November 5, 2025 • 31 mins
Taylor Swift’s “The Fate of Ophelia” is the catchy opening number on The Life of a Showgirl, but what do the lyrics really mean?
In this episode, we’re deep diving into The Fate of Ophelia line by line. We’ll talk about Taylor’s past references to Shakespeare, what Ophelia’s fate in Hamlet really is, and how it all ties into our Showgirl’s ideas of fate and destiny.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Hey everyone.
(00:00):
Welcome back to the Swiftly Song Stories podcast.
I'm Jen.
I am your Swiftie English teacher, and today we are tackling track one of my track by track analysis of the life of a showgirl.
We're diving straight into the fate of Ophelia.
If you missed my last episode where I analyzed Taylor's prologue poem from the album, you might wanna go back and check that out 'cause it lays a lot of groundwork for understanding the themes that Taylor's really getting at in these lyrics.
(00:25):
uh, just to quickly let you know, and then we're getting right into the meat of the episode.
All of this content is available on my website if you want the text version with annotated lyrics, it is all there linked in the show notes.
And if you're watching this on YouTube, you can also find me wherever you get your podcasts and vice versa.
Okay, let's roll straight into the fate of Ophelia line by line. 11 00:00:48,40.825449972 --> 00:00:53,740.825449972 Welcome to swiftly sung Stories where we unpack the Taylor Swift Universe one era album and lyric at a time. 12 00:00:53,920.825449972 --> 00:00:58,240.825449972 Think of it like English class, but it's all Taylor Swift and none of the boring stuff. 13 00:00:58,690.825449972 --> 00:01:04,90.825449972 I'm Jen, your Swifty English teacher and classes in session, so come on in and meet me in the margins. 14 00:01:04,326.825449972 --> 00:01:07,86.825449972 The first thing we have to do is talk about the hamlet of it all. 15 00:01:07,236.825449972 --> 00:01:09,276.825449972 So the central metaphor is right there. 16 00:01:09,276.825449972 --> 00:01:15,756.825449972 It's in the title, the Fate of Ophelia, and Ophelia is of course one of the tragic characters in Hamlet. 17 00:01:15,816.825449972 --> 00:01:22,446.825449972 So here's just a super quick condensed cliffs notes about what you need to know about Ophelia in Hamlet. 18 00:01:23,421.825449972 --> 00:01:24,801.825449972 The tragedy of Hamlet. 19 00:01:24,801.825449972 --> 00:01:28,581.825449972 Prince of Denmark is one of William Shakespeare's most well-known plays. 20 00:01:29,1.825449972 --> 00:01:36,621.825449972 Hamlet is obviously a prince and his father, the king dies and there's this shady scramble for the throne. 21 00:01:37,191.825449972 --> 00:01:41,1.82544997 Then a ghost appears to hamlet and says that the king was murdered. 22 00:01:41,741.82544997 --> 00:01:48,701.82544997 Hamlet devises this plot to pretend that he is insane in order to find out what really happened to his father. 23 00:01:49,661.82544997 --> 00:02:01,391.82544997 Ophelia, who is also in this court of, you know, high status families, is kind of in love with Hamlet and he seems to be courting her kind of before all this goes down. 24 00:02:01,841.82544997 --> 00:02:11,206.82544997 But then Hamlet goes off his rocker and just starts messing with her mind, and he decides that this insanity will somehow get to the truth. 25 00:02:12,256.82544997 --> 00:02:22,126.82544997 Ophelia is obviously alarmed and tries to tell everyone that Hamlet is totally gone insane, but everyone in the court is just like, oh, he's just crazy in love with you and she. 26 00:02:22,126.82544997 --> 00:02:25,426.82544997 They tell her she's being dramatic and she's overreacting. 27 00:02:25,906.82544997 --> 00:02:30,556.82544997 It's basically the Elizabethan version of he just picks on you because he likes you. 28 00:02:31,636.82544997 --> 00:02:41,746.82544997 Then the families start exploiting Hamlet and Ophelia's relationship to find out what Hamlet knows about his father's death and what his revenge plot is gonna be. 29 00:02:42,571.82544997 --> 00:02:45,481.82544997 And so Ophelia is really just a pawn in this game. 30 00:02:45,481.82544997 --> 00:02:47,431.82544997 She's being manipulated by everyone. 31 00:02:47,791.82544997 --> 00:02:55,141.82544997 She approaches Hamlet about all of this, and he essentially tells her that she's crazy for ever believing that he would love her. 32 00:02:55,891.82544997 --> 00:03:02,821.82544997 Then Hamlet kills Ophelia's father by accident, but still, then Ophelia goes mad for real, not pretending. 33 00:03:03,301.82544997 --> 00:03:10,266.82544997 She wanders around singing and handing out symbolic flowers and then drowns under a weeping willow tree. 34 00:03:11,806.82544997 --> 00:03:17,566.82544997 Now in the text, it's unclear if she intentionally offed herself or if it was an accidental drowning. 35 00:03:18,106.82544997 --> 00:03:23,836.82544997 But the moral of the story is Ophelia died after being manipulated by a bunch of men. 36 00:03:24,436.82544997 --> 00:03:27,856.82544997 It doesn't really matter how it ends for Hamlet for our purposes. 37 00:03:27,856.82544997 --> 00:03:28,666.82544997 that that's it. 38 00:03:28,816.82544997 --> 00:03:31,6.82544997 The end, that's Hamlet. 39 00:03:31,396.82544997 --> 00:03:37,446.82544997 That's the central metaphor, the fate of Ophelia is to lose her mind after a bunch of gaslighting. 40 00:03:38,76.82544997 --> 00:03:40,56.82544997 Alright, let's get into the lyrics. 41 00:03:40,56.82544997 --> 00:03:51,996.82544997 Quick disclaimer, I only discuss Taylor's personal life in my lyrical analysis when it's essential to understanding the text or when it really helps us put these lyrics into context. 42 00:03:52,596.82544997 --> 00:03:55,686.82544997 But overall, I'm not here to discover what Taylor Swift did. 43 00:03:55,686.82544997 --> 00:03:59,556.82544997 I'm trying to discover what the art does and what the writing does. 44 00:04:00,306.82544997 --> 00:04:06,726.82544997 Also, I'm dissecting Taylor's lyrics through my lens and my opinion, and that doesn't have to be your lens and your opinion. 45 00:04:07,386.82544997 --> 00:04:11,166.82544997 All art is subjective and it means different things to different people. 46 00:04:11,196.82544997 --> 00:04:21,456.82544997 So in this analysis, I'm not gonna say it's fact or correct, I'm just here to point out different interpretations so you can take what you like and leave the rest. 47 00:04:21,876.82544997 --> 00:04:28,656.82544997 I'm not gonna say this is my opinion before every sentence because this, this is just my blanket, this is all my opinion. 48 00:04:29,76.82544997 --> 00:04:29,976.82544997 Alright, let's go. 49 00:04:29,976.82544997 --> 00:04:30,366.82544997 Okay. 50 00:04:30,366.82544997 --> 00:04:31,416.82544997 Start of the first verse. 51 00:04:31,416.82544997 --> 00:04:33,756.82544997 I heard you calling on the megaphone. 52 00:04:33,906.82544997 --> 00:04:38,166.82544997 She's beginning the first track of the album and starting her new era. 53 00:04:38,736.82544997 --> 00:04:45,636.82544997 We're in the present tense and we're looking back at the past and she's setting up backstory for our narrator character. 54 00:04:46,221.82544997 --> 00:04:51,621.82544997 Yes, this is probably a metaphor for Travis Kelsey's podcast, new Heights. 55 00:04:52,311.82544997 --> 00:04:55,251.82544997 That could be the megaphone that gets her attention. 56 00:04:56,106.82544997 --> 00:05:01,926.82544997 And we've also seen a lot of megaphone imagery in this album promotion, and even in the merch. 57 00:05:02,466.82544997 --> 00:05:06,576.82544997 But the point is that this isn't a quiet call or a text. 58 00:05:06,636.82544997 --> 00:05:11,826.82544997 It is a shout as if from the universe or maybe a siren song. 59 00:05:12,426.82544997 --> 00:05:16,231.82544997 And that siren imagery is also reflected in the music video in the ship scene. 60 00:05:17,601.82544997 --> 00:05:23,181.82544997 You wanna see me all alone? So she hears the subject beckon from this megaphone. 61 00:05:23,181.82544997 --> 00:05:26,271.82544997 He wants to see the girl behind the show. 62 00:05:26,691.82544997 --> 00:05:30,291.82544997 He wants to see it without all the pomp and circumstance and costume. 63 00:05:30,891.82544997 --> 00:05:36,561.82544997 While most are there for the showgirl, he's there for the human being stripped down and bare bones. 64 00:05:36,611.82544997 --> 00:05:37,691.82544997 and legend has it. 65 00:05:37,691.82544997 --> 00:05:41,201.82544997 You are quite the pyro, she says, of his reputation. 66 00:05:41,591.82544997 --> 00:05:42,371.82544997 You light the match. 67 00:05:43,76.82544997 --> 00:05:44,186.82544997 Just to watch it blow. 68 00:05:45,116.82544997 --> 00:05:51,266.82544997 He has a habit of lighting fires for the hell of it, which could have a few different metaphorical meanings. 69 00:05:51,356.82544997 --> 00:05:53,66.82544997 One, he's a ladies man. 70 00:05:53,156.82544997 --> 00:05:59,906.82544997 He flirts and turns on the charm just 'cause he can igniting sparks of chemistry willy-nilly. 71 00:06:01,101.82544997 --> 00:06:13,6.82544997 The second interpretation is that he's a bad boy and tends to burn down his relationships with abandon, but as we learn in the prologue poems, he's reckless, but never with your heart. 72 00:06:14,6.82544997 --> 00:06:18,506.82544997 Assuming this is talking about the same relationship, that interpretation is unlikely. 73 00:06:19,256.82544997 --> 00:06:28,256.82544997 But the final and the most likely interpretation is that his reputation precedes him in bed, and we'll learn that in the later track Wood. 74 00:06:28,256.82544997 --> 00:06:31,286.82544997 He lives up to his name in that department. 75 00:06:32,681.82544997 --> 00:06:39,221.82544997 And if you'd never come from me, she says, this is in the first pre-course, I might have drowned in the melancholy. 76 00:06:40,211.82544997 --> 00:06:41,741.82544997 Here's where Hamlet comes into play. 77 00:06:42,161.82544997 --> 00:06:50,51.82544997 She's saying that if this new person hadn't called out for her, come to get her, she may have drowned in the melancholy like Ophelia did. 78 00:06:50,591.82544997 --> 00:06:57,431.82544997 Now, this isn't a literal drowning, of course it's metaphorical, but Ophelia died after essentially being gaslit by everyone. 79 00:06:57,476.82544997 --> 00:06:58,346.82544997 In her life. 80 00:06:59,96.82544997 --> 00:07:03,56.82544997 Hamlet says he never loved her and she was crazy to think he did. 81 00:07:03,356.82544997 --> 00:07:06,506.82544997 That's what she's comparing previous relationships to. 82 00:07:06,506.82544997 --> 00:07:09,86.82544997 It's the manipulation of Ophelia. 83 00:07:10,616.82544997 --> 00:07:12,641.82544997 I swore my loyalty to me, myself, and I. 84 00:07:14,276.82544997 --> 00:07:20,606.82544997 And this is where her priorities lay before he arrived, right before you lit my sky up. 85 00:07:21,116.82544997 --> 00:07:26,636.82544997 So this once again is paralleling Ophelia's world where she doesn't know who she can trust. 86 00:07:26,696.82544997 --> 00:07:35,606.82544997 In Ophelia's case, she's been so manipulated that she doesn't even know if she can trust herself and she loses her mind in grief and confusion. 87 00:07:35,606.82544997 --> 00:07:37,191.82544997 But Taylor stands on. 88 00:07:37,606.82544997 --> 00:07:48,196.82544997 Sturdier ground and after her last try at love, she decides she's just better off on her own rather than to submit herself to more heartbreak. 89 00:07:48,466.82544997 --> 00:07:52,186.82544997 She's been burned so many times that she's better off alone. 90 00:07:52,996.82544997 --> 00:07:57,976.82544997 But then the pyro enters stage left and lit my sky up. 91 00:07:58,61.82544997 --> 00:08:05,321.82544997 We will see another reference to cheerful skies in Opalite Here's the chorus. 92 00:08:05,321.82544997 --> 00:08:08,111.82544997 All that time I sat alone in my tower. 93 00:08:09,11.82544997 --> 00:08:13,841.82544997 Now the choice of tower is a loaded word in Taylor's universe. 94 00:08:13,901.82544997 --> 00:08:21,791.82544997 She has a long running fairytale metaphor that she uses in several songs, stretching throughout her discography. 95 00:08:22,571.82544997 --> 00:08:23,411.82544997 And this is the metaphor. 96 00:08:23,411.82544997 --> 00:08:25,961.82544997 It's her career as her kingdom. 97 00:08:26,871.82544997 --> 00:08:32,661.82544997 This started in Long Live, which is a song about her performing on stage with her band. 98 00:08:32,871.82544997 --> 00:08:38,931.82544997 And in that song she says, we were the kings and queens and how the kingdom lights shine just for me and you. 99 00:08:39,561.82544997 --> 00:08:41,931.82544997 I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you. 100 00:08:42,681.82544997 --> 00:08:46,461.82544997 Later on in, call it what you want, she shares a similar metaphor. 101 00:08:46,461.82544997 --> 00:08:48,261.82544997 My castle crumbled overnight. 102 00:08:48,861.82544997 --> 00:08:50,691.82544997 They took the crown, but it's all right. 103 00:08:51,386.82544997 --> 00:08:58,676.82544997 There's the entirety of the Bejeweled music video where the castle and the crown could represent her position in the industry. 104 00:08:58,676.82544997 --> 00:09:10,256.82544997 And there's so many more, but it's just important to note that my tower isn't an unusual metaphor in the TS universe, and she even talks about it in the prologue for this album. 105 00:09:10,256.82544997 --> 00:09:28,166.82544997 But, and I think this is where some of the controversy is coming in, hasn't Taylor's entire lesson about the fairytale ending as she's written about several times, um, think about Whitehorse, where there is no prince charming. 106 00:09:28,166.82544997 --> 00:09:29,576.82544997 There is no one coming. 107 00:09:30,536.82544997 --> 00:09:34,856.82544997 Isn't the her entire thing that she'll have to rescue herself. 108 00:09:36,41.82544997 --> 00:09:55,151.82544997 Yeah, so I wanna dig into this a little bit because it feels off brand, right? Like I think this is where a, a lot of the initial controversy is stemming from, because this was the single, it feels like she's saying she is the princess being rescued by a prince. 109 00:09:56,106.82544997 --> 00:09:56,326.82544997 So. 110 00:09:57,206.82544997 --> 00:10:11,271.82544997 To look at this, I think it helps to look at other songs where she's discussed similar themes and she also referenced Shakespeare and being rescued in love story in that track from Fearless, she rewrites the fates of Romeo and Juliet. 111 00:10:11,946.82544997 --> 00:10:13,176.82544997 Into a Happily ever After. 112 00:10:13,596.82544997 --> 00:10:19,26.82544997 But her version of Juliet in Love story is more helpless and much more in need of rescue. 113 00:10:19,26.82544997 --> 00:10:20,586.82544997 She says, Romeo saved me. 114 00:10:20,766.82544997 --> 00:10:21,846.82544997 I've been feeling so alone. 115 00:10:21,846.82544997 --> 00:10:23,346.82544997 I keep waiting, but you never come. 116 00:10:24,216.82544997 --> 00:10:28,176.82544997 In the fate of Ophelia, the damsel isn't exactly in distress. 117 00:10:28,296.82544997 --> 00:10:30,486.82544997 She's pledged to be okay on her own. 118 00:10:31,146.82544997 --> 00:10:33,156.82544997 I swarm my loyalty to me, myself, and I. 119 00:10:34,326.82544997 --> 00:10:39,546.82544997 So if Love Story says I can't live without you, I think the fate of Ophelia says. 120 00:10:40,226.82544997 --> 00:10:43,856.82544997 I can live without you, but I don't want to. 121 00:10:45,86.82544997 --> 00:10:46,946.82544997 There's two ways to look at this. 122 00:10:46,946.82544997 --> 00:10:49,16.82544997 There's with context and without context. 123 00:10:49,16.82544997 --> 00:11:08,576.82544997 If we look strictly at the lyrics, yes, she's being rescued by a prince, but if we take into consideration what she's most likely singing about Travis Kelsey, who is now her fiance, then we also have to take into consideration if this is a real rescue scenario and. 124 00:11:09,86.82544997 --> 00:11:13,886.82544997 It's not, she could literally buy and sell him 10 times over. 125 00:11:14,96.82544997 --> 00:11:17,766.82544997 She could date or marry pretty much anyone she wanted to. 126 00:11:18,666.82544997 --> 00:11:28,266.82544997 So what she's really talking about is an emotional rescue that he's brought her heart back to life after it became cold and hard. 127 00:11:28,316.82544997 --> 00:11:35,966.82544997 One of the major themes of this album is how lonely this mega celebrity life can be when everyone has ulterior motives. 128 00:11:36,536.82544997 --> 00:11:37,796.82544997 For being in your life. 129 00:11:38,396.82544997 --> 00:11:41,576.82544997 So this tower, I sat alone in my tower. 130 00:11:42,266.82544997 --> 00:11:49,586.82544997 I think it's both the pedestal of fame and the isolation she needs to live in in order to protect herself. 131 00:11:50,246.82544997 --> 00:11:55,256.82544997 But does it also, no matter the context and no matter the intention, feel a little. 132 00:11:56,366.82544997 --> 00:11:59,366.82544997 Off brand and a little icky in the context of 2025. 133 00:11:59,396.82544997 --> 00:12:06,26.82544997 Yes, you can read this as, I'm just a poor billionaire, lonely in my castle. 134 00:12:06,416.82544997 --> 00:12:12,656.82544997 Or you can read it as I was so melancholy from past heartbreaks and I thought that it would never end. 135 00:12:12,836.82544997 --> 00:12:17,876.82544997 But it did end because I met you and you were finally the right person for me. 136 00:12:18,416.82544997 --> 00:12:20,246.82544997 Of course there's other interpretations too. 137 00:12:20,246.82544997 --> 00:12:21,746.82544997 It doesn't have to be one or the other. 138 00:12:21,746.82544997 --> 00:12:24,416.82544997 It can be yes and okay. 139 00:12:24,506.82544997 --> 00:12:24,716.82544997 That was. 140 00:12:25,196.82544997 --> 00:12:26,276.82544997 Super long diversion. 141 00:12:26,276.82544997 --> 00:12:26,966.82544997 Let's keep going. 142 00:12:28,436.82544997 --> 00:12:35,966.82544997 So while our princess is alone in her handcrafted kingdom, you were just honing your powers. 143 00:12:36,536.82544997 --> 00:12:43,46.82544997 So he's not only a white knight, he's also a magician or a wizard or superhero of some sort. 144 00:12:43,106.82544997 --> 00:12:48,626.82544997 He has what she's alluding to, a kind of magic power of presence. 145 00:12:49,196.82544997 --> 00:12:56,816.82544997 In the context of pyro, however, this could just mean he was honing his powers in the bedroom to seduce her. 146 00:12:58,286.82544997 --> 00:12:59,846.82544997 Now I can see it all. 147 00:13:00,326.82544997 --> 00:13:11,756.82544997 She says, she's finally glimpsing what's possible in life and in love, and this recalls a line from daylight and I can still see it all in my mind, all of you, all of me intertwined. 148 00:13:12,236.82544997 --> 00:13:15,896.82544997 I once believed love would be black and white, but it's golden. 149 00:13:15,896.82544997 --> 00:13:22,496.82544997 I think her new color of love, which started as red and then morphed into Golden. 150 00:13:23,66.82544997 --> 00:13:27,56.82544997 I think her new color of love metaphor is fire. 151 00:13:27,566.82544997 --> 00:13:30,626.82544997 That, that's my theory, but we'll get into that later on. 152 00:13:30,626.82544997 --> 00:13:35,546.82544997 Again, zooming out and taking in the view, now I can see it all. 153 00:13:36,536.82544997 --> 00:13:41,426.82544997 She sees what the agony had been for, it was leading her here. 154 00:13:41,426.82544997 --> 00:13:46,466.82544997 Late one night, you dug me outta my grave and saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia. 155 00:13:46,676.82544997 --> 00:13:48,356.82544997 So here's our central metaphor. 156 00:13:48,476.82544997 --> 00:13:54,26.82544997 Said for the first time, he's brought her back to life from metaphorical death. 157 00:13:54,56.82544997 --> 00:14:02,786.82544997 But the grave metaphor can't help but remind us of the last time that she mentioned one, which was in so long London, two graves, one gun. 158 00:14:03,986.82544997 --> 00:14:07,616.82544997 But what's the next line of that song? You'll find someone. 159 00:14:09,566.82544997 --> 00:14:15,596.82544997 What's most important to note about this is that she doesn't say, you saved me from the fate of Ophelia. 160 00:14:15,596.82544997 --> 00:14:18,506.82544997 It's, you saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia. 161 00:14:18,926.82544997 --> 00:14:25,466.82544997 So in the play, Ophelia's heart is broken by Hamlet and by others in her life taking advantage of her. 162 00:14:26,336.82544997 --> 00:14:37,76.82544997 I think what she's saying is that this magician, if he hadn't come into her life or entered her life, her heart would've stayed cold, not knowing who she could trust. 163 00:14:37,826.82544997 --> 00:14:46,166.82544997 He's brought back her faith and love and this emotional rescue is, is really the metaphor that the song centers on. 164 00:14:47,966.82544997 --> 00:14:48,896.82544997 She continues. 165 00:14:49,136.82544997 --> 00:14:52,256.82544997 Keep it 100 on the land, the sea, the sky. 166 00:14:53,36.82544997 --> 00:15:02,156.82544997 This is, I have since learned a popular Kelsey catchphrase, so to keep it 100 means to stay authentic and genuine. 167 00:15:02,156.82544997 --> 00:15:07,586.82544997 And she encourages both of them to do that in this new romance. 168 00:15:07,586.82544997 --> 00:15:09,266.82544997 No matter where they are. 169 00:15:09,356.82544997 --> 00:15:11,126.82544997 Stay true to themselves. 170 00:15:12,581.82544997 --> 00:15:29,501.82544997 Is it kind of a weird, modern phrase to use in a song that also references Hamlet? Yeah, but if you wanna dig into it, you could say that she's juxtaposing Old and New Death and Rebirth, which is another central theme in this album, and of many of her albums. 171 00:15:30,761.82544997 --> 00:15:36,701.82544997 But it's keep it 100 on the land, the sea, the sky when added to pyro. 172 00:15:36,941.82544997 --> 00:15:41,411.82544997 That gives us all of the elements, earth, air, fire, water. 173 00:15:42,41.82544997 --> 00:15:46,811.82544997 But it also reminds us of the famous one, if by land two if by sea. 174 00:15:47,346.82544997 --> 00:15:58,176.82544997 From Longfellow's famous poem, uh, Paul Revere's Ride, this evokes this kind of Americana vibe that is going to continue in the next line. 175 00:15:59,76.82544997 --> 00:16:02,586.82544997 Pledge allegiance to your hands, your team, your vibes. 176 00:16:02,966.82544997 --> 00:16:09,26.82544997 This also conjures this sort of all American verbiage with the Pledge of Allegiance. 177 00:16:09,686.82544997 --> 00:16:26,336.82544997 She promises loyalty to everything about him from his body to his team, which is either his football team or his metaphorical team, his family, his inner circle, and she pledges loyalty to his positive vibes. 178 00:16:26,861.82544997 --> 00:16:34,211.82544997 His vibes are the optimistic antidote that our Ophelia needed to counteract her melancholy. 179 00:16:35,501.82544997 --> 00:16:38,411.82544997 Don't care where the hell you've been, 'cause now you're mine. 180 00:16:38,411.82544997 --> 00:16:46,961.82545 She says she's disregarding who he may have been dating before or why it took him so long to find her, or for them to find each other. 181 00:16:47,741.82545 --> 00:16:50,621.82545 It's about to be the sleepless night you've been dreaming of. 182 00:16:51,716.82545 --> 00:17:01,316.82545 She's trading in the sleepless nights of midnights and the torture Poets department for a steamier and happier midnight pastime. 183 00:17:02,156.82545 --> 00:17:13,796.82545 The rest of the album is full of similar sexual innuendo, and it's the most blatantly steamy Taylor has ever been, but it's also the most blatantly optimistic Taylor has ever been. 184 00:17:13,976.82545 --> 00:17:25,391.82545 Does one have anything to do with the other? Who knows? The fate of Ophelia repeats at the end of the course, which emphasizes as all repetition does what she wants us to pay attention to. 185 00:17:26,51.82545 --> 00:17:29,111.82545 She's rewriting the ending for this tragic character. 186 00:17:29,111.82545 --> 00:17:31,871.82545 She's also rewriting the ending for herself. 187 00:17:33,731.82545 --> 00:17:34,451.82545 Verse two. 188 00:17:34,451.82545 --> 00:17:41,831.82545 The eldest daughter of a nobleman Ophelia lived in fantasy in the text of Hamlet. 189 00:17:41,921.82545 --> 00:17:53,681.82545 We don't get to find out if Ophelia is older or younger than her brother Laertes, but eldest daughter just means the oldest girl, and we do kind of get the sense that she is the oldest girl in this family. 190 00:17:54,641.82545 --> 00:18:03,521.82545 Eldest daughter, of course, name checks track five on the album, and that track explores the responsibility that is instilled in us eldest daughters. 191 00:18:04,361.82545 --> 00:18:08,231.82545 But I think what she's getting at here is that she has it all. 192 00:18:09,251.82545 --> 00:18:13,1.82545 She's the eldest daughter of a nobleman, but she lives in fantasy. 193 00:18:13,1.82545 --> 00:18:18,581.82545 She's privileged like Ophelia, and is in her own way, the eldest daughter of a nobleman. 194 00:18:19,181.82545 --> 00:18:22,61.82545 While she might have a fantasy life from the outside. 195 00:18:22,496.82545 --> 00:18:25,406.82545 She lives in fantasy on the inside. 196 00:18:26,396.82545 --> 00:18:31,286.82545 This, of course, reminds us of, I hate it here, so I will go to secret gardens. 197 00:18:31,316.82545 --> 00:18:33,536.82545 In my mind, people need a key to get to. 198 00:18:34,196.82545 --> 00:18:36,776.82545 The only one is mine, materially. 199 00:18:36,776.82545 --> 00:18:40,466.82545 She has it all, but emotionally and romantically. 200 00:18:40,466.82545 --> 00:18:45,56.82545 She lives in a fantasy world, basically to soothe herself. 201 00:18:45,656.82545 --> 00:18:49,916.82545 The key to that world too, will come back around in the bridge. 202 00:18:51,266.82545 --> 00:18:53,906.82545 But love was a cold bed full of scorpions. 203 00:18:54,206.82545 --> 00:18:56,846.82545 She continues, the venom stole her sanity. 204 00:18:57,836.82545 --> 00:19:07,556.82545 This likely alludes to the fable of the scorpion and the frog where the scorpion gaslights the frog into giving him what he wants and then stings and kills him. 205 00:19:07,916.82545 --> 00:19:08,306.82545 Anyway. 206 00:19:09,341.82545 --> 00:19:12,191.82545 That's what her past loves have felt like. 207 00:19:12,191.82545 --> 00:19:16,331.82545 The venom of these past heartbreaks is what's driven her mad. 208 00:19:16,361.82545 --> 00:19:22,571.82545 Just like Ophelia, the venom is probably the gaslighting being broken like a promise. 209 00:19:22,751.82545 --> 00:19:29,441.82545 But venom also alludes to the snake imagery and metaphors of the reputation album and era. 210 00:19:29,981.82545 --> 00:19:35,801.82545 And in that context, venom is the poison of public opinion when it turns against you. 211 00:19:36,811.82545 --> 00:19:41,101.82545 She'll further explore this in many songs on this album, but she continues. 212 00:19:41,161.82545 --> 00:19:46,51.82545 And if you'd never come for me, I might have lingered in purgatory. 213 00:19:47,461.82545 --> 00:19:59,431.82545 Colloquially, purgatory is a temporary state of suffering, but tying into the old world literature references, purgatory is also a big part of Dante's Divine Comedy. 214 00:19:59,531.82545 --> 00:20:01,991.82545 That's an entire side quest we could get into. 215 00:20:02,501.82545 --> 00:20:03,761.82545 But here's the gist. 216 00:20:04,331.82545 --> 00:20:08,231.82545 Dante posits that all sins stems from love. 217 00:20:08,621.82545 --> 00:20:15,821.82545 So through that lens, she's in purgatory because of love, and plucked out of purgatory by love. 218 00:20:17,726.82545 --> 00:20:22,496.82545 You wrap around me like a chain, a crown, a vine, pulling me into the fire. 219 00:20:23,186.82545 --> 00:20:28,826.82545 She's giving us this list of similes that describe how he's enveloped her. 220 00:20:29,546.82545 --> 00:20:35,666.82545 But each one of these is purposeful and they each pull her into the metaphorical fire. 221 00:20:36,746.82545 --> 00:20:40,196.82545 The chain immediately recalls, call it what you want. 222 00:20:40,556.82545 --> 00:20:43,706.82545 I wanna wear his initial on a chain around my neck. 223 00:20:44,36.82545 --> 00:20:47,216.82545 Not because he owns me, but 'cause he really knows me. 224 00:20:48,461.82545 --> 00:20:57,341.82545 The chain here, just like the necklace, feels more like he's hoisting her up and supporting her and not trying to chain her down or tie her down. 225 00:20:58,361.82545 --> 00:21:03,671.82545 The crown reminds us of all of her previous monarchy and fairytale metaphors. 226 00:21:03,671.82545 --> 00:21:05,771.82545 King of my heart, the alchemy. 227 00:21:06,791.82545 --> 00:21:10,1.82545 Circling back to Hamlet, Ophelia never gets a crown. 228 00:21:10,751.82545 --> 00:21:14,51.82545 Hamlet never becomes king, so she never becomes queen. 229 00:21:14,81.82545 --> 00:21:18,521.82545 But here they get to ditch the clowns, get the crown. 230 00:21:19,571.82545 --> 00:21:23,411.82545 The crown is a crowning achievement or crowning glory. 231 00:21:23,411.82545 --> 00:21:26,291.82545 So we have the chain, the crown, and now the vine. 232 00:21:26,291.82545 --> 00:21:30,191.82545 The vine reminds us of Ivy, your house of my house of stone. 233 00:21:30,191.82545 --> 00:21:32,681.82545 Your ivy grows, and now I'm covered in you. 234 00:21:33,866.82545 --> 00:21:38,966.82545 He called her on the megaphone and slowly invaded her heart and her soul. 235 00:21:38,966.82545 --> 00:21:45,296.82545 He's grown on her, and now he envelops all of her and pulls her out of this purgatory. 236 00:21:46,601.82545 --> 00:21:55,1.82545 Then there's the fire that the crown and the chain and the vine pull her into, which of course references the pyro metaphor from the first verse. 237 00:21:55,271.82545 --> 00:22:05,171.82545 So what is the fire? I think here is where we need to look at the whole of the Taylor Swift universe, because she mentions fire a lot. 238 00:22:05,171.82545 --> 00:22:08,861.82545 In the past, there's been sparks flying in excitement and chemistry. 239 00:22:08,861.82545 --> 00:22:13,991.82545 There's been the fire of metaphorical death and rebirth always rising. 240 00:22:13,991.82545 --> 00:22:21,851.82545 From the ashes, uh, from sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes, there's been fire that burns everything to the ground. 241 00:22:22,211.82545 --> 00:22:26,321.82545 Uh, like in Dear John, I took your matches before fire could catch me. 242 00:22:27,311.82545 --> 00:22:29,171.82545 There's, they're burning all the witches. 243 00:22:29,171.82545 --> 00:22:30,431.82545 Even if you aren't one. 244 00:22:30,986.82545 --> 00:22:39,566.82545 Um, if I'm on fire, you'll be made of ashes too, but none of these quite fit with the fire that she's describing here. 245 00:22:40,346.82545 --> 00:22:53,156.82545 And if we look at the fire heart emoji that was used in the marketing of this album, that to me means that fire is part of the color coded universe that she's created. 246 00:22:53,156.82545 --> 00:23:01,346.82545 You know where each album has its own color? This album, we could say it's orange, but they're using the fire heart emoji. 247 00:23:01,346.82545 --> 00:23:03,536.82545 They're not using the orange heart emoji. 248 00:23:05,51.82545 --> 00:23:09,401.82545 In my view, fire is the updated version of Red. 249 00:23:10,121.82545 --> 00:23:15,701.82545 First, loving Him was red, where red meant passion and excitement and intensity. 250 00:23:16,151.82545 --> 00:23:21,641.82545 Then red morphed into the darker and more depressing shade of Maroon. 251 00:23:22,361.82545 --> 00:23:23,831.82545 So Scarlet, it was maroon. 252 00:23:23,831.82545 --> 00:23:25,1.82545 That means it's regret. 253 00:23:25,31.82545 --> 00:23:26,561.82545 It's a stain on her soul. 254 00:23:27,521.82545 --> 00:23:30,281.82545 Here, the new version of red is fire. 255 00:23:30,311.82545 --> 00:23:33,41.82545 It's bright, it's intense, it's spicy, it's hot. 256 00:23:34,226.82545 --> 00:23:39,476.82545 And he's the pyro who lights up her life without burning it to the ground. 257 00:23:40,796.82545 --> 00:23:45,926.82545 Hopefully the chorus and the post chorus repeat word for word. 258 00:23:46,16.82545 --> 00:23:46,706.82545 All that time. 259 00:23:46,706.82545 --> 00:23:48,896.82545 I sat alone in my tower and keep it 100. 260 00:23:49,721.82545 --> 00:23:56,381.82545 This is a common structure for Taylor on this album, but not so much in her previous modern albums. 261 00:23:56,501.82545 --> 00:24:11,381.82545 It makes sense as she is leaning more pop on this album, and it is a very traditional pop structure to have so much repetition, but repetition, just like in poetry, in lyrics, repetition plays a role too. 262 00:24:12,191.82545 --> 00:24:14,591.82545 It points us to what she's emphasizing. 263 00:24:15,731.82545 --> 00:24:17,441.82545 Then we reach the bridge. 264 00:24:18,101.82545 --> 00:24:21,521.82545 Tis locked inside my memory and only you possess the key. 265 00:24:22,511.82545 --> 00:24:29,51.82545 This is a deeply loaded line with references to both her previous work and to Hamlet itself. 266 00:24:29,831.82545 --> 00:24:41,951.82545 In the text of Hamlet, this line is found in Act one, scene three, in which Ophelia's brother is warning her not to trust Hamlet and his promises of love as they say goodbye. 267 00:24:42,131.82545 --> 00:24:45,281.82545 He makes her swear to remember his words of caution. 268 00:24:46,141.82545 --> 00:24:48,581.82545 Laertes says, farewell Ophelia. 269 00:24:48,581.82545 --> 00:24:54,971.82545 And remember well, what I have said to you, Ophelia replies, 'Tis in my memory, locked. 270 00:24:55,361.82545 --> 00:24:57,821.82545 And you yourself shall keep the key of it. 271 00:24:58,871.82545 --> 00:25:06,41.82545 So Ophelia's brother is saying, remember what I told you? And Ophelia replies, of course I will remember. 272 00:25:06,341.82545 --> 00:25:08,921.82545 It is a secret only between us. 273 00:25:10,331.82545 --> 00:25:13,701.82545 So Taylor has modernized the phrasing but kept the 'tis. 274 00:25:13,731.82545 --> 00:25:19,421.82545 So instead of 'tis in my memory, locked, it's 'tis locked inside my memory. 275 00:25:20,411.82545 --> 00:25:23,381.82545 This could mean a similar sentiment as in Hamlet. 276 00:25:23,411.82545 --> 00:25:30,761.82545 Like this is a secret or a code only Between us and only we know what goes on inside our partnership. 277 00:25:31,646.82545 --> 00:25:39,536.82545 But it could also mean something quite different, and that's because there is another key in the Taylor Swift universe in, I hate it here. 278 00:25:39,536.82545 --> 00:25:40,886.82545 She says, I hate it here. 279 00:25:40,886.82545 --> 00:25:42,896.82545 So I will go to secret gardens. 280 00:25:42,926.82545 --> 00:25:45,716.82545 In my mind, people need a key to get to. 281 00:25:46,256.82545 --> 00:25:47,486.82545 The only one is mine. 282 00:25:48,641.82545 --> 00:25:59,891.82545 In that song, the key represents a locked secret fantasy world, like Ophelia lived in fantasy, where she finds her happiness amidst the chaos of everyday life. 283 00:26:00,581.82545 --> 00:26:07,721.82545 It's a place only for her, so what's locked inside her memory could be the sacred nature of what they have. 284 00:26:08,261.82545 --> 00:26:14,306.82545 Only he has the key to her heart because he's been the only one to fully unlock her. 285 00:26:15,26.82545 --> 00:26:22,766.82545 Her secret garden is now not only hers, but it's theirs together, and then she gives us another clue. 286 00:26:23,186.82545 --> 00:26:27,386.82545 No longer drowning and deceived all because you came for me. 287 00:26:28,676.82545 --> 00:26:36,836.82545 This makes it feel that what's locked inside her memory is that moment where her fates diverged. 288 00:26:37,646.82545 --> 00:26:51,566.82545 She could have drowned in purgatory, or she could have been lifted up and tossed into the fire of real love, and that is exactly ophelia's fate to drown in deception and to drown from deception. 289 00:26:53,246.82545 --> 00:26:59,6.82545 The key feels like to me, it's the moment that he swooped in at the rescue. 290 00:26:59,756.82545 --> 00:27:02,696.82545 He wasn't just any rescuer passing by. 291 00:27:02,696.82545 --> 00:27:07,616.82545 He was the key to her lock, the exact right fit. 292 00:27:08,696.82545 --> 00:27:19,346.82545 And in so many ways, this rescuer who has the only key to her lock is the polar opposite of Hamlet, he's going to keep it 100. 293 00:27:19,556.82545 --> 00:27:36,116.82545 Unlike lover's past, who would only gaslight and ghost Hamlet's vibes too are just crazy town and this new person's vibes are fire locked inside my memory and only you possess the key repeats again. 294 00:27:36,176.82545 --> 00:27:41,816.82545 So it reinforces that there's this secret place or secret thought that only the two of them share. 295 00:27:43,1.82545 --> 00:27:51,491.82545 Remember how special this is she's saying to herself, because you have known the opposite and you nearly drowned in melancholy because of it. 296 00:27:53,81.82545 --> 00:27:56,111.82545 No longer drowning and deceived all because you came for me. 297 00:27:56,111.82545 --> 00:28:00,366.82545 She repeats this again at the end of the bridge, suddenly when she least expected. 298 00:28:01,451.82545 --> 00:28:09,311.82545 Everything has changed the song and this album is really dealing with this two roads diverged in a yellow wood of it all. 299 00:28:09,701.82545 --> 00:28:18,731.82545 What could have been what is now and how past and present converge to put you in the exact right place at the exact right time. 300 00:28:19,871.82545 --> 00:28:21,71.82545 It's not just about fate. 301 00:28:21,281.82545 --> 00:28:26,741.82545 It's wondering what wasn't fated and why and how it wasn't fated. 302 00:28:28,16.82545 --> 00:28:38,456.82545 But then there's also this duality within herself that she's grappling with that's not as obvious on this track, but will become really apparent in the songs to come. 303 00:28:38,456.82545 --> 00:28:47,6.82545 All that time I sat alone in my tower, uh, she repeats this in the final chorus, and that repeats all word for word. 304 00:28:47,36.82545 --> 00:28:51,446.82545 And with the repetition, it begins to remind us of another similar line from exile. 305 00:28:52,781.82545 --> 00:28:55,991.82545 All this time we always walked a very thin line. 306 00:28:56,51.82545 --> 00:28:57,341.82545 You didn't even hear me out. 307 00:28:57,881.82545 --> 00:28:59,801.82545 You never gave a warning sign. 308 00:29:00,821.82545 --> 00:29:10,301.82545 That incredible track exile from folklore is a conversation between two ex lovers who are in a stalemate and they will never understand one another. 309 00:29:10,841.82545 --> 00:29:17,981.82545 All that time with other people who would only eventually leave her to the fate of Ophelia. 310 00:29:18,701.82545 --> 00:29:20,861.82545 This magical love was right around the corner. 311 00:29:22,646.82545 --> 00:29:29,306.82545 But as she says, in invisible string time, curious time, gave me no compasses, gave me no signs. 312 00:29:30,746.82545 --> 00:29:33,686.82545 They say you'll find love when you stop looking for it. 313 00:29:34,646.82545 --> 00:29:45,236.82545 Or maybe once you actually listen to your brother Laertes and realize that you can't trust everyone in love, you'll finally learn the lesson that will lead you out of the water and into the fire. 314 00:29:46,496.82545 --> 00:29:50,396.82545 The rest of the chorus repeats with only the outro varying from the rest. 315 00:29:50,846.82545 --> 00:29:53,456.82545 You saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia. 316 00:29:53,456.82545 --> 00:29:59,456.82545 Repetition is of course used to bring attention to central themes and messages, and here it's heart. 317 00:29:59,516.82545 --> 00:30:00,896.82545 That's the most noticeable. 318 00:30:02,306.82545 --> 00:30:05,96.82545 Physically, would she have succumbed to the fate of Ophelia? No. 319 00:30:05,741.82545 --> 00:30:18,671.82545 But would her heart have metaphorically died of madness and melancholy after let down, after let down promises, broken castles, crumbled and jokers dressing up as kings, maybe. 320 00:30:19,361.82545 --> 00:30:25,691.82545 But that's all in the past because no matter what happens with this new love, she finally believes in it again. 321 00:30:26,321.82545 --> 00:30:33,251.82545 She can see it all, what's possible, what's right for her, and what a real partner feels like. 322 00:30:34,541.82545 --> 00:30:43,181.82545 On the cover of this album, she's head barely above water in a bathtub in full showgirl garb, but she won't drown there. 323 00:30:43,631.82545 --> 00:30:52,751.82545 And though the trappings of the showgirl life are heavy, just like Ophelia's gown, she now knows that she doesn't have to succumb to the melancholy. 324 00:30:52,751.82545 --> 00:30:53,861.82545 That's it for track one. 325 00:30:53,861.82545 --> 00:31:02,921.82545 The The Fate of Ophelia and if you found this insightful or entertaining or just wanna keep geeking out about Taylor Swift with me, please click all the buttons that do all the things. 326 00:31:02,921.82545 --> 00:31:06,611.82545 I am just starting this channel and it really, really helps. 327 00:31:06,851.82545 --> 00:31:07,751.82545 Anything you can do. 328 00:31:08,831.82545 --> 00:31:10,571.82545 Stay tuned for my next episode. 329 00:31:10,691.82545 --> 00:31:12,761.82545 Where are we are gonna dive into track two. 330 00:31:12,911.82545 --> 00:31:17,621.82545 Elizabeth Taylor, do you think it's forever? See you next time. 331 00:31:17,621.82545 --> 00:31:19,931.82545 That's it for this chapter of Swiftly Sung Stories. 332 00:31:19,991.82545 --> 00:31:23,711.82545 If you enjoyed this deep dive, please don't forget to follow, subscribe, or leave a review. 333 00:31:23,771.82545 --> 00:31:25,811.82545 It helps other Swifties find their way here. 334 00:31:25,961.82545 --> 00:31:28,781.82545 I'm Jen and I had a marvelous time reading everything with you. 335 00:31:28,901.82545 --> 00:31:29,411.82545 See you next time.
Hey everyone.
(00:00):
Welcome back to the Swiftly Song Stories podcast.
I'm Jen.
I am your Swiftie English teacher, and today we are tackling track one of my track by track analysis of the life of a showgirl.
We're diving straight into the fate of Ophelia.
If you missed my last episode where I analyzed Taylor's prologue poem from the album, you might wanna go back and check that out 'cause it lays a lot of groundwork for understanding the themes that Taylor's really getting at in these lyrics.
(00:25):
uh, just to quickly let you know, and then we're getting right into the meat of the episode.
All of this content is available on my website if you want the text version with annotated lyrics, it is all there linked in the show notes.
And if you're watching this on YouTube, you can also find me wherever you get your podcasts and vice versa.
Okay, let's roll straight into the fate of Ophelia line by line. 11 00:00:48,40.825449972 --> 00:00:53,740.825449972 Welcome to swiftly sung Stories where we unpack the Taylor Swift Universe one era album and lyric at a time. 12 00:00:53,920.825449972 --> 00:00:58,240.825449972 Think of it like English class, but it's all Taylor Swift and none of the boring stuff. 13 00:00:58,690.825449972 --> 00:01:04,90.825449972 I'm Jen, your Swifty English teacher and classes in session, so come on in and meet me in the margins. 14 00:01:04,326.825449972 --> 00:01:07,86.825449972 The first thing we have to do is talk about the hamlet of it all. 15 00:01:07,236.825449972 --> 00:01:09,276.825449972 So the central metaphor is right there. 16 00:01:09,276.825449972 --> 00:01:15,756.825449972 It's in the title, the Fate of Ophelia, and Ophelia is of course one of the tragic characters in Hamlet. 17 00:01:15,816.825449972 --> 00:01:22,446.825449972 So here's just a super quick condensed cliffs notes about what you need to know about Ophelia in Hamlet. 18 00:01:23,421.825449972 --> 00:01:24,801.825449972 The tragedy of Hamlet. 19 00:01:24,801.825449972 --> 00:01:28,581.825449972 Prince of Denmark is one of William Shakespeare's most well-known plays. 20 00:01:29,1.825449972 --> 00:01:36,621.825449972 Hamlet is obviously a prince and his father, the king dies and there's this shady scramble for the throne. 21 00:01:37,191.825449972 --> 00:01:41,1.82544997 Then a ghost appears to hamlet and says that the king was murdered. 22 00:01:41,741.82544997 --> 00:01:48,701.82544997 Hamlet devises this plot to pretend that he is insane in order to find out what really happened to his father. 23 00:01:49,661.82544997 --> 00:02:01,391.82544997 Ophelia, who is also in this court of, you know, high status families, is kind of in love with Hamlet and he seems to be courting her kind of before all this goes down. 24 00:02:01,841.82544997 --> 00:02:11,206.82544997 But then Hamlet goes off his rocker and just starts messing with her mind, and he decides that this insanity will somehow get to the truth. 25 00:02:12,256.82544997 --> 00:02:22,126.82544997 Ophelia is obviously alarmed and tries to tell everyone that Hamlet is totally gone insane, but everyone in the court is just like, oh, he's just crazy in love with you and she. 26 00:02:22,126.82544997 --> 00:02:25,426.82544997 They tell her she's being dramatic and she's overreacting. 27 00:02:25,906.82544997 --> 00:02:30,556.82544997 It's basically the Elizabethan version of he just picks on you because he likes you. 28 00:02:31,636.82544997 --> 00:02:41,746.82544997 Then the families start exploiting Hamlet and Ophelia's relationship to find out what Hamlet knows about his father's death and what his revenge plot is gonna be. 29 00:02:42,571.82544997 --> 00:02:45,481.82544997 And so Ophelia is really just a pawn in this game. 30 00:02:45,481.82544997 --> 00:02:47,431.82544997 She's being manipulated by everyone. 31 00:02:47,791.82544997 --> 00:02:55,141.82544997 She approaches Hamlet about all of this, and he essentially tells her that she's crazy for ever believing that he would love her. 32 00:02:55,891.82544997 --> 00:03:02,821.82544997 Then Hamlet kills Ophelia's father by accident, but still, then Ophelia goes mad for real, not pretending. 33 00:03:03,301.82544997 --> 00:03:10,266.82544997 She wanders around singing and handing out symbolic flowers and then drowns under a weeping willow tree. 34 00:03:11,806.82544997 --> 00:03:17,566.82544997 Now in the text, it's unclear if she intentionally offed herself or if it was an accidental drowning. 35 00:03:18,106.82544997 --> 00:03:23,836.82544997 But the moral of the story is Ophelia died after being manipulated by a bunch of men. 36 00:03:24,436.82544997 --> 00:03:27,856.82544997 It doesn't really matter how it ends for Hamlet for our purposes. 37 00:03:27,856.82544997 --> 00:03:28,666.82544997 that that's it. 38 00:03:28,816.82544997 --> 00:03:31,6.82544997 The end, that's Hamlet. 39 00:03:31,396.82544997 --> 00:03:37,446.82544997 That's the central metaphor, the fate of Ophelia is to lose her mind after a bunch of gaslighting. 40 00:03:38,76.82544997 --> 00:03:40,56.82544997 Alright, let's get into the lyrics. 41 00:03:40,56.82544997 --> 00:03:51,996.82544997 Quick disclaimer, I only discuss Taylor's personal life in my lyrical analysis when it's essential to understanding the text or when it really helps us put these lyrics into context. 42 00:03:52,596.82544997 --> 00:03:55,686.82544997 But overall, I'm not here to discover what Taylor Swift did. 43 00:03:55,686.82544997 --> 00:03:59,556.82544997 I'm trying to discover what the art does and what the writing does. 44 00:04:00,306.82544997 --> 00:04:06,726.82544997 Also, I'm dissecting Taylor's lyrics through my lens and my opinion, and that doesn't have to be your lens and your opinion. 45 00:04:07,386.82544997 --> 00:04:11,166.82544997 All art is subjective and it means different things to different people. 46 00:04:11,196.82544997 --> 00:04:21,456.82544997 So in this analysis, I'm not gonna say it's fact or correct, I'm just here to point out different interpretations so you can take what you like and leave the rest. 47 00:04:21,876.82544997 --> 00:04:28,656.82544997 I'm not gonna say this is my opinion before every sentence because this, this is just my blanket, this is all my opinion. 48 00:04:29,76.82544997 --> 00:04:29,976.82544997 Alright, let's go. 49 00:04:29,976.82544997 --> 00:04:30,366.82544997 Okay. 50 00:04:30,366.82544997 --> 00:04:31,416.82544997 Start of the first verse. 51 00:04:31,416.82544997 --> 00:04:33,756.82544997 I heard you calling on the megaphone. 52 00:04:33,906.82544997 --> 00:04:38,166.82544997 She's beginning the first track of the album and starting her new era. 53 00:04:38,736.82544997 --> 00:04:45,636.82544997 We're in the present tense and we're looking back at the past and she's setting up backstory for our narrator character. 54 00:04:46,221.82544997 --> 00:04:51,621.82544997 Yes, this is probably a metaphor for Travis Kelsey's podcast, new Heights. 55 00:04:52,311.82544997 --> 00:04:55,251.82544997 That could be the megaphone that gets her attention. 56 00:04:56,106.82544997 --> 00:05:01,926.82544997 And we've also seen a lot of megaphone imagery in this album promotion, and even in the merch. 57 00:05:02,466.82544997 --> 00:05:06,576.82544997 But the point is that this isn't a quiet call or a text. 58 00:05:06,636.82544997 --> 00:05:11,826.82544997 It is a shout as if from the universe or maybe a siren song. 59 00:05:12,426.82544997 --> 00:05:16,231.82544997 And that siren imagery is also reflected in the music video in the ship scene. 60 00:05:17,601.82544997 --> 00:05:23,181.82544997 You wanna see me all alone? So she hears the subject beckon from this megaphone. 61 00:05:23,181.82544997 --> 00:05:26,271.82544997 He wants to see the girl behind the show. 62 00:05:26,691.82544997 --> 00:05:30,291.82544997 He wants to see it without all the pomp and circumstance and costume. 63 00:05:30,891.82544997 --> 00:05:36,561.82544997 While most are there for the showgirl, he's there for the human being stripped down and bare bones. 64 00:05:36,611.82544997 --> 00:05:37,691.82544997 and legend has it. 65 00:05:37,691.82544997 --> 00:05:41,201.82544997 You are quite the pyro, she says, of his reputation. 66 00:05:41,591.82544997 --> 00:05:42,371.82544997 You light the match. 67 00:05:43,76.82544997 --> 00:05:44,186.82544997 Just to watch it blow. 68 00:05:45,116.82544997 --> 00:05:51,266.82544997 He has a habit of lighting fires for the hell of it, which could have a few different metaphorical meanings. 69 00:05:51,356.82544997 --> 00:05:53,66.82544997 One, he's a ladies man. 70 00:05:53,156.82544997 --> 00:05:59,906.82544997 He flirts and turns on the charm just 'cause he can igniting sparks of chemistry willy-nilly. 71 00:06:01,101.82544997 --> 00:06:13,6.82544997 The second interpretation is that he's a bad boy and tends to burn down his relationships with abandon, but as we learn in the prologue poems, he's reckless, but never with your heart. 72 00:06:14,6.82544997 --> 00:06:18,506.82544997 Assuming this is talking about the same relationship, that interpretation is unlikely. 73 00:06:19,256.82544997 --> 00:06:28,256.82544997 But the final and the most likely interpretation is that his reputation precedes him in bed, and we'll learn that in the later track Wood. 74 00:06:28,256.82544997 --> 00:06:31,286.82544997 He lives up to his name in that department. 75 00:06:32,681.82544997 --> 00:06:39,221.82544997 And if you'd never come from me, she says, this is in the first pre-course, I might have drowned in the melancholy. 76 00:06:40,211.82544997 --> 00:06:41,741.82544997 Here's where Hamlet comes into play. 77 00:06:42,161.82544997 --> 00:06:50,51.82544997 She's saying that if this new person hadn't called out for her, come to get her, she may have drowned in the melancholy like Ophelia did. 78 00:06:50,591.82544997 --> 00:06:57,431.82544997 Now, this isn't a literal drowning, of course it's metaphorical, but Ophelia died after essentially being gaslit by everyone. 79 00:06:57,476.82544997 --> 00:06:58,346.82544997 In her life. 80 00:06:59,96.82544997 --> 00:07:03,56.82544997 Hamlet says he never loved her and she was crazy to think he did. 81 00:07:03,356.82544997 --> 00:07:06,506.82544997 That's what she's comparing previous relationships to. 82 00:07:06,506.82544997 --> 00:07:09,86.82544997 It's the manipulation of Ophelia. 83 00:07:10,616.82544997 --> 00:07:12,641.82544997 I swore my loyalty to me, myself, and I. 84 00:07:14,276.82544997 --> 00:07:20,606.82544997 And this is where her priorities lay before he arrived, right before you lit my sky up. 85 00:07:21,116.82544997 --> 00:07:26,636.82544997 So this once again is paralleling Ophelia's world where she doesn't know who she can trust. 86 00:07:26,696.82544997 --> 00:07:35,606.82544997 In Ophelia's case, she's been so manipulated that she doesn't even know if she can trust herself and she loses her mind in grief and confusion. 87 00:07:35,606.82544997 --> 00:07:37,191.82544997 But Taylor stands on. 88 00:07:37,606.82544997 --> 00:07:48,196.82544997 Sturdier ground and after her last try at love, she decides she's just better off on her own rather than to submit herself to more heartbreak. 89 00:07:48,466.82544997 --> 00:07:52,186.82544997 She's been burned so many times that she's better off alone. 90 00:07:52,996.82544997 --> 00:07:57,976.82544997 But then the pyro enters stage left and lit my sky up. 91 00:07:58,61.82544997 --> 00:08:05,321.82544997 We will see another reference to cheerful skies in Opalite Here's the chorus. 92 00:08:05,321.82544997 --> 00:08:08,111.82544997 All that time I sat alone in my tower. 93 00:08:09,11.82544997 --> 00:08:13,841.82544997 Now the choice of tower is a loaded word in Taylor's universe. 94 00:08:13,901.82544997 --> 00:08:21,791.82544997 She has a long running fairytale metaphor that she uses in several songs, stretching throughout her discography. 95 00:08:22,571.82544997 --> 00:08:23,411.82544997 And this is the metaphor. 96 00:08:23,411.82544997 --> 00:08:25,961.82544997 It's her career as her kingdom. 97 00:08:26,871.82544997 --> 00:08:32,661.82544997 This started in Long Live, which is a song about her performing on stage with her band. 98 00:08:32,871.82544997 --> 00:08:38,931.82544997 And in that song she says, we were the kings and queens and how the kingdom lights shine just for me and you. 99 00:08:39,561.82544997 --> 00:08:41,931.82544997 I had the time of my life fighting dragons with you. 100 00:08:42,681.82544997 --> 00:08:46,461.82544997 Later on in, call it what you want, she shares a similar metaphor. 101 00:08:46,461.82544997 --> 00:08:48,261.82544997 My castle crumbled overnight. 102 00:08:48,861.82544997 --> 00:08:50,691.82544997 They took the crown, but it's all right. 103 00:08:51,386.82544997 --> 00:08:58,676.82544997 There's the entirety of the Bejeweled music video where the castle and the crown could represent her position in the industry. 104 00:08:58,676.82544997 --> 00:09:10,256.82544997 And there's so many more, but it's just important to note that my tower isn't an unusual metaphor in the TS universe, and she even talks about it in the prologue for this album. 105 00:09:10,256.82544997 --> 00:09:28,166.82544997 But, and I think this is where some of the controversy is coming in, hasn't Taylor's entire lesson about the fairytale ending as she's written about several times, um, think about Whitehorse, where there is no prince charming. 106 00:09:28,166.82544997 --> 00:09:29,576.82544997 There is no one coming. 107 00:09:30,536.82544997 --> 00:09:34,856.82544997 Isn't the her entire thing that she'll have to rescue herself. 108 00:09:36,41.82544997 --> 00:09:55,151.82544997 Yeah, so I wanna dig into this a little bit because it feels off brand, right? Like I think this is where a, a lot of the initial controversy is stemming from, because this was the single, it feels like she's saying she is the princess being rescued by a prince. 109 00:09:56,106.82544997 --> 00:09:56,326.82544997 So. 110 00:09:57,206.82544997 --> 00:10:11,271.82544997 To look at this, I think it helps to look at other songs where she's discussed similar themes and she also referenced Shakespeare and being rescued in love story in that track from Fearless, she rewrites the fates of Romeo and Juliet. 111 00:10:11,946.82544997 --> 00:10:13,176.82544997 Into a Happily ever After. 112 00:10:13,596.82544997 --> 00:10:19,26.82544997 But her version of Juliet in Love story is more helpless and much more in need of rescue. 113 00:10:19,26.82544997 --> 00:10:20,586.82544997 She says, Romeo saved me. 114 00:10:20,766.82544997 --> 00:10:21,846.82544997 I've been feeling so alone. 115 00:10:21,846.82544997 --> 00:10:23,346.82544997 I keep waiting, but you never come. 116 00:10:24,216.82544997 --> 00:10:28,176.82544997 In the fate of Ophelia, the damsel isn't exactly in distress. 117 00:10:28,296.82544997 --> 00:10:30,486.82544997 She's pledged to be okay on her own. 118 00:10:31,146.82544997 --> 00:10:33,156.82544997 I swarm my loyalty to me, myself, and I. 119 00:10:34,326.82544997 --> 00:10:39,546.82544997 So if Love Story says I can't live without you, I think the fate of Ophelia says. 120 00:10:40,226.82544997 --> 00:10:43,856.82544997 I can live without you, but I don't want to. 121 00:10:45,86.82544997 --> 00:10:46,946.82544997 There's two ways to look at this. 122 00:10:46,946.82544997 --> 00:10:49,16.82544997 There's with context and without context. 123 00:10:49,16.82544997 --> 00:11:08,576.82544997 If we look strictly at the lyrics, yes, she's being rescued by a prince, but if we take into consideration what she's most likely singing about Travis Kelsey, who is now her fiance, then we also have to take into consideration if this is a real rescue scenario and. 124 00:11:09,86.82544997 --> 00:11:13,886.82544997 It's not, she could literally buy and sell him 10 times over. 125 00:11:14,96.82544997 --> 00:11:17,766.82544997 She could date or marry pretty much anyone she wanted to. 126 00:11:18,666.82544997 --> 00:11:28,266.82544997 So what she's really talking about is an emotional rescue that he's brought her heart back to life after it became cold and hard. 127 00:11:28,316.82544997 --> 00:11:35,966.82544997 One of the major themes of this album is how lonely this mega celebrity life can be when everyone has ulterior motives. 128 00:11:36,536.82544997 --> 00:11:37,796.82544997 For being in your life. 129 00:11:38,396.82544997 --> 00:11:41,576.82544997 So this tower, I sat alone in my tower. 130 00:11:42,266.82544997 --> 00:11:49,586.82544997 I think it's both the pedestal of fame and the isolation she needs to live in in order to protect herself. 131 00:11:50,246.82544997 --> 00:11:55,256.82544997 But does it also, no matter the context and no matter the intention, feel a little. 132 00:11:56,366.82544997 --> 00:11:59,366.82544997 Off brand and a little icky in the context of 2025. 133 00:11:59,396.82544997 --> 00:12:06,26.82544997 Yes, you can read this as, I'm just a poor billionaire, lonely in my castle. 134 00:12:06,416.82544997 --> 00:12:12,656.82544997 Or you can read it as I was so melancholy from past heartbreaks and I thought that it would never end. 135 00:12:12,836.82544997 --> 00:12:17,876.82544997 But it did end because I met you and you were finally the right person for me. 136 00:12:18,416.82544997 --> 00:12:20,246.82544997 Of course there's other interpretations too. 137 00:12:20,246.82544997 --> 00:12:21,746.82544997 It doesn't have to be one or the other. 138 00:12:21,746.82544997 --> 00:12:24,416.82544997 It can be yes and okay. 139 00:12:24,506.82544997 --> 00:12:24,716.82544997 That was. 140 00:12:25,196.82544997 --> 00:12:26,276.82544997 Super long diversion. 141 00:12:26,276.82544997 --> 00:12:26,966.82544997 Let's keep going. 142 00:12:28,436.82544997 --> 00:12:35,966.82544997 So while our princess is alone in her handcrafted kingdom, you were just honing your powers. 143 00:12:36,536.82544997 --> 00:12:43,46.82544997 So he's not only a white knight, he's also a magician or a wizard or superhero of some sort. 144 00:12:43,106.82544997 --> 00:12:48,626.82544997 He has what she's alluding to, a kind of magic power of presence. 145 00:12:49,196.82544997 --> 00:12:56,816.82544997 In the context of pyro, however, this could just mean he was honing his powers in the bedroom to seduce her. 146 00:12:58,286.82544997 --> 00:12:59,846.82544997 Now I can see it all. 147 00:13:00,326.82544997 --> 00:13:11,756.82544997 She says, she's finally glimpsing what's possible in life and in love, and this recalls a line from daylight and I can still see it all in my mind, all of you, all of me intertwined. 148 00:13:12,236.82544997 --> 00:13:15,896.82544997 I once believed love would be black and white, but it's golden. 149 00:13:15,896.82544997 --> 00:13:22,496.82544997 I think her new color of love, which started as red and then morphed into Golden. 150 00:13:23,66.82544997 --> 00:13:27,56.82544997 I think her new color of love metaphor is fire. 151 00:13:27,566.82544997 --> 00:13:30,626.82544997 That, that's my theory, but we'll get into that later on. 152 00:13:30,626.82544997 --> 00:13:35,546.82544997 Again, zooming out and taking in the view, now I can see it all. 153 00:13:36,536.82544997 --> 00:13:41,426.82544997 She sees what the agony had been for, it was leading her here. 154 00:13:41,426.82544997 --> 00:13:46,466.82544997 Late one night, you dug me outta my grave and saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia. 155 00:13:46,676.82544997 --> 00:13:48,356.82544997 So here's our central metaphor. 156 00:13:48,476.82544997 --> 00:13:54,26.82544997 Said for the first time, he's brought her back to life from metaphorical death. 157 00:13:54,56.82544997 --> 00:14:02,786.82544997 But the grave metaphor can't help but remind us of the last time that she mentioned one, which was in so long London, two graves, one gun. 158 00:14:03,986.82544997 --> 00:14:07,616.82544997 But what's the next line of that song? You'll find someone. 159 00:14:09,566.82544997 --> 00:14:15,596.82544997 What's most important to note about this is that she doesn't say, you saved me from the fate of Ophelia. 160 00:14:15,596.82544997 --> 00:14:18,506.82544997 It's, you saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia. 161 00:14:18,926.82544997 --> 00:14:25,466.82544997 So in the play, Ophelia's heart is broken by Hamlet and by others in her life taking advantage of her. 162 00:14:26,336.82544997 --> 00:14:37,76.82544997 I think what she's saying is that this magician, if he hadn't come into her life or entered her life, her heart would've stayed cold, not knowing who she could trust. 163 00:14:37,826.82544997 --> 00:14:46,166.82544997 He's brought back her faith and love and this emotional rescue is, is really the metaphor that the song centers on. 164 00:14:47,966.82544997 --> 00:14:48,896.82544997 She continues. 165 00:14:49,136.82544997 --> 00:14:52,256.82544997 Keep it 100 on the land, the sea, the sky. 166 00:14:53,36.82544997 --> 00:15:02,156.82544997 This is, I have since learned a popular Kelsey catchphrase, so to keep it 100 means to stay authentic and genuine. 167 00:15:02,156.82544997 --> 00:15:07,586.82544997 And she encourages both of them to do that in this new romance. 168 00:15:07,586.82544997 --> 00:15:09,266.82544997 No matter where they are. 169 00:15:09,356.82544997 --> 00:15:11,126.82544997 Stay true to themselves. 170 00:15:12,581.82544997 --> 00:15:29,501.82544997 Is it kind of a weird, modern phrase to use in a song that also references Hamlet? Yeah, but if you wanna dig into it, you could say that she's juxtaposing Old and New Death and Rebirth, which is another central theme in this album, and of many of her albums. 171 00:15:30,761.82544997 --> 00:15:36,701.82544997 But it's keep it 100 on the land, the sea, the sky when added to pyro. 172 00:15:36,941.82544997 --> 00:15:41,411.82544997 That gives us all of the elements, earth, air, fire, water. 173 00:15:42,41.82544997 --> 00:15:46,811.82544997 But it also reminds us of the famous one, if by land two if by sea. 174 00:15:47,346.82544997 --> 00:15:58,176.82544997 From Longfellow's famous poem, uh, Paul Revere's Ride, this evokes this kind of Americana vibe that is going to continue in the next line. 175 00:15:59,76.82544997 --> 00:16:02,586.82544997 Pledge allegiance to your hands, your team, your vibes. 176 00:16:02,966.82544997 --> 00:16:09,26.82544997 This also conjures this sort of all American verbiage with the Pledge of Allegiance. 177 00:16:09,686.82544997 --> 00:16:26,336.82544997 She promises loyalty to everything about him from his body to his team, which is either his football team or his metaphorical team, his family, his inner circle, and she pledges loyalty to his positive vibes. 178 00:16:26,861.82544997 --> 00:16:34,211.82544997 His vibes are the optimistic antidote that our Ophelia needed to counteract her melancholy. 179 00:16:35,501.82544997 --> 00:16:38,411.82544997 Don't care where the hell you've been, 'cause now you're mine. 180 00:16:38,411.82544997 --> 00:16:46,961.82545 She says she's disregarding who he may have been dating before or why it took him so long to find her, or for them to find each other. 181 00:16:47,741.82545 --> 00:16:50,621.82545 It's about to be the sleepless night you've been dreaming of. 182 00:16:51,716.82545 --> 00:17:01,316.82545 She's trading in the sleepless nights of midnights and the torture Poets department for a steamier and happier midnight pastime. 183 00:17:02,156.82545 --> 00:17:13,796.82545 The rest of the album is full of similar sexual innuendo, and it's the most blatantly steamy Taylor has ever been, but it's also the most blatantly optimistic Taylor has ever been. 184 00:17:13,976.82545 --> 00:17:25,391.82545 Does one have anything to do with the other? Who knows? The fate of Ophelia repeats at the end of the course, which emphasizes as all repetition does what she wants us to pay attention to. 185 00:17:26,51.82545 --> 00:17:29,111.82545 She's rewriting the ending for this tragic character. 186 00:17:29,111.82545 --> 00:17:31,871.82545 She's also rewriting the ending for herself. 187 00:17:33,731.82545 --> 00:17:34,451.82545 Verse two. 188 00:17:34,451.82545 --> 00:17:41,831.82545 The eldest daughter of a nobleman Ophelia lived in fantasy in the text of Hamlet. 189 00:17:41,921.82545 --> 00:17:53,681.82545 We don't get to find out if Ophelia is older or younger than her brother Laertes, but eldest daughter just means the oldest girl, and we do kind of get the sense that she is the oldest girl in this family. 190 00:17:54,641.82545 --> 00:18:03,521.82545 Eldest daughter, of course, name checks track five on the album, and that track explores the responsibility that is instilled in us eldest daughters. 191 00:18:04,361.82545 --> 00:18:08,231.82545 But I think what she's getting at here is that she has it all. 192 00:18:09,251.82545 --> 00:18:13,1.82545 She's the eldest daughter of a nobleman, but she lives in fantasy. 193 00:18:13,1.82545 --> 00:18:18,581.82545 She's privileged like Ophelia, and is in her own way, the eldest daughter of a nobleman. 194 00:18:19,181.82545 --> 00:18:22,61.82545 While she might have a fantasy life from the outside. 195 00:18:22,496.82545 --> 00:18:25,406.82545 She lives in fantasy on the inside. 196 00:18:26,396.82545 --> 00:18:31,286.82545 This, of course, reminds us of, I hate it here, so I will go to secret gardens. 197 00:18:31,316.82545 --> 00:18:33,536.82545 In my mind, people need a key to get to. 198 00:18:34,196.82545 --> 00:18:36,776.82545 The only one is mine, materially. 199 00:18:36,776.82545 --> 00:18:40,466.82545 She has it all, but emotionally and romantically. 200 00:18:40,466.82545 --> 00:18:45,56.82545 She lives in a fantasy world, basically to soothe herself. 201 00:18:45,656.82545 --> 00:18:49,916.82545 The key to that world too, will come back around in the bridge. 202 00:18:51,266.82545 --> 00:18:53,906.82545 But love was a cold bed full of scorpions. 203 00:18:54,206.82545 --> 00:18:56,846.82545 She continues, the venom stole her sanity. 204 00:18:57,836.82545 --> 00:19:07,556.82545 This likely alludes to the fable of the scorpion and the frog where the scorpion gaslights the frog into giving him what he wants and then stings and kills him. 205 00:19:07,916.82545 --> 00:19:08,306.82545 Anyway. 206 00:19:09,341.82545 --> 00:19:12,191.82545 That's what her past loves have felt like. 207 00:19:12,191.82545 --> 00:19:16,331.82545 The venom of these past heartbreaks is what's driven her mad. 208 00:19:16,361.82545 --> 00:19:22,571.82545 Just like Ophelia, the venom is probably the gaslighting being broken like a promise. 209 00:19:22,751.82545 --> 00:19:29,441.82545 But venom also alludes to the snake imagery and metaphors of the reputation album and era. 210 00:19:29,981.82545 --> 00:19:35,801.82545 And in that context, venom is the poison of public opinion when it turns against you. 211 00:19:36,811.82545 --> 00:19:41,101.82545 She'll further explore this in many songs on this album, but she continues. 212 00:19:41,161.82545 --> 00:19:46,51.82545 And if you'd never come for me, I might have lingered in purgatory. 213 00:19:47,461.82545 --> 00:19:59,431.82545 Colloquially, purgatory is a temporary state of suffering, but tying into the old world literature references, purgatory is also a big part of Dante's Divine Comedy. 214 00:19:59,531.82545 --> 00:20:01,991.82545 That's an entire side quest we could get into. 215 00:20:02,501.82545 --> 00:20:03,761.82545 But here's the gist. 216 00:20:04,331.82545 --> 00:20:08,231.82545 Dante posits that all sins stems from love. 217 00:20:08,621.82545 --> 00:20:15,821.82545 So through that lens, she's in purgatory because of love, and plucked out of purgatory by love. 218 00:20:17,726.82545 --> 00:20:22,496.82545 You wrap around me like a chain, a crown, a vine, pulling me into the fire. 219 00:20:23,186.82545 --> 00:20:28,826.82545 She's giving us this list of similes that describe how he's enveloped her. 220 00:20:29,546.82545 --> 00:20:35,666.82545 But each one of these is purposeful and they each pull her into the metaphorical fire. 221 00:20:36,746.82545 --> 00:20:40,196.82545 The chain immediately recalls, call it what you want. 222 00:20:40,556.82545 --> 00:20:43,706.82545 I wanna wear his initial on a chain around my neck. 223 00:20:44,36.82545 --> 00:20:47,216.82545 Not because he owns me, but 'cause he really knows me. 224 00:20:48,461.82545 --> 00:20:57,341.82545 The chain here, just like the necklace, feels more like he's hoisting her up and supporting her and not trying to chain her down or tie her down. 225 00:20:58,361.82545 --> 00:21:03,671.82545 The crown reminds us of all of her previous monarchy and fairytale metaphors. 226 00:21:03,671.82545 --> 00:21:05,771.82545 King of my heart, the alchemy. 227 00:21:06,791.82545 --> 00:21:10,1.82545 Circling back to Hamlet, Ophelia never gets a crown. 228 00:21:10,751.82545 --> 00:21:14,51.82545 Hamlet never becomes king, so she never becomes queen. 229 00:21:14,81.82545 --> 00:21:18,521.82545 But here they get to ditch the clowns, get the crown. 230 00:21:19,571.82545 --> 00:21:23,411.82545 The crown is a crowning achievement or crowning glory. 231 00:21:23,411.82545 --> 00:21:26,291.82545 So we have the chain, the crown, and now the vine. 232 00:21:26,291.82545 --> 00:21:30,191.82545 The vine reminds us of Ivy, your house of my house of stone. 233 00:21:30,191.82545 --> 00:21:32,681.82545 Your ivy grows, and now I'm covered in you. 234 00:21:33,866.82545 --> 00:21:38,966.82545 He called her on the megaphone and slowly invaded her heart and her soul. 235 00:21:38,966.82545 --> 00:21:45,296.82545 He's grown on her, and now he envelops all of her and pulls her out of this purgatory. 236 00:21:46,601.82545 --> 00:21:55,1.82545 Then there's the fire that the crown and the chain and the vine pull her into, which of course references the pyro metaphor from the first verse. 237 00:21:55,271.82545 --> 00:22:05,171.82545 So what is the fire? I think here is where we need to look at the whole of the Taylor Swift universe, because she mentions fire a lot. 238 00:22:05,171.82545 --> 00:22:08,861.82545 In the past, there's been sparks flying in excitement and chemistry. 239 00:22:08,861.82545 --> 00:22:13,991.82545 There's been the fire of metaphorical death and rebirth always rising. 240 00:22:13,991.82545 --> 00:22:21,851.82545 From the ashes, uh, from sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes, there's been fire that burns everything to the ground. 241 00:22:22,211.82545 --> 00:22:26,321.82545 Uh, like in Dear John, I took your matches before fire could catch me. 242 00:22:27,311.82545 --> 00:22:29,171.82545 There's, they're burning all the witches. 243 00:22:29,171.82545 --> 00:22:30,431.82545 Even if you aren't one. 244 00:22:30,986.82545 --> 00:22:39,566.82545 Um, if I'm on fire, you'll be made of ashes too, but none of these quite fit with the fire that she's describing here. 245 00:22:40,346.82545 --> 00:22:53,156.82545 And if we look at the fire heart emoji that was used in the marketing of this album, that to me means that fire is part of the color coded universe that she's created. 246 00:22:53,156.82545 --> 00:23:01,346.82545 You know where each album has its own color? This album, we could say it's orange, but they're using the fire heart emoji. 247 00:23:01,346.82545 --> 00:23:03,536.82545 They're not using the orange heart emoji. 248 00:23:05,51.82545 --> 00:23:09,401.82545 In my view, fire is the updated version of Red. 249 00:23:10,121.82545 --> 00:23:15,701.82545 First, loving Him was red, where red meant passion and excitement and intensity. 250 00:23:16,151.82545 --> 00:23:21,641.82545 Then red morphed into the darker and more depressing shade of Maroon. 251 00:23:22,361.82545 --> 00:23:23,831.82545 So Scarlet, it was maroon. 252 00:23:23,831.82545 --> 00:23:25,1.82545 That means it's regret. 253 00:23:25,31.82545 --> 00:23:26,561.82545 It's a stain on her soul. 254 00:23:27,521.82545 --> 00:23:30,281.82545 Here, the new version of red is fire. 255 00:23:30,311.82545 --> 00:23:33,41.82545 It's bright, it's intense, it's spicy, it's hot. 256 00:23:34,226.82545 --> 00:23:39,476.82545 And he's the pyro who lights up her life without burning it to the ground. 257 00:23:40,796.82545 --> 00:23:45,926.82545 Hopefully the chorus and the post chorus repeat word for word. 258 00:23:46,16.82545 --> 00:23:46,706.82545 All that time. 259 00:23:46,706.82545 --> 00:23:48,896.82545 I sat alone in my tower and keep it 100. 260 00:23:49,721.82545 --> 00:23:56,381.82545 This is a common structure for Taylor on this album, but not so much in her previous modern albums. 261 00:23:56,501.82545 --> 00:24:11,381.82545 It makes sense as she is leaning more pop on this album, and it is a very traditional pop structure to have so much repetition, but repetition, just like in poetry, in lyrics, repetition plays a role too. 262 00:24:12,191.82545 --> 00:24:14,591.82545 It points us to what she's emphasizing. 263 00:24:15,731.82545 --> 00:24:17,441.82545 Then we reach the bridge. 264 00:24:18,101.82545 --> 00:24:21,521.82545 Tis locked inside my memory and only you possess the key. 265 00:24:22,511.82545 --> 00:24:29,51.82545 This is a deeply loaded line with references to both her previous work and to Hamlet itself. 266 00:24:29,831.82545 --> 00:24:41,951.82545 In the text of Hamlet, this line is found in Act one, scene three, in which Ophelia's brother is warning her not to trust Hamlet and his promises of love as they say goodbye. 267 00:24:42,131.82545 --> 00:24:45,281.82545 He makes her swear to remember his words of caution. 268 00:24:46,141.82545 --> 00:24:48,581.82545 Laertes says, farewell Ophelia. 269 00:24:48,581.82545 --> 00:24:54,971.82545 And remember well, what I have said to you, Ophelia replies, 'Tis in my memory, locked. 270 00:24:55,361.82545 --> 00:24:57,821.82545 And you yourself shall keep the key of it. 271 00:24:58,871.82545 --> 00:25:06,41.82545 So Ophelia's brother is saying, remember what I told you? And Ophelia replies, of course I will remember. 272 00:25:06,341.82545 --> 00:25:08,921.82545 It is a secret only between us. 273 00:25:10,331.82545 --> 00:25:13,701.82545 So Taylor has modernized the phrasing but kept the 'tis. 274 00:25:13,731.82545 --> 00:25:19,421.82545 So instead of 'tis in my memory, locked, it's 'tis locked inside my memory. 275 00:25:20,411.82545 --> 00:25:23,381.82545 This could mean a similar sentiment as in Hamlet. 276 00:25:23,411.82545 --> 00:25:30,761.82545 Like this is a secret or a code only Between us and only we know what goes on inside our partnership. 277 00:25:31,646.82545 --> 00:25:39,536.82545 But it could also mean something quite different, and that's because there is another key in the Taylor Swift universe in, I hate it here. 278 00:25:39,536.82545 --> 00:25:40,886.82545 She says, I hate it here. 279 00:25:40,886.82545 --> 00:25:42,896.82545 So I will go to secret gardens. 280 00:25:42,926.82545 --> 00:25:45,716.82545 In my mind, people need a key to get to. 281 00:25:46,256.82545 --> 00:25:47,486.82545 The only one is mine. 282 00:25:48,641.82545 --> 00:25:59,891.82545 In that song, the key represents a locked secret fantasy world, like Ophelia lived in fantasy, where she finds her happiness amidst the chaos of everyday life. 283 00:26:00,581.82545 --> 00:26:07,721.82545 It's a place only for her, so what's locked inside her memory could be the sacred nature of what they have. 284 00:26:08,261.82545 --> 00:26:14,306.82545 Only he has the key to her heart because he's been the only one to fully unlock her. 285 00:26:15,26.82545 --> 00:26:22,766.82545 Her secret garden is now not only hers, but it's theirs together, and then she gives us another clue. 286 00:26:23,186.82545 --> 00:26:27,386.82545 No longer drowning and deceived all because you came for me. 287 00:26:28,676.82545 --> 00:26:36,836.82545 This makes it feel that what's locked inside her memory is that moment where her fates diverged. 288 00:26:37,646.82545 --> 00:26:51,566.82545 She could have drowned in purgatory, or she could have been lifted up and tossed into the fire of real love, and that is exactly ophelia's fate to drown in deception and to drown from deception. 289 00:26:53,246.82545 --> 00:26:59,6.82545 The key feels like to me, it's the moment that he swooped in at the rescue. 290 00:26:59,756.82545 --> 00:27:02,696.82545 He wasn't just any rescuer passing by. 291 00:27:02,696.82545 --> 00:27:07,616.82545 He was the key to her lock, the exact right fit. 292 00:27:08,696.82545 --> 00:27:19,346.82545 And in so many ways, this rescuer who has the only key to her lock is the polar opposite of Hamlet, he's going to keep it 100. 293 00:27:19,556.82545 --> 00:27:36,116.82545 Unlike lover's past, who would only gaslight and ghost Hamlet's vibes too are just crazy town and this new person's vibes are fire locked inside my memory and only you possess the key repeats again. 294 00:27:36,176.82545 --> 00:27:41,816.82545 So it reinforces that there's this secret place or secret thought that only the two of them share. 295 00:27:43,1.82545 --> 00:27:51,491.82545 Remember how special this is she's saying to herself, because you have known the opposite and you nearly drowned in melancholy because of it. 296 00:27:53,81.82545 --> 00:27:56,111.82545 No longer drowning and deceived all because you came for me. 297 00:27:56,111.82545 --> 00:28:00,366.82545 She repeats this again at the end of the bridge, suddenly when she least expected. 298 00:28:01,451.82545 --> 00:28:09,311.82545 Everything has changed the song and this album is really dealing with this two roads diverged in a yellow wood of it all. 299 00:28:09,701.82545 --> 00:28:18,731.82545 What could have been what is now and how past and present converge to put you in the exact right place at the exact right time. 300 00:28:19,871.82545 --> 00:28:21,71.82545 It's not just about fate. 301 00:28:21,281.82545 --> 00:28:26,741.82545 It's wondering what wasn't fated and why and how it wasn't fated. 302 00:28:28,16.82545 --> 00:28:38,456.82545 But then there's also this duality within herself that she's grappling with that's not as obvious on this track, but will become really apparent in the songs to come. 303 00:28:38,456.82545 --> 00:28:47,6.82545 All that time I sat alone in my tower, uh, she repeats this in the final chorus, and that repeats all word for word. 304 00:28:47,36.82545 --> 00:28:51,446.82545 And with the repetition, it begins to remind us of another similar line from exile. 305 00:28:52,781.82545 --> 00:28:55,991.82545 All this time we always walked a very thin line. 306 00:28:56,51.82545 --> 00:28:57,341.82545 You didn't even hear me out. 307 00:28:57,881.82545 --> 00:28:59,801.82545 You never gave a warning sign. 308 00:29:00,821.82545 --> 00:29:10,301.82545 That incredible track exile from folklore is a conversation between two ex lovers who are in a stalemate and they will never understand one another. 309 00:29:10,841.82545 --> 00:29:17,981.82545 All that time with other people who would only eventually leave her to the fate of Ophelia. 310 00:29:18,701.82545 --> 00:29:20,861.82545 This magical love was right around the corner. 311 00:29:22,646.82545 --> 00:29:29,306.82545 But as she says, in invisible string time, curious time, gave me no compasses, gave me no signs. 312 00:29:30,746.82545 --> 00:29:33,686.82545 They say you'll find love when you stop looking for it. 313 00:29:34,646.82545 --> 00:29:45,236.82545 Or maybe once you actually listen to your brother Laertes and realize that you can't trust everyone in love, you'll finally learn the lesson that will lead you out of the water and into the fire. 314 00:29:46,496.82545 --> 00:29:50,396.82545 The rest of the chorus repeats with only the outro varying from the rest. 315 00:29:50,846.82545 --> 00:29:53,456.82545 You saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia. 316 00:29:53,456.82545 --> 00:29:59,456.82545 Repetition is of course used to bring attention to central themes and messages, and here it's heart. 317 00:29:59,516.82545 --> 00:30:00,896.82545 That's the most noticeable. 318 00:30:02,306.82545 --> 00:30:05,96.82545 Physically, would she have succumbed to the fate of Ophelia? No. 319 00:30:05,741.82545 --> 00:30:18,671.82545 But would her heart have metaphorically died of madness and melancholy after let down, after let down promises, broken castles, crumbled and jokers dressing up as kings, maybe. 320 00:30:19,361.82545 --> 00:30:25,691.82545 But that's all in the past because no matter what happens with this new love, she finally believes in it again. 321 00:30:26,321.82545 --> 00:30:33,251.82545 She can see it all, what's possible, what's right for her, and what a real partner feels like. 322 00:30:34,541.82545 --> 00:30:43,181.82545 On the cover of this album, she's head barely above water in a bathtub in full showgirl garb, but she won't drown there. 323 00:30:43,631.82545 --> 00:30:52,751.82545 And though the trappings of the showgirl life are heavy, just like Ophelia's gown, she now knows that she doesn't have to succumb to the melancholy. 324 00:30:52,751.82545 --> 00:30:53,861.82545 That's it for track one. 325 00:30:53,861.82545 --> 00:31:02,921.82545 The The Fate of Ophelia and if you found this insightful or entertaining or just wanna keep geeking out about Taylor Swift with me, please click all the buttons that do all the things. 326 00:31:02,921.82545 --> 00:31:06,611.82545 I am just starting this channel and it really, really helps. 327 00:31:06,851.82545 --> 00:31:07,751.82545 Anything you can do. 328 00:31:08,831.82545 --> 00:31:10,571.82545 Stay tuned for my next episode. 329 00:31:10,691.82545 --> 00:31:12,761.82545 Where are we are gonna dive into track two. 330 00:31:12,911.82545 --> 00:31:17,621.82545 Elizabeth Taylor, do you think it's forever? See you next time. 331 00:31:17,621.82545 --> 00:31:19,931.82545 That's it for this chapter of Swiftly Sung Stories. 332 00:31:19,991.82545 --> 00:31:23,711.82545 If you enjoyed this deep dive, please don't forget to follow, subscribe, or leave a review. 333 00:31:23,771.82545 --> 00:31:25,811.82545 It helps other Swifties find their way here. 334 00:31:25,961.82545 --> 00:31:28,781.82545 I'm Jen and I had a marvelous time reading everything with you. 335 00:31:28,901.82545 --> 00:31:29,411.82545 See you next time.
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