#white horse is all about the fairytale ending you envisioned crashing down

[midnightsslut]

no one asked, but I’ve been thinking a lot about the albatross and its placement on the bargaining playlist. I have come to the conclusion that the song serves as a warning to anyone who tries to avoid/‘imprison’ her. this man was told that she would kill his garden, tempt him, and eventually destroy him. she was a wild wind instead of a normal, harmless rose. yet, he could neither avoid her nor lock her away in a tower. he was too drunk to think his decision through (‘cross your thoughtless heart / only liquor anoints you’). he chose her despite all the warnings he received. he shot all the messengers who tried to persuade him. he couldn’t fully commit to being with her, either, so he locked her away in a tower. ultimately, she was the only one who could protect him from the same men who once condemned her. he chose to be subjected to that danger by being with her (‘the rain is always gonna come if you’re standing with me’ —> ‘I’m the life you chose, and all this terrible danger’). the two characters in the song seem to finally be at peace. however, the outro switches to third person and makes it clear that she will, in fact, destroy him. she is the albatross in his life. he will wear her around his neck forever. he could try to bargain with her all he wants, but he was delusional to think this would end any other way. she is both the angel and the devil in his life. she could protect him from the media attention she subjected him to, but she could simultaneously destroy him by feeding into the rain of fire through her songwriting.