve done monsters.

It’s Nice to Have a Friend: My least favorite song on the album. It’s just so boring to me. The steel drums are nice, but it doesn’t feel like it ever goes anywhere. The chorus is too short and simple and I just feel nothing. idk I like the story I guess… meet in school, hang out timid first step… but then it ends in marriage? Haven’t we done this with Mary’s Song? idk i think I would like it better with a bridge in between the second chorus and the third verse because it’s like they skip the whole dating step. They go meeting, timid first step, MARRIAGE!!!! and the chorus is just not enough to separate second step from third. That and the fact the production doesn’t really go anywhere… It’s just so one note and boring and without any sort of conflict. I get it’s supposed to be like a daydream, I think… but even day dreams have conflicts. idk it’s a bad story because there’s no movement.

Daylight: I see why this album was almost named Daylight. I’m going need a lot more time with this song. I can see it being one of my favorite Taylor songs ever eventually but I need to memorize every second of it to let myself go into it. The Red reference FUCKED ME UP. And the voice message at the end. And just the release of this song. The whole thing is an exhale. A total release of tension. It’s truly astonishing. Like I said though, to really immerse myself in it, I’m going to need to memorize it. Because it’s a release of tension, to find that and feel that, I need to focus on every lyric, every production element, every note and just….. let go. I do think this is one of the most important songs she’s ever written. Both for herself and for the rest of the world. This song is a reminder to breathe. To let it go. To focus on love. To find the love in your life. To not let it get too dark. It’s beautiful and it will keep me going on my path to recovery… as I expect it will for many others too.

Favorites (in order of most to least): The Archer, Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince, Lover = Paper Rings, Afterglow

Least favorites (in order most to least): I Think He Knows, False God, It’s Nice to Have a Friend

#lover album #personal #first thoughts!!

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guitarstringsam · 5 years ago

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Lover track by track review

Don't drag me, there are no skips on this album.

1. I Forgot That You Existed: A certified bop. My mum loves this one too. Really sets the tone for the album and the production absolutely SLAPS. Pls have this on set list. Best lyric: "In my feelings more than Drake, so yeah." 8/10

2. Cruel Summer: Everyone loves this song including me. Was my initial favourite. Chorus and bridge are probably two of the best moments on the album it's so good and catchy. Best lyric: "I love you, ain't that the worst thing you've ever heard?" 10/10

3. Lover: My favourite single by a mile!! This song warms my heart and is literally top 3 I stan it so hard. Will probably be my wedding song. Fave lyric: All of it, it's PEAK softness 13/10

4. The Man: I like it and the message is good but it's not my favourite? Idk it's amazing but I stan the rest of the album too hard oops. Fave lyric: "I'd be a bitch not a baller." 7/10

5. The Archer: One of my favourite track 5 songs, it's soft and lovely and relatable. Makes me want to give Taylor a hug and never let go bc this is a sad bop :(. Fave lyric: "I never grew up, it's getting so old." 8/10

6. I Think He Knows: UNDERRATED GENIUS. This song has me grinning every time I listen to it it's such a happy and jumpy song. Also the chorus!!!!!!! Honestly this is so cute. Fave lyric: "We could follow the sparks, I'll drive." 9/10.

7. Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince: Wasn't one of my faves on first listen but now I adore it. I listened to it like 4 times in 20 minutes in Asda, it goes off so hard. The aesthetic, the vibes, the LYRICS omg. I love this song. Fave lyric: the whole chorus. 10/10

8. Paper Rings: Wow we love a Stay x 3 mood. It makes me smile so much Jesus I love love so much. It's girly but still mature and it makes me crave a relationship ladies and gays. Fave lyric: "I hate accidents except when we went from friends to this." Also the whole chorus we in CHORUS CITY. 10/10.

9. Cornelia Street: I love it. It's a sad bop definitely but still dancey? Idk. Wild. This song is stanned by a lot of people for good reason. I especially luv the bridge. Fave lyric: "We bless the rains on Cornelia Street." 7/10.

10. Death By A Thousand Cuts: Also wasn't one of my faves on first listen but now it's top 3 on Lover oop. I LOVE THIS SONG. Its a sad dance bop with beautiful lyrics and the tone,,,,, sis let me tell you it's so perfect. Go stream DBATC rn and never stop. Fave lyric: "If the story's over why am I still writing pages?" 13/10.

11. London Boy: MY FAVOURITE ON THE ALBUM. Lmao if you follow me on twitter y'all will know but I never shut up about this song. It's so much fun and is so soft also Taylor saying Shoreditch owns my ass for now and forever. Production: slaps. Lyrics: slap. Vocals: slap. Fave lyric: how do you choose this is all GOLD. 13/10

12. Soon You'll Get Better: This is such a sad song that I actually can't listen to it in public bc I cry. I've been through something similar and boi this had me sobbing at 6am on first listen. Dixie Chicks feature has my heart. God bless Andrea Swift. Fave lyric: "I'll paint the kitchen neon, I'll brighten up the sky." 10/10.

13. False God: WOW I love this song. I love a good horn section and this is IT chief. This is sexy and soft and I just love it honestly it's so underated even though it's god ;) tier. Fave lyric: "And I can't talk to you when you're like this/staring out the window like I'm not your favourite town." 10/10

14. You Need To Calm Down: As a gay swiftie I have to stan. Goes off hard, supports human rights and is a big fuck you to the WBC and Tr*mp. Video is banging too. Fave lyric: "Shade never made anybody less gay." 9/10.

15. Afterglow: Soft soft soft. So relatable and self aware and I love that for us. Also underrated for some reason?? Smh stan taste please. Production is dreamy and the lyrics hit hard. She really out here. Fave lyric: "Fighting with a true love is boxing with no gloves." 9/10.

16. ME!: A lot of people hate this song??? Excuse me sir it's a BOP I love it. So happy, so fun and Brendon Urie was my comphet crush from when I was like 12 onwards lmao I only have one request which is BRING BACK SPELLING IS FUN. Fave lyric: "Livin' in winter, I am your summer." 8/10.

17. It's Nice To Have A Friend: I like it, probably one of my least favourites here though? I gotta be in the mood for it ig. Love the message and vibe though honestly go off Taylor ily. Fave lyric: "Something gave you the nerve to touch my hand." 7/10.

18: Daylight: Uhhhh did somebody say callback? I've stanned since Red and saw the tour so this made me very happy. Also can we stan Joe because she's so soft for him it's adorable. Fave lyric: again pretty much all of it. 10/10.

Overall I LOVE Lover. It's brilliant and probably my new favourite album. AOTY at Grammy's cowards xx @taylorswift @taylornation

#ts7 lover #taylurking #taylor nation #taylor swift #lover review #track by track

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thisselflovecamebacktome · 5 years ago

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Lover 1 month later thoughts

So for those who have missed my other posts, going back and listening to an album from start to finish at the 1, 2, 3 and 6 month points to see how my opinions on songs + the album itself change is a thing I do with Taylor albums now. If you’re that interested, here is my Lover release date thoughts along with my Reputation release date thoughts, my Reputation one month later thoughts, my Reputation two month later thoughts, my Reputation three month later thoughts and my Reputation seven months later thoughts.

All up: I tend to agree with people that it’s wild that this album has only been in our lives for a month. While it’s definitely still got that new shine to it that makes me listen to it more than most my other music at the moment, it feels as if it has integrated itself into my other music very well and feels like it’s been there forever. The general feel of the structure this album is reminiscent to Speak Now for me which probably sounds weird to say, but I feel while Taylor’s other albums felt like reading a chapter of a book into her life or watching a movie, these two albums feel like looking through a photo album. They are moments with great depth but are more loosely connected all together in a linear sense. I will also say that certain songs on this album were definitely growers for me to the point I probably could have made a Lover 1 week later post that was different from my first listen thoughts. It also means that while I have a clear top 3 and bottom 1 song, my ranking for the rest of the album moves around dramatically dependent on my mood. I’d also probably say that due to the growth of certain songs plus the different sounds throughout and quality of Lover, it has probably moved comfortably and purely into being my third favourite Taylor album behind RED and Reputation instead of sharing third place with Fearless. Finally, the more I listen to this album, the more I pick up little things that remind me of Australian artists I listened to in my childhood which is a nice throwback and makes me cherish those moments more.

I Forgot That You Existed: Hot take? The laughs in this song are the happiest parts of this album. Like that moment she realises she’s free from their grasp? Amazing and I can say from experience, is the most freeing feeling in the world. I definitely think it still gives off major Kate Miller-Heidke vibes, especially with the inflictions and voice/music changes on the indifference and blur lines. I also think it’s still Bad Blood’s older, wiser and just generally better sibling. In saying all of this, I can also understand why this would be a mood based song for some people because there are definitely days where I could listen to it on repeat while others it just plays in the background while I do my uni work or cleaning or whatever.

Cruel Summer: This song has definitely grown on me. I’ve also realised that a large part of the reason I wasn’t feeling it at first may or may not have been because it reminded me of a time and person I didn’t really want to think about so I legitimately think my brain subconsciously blocked out this song to the point it took weeks to learn the words when I had the rest of the songs down in days. I don’t know, that probably sounds stupid and weird but yeah, it was a thing. I also have to say that I couldn’t help myself laughing at people who thought she was calling his body blue because like all I could think of was Avatar to be completely honest. But then again, who am I to talk because I still have issues not hearing “he looks so pretty like a devil”? I also find it interesting that Taylor wants to make this a single given the perfect time for that would have been before the album came out given her focus on American charts. On that note though, I will say that a November/December release could be amazing for her if she is trying to broaden her horizons for tour because that’s Summer for the Southern Hemisphere and given how well Getaway Car did in Australia without being an official single and how related the two songs sound, I could see Cruel Summer smashing the charts here.

Lover: My thoughts on this song have basically stayed the same. The whole song has grown on me so I like it all now, but there’s just something so special about the bridge that it’ll probably always be my favourite part. It also still makes me want to ballroom dance/waltz and have a romantic partner, but alas, I do not have the time nor resources for either of those. I also can’t wait until Summer because I’m still feeling those Summer night time vibes and it’d be great to experience that. Either way, like I said the first time, it comes off Cruel Summer very well and feels more and more right being placed where it was in the album.

The Man: I think that this song is one of the most relatable songs Taylor will ever write to be honest. Like it is still a mood and one of the songs I listen to most from this album. There have also been two things that have made me appreciate the song even more. Firstly, my ex told me that despite being a man, The Man is in his top three songs for this album because he relates it to how people perceive his bisexuality and the racism he has faced. Secondly, I ran into my other ex (yes I’m that girl who stays friends with most her exes, mind your own business), and he told me that he was shocked that it wasn’t in my top three songs for the album because it’s ‘so [me]’, and I mean he’s not wrong. I guess that just speaks volumes of how strong my top three for this album are though because like if they can beat out a song I listen to constantly that people see as my song and thought was in that top three, then the others must be amazing haha. The only thing less than positive I will say about this song is I still think it feels a little weird coming off Lover.

The Archer: This song has been hitting more than usual lately (especially the bridge), but I still maintain that this song hits the hardest when you are in a specific mood. I also still maintain that The Man leading into The Archer is the best contrast transition on this album and I’m shocked more people have not spoken about it.

I Think He Knows: Talk about a grower. This somehow went from “yeah that’s cute” to one of my most played songs for this album. I still hear a mix of “That’s my toe” and “That’s my soul” instead of “Bless my soul” though if I’m honest. Also, I am very shocked at people being like “No Taylor, he doesn’t know holding a glass is attractive because there’s literally nothing sexual about that” because my god is that line relatable. Like there were so many times with my ex that I’d look at him doing something mundane and just go “Shit, I fucking love/want you right now”. I mean it wasn’t always sexual, like sometimes the way he held a kid would make me feel the romantic love I had for him more, but there were definitely sexual moments where he was doing mundane shit too. So yeah, I like get what Taylor meant a lot. As a final note, I made a post that I wanted booty shorts that said “Boy I Understand” across the ass and Imma be real, if Taylor doesn’t release them, a sequined version of that may or may not be my current tour outfit plan.

Miss Americana And The Heartbreak Prince: Imma be real, I completely missed the political undertones to this song on my first listen. And it makes me feel stupid not only for missing it but for then in the same breath saying I wanted a whole song on “If boys will be boys then where are the wise men?” because this song is literally that. Having the political view of this song definitely made it a lot better for me, especially seeing as even though it is a very American song, it heavily relates to how I feel about Australian politics at the moment. I also read a reading of it surrounding sexual assault, and as a victim, it both broke my heart and made me love the song even more. I still think it has very movie like and Lana Del Rey like vibes to it. This is the other of the songs my ex wrongfully guessed was in my top 3 because he got the political message straight off and as such also thought it was ‘so [me]’. All up, I think this is one of the most important songs Taylor has written and I can definitely see myself listening to it for years to come.

Paper Rings: This is still a feel good bop that I can mostly put on at any point and enjoy, but to be honest, it’s still not one I’ve gravitated towards. Like it’s got some killer lyrics in “Without all the exes, fights and flaws we wouldn’t be standing here so tall” and the bridge in general. But yeah, something about it just hasn’t stuck with me past “it’s a cute song” which is interesting given how many people I’ve spoken to that say this is a favourite of theirs.

Cornelia Street: I saw a post a few days ago about how someone can’t listen to Lover because they keep stopping at Death By A Thousand Cuts and repeating it because they love it that much and to be honest, that’s how I feel about Cornelia Street. Like even now, I’m fighting the urge not to just listen to this for the next few hours on repeat. I’m not exactly what it is about this song but something just grabs my soul every time I listen to it in a way that most songs don’t. Upon my first listen, I felt that this and Soon You’ll Get Better shared the spot for my favourite song on this album, but now I have to say that Cornelia Street has surpassed it and is a clear favourite. That’s really all I’ve got to say about this song; like it’s just that good.

Death By A Thousand Cuts: Lyrically this song has grown on me a lot in the last month, especially the line “I ask the traffic lights if it will be alright; they say I don’t know” and I think had this come out on Reputation or a year before, it would have been a favourite lyrically because it would have been relatable as fuck; but I’m not in that headspace anymore. The production also still isn’t my favourite so I’m glad she’s done that acoustic version at the France show, but I still also really want a piano version at some point.

London Boy: I’m gonna be real, I can probably count the amount of times I’ve listened to this on my hands. Like it’s cute and I’d have no issue with it playing, but it’s just not at relatable to me and there’s just songs on the album and otherwise I’d rather listen to.

Soon You’ll Get Better: As I alluded to in my first post, the most heartbreaking thing about this song for me is knowing the person I relate it to most isn’t going to get better because she doesn’t want to. Much like Death By A Thousand Cuts, had this come out at a time where I still had that hope, it probably would have rivaled Ronan as my favourite Taylor song ever. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a top two track on this album for me, but I know when I eventually get around to reranking all of Taylor’s songs, it’s going to be a lot lower than it otherwise may have been. It also somewhat concerns me hearing “Who am I supposed to talk to, what am I supposed to do if there’s no you” after hearing Taylor saying that she’s not getting professional psychological help and Andrea is the main source of venting. Like I know she’s got other support, but losing someone that vital (as much as we don’t want to talk about it, Andrea is probably going to die before Taylor, cancer or not) is rough when you do have professional help, let alone when you don’t. I mean I know it’s not my place to push anything, but it definitely does make my “protective mum friend” mode come to life and want to protect Taylor and I just hope that should the worst happen, she’s got everything she needs to move past it.

False God: Again, another song that has grown a lot on me. I think the production and New York City line being part of this song just felt so leftfield for me upon the first listen that I somewhat threw it away, but like after getting used to it, I adored it.

You Need To Calm Down: I don’t really have much to say about this song itself. It’s still an absolute bop that I listen to at least daily. I do find it interesting that most people said that this would be the song they would take off the album because it doesn’t ‘fit’ because in some ways I see that. But by the same note, I feel like it connects really well with The Man and I Forgot That You Existed that it does fit. Personally I feel like if it was in the first half of the album, less people would have said it should have been the one to chuck, but I guess we’ll never know.

Afterglow: I honestly haven’t listened to this song as much as I thought I would. Like this would have been a 2018 me anthem, but 2019 me has not burnt any bridges or caused bad fights so there’s just not the need to listen to it. I did listen to it enough to realise that the Weeknd vibes I heard production wise was a similar beat to Wicked Games. Also, the way Taylor says “I don’t want to do this, I don’t want to do this to you” gives off major The Veronicas vibes which I have to wonder if that was intentional given Taylor’s friendship with Ruby Rose during the time Ruby and one of the girls dated. All up, it’s a good song that I’m sure I’ll cry to and heal with one day, but today is not that day.

ME!: This is still by far my least favourite song on the album, but I’ve gotten to the point where it can play in the background and given I’m in the right mood, I won’t actively skip it. Really its only saving grace in my opinion is how well it comes off Afterglow. I do also wish she would have put something else in the “spelling is fun” part because as much as that part was not my favourite, it sounds empty as fuck now to the point it’s kinda awkward.

It’s Nice To Have A Friend: Okay look, I get that this is potentially the most different sounding song Taylor will ever write and a bit to get used to, but it grows so much on you if you let it. Like the Sunday after release date, me and the ex that relates to The Man were just laying on my bed, drinking Camomile tea and listening to Lover (for the first time for him and first time in company for me) in silence and in the moment this song was playing, it clicked for me. Like it truly is nice to have a friend. And in that moment, it was just so relaxing and I was so at peace with myself. So I’m not going to stand here and say that this song is the one I’ve listened to most, but given the right mood, this song really hits and I hope that you all get to experience that one day because it truly was incredible.

Daylight: My new ‘song written for a romantic relationship that I relate to on a self love basis’ song. I’m not quite sure if it meets This Love’s standard on that front purely because again, timing is a funny thing and This Love came out right when I needed it whereas I don’t “need” Daylight as much. But I still love it to the point that it rounds off my top 3 for this album and is the one song my ex correctly guessed was in that top 3. I will say that I find it interesting that most the interpretations of the line “Clearing the air, I breathed in the smoke” where positive, because to be honest, I did and still take it as “being too nice gets you in trouble” teas. Like I assumed that she meant that she was so desperate to make things good with certain people that she injured herself in the process. Either way, as I said, I love this song and as I said the first time, it’s definitely a good closer to the album

#taylor swift #lover album

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hermionegranger56 · 5 years ago

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HELLO LADS I HAVE LISTENED TO LOVER A MILLION TIMES SO HERE’S SOME THOUGHTS:

Just overall as an album here: HOLY. SHIT. that one vanity fair article that said this is gonna save pop music???? THEY’RE RIGHT OK?? this is just a solidly GREAT album all around. It’s lyrically smart, incredibly catchy, heartfelt and vulnerable and empowering. And the best part?? You can tell that Taylor is so genuinely, sincerely HAPPY and IN LOVE and it is downright INFECTIOUS. Even the songs that sonically I didn’t like as much, I couldn’t help but like since you could just feel her palpable joy in every note. I saw someone say that Rep was her finding her voice and Lover is her finally being able to use it how she wants and I couldn’t agree more.

I Forgot That You Existed: soooo catchy!! and god if realizing you forgot about That person ain’t the best feeling! this song perfectly shows that freedom, that joy. the laugh! the “…so yeah”! i live! a strong start

Cruel Summer: A MOTHERFUCKIN BOP THIS SONG MAKES ME SO HAPPY AHHHHH!!! (recommend it at full volume, in the car. really helped my commute today lol) the chorus is just such a good melody. HE LOOKS UP GRINNING LIKE A DEVIL!!!! MURDER ME THE DELIVERY OF THAT LINE WAS SO GOOD can’t wait to scream it on tour

Lover: perfect. perfect. perfect. see here. oh god she’s so in love. I see you Speak Now Taylor, I see you. this song is acoustic folky perfection and i want it at my wedding

The Man: ok moral of the story: fuck men lolol. THIS IS A JAMMM! look, I understand the critiques people are going to have for the message of this song. Without getting too into it, it’s true the song certainly doesn’t cover everything and there are areas of feminism and social awareness she (especially as a successful white woman) can continue to grow and make more of an effort in. HOWEVER, to say that Taylor Swift has not been affected by sexism is just untrue? Her whole reputation was defined for a long time on the double standards that society had for her that she lays out in this song, she went through a sexual assault trial with grace and dignity, she still is put in the pigeon hole of being “overdramatic”, “the victim” etc etc which perpetuates double standards. Taylor Swift has something to say about her valid experiences as a woman in this industry, and we DEFINITELY should not be trying to silence the voices of any women in this day and age. And the song’s simple sentiment of MEN HAVE IT EASIER is something that lots of her fans can relate to, so why not write something relatable, ya know?? idk man i support it, rant over, don’t fight me plz

The Archer: oh boy the ATMOSPHERE. OOF. the perfect 3 am-lightening skies-melancholy soundtrack. and my god if it doesn’t hit every late night insecurity I’ve ever had, like any good track 5 should. “who could ever leave me darling, but who could stay” hits like a sucker punch, by the crescendo at “all the kings horses and all the kings men” I’m screaming the lyrics or sobbing or both. one of my fave track 5s aside from All Too Well and Delicate

I Think He Knows: a BEAT hot DAMN. go GET that man tswift, we stan a confident queen!! BOY I UNDERSTAND?!?!?!? GET IT BITCH YOU’RE HOT SHIT!!! a solid bop!! i wanna dance!!

Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince: this is a MASTERPIECE. holy FUCK. its. there’s just so many LAYERS?!?!? it’s a like a freaking meta analysis of her past image, her current self and today’s fucked up society. I could write a paper about this. I’m endlessly impressed by how she can continue to surprise me with her lyrical skill even after all this time ahhhhhh. also the go! fight! win! cheer is so clever, i love it

Paper Rings: HELLO STAY STAY STAY AND OURS’ POP ROCK LOVECHILD. SOOOOOO INFECTIOUSLY HAPPY OH MY GOD. it’s a romcom come to life, idk i get love, rosie vibes, no idea why. but god i’m 22 full years old and i just danced around my room using a hairbrush as a microphone to this. I’m smiling ear to ear ahhh @ taylor and joe get married rn PLEASE

Cornelia Street: for some reason I didn’t love it at first, but it’s growing on me!! i think “i get mystified by how this city screams your name” sounds so great how she sings it though like that part is incredible. and it’s such a fragile message, that love that you fear might go away at any second and take all the happy memories with it. a sad bop

Death By Thousand Cuts: also growing on me!! I think most people can relate to this so i think it’ll do well. the “trying to find a part of me you didn’t touch” part was also good

London Boy: AHAHAHAHA I LOVE IT it’s cheeky, it’s fun and damn she wants you to know how much she loves her london boy and everything about him!! i also love that motherfucking IDRIS ELBA IS HERE?!?!? “DONT THREATEN ME WITH A GOOD TIME” so. good.

Soon You’ll Get Better: hoo boy. wow. I can only imagine this is about Andrea’s cancer diagnosis and my god my heart goes out to the whole Swift family. I’ve been there with my grandfather and watching him loose that battle in front of me was one of the hardest thing’s i’ve ever done. it’s surreal, the insistence that they HAVE to get better, it’s the ONLY way, that’s how it’s going to be. and now that I’m a nurse and I’m on the other end seeing families go through this, I just…god I don’t think this is going to be one I can listen to often. I said I was “sobbing” during The Archer, well here I actually, physically was. It’s been a long week, nurse-wise :( oh god the sigh right before the last chorus oh god. my true only complaint here is the underutilization of the Dixie Chicks, cause i love them :)

False God: THE SAX. THE SEX. AMAZING hahahaha. this is just a whole ass VIBE, it’s so smooooooth. I’M NEW YORK CITY, damn I love that!! GOD I DON’T EVEN HAVE SPECIFICS THIS IS JUST SUCH A FUCKING GOOD SONG!!! def in my top 5 from this album.

You Need to Calm Down: HEEEEELLLLLLL YEAHHHHH BOP OF THE SUMMER!!!! the chorus makes me SO SUNSHINEY HAPPY!! And I’m glad Taylor is being so vocal about her support for the LGBT community and sending this message of love/renouncing people who spread hate! CAUSE *screams from a mountain* SHADE NEVER MADE ANYBODY LESS GAY!!!!!!

Afterglow: i think this song is absolutely lovely! It takes so much maturity to be able to admit you’re wrong or that you hurt the one you love but that you’re going to continue to fight for them and I love to see Taylor explore that

Me!: ok honestly?? I have never liked the first song Taylor’s released from all of her albums Red and after. BUT they’ve all grown on me! that said, this is probably my least favorite song on the album WHICH IS SO IMPRESSIVE THIS IS STILL A REALLY GOOD SONG!! the me-e-e-e makes me unreasonably happy (similar to the sunshine vibes of yntcd). I just can’t get past the spelling is fun WAIT SHE TOOK IT OUT I’M ABSOLUTELY SCREAMING

It’s Nice To Have a Friend: SIMPLE. BEAUTY. this feels like an interlude of sorts and I love it. it’s first 3 seconds reminded me of the Big Little Lies theme song lolol. this is such a perfectly visual song, it’s like a tumblr list of aesthetics. i REALLY LOVE this one, in ways I can’t put into words

Daylight: ohhhh baby a GOOOOD ENDING. STEP INTO THE DAYLIGHT AND LET IT GO FINALLY MADE ITS DEBUT I’M SO HAPPY. and her words of wisdom at the end, wow. you are what you love. wow taylor truly has come through all of her experiences, good and bad, processed and grown, let it go and is thriving and in love in her own daylight

AND IM SO SO HAPPY FOR HER @taylorswift ILYSM

BRING ON THE LOVER ERA, SEE Y’ALL AT TOUR

#taylor swift #lover #tswift #lover era #ts7 #cruel summer #miss americana and the heartbreak prince #lover album #swifties #yntcd

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fearlesslyenchantedinwonderland · 4 years ago

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Lover Ranking

I Forgot That You Existed

She’s fun but not a stand out, I like how she connects it to rep, making it feel like a continuum from the previous album.

Ranking: 1 of 1

Cruel Summer

This should have been the lead single or the 2nd single from the album (honestly I think I would like it even more if it was a single, I bet I would like the radio version even more than I like this version).

Ranking: 1 of 2 over IFTYE

Lover

That awkward moment when Shawn Mendes collaborated on the song and then ruined it for himself like a week later. Since this song is a radio song I think it’s made me like it a little less since it has been replayed. But I do enjoy this song. I’m not the biggest fan of the tempo in the first verse and I prefer the build of instruments in the 2nd chorus compared to the first. Sometimes I wish this song was more acoustic or had more instrumentals with more advance singing techniques. But I still appreciate it as is.

Ranking: 2 of 3 over IFTYE

The Man

This song was a bit deceiving upon first listen when comparing it to the article initial introducing us to the song. The Man is fun, this can be a song that you need to be in a “mood” to listen to, but when you are in the right mindset it is so fun. It is a POWER MOVE. Taylor took the satirical route with this music video which is fun. The imagery that I’ve always had for this song is showing woman in the work place, feeling defeated, showing their rise to power and their accomplishments and be coming this boss ass confident bitch. Taking the movement forward that woman are capable of anything. I could see it in black in white, it would be cool if some of the imagery was from actual people doing their jobs or photos of them all standing together posing - wow.

Ranking: 2 of 4 over Lover

The Archer

I don’t like this song. When it comes to Taylor, I feel like any song that I dislike I can tell you how I would change it. For this song I wish there was a bigger instrumental build, I feel like some of the lyrics sounded awkward, cruelty sounded like cruel - tea, which makes it sound like she’s using internet slang, nose cut off line - I feel like there was another way, or a more subtle metaphor that could be used to mention disliking yourself or your appearance. Stand alone I do like the bridge and the final chorus.

Ranking: 5 of 5 over IFTYE

I Think He Knows

A fun song, I mix up this song and I forgot that you existed, but this is the clear winner. My criticism of this song is the line "bless my soul” sound like she’s say “ow my toe” and I wish that the bridge was sung in a different rhythm and not monotone.

Ranking: 4 of 6 over IFTYE

Miss Americana & The Heart Break Prince

Sonically this is one of my favorite songs to listen to. I feel like this song is difficult to rank because I feel like it’s not a song you just listen casually. You are either paying attention to the beat or you are listening to the story that she is telling you. And then the story that she tells is not one that is relatable, making it a song that is less likely going to be on repeat.

Ranking: 3 of 7 over Lover

Paper Rings

I would like this song more if I was a bigger fan of this style of music, but she does a good job at executing it. I don’t like the weed reference. I like how specific she is in this song (sometimes certain lines can be too specific).

Ranking: hmmmm this song is better than I think he knows but I am also more likely to listen to I think he knows

4 of 8 over Lover

lover and I think he knows are both songs that I like but there’s something I would like to change about the song aka. I don’t like it as much as I say. But besides the lyrics of the opening line I think this is a solid song.

Cornelia Street

The best song on the album. I hate that I have something to say on the production of each song... but I just don’t like the sound of electronic noises as much as I like the sound of pure instruments with a little reverb or mild alternations on them. There is nothing bad about this song, it’s just if we wanted to make it even more amazing it would would have more strings, and less electronic music on it. With that said I like the effect of flipping through slides at the end of the song. But this song has the same feel as all too well and enchanted which in this era is to die for.

Ranking: 1 of 9 over Cruel Summer

Death By A Thousand Cuts

This song has so many things going on, it makes my head confused. Sometimes I like it and sometimes I’m like???? The bridge goes hard. This song being associate with something great makes sense but also makes me like it a little less, that movie was overrated and not my cup of tea, I didn’t finish it.

Ranking: 4 of 10 over Miss Americana

London Boy

I always compare this song to paper rings, this album is still knew enough that sometimes I need to listen to the song to differentiate them. Ironically I feel like they should’ve stuck with electronic feel but they needed to add one or two more layer. This song is average. Any of of Taylor’s songs where I’m interested in the lyrics means it ranks higher than others.

Ranking: 9 of 11 over IFTYE

Soon You’ll Get Better

I don’t feel like it is appropriate to comment on this song. What I will say is I’m so happy Taylor was able to make this song for her mom. I am praying for Andrea and the Swift’s …This song has grown on me, it is an intense song which most likely would not listen to on repeat unless you are sad.

Ranking: 6 of 12 over Paper Rings

False God

This song is flawless, except for the line “They all warned us about times like this/They say the road gets hard and you get lost” in the prechorus, it sounds a bit off, I think I would like it better if she enunciated it more.

Ranking: 3 of 13 over The Man

You Need To Calm Down

So the singles…it’s an ear word, it’s catchy, it’ll be fun in concert. The music video is fun to watch, but this song can also be annoying and the lyrics are not her best, but I also think that she knew exactly what she was doing when she wrote this and released it as a single and I respect that.

sonically its better than so

Ranking: 9 of 14 over London Boy

Afterglow

Since this is at the end of the album I can forget how good this song is because I don’t always get to it depending on how much time I have.

Ranking: 2 of 15 over Cruel Summer

ME!

I really do not understand why this is here in the tracklist????I- … see the thing is taylor and her team are very systematic when they pick the first single and at this point I know it won’t be my favorite. Lyrically is it my favorite no, but sonically it is very soothing, the instruments and the way she sings it. So I would say, yes I like this song, but I wish it wasn’t the lead single *sweats from stress.* I do really like the music video I think was over top and really fun, but again, why the lead single.

Ranking: 6 of 16 over Miss Americana and the Heart Break Prince

It’s Nice To Have A Friend

This song has grown on me, but it’s still a midtier song, this is a song that’s good later at night or on a slow day. The imagery for this song is only one that I think would be good if it was aimed for kids because I think of claymation.

Ranking: 11 of 17 over You Need To Calm Down.

Daylight

This infamous question, do I prefer afterglow or daylight? Afterglow.

Ranking: 5 of 18

~Lover Ranking~

Cornelia Street

Afterglow

Cruel Summer

The Man

Death by a Thousand Cuts

ME!

Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince

Paper Rings

Lover

I Think He Knows

It’s Nice To Have A Friend

You Need To Calm Down

London Boy

I Forgot That You Existed

The Archer

#I wish she would stop working with j*ck A*tonoff like he did good on a few songs on 1989 but for the most part i feel like hes ruined what #love the most about her music #when i sit down and listen to the album i enjoy it more than i think #but the i don't normally sit down with the album #you know what I should do is add my top 5 songs into my current playlists so they get listened to more often #lover album #lover taylor swift #lover #taylor swift #album ranking #lover ranking #lover song ranking #song ranking #cornelia street #afterglow #cruel summer #the man #death by a thousand cuts #ts

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imaginemae · 5 years ago

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LOVER (lowest-highest)

There is not a song on this album that I do not like, but I do have favorites!

18. “False god”

The instrumentals are so good, but the more I listen to it, the more I want to skip it because I have songs I love more to listen to. Man, do I adore the pre-choruses though. This sounds like it should be on the “lll” album by BANKS.

Best lyric: “You can’t talk to me when I’m like this/Daring you to leave me just so I can try and scare you”

3.5/5 stars

17. “Daylight”

What a perfect antithesis to “I Forgot That You Existed”. Perfect for closing the album.

Best lyric: “I once believed love would be burning red/But it’s golden”

4/5 stars

16. “London Boy”

Such a bop. I love the instrumentals on this one too.

Best lyric: “Babe, don’t threaten me with a good time/They say home is where the heart is/But God, I love the English”

4/5 stars

15. “The Archer”

I feel like this song should precede “The Man”, but it wasn’t because “Lover” is also slow.

Best lyric: “All of my heroes die all alone/Help me hold on to you/...You could stay”

4/5 stars

14. “Cornelia Street”

Perfect. Songwriting.

Best lyric: “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/I turned around before I hit the tunnel”

4.5/5 stars

13. “You Need to Calm Down”

I just love everything about this song, especially the pre-choruses. LGBT+ anthem!

Best lyric: “You just need to take several seats and then try to restore the peace/And control your urges to scream about all the people you hate/’Cause shade never made anybody less gay”

4.5/5 stars

12. “The Man”

F.A.C.T.S. The chorus and the verses really shine in this song.

Best lyric: “When everyone believes ya/What’s that like?/...If I was a man/I’d be The Man”

4.5/5 stars

11. “ME!”

Sooooo many people complained about the “Hey kids! Spelling is fun!” line, but I personally had no problem with it. I love the sensitive confidence that this song embodies. Swift is just so self-aware and I love love love this song because of it.

Best lyric: “Hey kids, spelling is fun!/Girl, there ain’t no ‘i’ in team/But you know there is a ‘me’/Strike the band up 1, 2, 3/I promise that you’ll never find another like me”

5/5 🍭🍭🍭🍭🍭 STARS

10. “I Forgot That You Existed”

Fan-fucking-tastic song. I recently had an “Oh wow, that person exists” moment too, and this song perfectly executed what it is like to have that “oh yeah” moment. I’m especially in love with how much you can tell she doesn’t care anymore because she doesn’t even bother to sing some of the lines or take out the laughing.

Best lyric: “I forgot that you/Sent me a clear message/Taught me some hard lessons/I just forget what they were...” XD

5/5 📌📌📌📌📌 STARS

9. “Paper Rings”

Such a bop! It reminded me so much of “Stay Stay Stay” (one of my favorite off of the Red album).

Best lyric: “Kiss you once ‘cause I know you had a long night/Kiss you twice ‘cause it’s gonna be alright/THREE TIMES ‘cause you waited your whole life!/One, two, one, two, three, four!”

5/5 📝📝📝📝📝 STARS

8. “I Think He Knows”

This song is such a BOP. It is sooooo much fun to shake my ass to. I hope she has choreography for this one when she goes on tour.

Best lyric: “I think he knows/He better lock it down/Or I won’t stick around/’Cause good ones never wait (ha)/He got that boyish look that I like in a man/I am an architect, I’m drawing up the plans/He’s so obsessed with me, and, boy, I understand”

5/5 🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶 STARS

7. “Afterglow”

I hear a ton of songs about someone messing up in a relationship, but this one seems unique. I can’t remember the last time I heard a song that states how the singer is 100% wrong and apologizes with no excuses. I absolutely adore how healthy it is to hear an artist sing “I’m sorry” and I truly feel like they are. The bridge is simply breathtaking.

This very much seems like the sequel to “For you I would fall from grace/Just to touch your face/If you walk away/I’d beg you on my knees to stay”.

Best lyric: “Tell me that you’re still mine/Tell me that we’ll be just fine/Even when I lose my mind/I need to say/Tell me it’s not my fault/Tell me that I’m all you want/Even when I break your heart/I need to say/Hey, it’s all me, in my head/I’m the one who burned us down/But it’s not what I meant/Sorry that I hurt you”

5/5 ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️ STARS

6. “Death By a Thousand Cuts”

THE INTRO. So. Beautiful. I especially love it because of how it comes back in verse two. I am also aware that this song is based on a movie, but I like that this comes right after “Cornelia Street” because she states that the traffic lights point them home in that track. In this song, she brings back the motif of traffic lights by stating that they have no idea what to tell her now.

Best lyric: “Tryna find a part of me that you didn’t touch/...Tryna find a part of me you didn’t take up/...I can’t pretend it’s okay when it’s not”

5/5 💔💔💔💔💔 STARS

5. “It’s Nice to Have a Friend”

I realize a ton of people do not like this track due to its simplicity. However, I love this track because of its simplicity. It’s quite reminiscent of a Melanie Martinez song. The music makes it so you have to listen to the lyrics, and the story about two friends falling in love is truly heartwarming.

Best lyric: “Lost my gloves, you give me one/...Call my bluff, Call you ‘babe’/Have my back? Yeah, every day/Feels like home”

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4. “Cruel Summer”

This song gets better every. single. time. I listen to it. It’s so stressful and intense, and you feel like you are going in devastatingly beautiful circles, especially because of how the intro and outro are set up. I love the allusions to “I Did Something Bad”. The bridge had me shedding a few tears in frustration and adoration- I just love this one.

Best lyric: “Bad boy, shiny toy with a price/You know that I bought it/(You’re right and I want it)/...Said, ‘I’m fine��, but it wasn’t true/I don’t want to keep secrets just to keep you/...I scream, ‘For whatever it’s worth/I love you, ain’t that the worst thing you ever heard?’/He looks up grinning like a devil!”

(The fucking devil who rolled the dice on you Swift?!?!?)

5/5 😈😈😈😈😈 STARS

3. “Soon You’ll Get Better”

I cried my eyes out listening to this. I have never had cancer, but I have been terribly sick (in and out of the hospital), and this what my Mother was like with me. That feeling of “You HAVE to get better” runs so deeply, and I could not imagine what I would do if my Mom was in this situation. This song also reminds me of “The Best Day”

Best lyric: “You make the best of a bad deal/I just pretend it isn’t real/...I hate to make this all about me/But who am I supposed to talk to?/What am I supposed to do/If there’s no you?/...You’ll get better soon/’Cause you have to”

5/5 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤 STARS

2. “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince”

The outro got me to cryyyyy. Not only does this sound like a Lana Del Rey song (with all the ‘blue’ symbolism), it also feels like an ode to the 2016 election. This song makes me feel like she regrets not openly supporting a side and the schoolyard metaphor is perfect for that. Meanwhile, it also screams “in the middle of my reputation blowing up”. Literally a perfect song.

Best lyric: “It’s you and me, that my whole world/They whisper in the hallyway, ‘She’s a bad, bad girl’/The whole school is rolling fake dice/You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes”

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

1. “Lover”

What can I say about this one that has not already been said? It’s perfect. It’s “You Are In Love” part two. It’s everything I hope to find in a lover one day. The bridge had me CRYING. I know exactly how it feels to sit alone, and for her to save a seat for ANYONE means that she knows who she is saving it for will ALWAYS sit in it.

Best lyric: “And you’ll save all your dirtiest jokes for me/And at every table, I’ll save you a seat, lover”

5/5 10/10 just perfect.

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kumarvarun13 · 5 years ago

Text

LOVER INITIAL LISTEN TRACK BY TRACK

1- i forgot that you existed

this so literally so cute. homegirl said bye bitch. SHES SHITTING ON CALVIN HARRIS!! OMG IM LITERALLY GOING CRAZY. SHES SAID I WENT TK YOUR SHOW EVEN THOUGH NO ONE ELSE DID. SHES GIGGLING. SHES SAYING CALVIN HARRIS IS IRRELEVANT. LOVE THAT.

2-cruel summer

come in production. i'm actually getting chills now. the chorus sounds so pretty. this sounds like if 1989 and reputation had a baby. *chefs kiss* that bridge. is. so. heartbreaking.

3- lover

brb i'm just going to go find a man/woman fall in love and get married k bye. this bridge is making me cry. for the 23rd time today. bc i cry at how cute this is. ILL SAVE A SEAR FOR YOU AT SVERY TABLE!! this woman is an amazing writer. and the vocal and harmonies are *chefs kiss*

4-the man

come in complexity. YES A BOSS ASS BITCH. alpha type hell yeah. this is such a bop. my ass is shaking in my bed. IF I WAS A MAN ID BE T H E MAN. we love a hard working queen. she's literally not saying a single thing wrong. women are so powerful like men could never. SHE SAID BITCHES. I- ID BE A BITCH NOT A... she's pissed at men bc we suck. i know. i'm sorry. well this is a song i can't play at work. and i oop. this production is so cool. jack? you did that if this is you. oh it fades out. so pretty

5- the archer

fuck. fuck. fuck. fuck. fuckkkkk.

i'm going to cry now. not the speeches. fuck he drums are coming in. i'll start taylor *cries* the pre chorus is so good. like. ugh. all of my hero's die all alone. who thinks of that. like. so powerful. also still not over the they see right through me part. fuck it's humpty dumpty. all of my enemies started out friends. i can with her. and i've listened to this song for exactly a month. i know what happens and i'm still shocked. ugh *chefs kiss*

6-i think he knows

what in the ass shaking is this. my ass can't stop shaking. she's so cute. yes taylor. spit barzz. that falsetto. this is my favorite chorus so far. i'm only on track 6. i have 12 tracks. this is so groovy. yes sing those ad libs. the HARMONIES UGH. BREAK IT DOWN. love this so much. one of my favs. she's slowing down. please tell me she picks it up again. she is. it's coming. this is my favorite so far. updates to come

7-miss americana and the heartbreak prince

oh this is slowing down. what in the reputation. this is so good. she's talking about the dark times. this is so complex. so much is going through my head. i love the screaming. THE STRINGS. she's a bad bad girl.

8-paper rings

stay stay stay is shaking. this is red. red is back. this is going to be so cute on tour. i want a paper ring. this is stay stay stay part 2. someone make me a paper ring. yee haw 🤠🤠this is such a fun song. i love the key change. so good. i want your dreary monday's. ID MARRY YOU WITH PAPER RINGS. INCANT. SHES IN FUCKING LOVE. LIKE SO IN LOVE.

9-cornelia street

this production. this is so simple but so powerful. this chorus. silence to the beat picking up. this is so cute. this isn't about joe. is it? wait. they almost broke up. and then they didn't. this such a beauty. omg i'm starting to tear up. this is good. wait it's not over. that bridge has the same tune as invisible. this is what everyone thought the album after 1989 would sound like. it's a more mature 1989. this is so deep

10-death by a thousand cuts

what's happening. the guitar. the pop. omg. this is the morning after a breakup. she's literally going through all the phases in love. omg. i don't know. this is a really pretty song. this is her facing the reality of what happened. this is giving me a thousand years vibes. idk why but it is. this is so good. i'll be alright. this is taking the spot for my favorite(sorry track 6)

11-london boy

this is literally already so good. this is joe's song. omg she's in love. DARLING I FANCY YOU. she's talking all about london. she's putting a fake british accent for some words or is that just me making it up? either way. this is so good. shout out to london. this might be my favorite production so far. it's different.

12-soon you'll get better(ft. the dixie chicks)

shit.

13-false god

what's with the sax. the sax is actually really nice. false god = a toxic relationship or the hard parts. this is a really good song. this is the coffee shop taylor i want. this is really good

14-you need to calm down

my ass is shaking again. damn it's 7 am. SHADE NEVER MADE ANYBODY LESS GAY. WE ALL GOT CROWNS YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN.

15-afterglow

this is mellow production with such amazing and complex lyrics. i love this. my heart dropped. this is so good. i love the flow of the pre chorus. this is a pretty chorus. this is the baby that wildest dreams and out of the woods had after 1989. this stripped back bridge with her vocals and just the drums this is going to be a favorite.

16- me!(feat. brendon urie of panic! at the disco)

i like the song. not my favorite. but the placement of the song within the album is def a plus. it's really fits where it's placed. is "hey kids spelling is fun!" in the final album version? let's see. it's coming.... THEY TOOK IT OUT. i actually liked that part. it was cute and made the song less serious and much more of a fun song. plus it fit with the lyrics in the bridge.

17-it's nice to have a friend

idk how to feel about the steel drums. tbd. this is a simple song. very taylor and a simple beat. i actually like that. come in trumpet. this is a very calming song. the chorus oohs are really nice.

18-daylight

oh this is nice. this is really nice. it's a self reflection. i sounded the good and trusted the wicked. that's deep. this is really good. a nice closer to the album. oh it's picking up. love is golden. this is good. a good good closer. i love this final chorus. step into the daylight and let it go. this voice note ending. it's so raw. and personal. and an insight.

final thoughts: this might her best work. lyrically and production wise. there's not a song i didn't like at first listen. i know there is one song (track 11) i probably won't listen to that much because of how emotional it made me.

my initial top 5:

1. death by a thousand cuts

2. i think he knows

3. afterglow

4. paper rings

5. the archer

#lover #taylor swift #paper rings #archer #daylight #afterglow

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