#when it's “burn the bitch” they're shrieking/when the truth comes out it's quiet

[setthishouseablaze]

Cassandra X Mad Woman X IDSB - lyrics

I was in my new house placing daydreams Patching up the crack along the wall I pass it and lose track of what I'm saying 'Cause that's where I was when I got the call

When the first stone's thrown there's screamin' In the streets there's a ragin' riot When it's, "Burn the bitch", they're shrieking When the truth comes out it's quiet

So they killed Cassandra first Coz she feared the worst And tried to tell the town So they filled my cell with snakes, I regret to say Do you believe me now?

Do you believe me now?

What did you think I'd say to that? Does a scorpion sting when fighting back? They strike to kill and you know I will You know I will

What do you sing on your drive home? Do you see my face in the neighbor's lawn? Does she smile? Or does she mouth, "Fuck you forever"?

Coz every time you call me crazy I get more crazy What about that? And when you say I seem angry, I get more angry And there's nothing like a mad woman What a shame she went mad No one likes a mad woman You made her like that And you'll poke that bear 'til her claws come out And you find something to wrap your noose around And there's nothing like a mad woman

They knew, they knew, they knew the whole time That I was onto somethin' The family, the pure greed, the Christian chorus line They all said nothin'

Blood's thick, but nothin' like a payroll Bet they never spared a prayer for my soul You can mark my words that I said it first With a mourning warning no one heard

So I'm taking my time Taking my time 'Cause you took everything from me Watching you climb Watching you climb Over people like me The master of spin Has a couple side flings Good wives always know She should be mad Should be scathing like me But no one likes a mad woman What a shame she went mad

You made her like that

What a shame she went mad

They say I did something bad

They say I did something bad oh Then why's it feel so good? They say I did something bad But why's it feel so good? Most fun I ever had And I'd do it over and over and over again if I could It just felt so good, good

Why's it feel so good? Oh I did something bad

Why's it feel so good? Most fun I ever had most fun I ever had And I'd do it over and over and over again if I could It just felt so good, good

They knew, they knew, they knew the whole time I was onto somethin' They all said nothin' Blood's thick, but nothin' like a payroll Bet they never spared a prayer for my soul You can mark my words, I said it first With a mourning warning no one heard

They say I did something bad oh So why's it feel so good? good.

You can mark my words. I said it first. Do you believe me now? Do you believe me now? What a shame she went mad Do you believe me now?

They say I did something bad Do you believe me now? What a shame she went mad Do you believe me now? They say I did something bad

When the first stone's thrown there's screamin' In the streets there's a ragin' riot When it's, "Burn the bitch", they're shrieking When the truth comes out it's quiet

[oldhabitsdiescrming]

listening to "cassandra" after everything is the most maddening thing i could have possibly done. how did she know.

[schrodingersgirlboss]

every time i think about the og taylor swift drama i go insane like we really let a man write lyrics calling her a bitch and taking credit for her success, then make a music video using a wax figurine of her naked in bed with him without her consent, and still found a way to make HER the villain of the story and bully her over it for months?? because she dared to not be okay with it???? and then bully her some more for writing songs about feeling mad about it and not "getting over" it instead of going on a 100% justified murdering spree like i would've if i were her

[stumbleonhometomycats]

WHEN IT'S 'BURN THE BITCH' THEY'RE SHRIEKING WHEN THE TRUTH COMES OUT, IT'S QUIET

[antitheticaldreamgirl-13]

A Gaylor’s Perspective on Cassandra

I wonder if Cassandra is about people’s reactions if Taylor were to come out, with Gaylors as Cassandra and Hetlors as the other people in the town, who didn’t believe her at first. Thoughts under the cut.

“When the first stone's thrown, there's screamin' In the streets, there's a raging riot”

At the first mention that Taylor might not be straight, people are deathly offended. “When it's “Burn the bitch," they're shrieking When the truth comes out, it's quiet”

It’s easy right now for Hetlors to berate and criticize Hetlors—after all, Taylor isn’t technically out. However, if Taylor WERE to come out, then the Hetlors would be in a tricky position, no longer able to critique Gaylors and claim the moral high ground. Thus, they would be quiet.

“So, they killed Cassandra first 'cause she feared the worst And tried to tell the town”

“Feared the worst” doesn’t refer to suggesting that Taylor might be gay, but rather that she is and she is afraid to come out, that she has TRIED to come out but nobody paid attention. Hetlors don’t like hearing this though, so they often harass Gaylors. “So they filled my cell with snakes, I regret to say Do you believe me now?”

Again, once Taylor had come out, Gaylors or, in this case, Cassandra, would be proven correct. But the damage would be done, the snakes would already be in the cell.

“I was in my tower weaving nightmares Twisting all my smiles into snarls”

Now I think it switches to Taylor’s pov. She was inclined to be friendly, to believe that her coming out would go well, but it hasn’t, so her smiles are now snarls. “They say, "What doesn't kill you makes you aware" What happens if it becomes who you are?”

Her coming out, with all the bad reactions it received, made her aware of the still present homophobia. But it also greatly affects her too—it already does, and she hasn’t officially come out (yet)—so it’s become who she is.

“They knew, they knew, they knew the whole time That I was onto somethin'”

Now it sngwitches back to the Gaylors’ perspective, and “they” again being Hetlors, who maybe subconsciously know that we’re onto something, but they don’t want to admit it.

“The family, the pure greed, the Christian chorus line They all said nothin'”

Interesting that she brings up religion here…a religion that is often used to shame gay people….just saying… “Blood's thick, but nothin' like a payroll Bet they never spared a prayer for my soul”

People who seem like allies—people who are even family—can turn against you due to bigotry, in this case homophobia, and the benefits of betraying you (“like a payroll”).

“You can mark my words that I said it first In a mourning warning, no one heard”

The Gaylors understood Taylor truly first, but nobody was paying attention. Nobody paid attention to Taylor herself during her lover era, where she showered herself with rainbows, bisexual colors, and made a gay music video.

So yeah, those are my thoughts.

[hope-ur-ok]

Top 13 TTPD lyrics this week?

I limited myself to not picking more than one per song to avoid me just putting the entirety of the prophecy.

I got cursed like Eve got bitten, was it punishment?

so tell me everything is not about me BUT WHAT IF IT IS? the say they didn't do it to hurt me BUT WHAT IF THEY DID?

all her fucking lives flashed before her eyes

the goddess of timing once found us beguiling, she said she was trying, Peter was she lying? my ribs get the feeling she did

when the first stone's thrown there's screaming, in the streets there's a raging riot, when it's burn the bitch they're shrieking, when the truth comes out it's quiet

it was legendary, it was momentary

but I still don't know, how did it end?

I think some things I never say, like who uses typewriters anyway?

is that a bad thing to say in a song?

I'll forget you but I'll never forgive

now and then I reread the manuscript, but the story isn't mine anymore

six weeks of breathing clean air I still miss the smoke

I'll get lost on purpose, this place made me feel worthless

[my-castles-crumbling]

but like cassandra is so marauders coded though

i pass it and lose track of what i'm saying 'cause that's where i was when i got the call (/lost it all) REMUS??? MARY???? when the first stone's thrown there's screaming (lily and james dying??) in the streets there's a raging riot (like the peter-sirius confrontation) when it's "burn the bitch" they're shrieking (sirius arrest?) when the truth comes out it's quiet (just when sirius dies and the ministry is just like HES INNOCENT GUYS WHOOPS -- like we're not addressing it really just like that)

i want to animate this but i probably won't loll...but it's an idea

ANYWAYS love ya cas hope you're doing well :)

isn't it though? ugh, all her songs are though...and sending you so much love, hope you're doing well, too!

[lovelettersiveneversent]

when it's "burn the bitch", they're shrieking; when the truth comes out, it's quiet ✩⋆.˚⭒

like or reblog if you save ♡

please do not repost

[tisthepamseason]

So - Taylor Swift & Florence Welch both have songs called Cassandra. Why is that significant?

✨First- Who is Cassandra, Anyway? EW.

Cassandra is a figure in Greek mythology, blessed with the ability to see the future & cursed to never be believed. She sees the fall of Troy before it happens but can't do anything to stop it (there's a lotttt more Cassandra lore, keeping it basic here).

In the 1940s, a French philosopher dubbed "Cassandra complex" to encompass situations where someone reacts validly & with reason and raises the alarm but is not believed until it's too late.

✨Second- What is Taylor's interpretation of Cassandra?

Taylor's Cassandra remains faithful and places herself into the myth, issuing warnings about untrustworthy individuals that went ignored by her peers, the media, and the general public - invoking her Reputation era. ("You can mark my words that I said it first in a morning warning no one heard"). She's telling the story of her Reputation era through Cassandra, who was famously ignored after giving warnings about the fall of Troy.

She references snakes in her cell, a double meaning:🐍 on her actual cell phone (hehe) & a reference to the snakes mentioned in the myth of Cassandra, where snakes whispered the future to her. She goes on to say, "so they killed Cassandra first because she feared the worst and tried to tell the town"..."do you believe me now?" asking if, after the witch hunts & death of her reputation, we believe her now that the truth has actually come out. She makes a point to say, "when the truth comes out, it's quiet. it's so quiet."

A line that I personally feel is very important within Taylor's story is "they say 'what doesn't kill you makes you aware' - what happens if it becomes who you are?" Changing the famous "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" to "makes you aware" is a very important distinction for her to make. Ever since she was made aware of the shady characters that exist within her world, she has been vigilant in order to protect herself, her art, and her integrity. Next, she worries that the struggles she went through will define her in the same way that Cassandra's struggles continue to define her today, which we've seen carry over thematically in albums she's released since Reputation.

In her outro, she reiterates: "When the first stone's thrown, they're screaming. In the streets, there's a raging riot. When it's BURN THE BITCH, they're shrieking... when the truth comes out, it's quiet. It's so quiet." Taylor Swift has not forgotten the volume of the voices that condemned her, or their apparent silence (lack of apology?) in the aftermath.

✨Third- What is Florence's interpretation of Cassandra?

Florence's Cassandra is a told a bit more in abstract, and comes after Florence believed that the music she was writing, as well as her own personal wishes pre-pandemic, seemed to call upon her the isolation that came during the pandemic.

She starts with, "I used to see the future and now I see nothing"..."Crying like Cassandra, I used to tell the future but they cut out my tongue" and tells a story of a Cassandra who had the gift of foresight, was cursed, and then was ultimately stripped of it & left to cope in the aftermath. Combined with the uncertainty & loneliness felt during the early months of quarantine, Florence's Cassandra is blinded, condemned, and left to question how she fits into the world crumbling around her.

[taylorbeingswift08]

I did something bad X Cassandra

I never trust a narcissist

But they love me

So I play 'em like a violin

And I make it look oh so easy

'Cause for every lie I tell them

They tell me three

This is how the world works

Now all he thinks about is me

I can feel the flames on my skin

Crimson red paint on my lips

If a man talks shit, then I owe him nothing

I don't regret it one bit, 'cause he had it coming

So, they killed Cassandra first 'cause she feared the worst

And tried to tell the town

So, they filled my cell with snakes, I regret to say

Do you believe me now?

I was in my tower weaving nightmares

Twisting all my smiles into snarls

They say, "What doesn't kill you makes you aware"

What happens if it becomes who you are

They say I did something bad

Then why's it feel so good?

They say I did something bad

But why's it feel so good?

Most fun I ever had

And I'd do it over and over and over again if I could

It just felt so good, good

So, they killed Cassandra first 'cause she feared the worst

And tried to tell the town

So, they set my life in flames, I regret to say

Do you believe me now?

I can feel the flames on my skin

Crimson red paint on my lips

If a man talks shit, then I owe him nothing

I don't regret it one bit, 'cause he had it coming

They knew, they knew, they knew the whole time

That I was onto something

The family, the pure greed, the Christian chorus line

They all said nothing

Blood's thick but nothing like a payroll

Bet they never spared a prayer for my soul

You can mark my words that I said it first

In a morning warning, no one heard

They say I did something bad

Then why's it feel so good?

They say I did something bad

But why's it feel so good?

Most fun I ever had

And I'd do it over and over and over again if I could

It just felt so good, good

So, they killed Cassandra first 'cause she feared the worst

And tried to tell the town

So, they filled my cell with snakes, I regret to say

Do you believe me now?

Ahh-ahh

I was onto something

Ahh-ahh

They all said nothing

Blood's thick but nothing like a payroll

Bet they never spared a prayer for my soul

You can mark my words that I said it first

In a morning warning, no one heard

No one heard

Not a single word was heard

When the first stone's thrown, there's screaming

In the streets, there's a raging riot

When it's "Burn the bitch, " they're shrieking

When the truth comes out, it's quiet

It's so quiet

The y're burning all the witches, even if you aren't one

They got their pitchforks and proof

Their receipts and reasons

They're burning all the witches, even if you aren't one

So light me up (light me up), light me up (light me up)

Light me up, go ahead and light me up (light me up)

Light me up (light me up), light me up (light me up)

Light me up (light me up), light me up (light me up)

They say I did something bad

Then why's it feel so good?

They say I did something bad

But why's it feel so good?

Most fun I ever had

And I'd do it over and over and over again if I could

It just felt so good, good

So, they set my life in flames, I regret to say

Do you believe me now?

This is how the world works

You gotta leave before you get left

[mister-tom-a-dildo-lover]

TTPD lyrics that make me think of Harry

"When it's 'burn the bitch', they're SHRIEKING. When the truth comes out it's quiet." - Cassandra

"PLEASE, I've been on my knees, change the prophecy. Don't want money, just someone who wants my COMPANY. Let it once be me. Who do I have to speak to about if they can redo THE PROPHECY?" - The Prophecy

"Devils that you know raise worse hell than a stranger. She's the death you chose, you're in terrible danger." - The Albatross

"The only thing that's left is the manuscript. One last souvenir from my trip to your shores. Now and then I reread the manuscript, but the story isn't mine anymore" - The Manuscript

"I dream of CRACKING LOCKS. Throwing my life to the wolves or the ocean rocks." - Guilty As Sin?

"I was TAME, I was gentle 'til the circus life MADE ME MEAN. Don't you WORRY, FOLKS, we took out all her TEETH. Who's afraid of little old me?! Well, you should be." - Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?

"So, tell me everything is not about me. But what if it is? Then say they didn't do it to hurt me. But what if they did? I want to snarl and show you just how disturbed this has made me. You wouldn't last an hour in the ASYLUM WHERE THEY RAISED ME." - Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?

"Say it once again with feeling, how the death rattle breathing, silenced as the soul was leaving. The deflation of our dreaming, leaving me bereft and reeling. My beloved ghost and me, sitting in a tree. D-Y-I-N-G." - How Did It End?

"I'LL TELL YOU SOMETHING ABOUT MY GOOD NAME. IT'S MINE ALONE TO DISGRACE. I don't cater to ALL THESE VIPERS dressed in EMPATH'S CLOTHING!" - But Daddy I Love Him

[setthishouseablaze]

Messy thoughts about Quiet

"when the truth comes out it's quiet" / "your quiet treason"

After Kissgate 2014 ("the crack along the wall" "I did something bad") we got Calvin Harris 2015, but when they broke up in 2016 and fans were theorizing that TS was the true author of 'This is What You Came For' aka Nils Sjoberg, CH went on a twitter rant accusing TS of trying to make him look bad, this caused Snakegate Part 1 ("when the first stone's thrown there's screaming")

She moved on to Tom Hiddleston, but, she was still publicly BFFs with Karlie, and then we got the Kimye drama which triggered Snakegate Part 2. ("When it's, "Burn the bitch", they're shrieking" "So they filled my cell with snakes")

Karlie was quoted calling Kim "a lovely person" and disappeared, from public view at least, and Joe Alwyn became the male face to project the love interest of TS songs onto.

reputation reclaimed the snake motif but TS was still being criticized for being angry/mad/insane ("what a shame she went mad" "I was supposed to be sent away")

The Lover promo material was full of rainbows and daylight ("my new aesthetic") "Me!" was posted subtitled "out now!" on lesbian visibility day. TS played a show at the Stonewall Inn during Pride (a venue that exclusively hosts queer performers, "In the streets there's a ragin' riot" - Stonewall Riots 1969) but just before the album was due for release the Masters Heist occurred and, allegedly, the album underwent last minute alterations prior to its August 2019 release. ("The family, the pure greed, the Christian chorus line")

Miss Americana was released in 2020 and included footage of TS saying "everything that makes me, me ... gay pride" the swiftie community ignored the line and attacked the gaylors for hearing it ("When the truth comes out it's quiet." "so they killed Cassandra first" "You can mark my words. I said it first." / "And no one here's to blame, but what about your quiet treason?")

"I love you, it's ruining my life" <- the fans?

[baby-girl-aaron-dessner]

Cassandra is one of TTPD's best tracks. It's reminiscent of reputation.

When it's "Burn the bitch," they're shrieking When the truth comes out, it's quiet So, they killed Cassandra first 'cause she feared the worst And tried to tell the town So, they filled my cell with snakes, I regret to say Do you believe me now?

[some-little-infamy]

My favorite lyrics from each song off The Tortured Poets Department:

Fortnight (ft. Post Malone): "I was a functioning alcoholic until nobody noticed my new aesthetic" The Tortured Poets Department: "At dinner, you take my ring off my middle finger / And Put it on the one people put wedding rings on / And that's the closest I've come to my heart exploding"

My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys: "I'm Queen of sand castles he destroys"

Down Bad: "Everything comes out teenage petulance/ Fuck it, if I can't have him / I might just die it'll make no difference" So Long, London: "And you say I abandoned the ship / But I was going down with it / My white-knuckle dying grip"

But Daddy I Love Him: "I'll tell you something about my good name / it's mine alone to disgrace"

Fresh Out The Slammer: "Swirled you into all of my poems / Now we're at the starting line"

Florida!!! (ft. Florence & the Machine): "Yes, I'm haunted, but I'm feeling just fine / All of my girls got their lace and their crimes"

Guilty as Sin?: "Throwing my life to the wolves or the ocean rocks."

Who's Afraid of Little Old Me: "I was tame, I was gentle, 'till the circus life made me mean / Don't you worry, folks, we took out all her teeth" and "You wouldn't last an hour in the asylum where they raised me" (I CAN'T PICK THIS IS MY FAVORITE SONG I'M SORRY)

I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can): "Your good lord doesn't need to lift a finger / I can fix him, no really, I can"

loml: "Still alive, killing time at the cemetery / Never quite buried"

I Can Do It With A Broken Heart: "I cry a lot, but I am so productive, it's an art!"

The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived: "I would've died for your sins, now I just died inside"

The Alchemy: "We've been on a winning streak / He jokes that it's heroin, but this time with an 'E'"

Clara Bow: "I'm not trying to exaggerate / but I think I might die if I made it"

The Black Dog: "And you jump up, but she's too young to know this song / That was intertwined in the magic fabric of our dreaming"

imgonnagetyouback: "Even if it's handcuffed, I'm leaving here with you"

The Albatross: "So I crossed my thoughtless heart / spread my wings like a parachute / I'm the albatross / I swept in at the rescue"

Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus: "If you wanna break my cold, cold heart / Just say 'I loved you the way that you were' "

How Did It End?: " The deflation of our dreaming / Leaving me bereft and reeling / My Beloved Ghost and me / sitting in a tree / D-Y-I-N-G" So High School: "And in a blink of a crinkling eye / I'm sinking, our fingers entwined / Cheeks pink in the twinkling lights"

I Hate It Here: "I'll save all my romanticism for my inner life, and I'll get lost on purpose" thanK you aIMee: "But when I count the scars, there's a moment of truth / That there wouldn't be this if there hadn't been you"

I Look in People's Windows: "Does it feel alright to not know me? / I'm addicted to the 'if only' "

The Prophecy: "Feeling like the very last drops of an ink pen"

Cassandra: "When it's 'burn the bitch', they're shrieking / When the truth comes out, it's quiet"

Peter: " 'Cause love's never lost when perspective is earned"

The Bolter: "Splendidly selfish, charmingly helpless / Excellent fun 'til you get to know her"

Robin: "You have no room in your dreams for regrets"

The Manuscript: "The professor said to write what you know / looking backwards might be the only way to move forward"

[iamfitzwilliamdarcy]

I made a much shorter post about this earlier, but Taylor in TTPD talks a ton about coming of age famous (and female!) -- and I think the two obvious songs are "But Daddy I Love Him" and "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" (another read more bc it got super long sorry)

"But Daddy I Love Him" has been talked about a ton by now, and while I think most people are missing the point (which is another post), I do we have all picked up on her rejecting judgemental assholes who don't actually care about her--

I just learned these people only raise you to cage you Sarahs and Hannahs in their Sunday best Clutching their pearls, sighing "What a mess" I just learned these people try and save you ... cause they hate you

But who raised her? It was the media, the society she's been a part of since she was 15. There's also a sense that they raised her but she wasn't actually allowed to grow up-- Growing up precocious sometimes means not growing up at all. Her coming of age in this setting has led to this arrested development.

Interestingly, she brings back the caged imagery in "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me":

… You caged me and then you called me crazy I am what I am 'cause you trained me

"Who's Afraid of Little Old Me" probably has a lot more in common with "Mad Woman," but the setting is what makes her the way she is-- I am what I am because you made me this way--and now you have the audacity to judge- she compares the coming of age in fame both to a circus, where they tamed her--

I was tame, I was gentle 'til the circus life made me mean "Don't you worry, folks, we took out all her teeth"

and to an asylum--

… I wanna snarl and show you just how disturbed this has made me You wouldn't last an hour in the asylum where they raised me

The asylum comparison also comes with the history of women being institutionaized despite being healthy because of how they reacted to either male mistreatment or societal mistreatment -- and I don't think her Clara Bow comparisons are randomly selected either

We can circle back to the religious imagery in "Cassandra" too-- in But Daddy I Love Him, she sings:

God save the most judgmental creeps Who say they want what's best for me Sanctimoniously performing soliloquies I'll never see ... You ain't gotta pray for me

and then in "Cassandra," she says: "Bet they never spared a prayer for my soul" -- it's a lot about Kanye, probably, but she's lumping the gossipers in here too- When it's "Burn the bitch," they're shrieking / When the truth comes out, it's quiet"

(if you're in any type of religious circle, you know there's frequent discussion of various societal ills that have "become" religion to people-- politics, celeb gossip, etc etc) -- no matter what, it's all sanctimonious, it's all for show-- there's no deep held religious belief, there's no genuine charity for her--

This is conversation with fame, with her coming of age in fame, with all the ways she gave herself to the society and was rejected or judged or hated or hurt-- it was being raised by people who hate her -- and then to turn around and write "Robin"-- her protection of a child until he's ready to bounce back from the cruelty of the world-- the cycle ends right here