“Actually Romantic” - Taylor Swift’s Most Vicious Valentine | Taylor Swift Lyric Analysis (TLOAS e7)
November 19, 2025 • 20 mins
In “Actually Romantic,” Taylor Swift crafts a love letter with razor-sharp edges, where sweetness becomes sarcasm and romance becomes revenge. Our showgirl narrator uses satire, brutal sarcasm, and deliberately sugary language to dismantle her biggest hater.
This episode of the Swiftly Sung Stories Podcast breaks down how Taylor weaponizes romantic tropes, flips clichés into cutting commentary, and turns the idea of a “valentine” into a perfectly wrapped insult.
We’ll explore how this song relates to and expands upon other Taylor Swift “diss tracks”, who it is (and isn’t) written for, and how our showgirl’s response to the haters has evolved over time.
✨ Swiftly Sung Stories dives deep into Taylor Swift’s storytelling craft, exploring her lyrics through the lens of literature, emotion, and the art of songwriting.
✏️Check out my website for all my lyrical analysis, quizzes, album breakdowns, and so much more: SwiftlySungStories.com.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
I'm Jen, your Swiftie English teacher, and today we are tackling Track seven in my track by track analysis of the life of Showgirl, and we're diving straight into the scathing satire of actually romantic.
In my last few episodes, I analyzed Taylor's prologue poem and the first six tracks of this album.
So go check those out because it lays a lot of groundwork for understanding all of the themes that Taylor is exploring in these lyrics.
(00:28):
Quick, PSA, all of this content is available on my website if you want the text version with annotated lyrics, and if you're watching this on YouTube, you can also find me wherever you get your podcasts and vice versa.
Okay, let's lay a little bit of groundwork as to the themes of actually romantic, and then we will roll into our line by line dissection. 8 00:00:48,619.767016683 --> 00:00:54,319.767016683 Welcome to swiftly sung Stories where we unpack the Taylor Swift Universe one era album and lyric at a time. 9 00:00:54,499.767016683 --> 00:00:58,819.767016683 Think of it like English class, but it's all Taylor Swift and none of the boring stuff. 10 00:00:59,269.767016683 --> 00:01:04,669.767016683 I'm Jen, your Swifty English teacher and classes in session, so come on in and meet me in the margins. 11 00:01:04,955.767016683 --> 00:01:16,655.767016683 Before we go into detail, quick caveat, I only discuss Taylor Swift's personal life in my lyrical analysis when it is essential to understanding the text or when it really helps us put these lyrics into context. 12 00:01:16,655.767016683 --> 00:01:22,115.767016683 I'm not here to discover what Taylor Swift did or who she's beefing with or any of that. 13 00:01:22,115.767016683 --> 00:01:25,475.767016683 I'm here to discover what the art does and what the art says. 14 00:01:25,475.767016683 --> 00:01:31,25.767016683 Also, I am dissecting Taylor's lyrics through my lens and my opinion as a writer and as a former English teacher. 15 00:01:31,115.767016684 --> 00:01:34,325.767016683 And that doesn't mean this has to be your lens or your opinion. 16 00:01:34,325.767016683 --> 00:01:39,485.767016683 All art is subjective, and that's why it's so fun to look at because it means. 17 00:01:39,765.767016683 --> 00:01:41,505.76701668 So many different things to different people. 18 00:01:42,15.76701668 --> 00:01:50,175.76701668 So in this analysis, I'm not saying it's fact or gospel, I'm just here to point out different interpretations and then you can draw your own conclusions. 19 00:01:50,325.76701668 --> 00:01:52,905.76701668 So take what you resonate with and leave the rest. 20 00:01:52,905.76701668 --> 00:01:53,205.76701668 Okay. 21 00:01:53,265.76701668 --> 00:02:03,915.76701668 So what or who is actually romantic about? in her release Party of a showgirl, Taylor said that this song is "a love letter to someone who hates you. 22 00:02:03,915.76701668 --> 00:02:05,85.76701668 Like it's flattering. 23 00:02:05,85.76701668 --> 00:02:10,995.76701668 She said like, I don't hate you and I don't think about this, but like, thank you for all the effort." 24 00:02:10,995.76701668 --> 00:02:18,165.76701668 Of course, as with any Taylor Swift diss track or perceived diss track, we all point fingers at who we think it could be about. 25 00:02:18,285.76701668 --> 00:02:34,965.76701668 And I don't wanna get into this too much, but there is one thing that I want to address because it's been bothering me, and that's that the finger keeps pointing at Charlie XCX, claiming that actually romantic is Taylor's response to sympathy is a knife, which Charlie supposedly wrote about Taylor. 26 00:02:35,850.76701668 --> 00:02:44,520.76701668 But if you take one look at the lyrics to sympathy as a knife, you'll see that that is a song about Charlie's own insecurities and it's an incredibly vulnerable song. 27 00:02:45,510.76701668 --> 00:02:47,460.76701668 Here's just a snapshot of the lyrics. 28 00:02:48,150.76701668 --> 00:02:50,340.76701668 'cause I couldn't be her even if I tried. 29 00:02:50,700.76701668 --> 00:02:51,630.76701668 I'm opposite. 30 00:02:51,630.76701668 --> 00:02:52,710.76701668 I'm on the other side. 31 00:02:52,710.76701668 --> 00:02:54,870.76701668 I feel all these things I can't control. 32 00:02:55,350.76701668 --> 00:02:55,890.76701668 Oh no. 33 00:02:55,950.76701668 --> 00:02:59,160.76701668 Don't know why all this sympathy is just a knife. 34 00:03:00,720.76701668 --> 00:03:05,340.76701668 Sympathy is a knife no matter who inspired it, is really about Charlie. 35 00:03:05,520.76701668 --> 00:03:07,680.76701668 It's not really a diss track. 36 00:03:07,680.76701668 --> 00:03:10,50.76701668 It's detailing her own vulnerabilities. 37 00:03:10,890.76701668 --> 00:03:16,830.76701668 So to claim that actually romantic is a response is just, it's a real disconnect for me. 38 00:03:16,890.76701668 --> 00:03:22,920.76701668 If you believe that this is about Charlie XCX, you know you have your own opinion and I have mine, and that's okay. 39 00:03:24,195.76701668 --> 00:03:37,215.76701668 In the end, does it actually matter who actually romantic is about? No, because just like with any song, when we try to pin down and dissect the muse, that takes away from the real message and the real meaning. 40 00:03:37,215.76701668 --> 00:03:39,945.76701668 In this album, Taylor is all about duality. 41 00:03:40,65.76701668 --> 00:03:43,725.76701668 It's the life of a showgirl versus the life of the girl. 42 00:03:44,55.76701668 --> 00:03:44,865.76701668 Behind the show. 43 00:03:45,495.76701668 --> 00:03:49,275.76701668 That's a narrative thread that runs through and makes this album cohesive. 44 00:03:49,275.76701668 --> 00:03:58,875.76701668 It's these two sides of herself, the side that's in the public eye, and people love to critique, and the side of her that's private and wants to have a private life. 45 00:03:58,875.76701668 --> 00:04:16,275.76701668 In some songs like Eldest Daughter, Wishlist, Ruin the Friendship, she seems to be narrating as just the private girl, but in some songs like Father Figure and Canceled, and in this track, Actually Romantic, she seems to be narrating from the showgirl point of view. 46 00:04:17,55.76701668 --> 00:04:20,295.76701668 But in all of these songs, it's, it's a balancing act. 47 00:04:20,295.76701668 --> 00:04:39,825.76701668 It's how can I maintain this showgirl facade while also maintaining a private life and being vulnerable? And in this song, no matter who it's really about, it's about trying to maintain that facade so that the girl underneath doesn't get hurt and she's using satire to do it. 48 00:04:39,825.76701668 --> 00:04:41,120.76701668 So let's get into the lyrics. 49 00:04:41,120.76701668 --> 00:04:47,150.76701668 So the first verse opens with, I heard you call me boring Barbie, when the Cokes got you brave. 50 00:04:47,795.76701668 --> 00:04:54,515.76701668 So we are in the present tense, and our showgirl narrator is relaying some gossip that's being said about her. 51 00:04:55,385.76701668 --> 00:05:05,495.76701668 This is our inciting incident that unfolds the rest of this narrative, this unknown character, the subject of the song, the "you," has labeled her a "boring Barbie." 52 00:05:05,495.76701668 --> 00:05:07,745.76701668 To most people, this would feel like an insult. 53 00:05:07,745.76701668 --> 00:05:15,995.76701668 A boring Barbie as a metaphor, is just someone who's unoriginal, you know, perfect on the outside, but plastic on the inside. 54 00:05:15,995.76701668 --> 00:05:18,875.76701668 Formulaic produced for the masses. 55 00:05:19,655.76701668 --> 00:05:47,315.76701668 But our narrator kinda takes it in stride, assuming that this person has been 'skiing on the snowy slopes' and in their drug-fueled haze has decided to just hurl insults, and they're braver and they're more vocal because they're very not sober, but it's also a subtle dig, essentially calling this person a drug addict, high fived my ex, and said, you're glad. 56 00:05:47,525.76701668 --> 00:05:48,575.76701668 He ghosted me. 57 00:05:48,605.76701668 --> 00:05:49,325.76701668 She goes on. 58 00:05:49,535.76701668 --> 00:05:55,955.76701668 So this is a clue that the subject is someone within our narrator's inner circle or former inner circle. 59 00:05:56,495.76701668 --> 00:06:03,515.76701668 Whether this points to a particular person or not doesn't really matter because it's this closeness or perceived closeness. 60 00:06:03,515.76701668 --> 00:06:04,415.76701668 It's what that implies. 61 00:06:04,415.76701668 --> 00:06:09,485.76701668 She's trying to rally others in their lives to join this hate train. 62 00:06:09,580.76701668 --> 00:06:21,250.76701668 This isn't just a quiet hatred or some subtle jealousy, it's like an all out war, and the subject is trying to band others together to also hate our narrator. 63 00:06:22,810.76701668 --> 00:06:25,720.76701668 Wrote me a song saying It makes you sick to see my face. 64 00:06:25,720.76701668 --> 00:06:28,780.76701668 She says, some people might be offended. 65 00:06:28,780.76701668 --> 00:06:38,590.76701668 So the subject is also likely someone in the music industry as they're writing songs, but this is also our catalyst for this song. 66 00:06:39,580.76701668 --> 00:06:40,600.76701668 You wrote me a diss track. 67 00:06:40,600.76701668 --> 00:06:41,950.76701668 I'll write you a diss track. 68 00:06:41,950.76701668 --> 00:06:44,980.76701668 It's like tit for tat in this war between them. 69 00:06:45,520.76701668 --> 00:06:54,880.76701668 And while some people might be offended, our narrator isn't, and we're gonna learn why in the chorus, but it's actually sweet. 70 00:06:55,30.76701668 --> 00:06:58,390.76701668 She says in the first chorus all the time you've spent on me. 71 00:06:59,500.76701668 --> 00:07:04,870.76701668 So she's saying some people might take this as an insult, but I take it as a compliment. 72 00:07:05,710.76701668 --> 00:07:10,210.76701668 And this is where actually romantic really diverges from other. 73 00:07:10,930.76701668 --> 00:07:17,500.76701668 Quote unquote clap back songs in Taylor's catalog in songs like, this is why we can't have nice things. 74 00:07:17,530.76701668 --> 00:07:20,260.76701668 Look what you made me do, and I forgot you existed. 75 00:07:20,740.76701668 --> 00:07:28,270.76701668 She's risen above the hate and casually brushed it off, but here she doesn't just brush it off, she takes it one step further. 76 00:07:28,270.76701668 --> 00:07:29,860.76701668 She takes it as a compliment. 77 00:07:30,865.76701668 --> 00:07:36,265.76701668 And in those other clap back songs, we got to hear how Taylor was hurt by whomever she was writing the song about. 78 00:07:36,265.76701668 --> 00:07:38,785.76701668 Here there's no hurt at all. 79 00:07:38,785.76701668 --> 00:07:40,945.76701668 It's just water off a duck's back. 80 00:07:42,25.76701668 --> 00:07:50,575.76701668 The song, I think, is more in the vein of blank space where Taylor uses satire and sarcasm to do a more subtle clap back. 81 00:07:51,415.76701668 --> 00:07:56,575.76701668 That song was likely in response to the media's portrayal of Taylor as this man eater. 82 00:07:57,55.76701668 --> 00:08:04,975.76701668 So instead of fighting back, she leaned in and wrote Blank space as if she were this character that they were making her out to be Here. 83 00:08:04,975.76701668 --> 00:08:06,445.76701668 She's doing pretty much the same thing. 84 00:08:06,445.76701668 --> 00:08:10,315.76701668 She is saying, oh my God, it's so sweet that you've dedicated your life to me. 85 00:08:11,35.76701668 --> 00:08:13,585.76701668 And of course this is sarcasm and satire. 86 00:08:14,755.76701668 --> 00:08:22,45.76701668 Does she actually think it's sweet that people hate her and constantly talk shit about her? No, but as the showgirl, she's got this new outlook. 87 00:08:22,675.76701668 --> 00:08:24,25.76701668 Any press is good press. 88 00:08:24,55.76701668 --> 00:08:26,515.76701668 If you're talking about me, it doesn't matter what you're saying. 89 00:08:26,515.76701668 --> 00:08:31,345.76701668 It's still saying my name and making me more powerful and more powerful. 90 00:08:32,515.76701668 --> 00:08:33,595.76701668 It's honestly wild. 91 00:08:33,685.76701668 --> 00:08:35,875.76701668 She goes on all the effort you've put in. 92 00:08:35,875.76701668 --> 00:08:37,915.76701668 Honestly, wild is another subtle dig. 93 00:08:37,915.76701668 --> 00:08:43,405.76701668 'cause it's a phrase that usually means that something is surprising, but not in a good way. 94 00:08:44,215.76701668 --> 00:08:50,65.76701668 So our subject has put an awful lot of effort into hating someone that doesn't even really seem to know them. 95 00:08:51,55.76701668 --> 00:08:57,775.76701668 The undertone is you must really not have anything else going on in your life if you have all this time that you've dedicated to me. 96 00:08:57,775.76701668 --> 00:09:02,125.76701668 It's actually romantic, she says, and this pulls in the song's title for the first time. 97 00:09:02,425.76701668 --> 00:09:06,235.76701668 And on the surface it means like, oh my God, you're so obsessed with me. 98 00:09:06,235.76701668 --> 00:09:08,275.76701668 You must like be in love with me or something. 99 00:09:09,265.76701668 --> 00:09:12,145.76701668 But there's also a subtle dual meaning here. 100 00:09:12,205.76701668 --> 00:09:22,795.76701668 There's romantic as an expression of love, and then there's romanticizing something, which is expressing this idealized view of reality. 101 00:09:23,365.76701668 --> 00:09:24,835.76701668 And here she's hinting at both. 102 00:09:25,525.76701668 --> 00:09:28,615.76701668 She both takes it as an expression of love. 103 00:09:28,675.76701668 --> 00:09:31,285.76701668 Like, you must think about me so much. 104 00:09:31,285.76701668 --> 00:09:32,515.76701668 You must be in love with me. 105 00:09:32,515.76701668 --> 00:09:34,465.76701668 But what she's covertly saying is. 106 00:09:34,900.76701668 --> 00:09:37,120.76701668 You're romanticizing me in our relationship. 107 00:09:37,120.76701668 --> 00:09:38,110.76701668 You are delusional. 108 00:09:38,350.76701668 --> 00:09:40,780.76701668 You've made this into some big thing. 109 00:09:40,780.76701668 --> 00:09:43,390.76701668 When I think about you never, I really gotta hand it to you. 110 00:09:43,390.76701668 --> 00:09:46,840.76701668 She says, no man has ever loved me like you do. 111 00:09:47,965.76701668 --> 00:09:55,975.76701668 This is such a funny sarcastic line, and it's saying all of this hard work you've done for absolutely no reason. 112 00:09:56,455.76701668 --> 00:10:00,535.76701668 Like no man has ever put this much time and energy into me. 113 00:10:00,535.76701668 --> 00:10:06,415.76701668 It's like, I've gotta give you props, not even all my romantic partners have ever paid this much attention to me. 114 00:10:07,435.76701668 --> 00:10:12,355.76701668 So the central message layered in all of the satire and sarcasm is, wow. 115 00:10:12,355.76701668 --> 00:10:15,445.76701668 You're like really obsessed with me and I don't think about you. 116 00:10:15,745.76701668 --> 00:10:21,175.76701668 It's like the scene in mean girls where Katie says to Janice, you're like in love with me or something. 117 00:10:21,175.76701668 --> 00:10:27,145.76701668 The second verse starts, hadn't thought of you in a long time, but you keep sending me funny Valentine's. 118 00:10:27,865.76701668 --> 00:10:33,575.76701668 So our narrator is just living her best life, blissfully unaware of all the drama that the subject is stewing in. 119 00:10:34,270.76701668 --> 00:10:40,540.76701668 But then this obsessive drama queen pops back up out of nowhere with funny valentine's. 120 00:10:40,960.76701668 --> 00:10:47,800.76701668 A valentine is usually a message of love or adoration, but our narrator takes these ones as funny. 121 00:10:48,430.76701668 --> 00:10:54,30.76701668 She's reframing these hateful messages as just these silly little odes. 122 00:10:54,370.76701668 --> 00:10:56,350.76701668 So these funny Valentines could be. 123 00:10:56,690.76701668 --> 00:11:02,810.76701668 The song she wrote or the boring Barbie quip or anything that's meant to be hurtful for our narrator. 124 00:11:02,810.76701668 --> 00:11:03,680.76701668 It doesn't land. 125 00:11:03,710.76701668 --> 00:11:07,670.76701668 She thinks it's funny because she sees this delusion. 126 00:11:07,670.76701668 --> 00:11:10,340.76701668 It's not just hate, it's obsession. 127 00:11:11,540.76701668 --> 00:11:13,670.76701668 And I know you think it comes off as vicious. 128 00:11:13,730.76701668 --> 00:11:17,270.76701668 She continues, but it's precious, adorable. 129 00:11:17,270.76701668 --> 00:11:23,450.76701668 So the subject might be trying to be a, a bad bitch or a savage, as she says, an eldest daughter, but it's not working. 130 00:11:23,450.76701668 --> 00:11:31,880.76701668 She labels it as precious and adorable, which infantilizes all of these attempts to be essentially the big bad wolf. 131 00:11:32,990.76701668 --> 00:11:36,890.76701668 She goes on like a toy Chihuahua barking at me from a tiny purse. 132 00:11:37,340.76701668 --> 00:11:38,630.76701668 That's how much it hurts. 133 00:11:39,780.76701668 --> 00:11:43,890.76701668 This hater is not the big bad wolf that she thinks she is. 134 00:11:43,890.76701668 --> 00:11:46,830.76701668 She is a tiny yippy annoying dog. 135 00:11:47,870.76701668 --> 00:11:49,380.76701668 This simile is layered too. 136 00:11:49,380.76701668 --> 00:11:53,670.76701668 Our subject isn't only the tiny barky dog that you wish would shut up. 137 00:11:54,330.76701668 --> 00:11:57,360.76701668 She's also caged inside a tiny purse. 138 00:11:58,170.76701668 --> 00:12:05,730.76701668 So what she's describing here is the stereotype of the rich Hollywood bitch who totes her tiny dog around as an accessory. 139 00:12:06,885.76701668 --> 00:12:12,615.76701668 But our subject isn't even that Beverly Hills blonde, she's the tiny dog. 140 00:12:12,855.76701668 --> 00:12:15,825.76701668 She's the accessory, she's inconsequential. 141 00:12:16,785.76701668 --> 00:12:24,945.76701668 She's a little dog who thinks she's a big dog, but has no real power, and her bark is worse than her bite, but she can't even escape the purse to bite. 142 00:12:25,995.76701668 --> 00:12:29,355.76701668 That's how much power and influence she has, which is none. 143 00:12:29,895.76701668 --> 00:12:32,805.76701668 This, this is just a brutal, brutal lyric. 144 00:12:32,805.76701668 --> 00:12:40,605.76701668 That's how much it hurts, means it doesn't hurt at all because it was never coming from someone with big enough teeth to begin with. 145 00:12:41,895.76701668 --> 00:12:50,815.76701668 She closes out the second verse with how many times has your boyfriend said, why are we always talking about her? She imagines that this person is so obsessed with her that it's. 146 00:12:51,405.76701668 --> 00:13:01,185.76701668 Derailing her personal life, and she's pointing out the distinction between this imagined romance and a very real romance in the subject's life. 147 00:13:01,185.76701668 --> 00:13:08,145.76701668 She has a boyfriend, but spends all her time talking about this imaginary fight with her imaginary sworn enemy. 148 00:13:08,685.76701668 --> 00:13:14,835.76701668 She's romanticized this hate so much that she's letting it interfere in her real relationship, her real romances. 149 00:13:14,835.76701668 --> 00:13:27,375.76701668 What our narrator is saying, in other words, is maybe you should rethink where you put your energy, because being spiteful is only gonna drive away the people that love you, like maybe rethink your priorities here. 150 00:13:28,545.76701668 --> 00:13:30,585.76701668 So the chorus repeats and then we enter the bridge. 151 00:13:30,915.76701668 --> 00:13:32,385.76701668 You think I'm tacky, baby. 152 00:13:32,385.76701668 --> 00:13:34,110.76701668 Stop talking dirty to me. 153 00:13:35,55.76701668 --> 00:13:41,445.76701668 So this person keeps hurling insults and the narrator keeps deflecting by reframing the narrative. 154 00:13:42,105.76701668 --> 00:13:44,925.76701668 But there's a dual meaning to talking dirty. 155 00:13:45,435.76701668 --> 00:13:55,305.76701668 The obvious is a, a pillow talk type of talking dirty with sexual connotations, but then there's talking dirty as in shit talking or trash talking. 156 00:13:56,205.76701668 --> 00:14:03,165.76701668 The subject wants these words to come out as trash talking, but they're received as talking dirty. 157 00:14:04,275.76701668 --> 00:14:08,925.76701668 You talk shit about me, she's saying, but all I hear is your obsession with me. 158 00:14:08,985.76701668 --> 00:14:10,485.76701668 She just keeps deflecting. 159 00:14:12,135.76701668 --> 00:14:15,615.76701668 It sounded nasty, but it feels like you're flirting with me. 160 00:14:15,615.76701668 --> 00:14:16,545.76701668 She continues. 161 00:14:16,545.76701668 --> 00:14:22,125.76701668 Anything that comes out of the subject's mouth, our narrator will receive as suggestive and romantic. 162 00:14:23,655.76701668 --> 00:14:25,365.76701668 It's the ultimate deflection tool. 163 00:14:26,265.76701668 --> 00:14:30,645.76701668 But nasty also has a dual meaning just like talking dirty, there's sexually nasty. 164 00:14:31,215.76701668 --> 00:14:40,965.76701668 Then there's this catty type of nasty, so she's using one to imply the other, which really shows just how easily she can flip it and reverse it. 165 00:14:42,150.76701668 --> 00:14:45,600.76701668 I mind my business, God's my witness, that I don't provoke it. 166 00:14:45,600.76701668 --> 00:14:54,990.76701668 She goes on, and this is another loaded phrase, mind my business, on one hand means that she keeps to herself and she lets go of things that aren't her job. 167 00:14:55,560.76701668 --> 00:14:59,970.76701668 But on the other hand, it means she literally minds her business. 168 00:15:00,330.76701668 --> 00:15:03,0.76701668 And that is the business of Taylor Swift, Inc. 169 00:15:03,900.76701668 --> 00:15:09,390.76701668 When someone won't let her mind her business and keeps attacking, she will mind her business first. 170 00:15:09,390.76701668 --> 00:15:10,470.76701668 She'll protect her brand. 171 00:15:10,470.76701668 --> 00:15:12,90.76701668 She'll protect her reputation. 172 00:15:13,635.76701668 --> 00:15:15,885.76701668 So God's my witness that I don't provoke. 173 00:15:15,885.76701668 --> 00:15:28,45.76701668 It is ironic because this song is provoking it and she's definitely not minding her business by writing the song and releasing it, that's part of the humor of this whole narrative. 174 00:15:29,5.76701668 --> 00:15:30,505.76701668 Then there's the last line of the bridge. 175 00:15:30,505.76701668 --> 00:15:32,65.76701668 It's kind of making me wet. 176 00:15:32,275.76701668 --> 00:15:34,225.76701668 This brings the satire to. 177 00:15:34,580.76701668 --> 00:15:35,480.76701668 A whole new level. 178 00:15:36,50.76701668 --> 00:15:44,540.76701668 Not only will she take all of these insults as compliments and reframe all of this attention as romantic, but she'll also get off on it. 179 00:15:45,170.76701668 --> 00:15:47,450.76701668 Like anything adds fuel to the fire. 180 00:15:47,450.76701668 --> 00:15:53,30.76701668 It's like she's saying, keep saying my name because it only ruins you and promotes me. 181 00:15:54,320.76701668 --> 00:16:00,650.76701668 And in this showgirl world where any press is good press, it'll only generate more attention, and that's the entire point. 182 00:16:00,650.76701668 --> 00:16:01,940.76701668 The final chorus repeats. 183 00:16:02,0.76701668 --> 00:16:03,470.76701668 'cause it's actually sweet. 184 00:16:03,530.76701668 --> 00:16:14,450.76701668 All the time you've spent on me, you can try to tear me down all you want, she's saying, but I will just take it as a compliment every single time, and I will disarm you of any power you ever held over me. 185 00:16:14,450.76701668 --> 00:16:15,800.76701668 It's honestly lovely. 186 00:16:15,800.76701668 --> 00:16:19,610.76701668 She says again, sarcastically, all the effort you put in. 187 00:16:20,810.76701668 --> 00:16:27,830.76701668 Honestly lovely is Taylor's a version of the barbed southern phrase "Bless your heart." 188 00:16:28,70.76701668 --> 00:16:31,955.76701668 It's intended to kill with kindness like a wolf in sheep's clothing. 189 00:16:33,395.76701668 --> 00:16:35,165.76701668 It's actually romantic, she says. 190 00:16:35,165.76701668 --> 00:16:37,145.76701668 Again, I really gotta hand it to you. 191 00:16:37,295.76701668 --> 00:16:39,875.76701668 No man has ever loved me like you do. 192 00:16:39,875.76701668 --> 00:16:52,55.7670167 The backhanded message here is maybe rethink all the time you spent hating me because my God, you've spent a lot of time and energy on hating me more than any man ever has. 193 00:16:52,55.7670167 --> 00:16:53,370.7670167 It is actually romantic. 194 00:16:53,370.7670167 --> 00:16:54,60.7670167 She goes on. 195 00:16:54,270.7670167 --> 00:17:08,280.7670167 You've just given me so much attention and the subtle implication is maybe if you spent half as much time on loving yourself as you do hating me, you wouldn't feel the need to project all of these. 196 00:17:08,280.7670167 --> 00:17:09,540.7670167 You insecurities onto me. 197 00:17:09,540.7670167 --> 00:17:10,765.7670167 It is actually romantic. 198 00:17:10,765.7670167 --> 00:17:16,165.7670167 She repeats one last time and then she ends the song with, it's so romantic. 199 00:17:17,140.7670167 --> 00:17:24,910.7670167 Ending on this final word draws attention to it, and it's here that we need to circle back to the dual meanings of romantic or romance. 200 00:17:25,660.7670167 --> 00:17:33,225.7670167 Our narrator reframes this negative attention as these romantic overtures, but also suggests that the subject is. 201 00:17:33,790.7670167 --> 00:17:39,250.7670167 Romanticizing this, this one-sided feud into something that's all consuming. 202 00:17:40,90.7670167 --> 00:17:47,980.7670167 She has this idealized view of reality where her hated object is demeaned and dejected by her insults. 203 00:17:48,640.7670167 --> 00:17:55,480.7670167 But in our narrator's reality, the showgirl just skips away into the sunset completely and utterly unaffected. 204 00:17:56,155.7670167 --> 00:18:03,775.7670167 And that's the shield that she's built to protect the girl inside the show, which she gets into more in eldest daughter. 205 00:18:03,805.7670167 --> 00:18:06,595.7670167 That shield is doing its job here in this song. 206 00:18:08,5.7670167 --> 00:18:12,535.7670167 And in the song, we don't really get to hear from the girl inside the showgirl. 207 00:18:12,745.7670167 --> 00:18:14,935.7670167 We don't get to hear any vulnerability. 208 00:18:14,935.7670167 --> 00:18:17,935.7670167 We don't get to hear about something that hurt. 209 00:18:18,175.7670167 --> 00:18:24,355.7670167 This is strictly the showgirl talking and the real Taylor inside might be affected by all of this hate. 210 00:18:24,355.7670167 --> 00:18:31,75.7670167 But the show and the facade of the show where any press is good press can deflect all of it. 211 00:18:31,125.7670167 --> 00:18:46,845.7670167 By the end, do we know if this is real growth on Taylor's part where she's really learned to rise above the hate, or if it's just another layer of the show or the facade? No, that's the job of other songs to show that vulnerability. 212 00:18:47,625.7670167 --> 00:18:52,5.7670167 But the job of this song is really, I see it the same way as blank space. 213 00:18:52,5.7670167 --> 00:18:58,65.7670167 It's to say, I know exactly what you're saying about me, but I no longer care. 214 00:18:58,665.7670167 --> 00:19:02,175.7670167 It's just reframing the narrative and taking control of the narrative. 215 00:19:03,105.7670167 --> 00:19:08,385.7670167 And if we take a step back, this message could really apply to any hater in the Taylor Swift universe. 216 00:19:08,415.7670167 --> 00:19:09,375.7670167 'cause there are a lot. 217 00:19:10,125.7670167 --> 00:19:19,395.7670167 And just because this message seems to be pointed at one person in particular, it doesn't mean that it also doesn't apply to other critics at large. 218 00:19:19,395.7670167 --> 00:19:23,440.7670167 And it could be a bait and switch, right? Like she could be talking about all of us. 219 00:19:24,300.7670167 --> 00:19:30,300.7670167 But pointing us away from that and pointing at one particular person, fictional or not. 220 00:19:30,300.7670167 --> 00:19:36,750.7670167 But what's actually romantic is how much we all talk about Taylor Swift, how much we all think about Taylor Swift. 221 00:19:37,560.7670167 --> 00:19:45,420.7670167 And if all press is good press, then there's nothing to be pressed about and that's actually sweet when you think about it. 222 00:19:47,70.7670167 --> 00:19:49,620.7670167 That's my analysis of track seven, actually romantic. 223 00:19:49,620.7670167 --> 00:19:51,690.7670167 Thank you so much for joining me here. 224 00:19:52,140.7670167 --> 00:19:59,10.7670167 In my next episode, we are moving on to track eight wishlist, so please like and subscribe wherever you're seeing or hearing this so you can follow along. 225 00:19:59,730.7670167 --> 00:20:04,170.7670167 All of this content is available on my website where I have the annotated lyrics, so check that out. 226 00:20:04,530.7670167 --> 00:20:12,930.7670167 I also have some fun lyric quizzes on there and stuff, and if you could leave a comment or a review, I'm really just starting this channel and it helps so much. 227 00:20:12,960.7670167 --> 00:20:14,670.7670167 I'm terrible promoting myself. 228 00:20:15,0.7670167 --> 00:20:16,530.7670167 I'm so nervous to do that. 229 00:20:16,530.7670167 --> 00:20:19,620.7670167 I'm like, you can't see it, but I'm sweating through my sweatshirt here. 230 00:20:21,30.7670167 --> 00:20:23,45.7670167 Thank you so much for being here and spending your time with me. 231 00:20:23,220.7670167 --> 00:20:26,220.7670167 I appreciate it so much and I'll see you in the next track. 232 00:20:26,220.7670167 --> 00:20:28,530.7670167 That's it for this chapter of Swiftly Sung Stories. 233 00:20:28,590.7670167 --> 00:20:32,310.7670167 If you enjoyed this deep dive, please don't forget to follow, subscribe, or leave a review. 234 00:20:32,370.7670167 --> 00:20:34,410.7670167 It helps other Swifties find their way here. 235 00:20:34,560.7670167 --> 00:20:37,380.7670167 I'm Jen and I had a marvelous time reading everything with you. 236 00:20:37,500.7670167 --> 00:20:38,10.7670167 See you next time.
I'm Jen, your Swiftie English teacher, and today we are tackling Track seven in my track by track analysis of the life of Showgirl, and we're diving straight into the scathing satire of actually romantic.
In my last few episodes, I analyzed Taylor's prologue poem and the first six tracks of this album.
So go check those out because it lays a lot of groundwork for understanding all of the themes that Taylor is exploring in these lyrics.
(00:28):
Quick, PSA, all of this content is available on my website if you want the text version with annotated lyrics, and if you're watching this on YouTube, you can also find me wherever you get your podcasts and vice versa.
Okay, let's lay a little bit of groundwork as to the themes of actually romantic, and then we will roll into our line by line dissection. 8 00:00:48,619.767016683 --> 00:00:54,319.767016683 Welcome to swiftly sung Stories where we unpack the Taylor Swift Universe one era album and lyric at a time. 9 00:00:54,499.767016683 --> 00:00:58,819.767016683 Think of it like English class, but it's all Taylor Swift and none of the boring stuff. 10 00:00:59,269.767016683 --> 00:01:04,669.767016683 I'm Jen, your Swifty English teacher and classes in session, so come on in and meet me in the margins. 11 00:01:04,955.767016683 --> 00:01:16,655.767016683 Before we go into detail, quick caveat, I only discuss Taylor Swift's personal life in my lyrical analysis when it is essential to understanding the text or when it really helps us put these lyrics into context. 12 00:01:16,655.767016683 --> 00:01:22,115.767016683 I'm not here to discover what Taylor Swift did or who she's beefing with or any of that. 13 00:01:22,115.767016683 --> 00:01:25,475.767016683 I'm here to discover what the art does and what the art says. 14 00:01:25,475.767016683 --> 00:01:31,25.767016683 Also, I am dissecting Taylor's lyrics through my lens and my opinion as a writer and as a former English teacher. 15 00:01:31,115.767016684 --> 00:01:34,325.767016683 And that doesn't mean this has to be your lens or your opinion. 16 00:01:34,325.767016683 --> 00:01:39,485.767016683 All art is subjective, and that's why it's so fun to look at because it means. 17 00:01:39,765.767016683 --> 00:01:41,505.76701668 So many different things to different people. 18 00:01:42,15.76701668 --> 00:01:50,175.76701668 So in this analysis, I'm not saying it's fact or gospel, I'm just here to point out different interpretations and then you can draw your own conclusions. 19 00:01:50,325.76701668 --> 00:01:52,905.76701668 So take what you resonate with and leave the rest. 20 00:01:52,905.76701668 --> 00:01:53,205.76701668 Okay. 21 00:01:53,265.76701668 --> 00:02:03,915.76701668 So what or who is actually romantic about? in her release Party of a showgirl, Taylor said that this song is "a love letter to someone who hates you. 22 00:02:03,915.76701668 --> 00:02:05,85.76701668 Like it's flattering. 23 00:02:05,85.76701668 --> 00:02:10,995.76701668 She said like, I don't hate you and I don't think about this, but like, thank you for all the effort." 24 00:02:10,995.76701668 --> 00:02:18,165.76701668 Of course, as with any Taylor Swift diss track or perceived diss track, we all point fingers at who we think it could be about. 25 00:02:18,285.76701668 --> 00:02:34,965.76701668 And I don't wanna get into this too much, but there is one thing that I want to address because it's been bothering me, and that's that the finger keeps pointing at Charlie XCX, claiming that actually romantic is Taylor's response to sympathy is a knife, which Charlie supposedly wrote about Taylor. 26 00:02:35,850.76701668 --> 00:02:44,520.76701668 But if you take one look at the lyrics to sympathy as a knife, you'll see that that is a song about Charlie's own insecurities and it's an incredibly vulnerable song. 27 00:02:45,510.76701668 --> 00:02:47,460.76701668 Here's just a snapshot of the lyrics. 28 00:02:48,150.76701668 --> 00:02:50,340.76701668 'cause I couldn't be her even if I tried. 29 00:02:50,700.76701668 --> 00:02:51,630.76701668 I'm opposite. 30 00:02:51,630.76701668 --> 00:02:52,710.76701668 I'm on the other side. 31 00:02:52,710.76701668 --> 00:02:54,870.76701668 I feel all these things I can't control. 32 00:02:55,350.76701668 --> 00:02:55,890.76701668 Oh no. 33 00:02:55,950.76701668 --> 00:02:59,160.76701668 Don't know why all this sympathy is just a knife. 34 00:03:00,720.76701668 --> 00:03:05,340.76701668 Sympathy is a knife no matter who inspired it, is really about Charlie. 35 00:03:05,520.76701668 --> 00:03:07,680.76701668 It's not really a diss track. 36 00:03:07,680.76701668 --> 00:03:10,50.76701668 It's detailing her own vulnerabilities. 37 00:03:10,890.76701668 --> 00:03:16,830.76701668 So to claim that actually romantic is a response is just, it's a real disconnect for me. 38 00:03:16,890.76701668 --> 00:03:22,920.76701668 If you believe that this is about Charlie XCX, you know you have your own opinion and I have mine, and that's okay. 39 00:03:24,195.76701668 --> 00:03:37,215.76701668 In the end, does it actually matter who actually romantic is about? No, because just like with any song, when we try to pin down and dissect the muse, that takes away from the real message and the real meaning. 40 00:03:37,215.76701668 --> 00:03:39,945.76701668 In this album, Taylor is all about duality. 41 00:03:40,65.76701668 --> 00:03:43,725.76701668 It's the life of a showgirl versus the life of the girl. 42 00:03:44,55.76701668 --> 00:03:44,865.76701668 Behind the show. 43 00:03:45,495.76701668 --> 00:03:49,275.76701668 That's a narrative thread that runs through and makes this album cohesive. 44 00:03:49,275.76701668 --> 00:03:58,875.76701668 It's these two sides of herself, the side that's in the public eye, and people love to critique, and the side of her that's private and wants to have a private life. 45 00:03:58,875.76701668 --> 00:04:16,275.76701668 In some songs like Eldest Daughter, Wishlist, Ruin the Friendship, she seems to be narrating as just the private girl, but in some songs like Father Figure and Canceled, and in this track, Actually Romantic, she seems to be narrating from the showgirl point of view. 46 00:04:17,55.76701668 --> 00:04:20,295.76701668 But in all of these songs, it's, it's a balancing act. 47 00:04:20,295.76701668 --> 00:04:39,825.76701668 It's how can I maintain this showgirl facade while also maintaining a private life and being vulnerable? And in this song, no matter who it's really about, it's about trying to maintain that facade so that the girl underneath doesn't get hurt and she's using satire to do it. 48 00:04:39,825.76701668 --> 00:04:41,120.76701668 So let's get into the lyrics. 49 00:04:41,120.76701668 --> 00:04:47,150.76701668 So the first verse opens with, I heard you call me boring Barbie, when the Cokes got you brave. 50 00:04:47,795.76701668 --> 00:04:54,515.76701668 So we are in the present tense, and our showgirl narrator is relaying some gossip that's being said about her. 51 00:04:55,385.76701668 --> 00:05:05,495.76701668 This is our inciting incident that unfolds the rest of this narrative, this unknown character, the subject of the song, the "you," has labeled her a "boring Barbie." 52 00:05:05,495.76701668 --> 00:05:07,745.76701668 To most people, this would feel like an insult. 53 00:05:07,745.76701668 --> 00:05:15,995.76701668 A boring Barbie as a metaphor, is just someone who's unoriginal, you know, perfect on the outside, but plastic on the inside. 54 00:05:15,995.76701668 --> 00:05:18,875.76701668 Formulaic produced for the masses. 55 00:05:19,655.76701668 --> 00:05:47,315.76701668 But our narrator kinda takes it in stride, assuming that this person has been 'skiing on the snowy slopes' and in their drug-fueled haze has decided to just hurl insults, and they're braver and they're more vocal because they're very not sober, but it's also a subtle dig, essentially calling this person a drug addict, high fived my ex, and said, you're glad. 56 00:05:47,525.76701668 --> 00:05:48,575.76701668 He ghosted me. 57 00:05:48,605.76701668 --> 00:05:49,325.76701668 She goes on. 58 00:05:49,535.76701668 --> 00:05:55,955.76701668 So this is a clue that the subject is someone within our narrator's inner circle or former inner circle. 59 00:05:56,495.76701668 --> 00:06:03,515.76701668 Whether this points to a particular person or not doesn't really matter because it's this closeness or perceived closeness. 60 00:06:03,515.76701668 --> 00:06:04,415.76701668 It's what that implies. 61 00:06:04,415.76701668 --> 00:06:09,485.76701668 She's trying to rally others in their lives to join this hate train. 62 00:06:09,580.76701668 --> 00:06:21,250.76701668 This isn't just a quiet hatred or some subtle jealousy, it's like an all out war, and the subject is trying to band others together to also hate our narrator. 63 00:06:22,810.76701668 --> 00:06:25,720.76701668 Wrote me a song saying It makes you sick to see my face. 64 00:06:25,720.76701668 --> 00:06:28,780.76701668 She says, some people might be offended. 65 00:06:28,780.76701668 --> 00:06:38,590.76701668 So the subject is also likely someone in the music industry as they're writing songs, but this is also our catalyst for this song. 66 00:06:39,580.76701668 --> 00:06:40,600.76701668 You wrote me a diss track. 67 00:06:40,600.76701668 --> 00:06:41,950.76701668 I'll write you a diss track. 68 00:06:41,950.76701668 --> 00:06:44,980.76701668 It's like tit for tat in this war between them. 69 00:06:45,520.76701668 --> 00:06:54,880.76701668 And while some people might be offended, our narrator isn't, and we're gonna learn why in the chorus, but it's actually sweet. 70 00:06:55,30.76701668 --> 00:06:58,390.76701668 She says in the first chorus all the time you've spent on me. 71 00:06:59,500.76701668 --> 00:07:04,870.76701668 So she's saying some people might take this as an insult, but I take it as a compliment. 72 00:07:05,710.76701668 --> 00:07:10,210.76701668 And this is where actually romantic really diverges from other. 73 00:07:10,930.76701668 --> 00:07:17,500.76701668 Quote unquote clap back songs in Taylor's catalog in songs like, this is why we can't have nice things. 74 00:07:17,530.76701668 --> 00:07:20,260.76701668 Look what you made me do, and I forgot you existed. 75 00:07:20,740.76701668 --> 00:07:28,270.76701668 She's risen above the hate and casually brushed it off, but here she doesn't just brush it off, she takes it one step further. 76 00:07:28,270.76701668 --> 00:07:29,860.76701668 She takes it as a compliment. 77 00:07:30,865.76701668 --> 00:07:36,265.76701668 And in those other clap back songs, we got to hear how Taylor was hurt by whomever she was writing the song about. 78 00:07:36,265.76701668 --> 00:07:38,785.76701668 Here there's no hurt at all. 79 00:07:38,785.76701668 --> 00:07:40,945.76701668 It's just water off a duck's back. 80 00:07:42,25.76701668 --> 00:07:50,575.76701668 The song, I think, is more in the vein of blank space where Taylor uses satire and sarcasm to do a more subtle clap back. 81 00:07:51,415.76701668 --> 00:07:56,575.76701668 That song was likely in response to the media's portrayal of Taylor as this man eater. 82 00:07:57,55.76701668 --> 00:08:04,975.76701668 So instead of fighting back, she leaned in and wrote Blank space as if she were this character that they were making her out to be Here. 83 00:08:04,975.76701668 --> 00:08:06,445.76701668 She's doing pretty much the same thing. 84 00:08:06,445.76701668 --> 00:08:10,315.76701668 She is saying, oh my God, it's so sweet that you've dedicated your life to me. 85 00:08:11,35.76701668 --> 00:08:13,585.76701668 And of course this is sarcasm and satire. 86 00:08:14,755.76701668 --> 00:08:22,45.76701668 Does she actually think it's sweet that people hate her and constantly talk shit about her? No, but as the showgirl, she's got this new outlook. 87 00:08:22,675.76701668 --> 00:08:24,25.76701668 Any press is good press. 88 00:08:24,55.76701668 --> 00:08:26,515.76701668 If you're talking about me, it doesn't matter what you're saying. 89 00:08:26,515.76701668 --> 00:08:31,345.76701668 It's still saying my name and making me more powerful and more powerful. 90 00:08:32,515.76701668 --> 00:08:33,595.76701668 It's honestly wild. 91 00:08:33,685.76701668 --> 00:08:35,875.76701668 She goes on all the effort you've put in. 92 00:08:35,875.76701668 --> 00:08:37,915.76701668 Honestly, wild is another subtle dig. 93 00:08:37,915.76701668 --> 00:08:43,405.76701668 'cause it's a phrase that usually means that something is surprising, but not in a good way. 94 00:08:44,215.76701668 --> 00:08:50,65.76701668 So our subject has put an awful lot of effort into hating someone that doesn't even really seem to know them. 95 00:08:51,55.76701668 --> 00:08:57,775.76701668 The undertone is you must really not have anything else going on in your life if you have all this time that you've dedicated to me. 96 00:08:57,775.76701668 --> 00:09:02,125.76701668 It's actually romantic, she says, and this pulls in the song's title for the first time. 97 00:09:02,425.76701668 --> 00:09:06,235.76701668 And on the surface it means like, oh my God, you're so obsessed with me. 98 00:09:06,235.76701668 --> 00:09:08,275.76701668 You must like be in love with me or something. 99 00:09:09,265.76701668 --> 00:09:12,145.76701668 But there's also a subtle dual meaning here. 100 00:09:12,205.76701668 --> 00:09:22,795.76701668 There's romantic as an expression of love, and then there's romanticizing something, which is expressing this idealized view of reality. 101 00:09:23,365.76701668 --> 00:09:24,835.76701668 And here she's hinting at both. 102 00:09:25,525.76701668 --> 00:09:28,615.76701668 She both takes it as an expression of love. 103 00:09:28,675.76701668 --> 00:09:31,285.76701668 Like, you must think about me so much. 104 00:09:31,285.76701668 --> 00:09:32,515.76701668 You must be in love with me. 105 00:09:32,515.76701668 --> 00:09:34,465.76701668 But what she's covertly saying is. 106 00:09:34,900.76701668 --> 00:09:37,120.76701668 You're romanticizing me in our relationship. 107 00:09:37,120.76701668 --> 00:09:38,110.76701668 You are delusional. 108 00:09:38,350.76701668 --> 00:09:40,780.76701668 You've made this into some big thing. 109 00:09:40,780.76701668 --> 00:09:43,390.76701668 When I think about you never, I really gotta hand it to you. 110 00:09:43,390.76701668 --> 00:09:46,840.76701668 She says, no man has ever loved me like you do. 111 00:09:47,965.76701668 --> 00:09:55,975.76701668 This is such a funny sarcastic line, and it's saying all of this hard work you've done for absolutely no reason. 112 00:09:56,455.76701668 --> 00:10:00,535.76701668 Like no man has ever put this much time and energy into me. 113 00:10:00,535.76701668 --> 00:10:06,415.76701668 It's like, I've gotta give you props, not even all my romantic partners have ever paid this much attention to me. 114 00:10:07,435.76701668 --> 00:10:12,355.76701668 So the central message layered in all of the satire and sarcasm is, wow. 115 00:10:12,355.76701668 --> 00:10:15,445.76701668 You're like really obsessed with me and I don't think about you. 116 00:10:15,745.76701668 --> 00:10:21,175.76701668 It's like the scene in mean girls where Katie says to Janice, you're like in love with me or something. 117 00:10:21,175.76701668 --> 00:10:27,145.76701668 The second verse starts, hadn't thought of you in a long time, but you keep sending me funny Valentine's. 118 00:10:27,865.76701668 --> 00:10:33,575.76701668 So our narrator is just living her best life, blissfully unaware of all the drama that the subject is stewing in. 119 00:10:34,270.76701668 --> 00:10:40,540.76701668 But then this obsessive drama queen pops back up out of nowhere with funny valentine's. 120 00:10:40,960.76701668 --> 00:10:47,800.76701668 A valentine is usually a message of love or adoration, but our narrator takes these ones as funny. 121 00:10:48,430.76701668 --> 00:10:54,30.76701668 She's reframing these hateful messages as just these silly little odes. 122 00:10:54,370.76701668 --> 00:10:56,350.76701668 So these funny Valentines could be. 123 00:10:56,690.76701668 --> 00:11:02,810.76701668 The song she wrote or the boring Barbie quip or anything that's meant to be hurtful for our narrator. 124 00:11:02,810.76701668 --> 00:11:03,680.76701668 It doesn't land. 125 00:11:03,710.76701668 --> 00:11:07,670.76701668 She thinks it's funny because she sees this delusion. 126 00:11:07,670.76701668 --> 00:11:10,340.76701668 It's not just hate, it's obsession. 127 00:11:11,540.76701668 --> 00:11:13,670.76701668 And I know you think it comes off as vicious. 128 00:11:13,730.76701668 --> 00:11:17,270.76701668 She continues, but it's precious, adorable. 129 00:11:17,270.76701668 --> 00:11:23,450.76701668 So the subject might be trying to be a, a bad bitch or a savage, as she says, an eldest daughter, but it's not working. 130 00:11:23,450.76701668 --> 00:11:31,880.76701668 She labels it as precious and adorable, which infantilizes all of these attempts to be essentially the big bad wolf. 131 00:11:32,990.76701668 --> 00:11:36,890.76701668 She goes on like a toy Chihuahua barking at me from a tiny purse. 132 00:11:37,340.76701668 --> 00:11:38,630.76701668 That's how much it hurts. 133 00:11:39,780.76701668 --> 00:11:43,890.76701668 This hater is not the big bad wolf that she thinks she is. 134 00:11:43,890.76701668 --> 00:11:46,830.76701668 She is a tiny yippy annoying dog. 135 00:11:47,870.76701668 --> 00:11:49,380.76701668 This simile is layered too. 136 00:11:49,380.76701668 --> 00:11:53,670.76701668 Our subject isn't only the tiny barky dog that you wish would shut up. 137 00:11:54,330.76701668 --> 00:11:57,360.76701668 She's also caged inside a tiny purse. 138 00:11:58,170.76701668 --> 00:12:05,730.76701668 So what she's describing here is the stereotype of the rich Hollywood bitch who totes her tiny dog around as an accessory. 139 00:12:06,885.76701668 --> 00:12:12,615.76701668 But our subject isn't even that Beverly Hills blonde, she's the tiny dog. 140 00:12:12,855.76701668 --> 00:12:15,825.76701668 She's the accessory, she's inconsequential. 141 00:12:16,785.76701668 --> 00:12:24,945.76701668 She's a little dog who thinks she's a big dog, but has no real power, and her bark is worse than her bite, but she can't even escape the purse to bite. 142 00:12:25,995.76701668 --> 00:12:29,355.76701668 That's how much power and influence she has, which is none. 143 00:12:29,895.76701668 --> 00:12:32,805.76701668 This, this is just a brutal, brutal lyric. 144 00:12:32,805.76701668 --> 00:12:40,605.76701668 That's how much it hurts, means it doesn't hurt at all because it was never coming from someone with big enough teeth to begin with. 145 00:12:41,895.76701668 --> 00:12:50,815.76701668 She closes out the second verse with how many times has your boyfriend said, why are we always talking about her? She imagines that this person is so obsessed with her that it's. 146 00:12:51,405.76701668 --> 00:13:01,185.76701668 Derailing her personal life, and she's pointing out the distinction between this imagined romance and a very real romance in the subject's life. 147 00:13:01,185.76701668 --> 00:13:08,145.76701668 She has a boyfriend, but spends all her time talking about this imaginary fight with her imaginary sworn enemy. 148 00:13:08,685.76701668 --> 00:13:14,835.76701668 She's romanticized this hate so much that she's letting it interfere in her real relationship, her real romances. 149 00:13:14,835.76701668 --> 00:13:27,375.76701668 What our narrator is saying, in other words, is maybe you should rethink where you put your energy, because being spiteful is only gonna drive away the people that love you, like maybe rethink your priorities here. 150 00:13:28,545.76701668 --> 00:13:30,585.76701668 So the chorus repeats and then we enter the bridge. 151 00:13:30,915.76701668 --> 00:13:32,385.76701668 You think I'm tacky, baby. 152 00:13:32,385.76701668 --> 00:13:34,110.76701668 Stop talking dirty to me. 153 00:13:35,55.76701668 --> 00:13:41,445.76701668 So this person keeps hurling insults and the narrator keeps deflecting by reframing the narrative. 154 00:13:42,105.76701668 --> 00:13:44,925.76701668 But there's a dual meaning to talking dirty. 155 00:13:45,435.76701668 --> 00:13:55,305.76701668 The obvious is a, a pillow talk type of talking dirty with sexual connotations, but then there's talking dirty as in shit talking or trash talking. 156 00:13:56,205.76701668 --> 00:14:03,165.76701668 The subject wants these words to come out as trash talking, but they're received as talking dirty. 157 00:14:04,275.76701668 --> 00:14:08,925.76701668 You talk shit about me, she's saying, but all I hear is your obsession with me. 158 00:14:08,985.76701668 --> 00:14:10,485.76701668 She just keeps deflecting. 159 00:14:12,135.76701668 --> 00:14:15,615.76701668 It sounded nasty, but it feels like you're flirting with me. 160 00:14:15,615.76701668 --> 00:14:16,545.76701668 She continues. 161 00:14:16,545.76701668 --> 00:14:22,125.76701668 Anything that comes out of the subject's mouth, our narrator will receive as suggestive and romantic. 162 00:14:23,655.76701668 --> 00:14:25,365.76701668 It's the ultimate deflection tool. 163 00:14:26,265.76701668 --> 00:14:30,645.76701668 But nasty also has a dual meaning just like talking dirty, there's sexually nasty. 164 00:14:31,215.76701668 --> 00:14:40,965.76701668 Then there's this catty type of nasty, so she's using one to imply the other, which really shows just how easily she can flip it and reverse it. 165 00:14:42,150.76701668 --> 00:14:45,600.76701668 I mind my business, God's my witness, that I don't provoke it. 166 00:14:45,600.76701668 --> 00:14:54,990.76701668 She goes on, and this is another loaded phrase, mind my business, on one hand means that she keeps to herself and she lets go of things that aren't her job. 167 00:14:55,560.76701668 --> 00:14:59,970.76701668 But on the other hand, it means she literally minds her business. 168 00:15:00,330.76701668 --> 00:15:03,0.76701668 And that is the business of Taylor Swift, Inc. 169 00:15:03,900.76701668 --> 00:15:09,390.76701668 When someone won't let her mind her business and keeps attacking, she will mind her business first. 170 00:15:09,390.76701668 --> 00:15:10,470.76701668 She'll protect her brand. 171 00:15:10,470.76701668 --> 00:15:12,90.76701668 She'll protect her reputation. 172 00:15:13,635.76701668 --> 00:15:15,885.76701668 So God's my witness that I don't provoke. 173 00:15:15,885.76701668 --> 00:15:28,45.76701668 It is ironic because this song is provoking it and she's definitely not minding her business by writing the song and releasing it, that's part of the humor of this whole narrative. 174 00:15:29,5.76701668 --> 00:15:30,505.76701668 Then there's the last line of the bridge. 175 00:15:30,505.76701668 --> 00:15:32,65.76701668 It's kind of making me wet. 176 00:15:32,275.76701668 --> 00:15:34,225.76701668 This brings the satire to. 177 00:15:34,580.76701668 --> 00:15:35,480.76701668 A whole new level. 178 00:15:36,50.76701668 --> 00:15:44,540.76701668 Not only will she take all of these insults as compliments and reframe all of this attention as romantic, but she'll also get off on it. 179 00:15:45,170.76701668 --> 00:15:47,450.76701668 Like anything adds fuel to the fire. 180 00:15:47,450.76701668 --> 00:15:53,30.76701668 It's like she's saying, keep saying my name because it only ruins you and promotes me. 181 00:15:54,320.76701668 --> 00:16:00,650.76701668 And in this showgirl world where any press is good press, it'll only generate more attention, and that's the entire point. 182 00:16:00,650.76701668 --> 00:16:01,940.76701668 The final chorus repeats. 183 00:16:02,0.76701668 --> 00:16:03,470.76701668 'cause it's actually sweet. 184 00:16:03,530.76701668 --> 00:16:14,450.76701668 All the time you've spent on me, you can try to tear me down all you want, she's saying, but I will just take it as a compliment every single time, and I will disarm you of any power you ever held over me. 185 00:16:14,450.76701668 --> 00:16:15,800.76701668 It's honestly lovely. 186 00:16:15,800.76701668 --> 00:16:19,610.76701668 She says again, sarcastically, all the effort you put in. 187 00:16:20,810.76701668 --> 00:16:27,830.76701668 Honestly lovely is Taylor's a version of the barbed southern phrase "Bless your heart." 188 00:16:28,70.76701668 --> 00:16:31,955.76701668 It's intended to kill with kindness like a wolf in sheep's clothing. 189 00:16:33,395.76701668 --> 00:16:35,165.76701668 It's actually romantic, she says. 190 00:16:35,165.76701668 --> 00:16:37,145.76701668 Again, I really gotta hand it to you. 191 00:16:37,295.76701668 --> 00:16:39,875.76701668 No man has ever loved me like you do. 192 00:16:39,875.76701668 --> 00:16:52,55.7670167 The backhanded message here is maybe rethink all the time you spent hating me because my God, you've spent a lot of time and energy on hating me more than any man ever has. 193 00:16:52,55.7670167 --> 00:16:53,370.7670167 It is actually romantic. 194 00:16:53,370.7670167 --> 00:16:54,60.7670167 She goes on. 195 00:16:54,270.7670167 --> 00:17:08,280.7670167 You've just given me so much attention and the subtle implication is maybe if you spent half as much time on loving yourself as you do hating me, you wouldn't feel the need to project all of these. 196 00:17:08,280.7670167 --> 00:17:09,540.7670167 You insecurities onto me. 197 00:17:09,540.7670167 --> 00:17:10,765.7670167 It is actually romantic. 198 00:17:10,765.7670167 --> 00:17:16,165.7670167 She repeats one last time and then she ends the song with, it's so romantic. 199 00:17:17,140.7670167 --> 00:17:24,910.7670167 Ending on this final word draws attention to it, and it's here that we need to circle back to the dual meanings of romantic or romance. 200 00:17:25,660.7670167 --> 00:17:33,225.7670167 Our narrator reframes this negative attention as these romantic overtures, but also suggests that the subject is. 201 00:17:33,790.7670167 --> 00:17:39,250.7670167 Romanticizing this, this one-sided feud into something that's all consuming. 202 00:17:40,90.7670167 --> 00:17:47,980.7670167 She has this idealized view of reality where her hated object is demeaned and dejected by her insults. 203 00:17:48,640.7670167 --> 00:17:55,480.7670167 But in our narrator's reality, the showgirl just skips away into the sunset completely and utterly unaffected. 204 00:17:56,155.7670167 --> 00:18:03,775.7670167 And that's the shield that she's built to protect the girl inside the show, which she gets into more in eldest daughter. 205 00:18:03,805.7670167 --> 00:18:06,595.7670167 That shield is doing its job here in this song. 206 00:18:08,5.7670167 --> 00:18:12,535.7670167 And in the song, we don't really get to hear from the girl inside the showgirl. 207 00:18:12,745.7670167 --> 00:18:14,935.7670167 We don't get to hear any vulnerability. 208 00:18:14,935.7670167 --> 00:18:17,935.7670167 We don't get to hear about something that hurt. 209 00:18:18,175.7670167 --> 00:18:24,355.7670167 This is strictly the showgirl talking and the real Taylor inside might be affected by all of this hate. 210 00:18:24,355.7670167 --> 00:18:31,75.7670167 But the show and the facade of the show where any press is good press can deflect all of it. 211 00:18:31,125.7670167 --> 00:18:46,845.7670167 By the end, do we know if this is real growth on Taylor's part where she's really learned to rise above the hate, or if it's just another layer of the show or the facade? No, that's the job of other songs to show that vulnerability. 212 00:18:47,625.7670167 --> 00:18:52,5.7670167 But the job of this song is really, I see it the same way as blank space. 213 00:18:52,5.7670167 --> 00:18:58,65.7670167 It's to say, I know exactly what you're saying about me, but I no longer care. 214 00:18:58,665.7670167 --> 00:19:02,175.7670167 It's just reframing the narrative and taking control of the narrative. 215 00:19:03,105.7670167 --> 00:19:08,385.7670167 And if we take a step back, this message could really apply to any hater in the Taylor Swift universe. 216 00:19:08,415.7670167 --> 00:19:09,375.7670167 'cause there are a lot. 217 00:19:10,125.7670167 --> 00:19:19,395.7670167 And just because this message seems to be pointed at one person in particular, it doesn't mean that it also doesn't apply to other critics at large. 218 00:19:19,395.7670167 --> 00:19:23,440.7670167 And it could be a bait and switch, right? Like she could be talking about all of us. 219 00:19:24,300.7670167 --> 00:19:30,300.7670167 But pointing us away from that and pointing at one particular person, fictional or not. 220 00:19:30,300.7670167 --> 00:19:36,750.7670167 But what's actually romantic is how much we all talk about Taylor Swift, how much we all think about Taylor Swift. 221 00:19:37,560.7670167 --> 00:19:45,420.7670167 And if all press is good press, then there's nothing to be pressed about and that's actually sweet when you think about it. 222 00:19:47,70.7670167 --> 00:19:49,620.7670167 That's my analysis of track seven, actually romantic. 223 00:19:49,620.7670167 --> 00:19:51,690.7670167 Thank you so much for joining me here. 224 00:19:52,140.7670167 --> 00:19:59,10.7670167 In my next episode, we are moving on to track eight wishlist, so please like and subscribe wherever you're seeing or hearing this so you can follow along. 225 00:19:59,730.7670167 --> 00:20:04,170.7670167 All of this content is available on my website where I have the annotated lyrics, so check that out. 226 00:20:04,530.7670167 --> 00:20:12,930.7670167 I also have some fun lyric quizzes on there and stuff, and if you could leave a comment or a review, I'm really just starting this channel and it helps so much. 227 00:20:12,960.7670167 --> 00:20:14,670.7670167 I'm terrible promoting myself. 228 00:20:15,0.7670167 --> 00:20:16,530.7670167 I'm so nervous to do that. 229 00:20:16,530.7670167 --> 00:20:19,620.7670167 I'm like, you can't see it, but I'm sweating through my sweatshirt here. 230 00:20:21,30.7670167 --> 00:20:23,45.7670167 Thank you so much for being here and spending your time with me. 231 00:20:23,220.7670167 --> 00:20:26,220.7670167 I appreciate it so much and I'll see you in the next track. 232 00:20:26,220.7670167 --> 00:20:28,530.7670167 That's it for this chapter of Swiftly Sung Stories. 233 00:20:28,590.7670167 --> 00:20:32,310.7670167 If you enjoyed this deep dive, please don't forget to follow, subscribe, or leave a review. 234 00:20:32,370.7670167 --> 00:20:34,410.7670167 It helps other Swifties find their way here. 235 00:20:34,560.7670167 --> 00:20:37,380.7670167 I'm Jen and I had a marvelous time reading everything with you. 236 00:20:37,500.7670167 --> 00:20:38,10.7670167 See you next time.
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